Brody Winners to Perform in Diverse Cultural Program : Arts: Peruvian, Cambodian and African music and dance are featured in downtown celebration.
A hodgepodge of entertainment featuring everything from Croation Kolo dancers to a performance piece about a Roman Catholic priest with AIDS will be presented at the downtown Japanese American Cultural and Community Center on Sunday.
The free event, which will run from noon-5 p.m., is being held as a 75th anniversary celebration for the nonprofit California Community Foundation, which among other activities, administers the Brody Arts Fund Fellowships that are awarded annually to multicultural artists in various disciplines.
Sunday’s performances, to be held both on the indoor stage of the Japan America Theatre and on an outdoor stage in the JACCC Plaza, will feature 20 past Brody recipients performing such diverse works as Peruvian music and dance, traditional Cambodian pin peat music and Persian folk dance. The event’s organizers expect about 5,000 people to attend.
“We wanted to have a celebration, and we thought the best way to celebrate was to celebrate cultural diversity,†said California Community Foundation President Jack Shakely, who noted his foundation will spend about $15,000 on the day’s events. “What we came up with was to have our Brody winners perform.â€
Performances will not be the only feature of Sunday’s festivities, however. In keeping with the CCF’s philanthropic functions--the foundation has an endowment of more than $90 million and manages more than 320 individual funds benefiting diverse concerns--the event will also feature multicultural food booths to raise funds for the homeless. Participating restaurants include Bombay Cafe (Indian), Guardel’s (Argentine), Tamayo’s (Mexican), Orleans (Cajun), Pane Caldo (Italian), Philippe’s The Original (French) and Piacere Espresso (various coffees). Each restaurant will offer food for $1, and proceeds will go toward CCF donations of $1,000 each to 10 Skid Row charities.
Here is a schedule of Sunday’s programs:
In the Japan America Theater:
1 p.m.: Rhapsody in Taps will perform “Milestones,†“Seven Steps to Heaven,†“Dark Eyes†and Finaleâ€; performance artist Michael Kearns will perform an excerpt from his AIDS-related performance piece “more intimaciesâ€; Theatre Workers Project will do an excerpt from the bilingual piece “Fronteras/Borders.â€
2:30 p.m.: Composer Carlos Rodriguez will direct his “Fanfarrias Concertantesâ€; the Afro-American Chamber Music Society orchestra will perform “Concerto for 12,†and “Danse Negreâ€; Koto String Society will perform selections of classical and contemporary Japanese koto and samisen music.
4 p.m.: Performance artist Daniel Kwong will do an excerpt from his multimedia piece, “Secrets of a Samurai Centerfielderâ€; choreographer Young-Ae Park will perform a modern dance piece to traditional Korean music; Cold Tofu will do improvisational comedy; Lula Washington/Los Angeles Contemporary Dance Theater will perform “Games†by black choreographer Donald McKayle.
In the JACCC Plaza:
Noon: Traditional Cambodian music by Yinn Ponn’s Pin Peat Orchestra.
12:40 p.m.: Music and dance numbers by the San Pedro Croation Kolo Dancers.
1 p.m.: Puppetry, magic and mime by Teatro de los Puppets.
1:45 p.m. and 3:50 p.m.: Dance, drum rhythms and Nigerian songs and stories by Rhythms of the Village.
2:10 p.m. and 3:35 p.m.: “Frederick Douglass Now,†a one-man play by actor Roger Guenveur Smith.
2:30 p.m.: Traditional and modern Persian folk dance by Mohammad Khordadian and his troupe, Saba.
2:50 p.m.: A steel drum band and limbo dancer from the Trinidad and Tobago Society for Culture.
4:10 p.m.: Traditional and contemporary rhythms by the Peruvian Music and Dance Ensemble.
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