Acclaimed Harlem performing arts institution, The Faison Firehouse Theater has joined with SummerStage to present Harlem Dance Caravan, a thrilling celebration of our diversity through music and dance.
Audiences will be enthralled by companies such as Nigeria’s Baoku Moses & the Image Afro-Beat Band, Jamel Gaines’ Creative Outlet, Lotus Music and Dance, Cecilia Marta Dance Company and The George Faison Universal Dance Experience.
Baoku & The Image Afrobeat Band is a world class Afrobeat music powerhouse. Based out of Cincinnati, Ohio, this band performs all original music by their Nigerian front man, Baoku Moses. Baoku is a professionally-trained African drummer, dancer, and talented songwriter. He began the band in 2005. In following the legacy and footsteps of the late Afrobeat legend Fela Kuti, Baoku’s music blends a solid rock and jazz fusion with African instruments and languages to express world peace and unity. Baoku released his first solo album, Okodoro Oro: The Realistic Reality, in 2004 and will release the band’s first album together in the summer of 2014. Comprised of musicians from different musical and cultural backgrounds, Baoku & The Image Afrobeat Band provides more than just another musical performance; it is a complete high-energy, cultural experience.
Jamel Gaines’ Creative Outlet (CO) is a professional dance company that merges rigorous classical and modern technique with African-American soul and spirit. Under the artistic direction of Jamel Gaines, the company has been hailed by reviewers in the United States and Europe for its “richness of dance tone” and “contagious vitality.” The company is comprised of unique performing artists whose talents include theatre, spoken word, multi-media/ visual arts, and instillation. Based in New York City, CO has been featured at the Lincoln Center, Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), The Apollo Theatre, SummerStage in Central Park, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, Martha Graham School, McCallum Theatre, Rialto Theatre, Paramount Theatre, and NewYork Theatre Workshop. Internationally, CO has toured in Rome, Italy; London, England; Acapulco, Mexico; Madrid, Spain; Kingston, Jamaica; Cologne, Germany; and Toronto, Canada. Our artists have been featured on Broadway stages such as: Fela!, The Lion King, Chicago, Fosse, and Memphis. Additionally, Gaines has collaborated with Notable artists such as: Michael Jackson, Madonna, Beyonce, Rihanna, Whitney Houston, Jennifer Holiday, Max Roach, Savion Glover, Ornette Coleman, and Chris Brown. Jamel Gaines’ vision is to bring art to the masses that touches the human spirit.
Cecilia Marta Dance Company is committed to creating dance and artistic collaborations that inspire diversity of movement and unity; fuse the multicultural richness of sight, sound, and feeling in its vision of “World Jazz”; and build bridges between communities. After traveling the globe, Cecilia returned to NY with a vision to bring together a diverse and extraordinary group of dancers that would create CMDC. The objective: to speak through the language of dance, about the ritualistic rhythms and magical experiences she encountered throughout her life, and as a child growing up in Panama. CMDC is a multicultural dance company, committed to celebrating diversity and unity by creating works that inspire collaborations with other artists and art forms. Possessing a distinct breath, CMDC’s repertoire incorporates elements that are reflective of Ms. Marta’s life and heritage, as well as her intimate acquaintance with many forms and styles of dance.
Lotus Music and Dance, the only company and educational institute in NYC that makes accessible the music and dance traditions of all world cultures and also produces the annual “DRUMS ALONG THE HUDSON FESTIVAL” a celebration of Native American”s Art and Culture in Inwood Park.
The George Faison Universal Dance Experience, founded in 1971 the company has not only been the vehicle which facilitated Mr. Faison to create some of the best known Black Dance Classics: “Suite Otis”, “Slaves”, “Reflections of a Lady” and “Sounds/Movin’ On”,, but also further the careers of some of the greatest African American Dancers, Choreographers and Teachers: Debbie Allen, Gary Deoatch, Karen McDonald, Lettie Battle, Shirley Black-Brown, Allison Williams-Foster to name a few. The manifestations of Mr. Faison’s keen eye for exceptional talent to coach, nurture and develop are also evident in the current roster of the Universal Dance Experience.
George Faison is thrilled to present his friend Baoku Moses as part of the Harlem Dance Caravan. He met Baoku in 2001 while researching a Queen Amina Project in Nigeria .
Marcus Garvey Park , 124th Street & 5th Avenue
AUGUST 15 & 16, 7 PM OPEN DANCE CLASS, 8 PM DANCE CONCERT
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