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DanceAfrica 2022 : Homegrown and live

By ZITA ALLEN

Special to the AmNews

Dancers and musicians of Harambee Dance Company from the Bronx (© 2013 Jack Vartoogian/FrontRowPhotos. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED) BAM Restoration Dance Youth Ensemble (© Richard Termine photo)

DanceAfrica, the nation’s largest annual celebration of African Diasporic dance, music and culture, returns LIVE to the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s Howard Gilman Opera House after having been moved online for the last couple of years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. And, while the celebration’s continued online presence enjoyed a massive international viewership, Artistic Director Abdel R. Salaam says there is nothing like the thrill of seeing this celebration in-person as he announced upcoming performances at BAM on Friday, May 27 at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, May 28 at 2 p.m. & 7 p.m.; Sunday, May 29 at 3 p.m.; Monday, May 30 at 3 p.m..

This year, Salaam says, under the banner DanceAfrica 2022: HOMEGROWN, dancers, drummers, and musicians from five “homegrown companies take the stage with programs featuring their vision of traditional African dances and music forms of Nigeria, Ghana, Guinea, Mali, and the Caribbean, supported by Arkestra Africa.” The impressive line-up includes the Brooklyn-based Asase Yaa African American Dance Theater, which last brought its explosive African dance and drum performances to DanceAfrica in 2017, the Bronx-based Bambara Drum and Dance Ensemble bringing its highoctane performance to the festival for the sixth time, along with Washington, D.C.’s critically acclaimed percussion orchestra and dance ensemble Farafina Kan, which shares the history and spirit of traditional West African drumming and dancing, blended with contemporary music. Rounding out this impressive roster are two other New York City-based companies, Harambe Dance Company, whose movement, modern dance forms, and live percussion reflect the majesty of the African diaspora, and the LaRocque Bey School of Dance, the oldest African dance school in the U.S., which will showcase its dynamic fusion of dance forms. Of course, there will also be performances by DanceAfrica’s Spirit Walkers and the BAM RestorationArt Dance Youth Ensemble, celebrating their 25th anniversary as an integral component of the Festival.

Baba Abdel Salaam’s history with this BAM-hosted, enduring traditional, cultural celebration dates back to Day One in 1977 when Baba Chuck Davis conceived of this iconic celebration of the culture of the African diaspora. Describing the time when DanceAfrica was launched, Salaam recalls a period of tremendous energy and sense of empowerment. In 1977, artists, activists and intellectuals from all over the U.S. and, indeed, the world, descended on the African continent to attend the International Festival of Black and African Arts in Lagos, Nigeria called FESTAC dedicated to honoring their “roots” and repairing the damage done by the transatlantic slave trade. “That year,” Salaam says, “the Chuck Davis Dance Company was among those artists who came together to celebrate the gifts of dance, music, theater, poetry, and more our people have given to the world. It was a time of self-empowerment and a moment of exaltation.”

It was also an effort to unify African people along the diaspora in a way that had not been done before and in that spirit, when the Chuck Davis company returned, Davis and his then-manager the late Bess Pruitt approached BAM Director Harvey Lichtenstein with a suggestion. BAM had successfully presented the Chuck Davis Dance Company, now Davis suggested BAM present a group of his “brother and sister companies that do the same thing we do but do it in a different way” under an umbrella to be called DanceAfrica. Lichtenstein agreed and, Salaam says, in 1978 you have the first time that BAM worked with Davis to lift up the spirit of the African Americans’ celebration of African dance, music and rhythm.

Clearly it was an idea whose time had come as 1977 was also the year that the blockbuster TV series “Roots,” highlighting African American writer Alex Haley’s iconic journey in search of his own African heritage, struck a chord with millions. Salaam says, “So, you’ve got FESTAC, you’ve got “Roots” and also, that same year the Chuck Davis Dance Company appeared on a Richard Pryor NBC-TV special making it the first presentation of an African dance company on a major television network.” It was a perfect era in which to launch DanceAfrica’s first program featuring five African dance companies—the Charles Moore company, Arthur Hall from Philadelphia, Nana Dinizulu African Dancers and Drummers, the International AfrikanAmerican Dance Company, along with Davis’ own. Needless to say DanceAfrica was a tremendous success then and continues to be so 45 years later. While those initial years featured homegrown African dance companies, it wasn’t long before the roster included dynamic presentations by companies from the entire diaspora.

“Now,” Salaam says, “45 years later the DanceAfrica Festival’s appeal has become an exalted presentation of companies from around the world. More than 90 dance troupes from more than 15 nations have participated in this annual showcase, including companies from Ivory Coast, Congo, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Zaire, Benin, Uganda, Ghana, Cuba, Haiti, Jamaica, Peru, Zambia, Madagascar, Senegal, and the U.S. This year, after talking with many in our community, we decided it was time to take us back to the roots of DanceAfrica and the realization that we were a people united via a vast African diaspora and this is how African Americans celebrate and honor that, which is why we’re calling this year’s Festival, DanceAfrica 2022: HOMEGROWN.”

Of course, as many Festival devotees know, in addition to the thrilling performances, DanceAfrica includes a popular outdoor Bazaar with over 150 vendors offering crafts, food, and fashion, a film series at BAM Rose Cinemas, dance classes and panel discussions, including a Choreographer’s Conversation, and a dance party with live music, at BAMcafe. Salaam says that while the pandemic changed the nature of the Festival for a minute as it pivoted in 2020 to its first online DanceAfrica celebration attracting a record-breaking audience from some 23 countries, it’s good to be back live and in-person.

DanceAfrica Spirit Walkers (Tony Turner photo)

Abdel R. Salaam during DanceAfrica 2019 (Julieta Cervantes photo)

By MARGRIRA

Special to the AmNews

“Downton Abbey: A New Era” (Courtesy photos)

There is something oddly soothing about dropping into Julian Fellowes’ period world of Downton Abbey, and in their new adventure the modern world arrives and there’s nothing they can do to stop it.

“Downton Abbey: A New Era” is the second film version of the popular series.

The new era is circa 1930s England, and everyone at Downton seems happy. We attend the wedding of once-chauffeur, widowed Tom Branson (Allen Leech) and Lucy Smith (Tuppence Middleton) which makes you smile.

In the first film after the royal visit, all of the storylines were neatly wrapped up, so the move to take the characters and story to the South of France was inspired. And what would make them journey to the South of France? An unexpected inheritance given to Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham (Dame Maggie Smith).

And in England, Hollywood comes to Downton with the arrival of the British Lion studio, director Jack Barber (Hugh Dancy), and movie star Myrna Dalgleish (Laura Haddock). Most of the families are excited by the concept of having a movie filmed in their homes and receiving the money, and it’s a big step but they are determined to enter the 1930s with their heads held high.

It’s interesting to see the history of films being played out in this film, examining the awkwardness of movies moving from silent films to talkies, and the discussion of whose face can sell movie tickets but whose vocal talents might not. Myrna Dalgleish is the actress in question and when she enters a room, she brings the muchneeded laughter. And it’s fun watching how talkies were made using real-time foley and voice-over work performed live.

Naturally, moving forward in time has never been something the Dowager Countess (Dame Maggie Smith) has embraced, and having the future in her space drives her to distraction.

In “Downton Abbey: A New Era” we see the rise of Lady Mary Talbot (Michelle Dockery) who will be running Downton. The feud between her and her sister Lady Edith (Laura Carmichael) seems to have stopped, and Mary’s husband is absent (again) but motherhood seems to agree with her.

But what makes “Downton Abbey: A New Era” interesting (and enjoyable) is how it paints pure fantasy. There is very little passion in this film. It’s frustrating how we don’t get to see the gay butler Thomas Barrow (Robert James-Collier) and film star Guy Dexter (Dominic West) move into something more interesting. But if you are a fan of the series then this film “Downton Abbey: A New Era” is a strong closing of the chapter of these beloved characters.

Austin Elle Fisher, Titus Landegger, Analise Scarpaci, Jenn Gambatese and Rob McClure in “Mrs. Doubtfire” (Joan Marcus photo)

By LINDA ARMSTRONG Special to the AmNews

It is always amazing to me to see non-traditional casting alive and well on Broadway, and that is what is happening currently in the Broadway musical “Mrs. Doubtfire,” playing at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre at 124 W. 43rd Street, only through May 29. Yes, 9-year-old, New Jersey native actress Austin Elle Fisher plays little Natalie Hillard in the musical comedy. Although the rest of the marvelous cast of family members—Rob McClure (Daniel Hillard), Jenn Gambatese (Miranda Hillard), Analise Scarpaci (Lydia Hillard) and Titus Landegger (Christopher Hillard)—are white, Fisher completely just fits in. When she is on the stage you don’t see color, you just see the energy, spirit and charm of a delightful, engaging young actress.

Fisher recently sat down to speak with the AmNews about what it’s like to be in “Mrs. Doubtfire.”

“It’s honestly really fun because everyone can connect. It feels like we are a real family,” Fisher exclaimed. Explaining how she got considered for the role and what followed, this engaging child said, “When I got the audition, I got it because the original cast Natalie and Christopher had gotten too old to do the show. For the first two days of rehearsal, I could not make it, I was in Long Island filming something else. I made it Wednesday, so I had a private session and went over things. Then the other kids came in and we did it all together, we learned staging and how to say things, the secret is just practice, practice, practice.”

Watching Fisher on stage, she looks like she is having so much fun. And while she admits that that is what is happening, she shared, “But it can be intense, because you have to do things at certain times. It is scripted and you have to do things certain ways and at times, but you can still say it in a different way with a different emotion.”

Talking about her training to get to where she is at her young age, Fisher said, “Training—I started at the Prep in New Jersey last year. I take acting and vocal lessons. I want to be an actress, because I like the way that even though it’s scripted, you can feel different emotions and express yourself in different ways. When I was 4 or 5 I was acting, but I didn’t get anything super big. I was doing background work. I didn’t have an agent. My mom asked me if I wanted to do this. I said yes and I got a manager and an agent. This made me so, this is what I like to do and I’m going to keep doing it for a while.” Kristi Fisher, Austin’s mother, was also on hand and spoke of what she saw in her child. “She started dancing at the age of 2 and was competing at age 3 and I could see a joy even at that young age. She was just up there shining and enjoying it. We talked about it and I wanted to make sure it was something she really wanted to do. I’m checking all the time to ask if she wants to do it. I want her to love it and she does. I can see the pure joy on her face in ‘Mrs. Doubtfire.’ I love it. I tell her it’s a Black joy.”

Looking at Fisher’s plans after this production, her mother shared, “She’s working on a small part in a series for a major screening service. The show is closing abruptly, so she gets a break. Then we’ll see. I try to find a balance between her performing life and still her being a regular 9-year-old kid.”

Before the show closes on May 29, Fisher hopes people come out: “It’s really funny. If you see it and you’re feeling sad it will always be that type of show that can cheer you up,” Fisher proclaimed.

For more info, visit www. mrsdoubtfirebroadway.com