Walter’s World: Weekend Picks Music, Dance, Theater and Art

By Walter Rutledge

This weekend offer an array for cultural events taking place throughout our community and city.Everything from innovative dance downtown, to electrifying theater uptown and fine art on Sugar Hill. These are a few of the many interesting events happening around town.

The Weeksville Heritage Center, an organization dedicated to preserving the history of the 19th century African-American community of Weeksville, presents Brilliant Corners, a jazz concert featuring UK Nu-Soul legend Omar and rising future soul/jazz artist Taylor McFerrin on Saturday June 2. The concert is free and will take place outdoors in one of New York City’s most unique venues, The Weeksville Garden located at 1698 Bergen Street between Buffalo Avenue and Rochester Avenue in Brooklyn. Gates open at 2pm, music begins at 3pm. Attendees are encouraged to bring a blanket or lawn chair. For more information call 718-756-5250.

The LaGuardia High School will hold the final two performances of the June 2012 Graduating Dance Class Concert on Saturday June 2, at 2 and 7:30pm at LaGuardia High School, 100 Amsterdam Avenue (at 65th Street). The concert will feature 52 performers and present works by three alumni choreographers William Isaac, Loni Landon, and Troy Powell; two faculty members, Elisa King and Joey Smith, and guest choreographer Zvi Gotheiner. Tickets are $10 in advance; $15 at the door for reservations call 212.496.0700 ext. 2837 or visit www.laguardiahs.org

Mama Foundation for the Arts Celebrates Black Music Month on Saturday, June 2nd and Saturday June 16, 2012 by offering a special discount on two musical productions Sing Harlem Sing! and Mama, I Want to Sing. Admission has been reduced to $24 per ticket. Performances will be held at Dempsey Theater 127 West 127th Street (between Lenox Avenue and Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd.) Showtimes for Sing Harlem Sing! is 1:00 p.m. and Mama, I Want to Sing is at 4:30 p.m. Tickets can be purchased by calling 212-280-1045 or at the box office weekdays from 11 a.m. – 7 p.m.

Yung-Li Dance will premiere a new collaborative work entitled MODUS at the Baruch Performing Arts Center, 55 Lexington Avenue (entrance on 25th Street between Lexington and Third Avenues) on Saturday at 2 and 8pm and; Sunday at 2pm. Under the direction of Taiwanese dancer/choreographer Yung-Li Chen, the company will present the World Premiere of MODUS.

The work is cross-discipline, the choreographer and dancers scrutinize everyday issues through the most basic language – physical movement.  An ensemble of six dancers will perform MODUS. It has been created by Yung-Li in collaboration with costumer Eighteenth, winner of the Ecco Domani Fashion Foundation Award, set designer Arrows Up, with visual effects by artist Ben Dierckx, lighting designer Yu-Chen Hung, and rising young composer Gilbert Galindo.

Tickets for the Saturday evening & Sunday matinee are $20; $15 for students. For Saturday matinee all tickets are $15. For reservations call 646.312.5073 or visit www.baruch.cuny.edu/bpac/.

 The Essie Green Galleries located at 419A Convent Avenue in the historic Sugar Hill district of Harlem is presently exhibiting artist Barbara Bullock Collage and Acrylic Constructs . The exhibition of runs from May 12 through June 16. Bullock has been described as a “maker of art”. She creates works in the abstract, some of which lie between paintings and sculptures. Her media include painted paper constructions, various acrylic materials, mixed media, and watercolor paper. She creates a personal form of story telling drawn from African American culture and spirit.

As Always thank you for letting me share my world with you.