Join DJ Trent as he welcomes MALUCA and ARAABMUZIK to Solar 1 and the WFMU airwaves. Maluca – Bronx-born, Dominican-raised, now part of Diplo’s Mad Decent crew- is full of hyperfast rap-sing bounce. She’ll bring it with a dance crew in tow. Rhode Islander araabMUZIK – you’ve probably heard his work on the Dipset track “Salute” – is a prodigy on the MPC drum machine, banging out otherworldly beats you won’t believe are being performed live with just two hands. DJ Trent will also bring a stack of videos to screen live, honoring the women of hip-hop who have made the world a lot more interesting in recent decades. Join the fun live at [Solar 1 on the East River at 23rd Street – and enjoy really cheap, really good beer – or tune into live audio and video streams at WFMU.org and 91.1 / 90.1fm.

Sun To Stars, our annual South Asian festival of food, music and dance, is turning 5, and we’d like you to come to the party!

The festival was inspired by the all-night concerts held along India’s Ganges River where not only are the talents of a wide variety of artists presented, but also a vibrant mix of families, children, couples, friends and random passersby as everyone settles in to relax and enjoy. The Solar One blacktop in front of the stage will be transformed with carpets and pillows into a South Asian seating area, with carpets and pillows for attendees to lounge on. Long Island City’s Five Star Banquet and Restaurant will be serving North Indian fare for $8 a plate; they’re known for their chicken makhani (butter chicken).

This year’s performers include:

A.R. Balaskandan │ Bill Buchen │ Narendra Budhakar │ Jay Gandhi │ Sonali Mishra │ Rohan Mishra │ Nitin Mitta │ Nemanja Rebic │ Indrajit Roy-Chowdhury and more!

Check the Sun To Stars page in the coming weeks to find out what’s new as the Festival approaches!

Join DJ Trent as he freaks out to his two favorite movies:

1) David Byrne’s TRUE STORIES, starring John Goodman and Byrne, with music by Talking Heads, exploring the changing world of central Texas in 1986
and
2) Daft Punk’s INTERSTELLA 5555: THE 5TORY OF THE 5ECRET 5TAR 5YSTEM, an insane anime adventure into the year 5555 set to Daft Punk’s “Discovery,” possibly the best album ever made.

Since both movies are set to music (but avoid the awful cliches associated with, you know, musicals) it will also be a dance party with $2 Brooklyn Beer all night long. If you can’t make it in person, join the fun from home with live audio/video broadcasts at 91.1fm and wfmu.org.

Join us for the 6th Annual Solar-Powered Dance Series! 12 emerging choreographers will perform short works on our recycled eco-stage, with audio powered by the sun! Free and suitable for all ages, children are highly encouraged to attend.

Program B July 29-31 at 6pm, rain date August 1

Yesid Lopez
Joseph Celej
Mariana Valencia
Makiko Tamura
Daniela Hoff
Mana Kawamura

Photo of Makiko Tamura/small apple co. by Akimasa Mitsuishi

Join us for the 6th Annual Solar-Powered Dance Series! 12 emerging choreographers will perform short works on our recycled eco-stage, with audio powered by the sun! Free and suitable for all ages, children are highly encouraged to attend.

Program A July 22-24 at 6pm, rain date July 25

Meghan McCoy
Tzu Ying Lee
Tracie Stanfield
Mercedes Searer
Theodora Boguszewski
Mary Ann Wall

Photo of Tracie Stanfield/Synthesis Dance Project by Yi-Chun Wu

photos: Jonathan Hökklo

Solar One is proud to present the Jamal Jackson Dance Company, with special guests Berean Community Drumline and the Frank Malloy Djembe Ensemble, in a Contemporary African dance and percussive extravaganza.

This hour-long traveling performance will be a presentation of original choreography by Jamal Jackson with the unique musical accompaniment of Southern-style marching band drum line. Starting at the south end of Stuyvesant Cove Park, the Berean Community Drumline will guide the audience to different performance settings in the park, and finally to the main stage for a show-stopping finale.

About Jamal Jackson Dance Company (JJDC)

Jamal Jackson, Artistic Director, was born in Brooklyn, New York and began his formal studies of movement with the Harlem based Batoto Yetu Dance Company. His pursuit of dance led him to Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, where he received the Weston Award for his contribution to the Fusion Dance Company and NewWorks/World Traditions African Dance Company from 1996-2000. Jamal studied with Michelle Bach-Coulibaly, Seydou Coulibaly, and Fred Benjamin and worked under Mba and Bisar in Mali, West Africa. Jamal choreographed for the New York Arts Festival and Inaya Day in 2002, marking the beginning of his African-based, modern style of movement. Jamal performed with Ballet International Africans for two seasons as a principal dancer and in 2004 he founded the Jamal Jackson Dance Company, which debuted Images of the Union at University Settlement in New York and at Westport Hall in Connecticut. The company went on to perform United We Stand at the Hudson Guild Theater, Dance New Amsterdam, Mo Pitkins, and for Jennifer Muller/The Works series. Jamal has created work for the Diversity in Dance Project at The Yard featuring Urban Bush Women and the Carolyn Dorfman Dance Company and has returned to Batoto Yetu Dance Company as the Assistant Artistic Director. In 2008 and 2009, the company performed This Place Called Home, which was presented at Big Range Austin in Austin, TX, the Yard in Martha’s Vineyard, and Performance Spaces of the 21 Century in Chatham, New York to name a few. For 2010, JJDC has premiered a work in progress, Next Time, which will be developed into an evening length piece.

The mission of Jamal Jackson Dance Company (JJDC) is to translate the creative vision of Artistic Director Jamal Jackson into choreography and educational tools for use in performances, workshops and community outreach that will teach people about the connection between African and American cultures.

JJDC’s aesthetic is a Contemporary African technique that fuses African movement with Modern, Hip Hop, storytelling and Jamal’s signature movement style which is characterized by looseness in the arms, hips and spine, fast footwork, and a constant bounce.

JJDC Outreach: Berean Community Drumline

The purpose of the Berean Community Drumline, a program of the Berean Community and Family Life Center in Brooklyn, NY, is to provide culturally sensitive physical activity intervention that engages adolescents at a physical level to combat obesity, prevent disease, and encourage an overall healthy lifestyle. The number of overweight adolescents in the United States has tripled in the past 20 years, and obesity has become a serious national epidemic. The African American population has suffered the most from the problem of childhood obesity, also showing prevalence for obesity as adults – 77%, which is 20% higher than their Euro-American counterparts. Weight issues in children and adolescents are primarily caused by lack of physical activity and/or healthy behaviors that will improve their quality of life. The mission of the Drumline program is to equip and empower adolescents to participate in physical activity on a regular basis. This mission ties into the overall mission of the BCFLC which is “to provide an accessible, community-based program that responds to the holistic needs of persons to promote community empowerment, comprehensive wellness and enhance the quality of life.” As the participants are taught the skills and techniques behind drumming, dancing and stepping, they also gain creativity, coordination, discipline, self-control and teamwork.

At the beginning of this year, JJDC initiated an outreach program with the Berean Community Drumline with the goal of:

1. Providing the youth with opportunities to perform on a professional stage

2. Teaching professionalism and improving dance technique

3. Using dance to teach youth about the culture and history of the African Diaspora

4. Providing professional development to choreographers
Program highlights include:

1. Collaboration to create new JJDC choreography with Drumline accompaniment

2. Weekly dance classes for the dancers

3. Monthly open JJDC rehearsals and technique workshops for choreographers

4. Drumline Dance Festival

Don’t miss this extraordinary performance experience!

NYU Earth Matters is throwing a party for Earth Day’s 40th birthday, and you’re invited! Check out a fabulous exhibit of eco-art from the NYU community and beyond, eat delicious food from the Dosa Man and check out some exciting live entertainment from MC Andrew WK, Cold Cave, Oberhofer and North Highlands, plus a Special Secret Guest so exciting we won’t be able to reveal their name until Saturday morning!

This event is free and open to the public, rain or shine! We hope to see you there!

Now, in today’s New York Times, Tamar’s latest piece – “Diagnosis of a Faun” – is featured on the front page of the Arts section.  The article discusses the genesis of the piece and the transformations it has created in the life of Gregg Mozgala, an actor with cerebral palsy who has connected with his body in new and unexpected ways as a result of his work with Tamar in preparing the piece.  It’s an interesting look at the creative process for what should be an engaging and entertaining performance.

“Diagnosis of a Faun” plays at La Mama Theater in the East Village on Thursdays-Sundays from December 3 – 20.  More information and tickets available here.  Congratulations to Tamar for her achievement and recognition!

Please check in with us tomorrow to make sure the performance will be running as scheduled; we’ll make a decision by 4:45pm. Hopefully, we’ll see you tomorrow!

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 10th and SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 13th: Choreographer Jill Sigman and composer Kristin Norderval bring their mobile, interactive installaion-performance piece to Solar One. Passerby will be asked to contribute “confessions” about their physical and emotional trash. These recorded or written testimonials will then be incorporated into an instant sound/movement performance.

SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 6th: Choreographer Jill Sigman and composer Kristin Norderval bring their mobile, interactive installaion-performance piece to Solar One. Passerby will be asked to contribute “confessions” about their physical and emotional trash. These recorded or written testimonials will then be incorporated into an instant sound/movement performance.

SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 5th: Choreographer Jill Sigman and composer Kristin Norderval bring their mobile, interactive installaion-performance piece to Solar One. Passerby will be asked to contribute “confessions” about their physical and emotional trash. These recorded or written testimonials will then be incorporated into an instant sound/movement performance.

Inspired by the traditional all-night concerts along India’s Ganges River, Sun to Stars South Asian Festival presents an eclectic blend of classical, contemporary and folk performing arts powered by solar energy, while evoking the informal setting which performers and audience interact to create a positive artistic experience, as they do in India.

Past performers include: Rajika Puri, Guarav Shah, Preeti Vasudevan, Parul Shah, and Vivek Rudrapatna.

ACCESSIBLE TO ALL AGES!

South Asian food will be available for sale!

JULY 30th- AUGUST 1: The Fifth Annual Solar-Powered Dance Series features 14 emerging choreographers in a diverse variety of styles, from African/hiphop to circus to vaudeville/burlesque and beyond.

Performances are accessible to a general audience and are appropriate for all ages!

This week’s dances will include choreography by: Adelka Polak & Larry Hunt, Faye Lim, Julie Troost, Catch Me Bird, Sharon Mansur, Gabriel Forestieri, and Alexandra Joye Houston.

Dances begin at 6 PM!

Rain Date: August 2

JULY 23-25: The Fifth Annual Solar-Powered Dance Series features 14 emerging choreographers in a diverse variety of styles, from African/hiphop to circus to vaudeville/burlesque and beyond.

Performances are accessible to a general audience and are appropriate for all ages!

The first week’s dances will include choreography by: Sara Joel, Debra Wanner, Jessica Chen, Clairaudient, Sahar Javedani, Kristy Lewis, and Jamal Jackson.

Dances begin at 6 PM!

Rain Date: July 26th

FRIDAY JULY 10 at 6 PM: Citysol Party for a Solar-Powered NY
6:30 PM— “Mr. Lower East Side” Moonshine Shorey- Beautiful human being and spoken word god brings his band Jen & the Moon to the party.
7:00 PM — The Alien Comic- Legendary downtown one-man recycling circus.
8:00 PM — DJs from Home Base Collective- Dance dance dance.
PLUS Solar Racecar Design Competition. Join the I Heart PV campaign and get a drink on us!

This evening of performance art, spoken word and dancing will culminate in the I Heart PV campaign’s Party for a Solar-Powered NY. Talk to a solar installer, write a letter to your legislator asking for stronger solar energy policy, design, and enter a solar racecar in our design competition and win a Big Blue Ribbon!

Bring your own cup and get beers for $2 off the regular price! Reuse the cup we give you, and it’s $1 off!

Write a letter for our I Heart PV campaign to increase solar energy generation in New York State and have a beer on us. Check out http://iheartpv.org for more info.