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Pg. 18 Your Stars

Terence Blanchard storms the Met

After 138 years of non-inclusion, the Metropolitan Opera finally raised the curtain of its 2021-2022 season with “Fire Shut Up in my Bones,” their first opera to be composed by a Black composer, Terence Blanchard. The opera is based on a 2014 memoir by New York Times opinion columnist Charles M. Blow, an intense emotional rollercoaster ride of a young Black boy coming of age in rural north Louisiana, coping with sexual molestation, inner rage, confusion and self-discovery. The opera boasts an all-Black cast with a libretto by the writer, filmmaker/director and actress Kasi Lemmons and conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin.

“I would give language to all the others who had suffered as I had. I would show them what it looked like to survive the pain, betrayal and isolation and come out on the other side,” explained Blow in his NYT column relating to his memoir.

Blanchard’s ”Fire Shut Up in My Bones“ opened while the country is still battling the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic that closed the Met in March 2020. However, this historical cultural moment for Black people and the Met would not be stopped by any pandemic. After opening night, the house remains at capacity (3,800 seats) and Blacks are supporting this opera with vigorous enthusiasm.

Blanchard gives credit to Peter Geib, general manager of the Met, for accepting the challenge of becoming more diversified with mainstage opera presentations. The five-time Grammy award winner didn’t want to be just a token working out of a vacuum. Earlier this year the Met recruited composers Valerie Coleman, Jessie Montgomery and Joel Thompson to its commissioning program. Geib acknowledged the brutal police killing of George Floyd followed by international protest marches, and the impact of the Black Lives Matter movement sparked the institution to respond. Blanchard agrees that many folks see Floyd’s killing as the catalyst that moved such institutions as the Met towards diversity. He also recognizes the fight for equality and inclusion started long before. The early execution of George Stinney Jr., the killing of Emmett Till, assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., the 14th Amendment,

and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, yes, the brush of the civil rights struggle has a very broad stroke and continues. The Met softly touched the surface of inclusion in 1955 when Will Liverman as Charles in Terence Blanchard’s “Fire Shut Up in My Bones” contralto Marian Anderson became the first African American to perform at the opera house. “I’m honored, but I’m not the first qualified person to be here,” said Blanchard. “Scott Joplin, Hale Smith and William Grant Still were very accomplished in in their creative endeavors as composers and they all deserved to have their music played here. They paved the way for me.” The difference in writing a film score (he has scored 40 including 17 of Spike Lee’s films, earning Oscar nominations for 2018’s “BlacKkKlansman” as well as 2020’s “Da 5 Bloods.” Quincy Jones scored 24 films (Ken Howard/Met Opera photos) not counting scores for TV series) explains Walter Russell III as Char’es-Baby in a scene from Terence Blanchard’s “Fire Shut Up in My Bones” Blanchard, is that “I am helping someone else tell their story 90% of the time. In composing an opera, I am telling the story the way I feel it happened from beginning to end.” He is still fine-tuning his skills on composing for voices. “When you write for cello, you write for cello,” he said. “But no baritone is the same; no tenor is the same. And all those voices, where do they bloom in their registers? So being able to control that and manipulate it, that’s been a huge learning curve.” Blanchard’s composing style is based on jazz technique that includes charting the rhythms of the text and a series of chord progressions, from which the melodies emerge.

This may be the first time a jazz quartet and the orchestra share the Met’s pit. Even so, there is no real swinging. Blanchard noted that he didn’t want it to sound like Count Basie’s band but he has effortlessly blended the mix of jazz, blues and gospel in the larger classical pond.

Unlike most contemporary operas in French, Italian or German, this one rests in English, offering a more complete indulgence for the audience. There were definitive scenes where I felt the music tugged at my emotions. When the molestation was about to take place in the bedroom with Char’es-Baby (played by the treble Walter Russell III), one could experience his fear, anxiety and utter anger in not being able to protect himself. As the journey unfolds, we meet an older Charles (played by the baritone Will Liverman) as a student at Grambling State College. During a love scene, he pours out his heart and shares his deeply held secret to Greta (played by Angel Blue) only to be informed she has a boyfriend. He is completely devastated, but Blanchard’s music brings all these emotions to life.

One of the most dynamic music scenes take place in Act III, the Kappa Alpha Psi step show. It is that special night when the pledge period is over and it’s time for the now new brothers to perform on stage. The Kappas are known for their dynamic steps, “Kappa Kane” and “cane walk.” As a former graduate of an HBCU and having attended many Greek nights, the staged Kappa portrayal couldn’t have been more authentic. Camille A. Brown is both the production’s choreographer and one of its codirectors, in partnership with James Robinson. She also choreographed the Met’s 2019 production of “Porgy and Bess” which returns to the Met in late October, and knew that she wanted to include a step dance. “I thought it was especially important here,” she says of her expanded choreography. “We are talking about bringing a step that comes from the rich history of the African diaspora inside the Metropolitan Opera, where, at one point, Black people were not allowed on stage.” With this latest credit she makes some additional “Fire” history as the first Black female director to create a main stage production at the Met.

“I related to a lot of things in the book,” said Blanchard, also a native of Louisiana, like Blow. “I felt his sense of isolation that he was going through in life.” These same feelings are expressed in the composer’s music that pulls your emotional strings like a master puppeteer, as the acting draws you into a deep wrenching story that crosses racial lines and all levels of society.

William Grant Still first performed in 1963, at the Opera Theatre of St. Louis in Missouri. At the same opera theater 50 years later in 2013 Blanchard’s first opera, Champion, premiered, the life of boxer Emile Griffith. “Fire Shut Up in my Bones” premiered there in 2019, and the composer Anthony Davis’ opera “X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X” also premiered there and will receive its Met premiere in 2023. “The Opera Theater of St. Louis is very aggressive when it comes to new works,” stated Blanchard during our phone interview.

Although his father was a parttime opera singer, composing operas was not on his list. “Going to his rehearsals every Wednesday night made a mark on my brain for sure,” said the musician.

The production will travel to the Lyric Opera of Chicago in March and the Los Angeles Opera in a future season.

While opening night is over, Blanchard says the butterflies are still in his stomach although he is sitting in the audience. “I always feel I can make things better but the response from the community is great and I am over the moon about it.” Blanchard tries to attend the performance every night, saying “it’s not every day I get to compose an opera.” I could see his smile through the phone.

(Jonathan Tichler/Met Opera photo)

Chris Kenney and Walter Russell III in the simulcast performance event that took place in Marcus Garvey Park Composer Terence Blanchard taking a curtain call following the performance of his opera “Fire Shut Up in My Bones,” which opened the Metropolitan Opera’s 2021-22 season

By CHARMAINE PATRICIA WARREN

Special to the AmNews

This month continues with myriad dance offerings virtually and in-person. Topping the list is “Crossing The Line Festival” (Oct. 20 - Nov. 6) which spotlights Africa’s cultural renaissance through interdisciplinary artists. Featured will be: “Before the whisper becomes the word,” the roomsized video installation by Igbo-American artist Okwui Okpokwasili, in collaboration with Peter Born; “Nehanda,” the audio work by nora chipaumire, a native of Zimbabwe and central Mozambique; and “On the way, undone” by Okpokwasili and Born. Also on the lineup is singer Somi, plus works by Chirstopher Myers and Kneza Schaal. These performances and events are both virtual and in-person. For more information visit www.fiaf.org

ALSO THIS MONTH:

Oct. 6-19 (Virtual) – Jamar Roberts’ dance film “Holding Space,” focusing on “…confinement, healing and the quest for sustainable pathways towards wholeness,” according to the release, airs on the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s “Ailey All Access” and YouTube channels. For more information visit www.alvinailey.org

Oct. 13-24 (In-Person) – Fall for Dance Festival, the annual festival at New York City Center which brings dance to many for just $35, returns for year 18 with five diverse programs including performances or works by Ayodele Casel Lar Lubovitch, Adrian DanchigWaring and Joseph Gordon, The Verdon Fosse Legacy, Georgina Pazcoguin, Justin Peck, Herman Cornejo, A.I.M by Kyle Abraham, BalletX, Ephrat Asherie Dance, and more. For more information visit www.nycitycenter.org

Oct. 14, 21 & 28 (Virtual & InPerson) – At BAAD!, Kayla Hamilton and mayfield brooks are part of “Dancing Futures” (10/14), the shared evening of works by gender non-conforming, genderqueer, non-binary, womyn, and trans artists of color titled “leave the room,” which will feature works by Marble Jumbo Radio, Nicolás Dumit Estévez Raful Espejo, Jasmine Hearn and Luis Lara Malvacías / 3RD CLASS CITIZEN (10/21), and Rourou Ye’s online exhibition, “May I Dance on Your Screen?” (10/28) closes the month. For more information visit www.baadbronx.org

Oct. 18 & 19 (Virtual) – Gibney’s fall season continues with Kayla Hamilton and Rodney Evans on a film project named “Vision Portraits” with Black, queer and disabled artist in the series “Sorry I Missed Your Show” (10/18) and as part of the “Deeper Lecture” series, interdisciplinary artist and advocate David Thomson delves into questions of care, listening, change, trust and resilience (10/19). For more information visit www.gibneydance.org

Oct. 30 (Virtual) – For Danspace Project’s DraftWork series, Marguerite Hemmings / Kristel Baldoz & Anh Vo will share works in varying stages of development followed by a conversation and Q&A between the artists and DraftWork curator Ishmael Houston-Jones. For more information and RSVP visit www.danspaceproject.org

Okwui Okpokwasili before the whisper becomes the word still

(Erica Spizz photo)

Black choreographer makes history at New York City Ballet

BY ZITA ALLEN

Special to the AmNews

On Sept. 30, the talented young Black female choreographer Sidra Bell made history when her new ballet was one of two world premieres featured on a program showcasing exciting artists from the worlds of dance and fashion at New York City Ballet’s ninth annual Fall 2021 Fashion Gala at Lincoln Center.

As a choreographer, Bell’s work, often performed by her company Sidra Bell Dance New York (SBDNY), has been called fascinating, exuberant, audacious, captivating, genre-busting and at the forefront of innovative contemporary dance. After viewing a SBDNY concert steeped in visually vibrant imagery and innovative no-holdsbarred physicality that wrestles with such poignant, provocative concepts as identity, intimacy and community, one critic described Bell’s work as comprising the “crisp rhythms of street dance, the stark, deep-queer glamour of a fashion catwalk, the enigmatic drama that just does not quit.”

Now, this talented artist whose work sits at the dynamic intersection of ballet, seminal modern techniques and the funky energetic innovation of hip hop, has made a historic leap. With the NYCB debut of her work, which also showcases a collaboration with Louisiana native, Brooklyn-based fashion designer Christopher John Rogers, Bell became the first Black female choreographer to set a work on the NYCB since the company was founded in 1948.

Asked what inspired this historic move, NYCB Associate Artistic Director Wendy Whelan says Bell had been on her radar for quite some time noting Bell’s “love for elements of design within her work. Bodies, lighting, clothing, music. She’s daring and curious and she loves process and play.” In fact, while Whelan was in talks for her own historic position, she says when discussion turned to the design for a season, “I knew then, when I’m choosing new choreographers, one had to be a Black woman. It had never been done and I just knew that this was a voice that needed to be heard, to be given the stage and a platform.” While this was a while ago, it is finally happening in 2021.

Work on the project began, Bell says, in 2019, when Whelan invited her to choreograph for the 2020 Fashion Gala. She immediately went to work pulling together the disparate elements needed to create a distinctive work, choosing dancers, costumes and choreography. Then COVID happened. The 2020 Gala was postponed but, in the meantime, Whelan asked Bell to participate in the NYCB’s 2020 Digital Festival, a natural for a choreographer who has worked with technology before and whose adaptability meshed with the unique challenges of COVID protocols. Bell also worked with another familiar element—music composed by her father, jazz musician Dennis Bell. The result, a delightful cite-specific piece that deepened the collaborative experience with NYCB, a collaborative feeling that seems to have carried over into the work with the company and, of course, designer Christopher John Rogers, making for what Bell calls a “super fun and very joyful process.”

When Bell describes her background, she seems made for this breakthrough moment. “I started out with an entrepreneurial spirit,” she says recounting how even as an undergraduate at Yale University, she had founded the Alliance for Dance at Yale College, offering performance workshops, working in partnership with the school administration to bring the art of dance to the campus while also doing outreach with community organizations. After graduation, she founded the nonprofit SBDNY, focused on doing live performances, educational programming, and teaching in Harlem-based community centers, including the Joseph P. Kennedy Performing Arts Center on 135th Street. Bell attributes the self-starter, innovative, adaptive, spirit that allows her to work “outside the box in different kinds of spaces,” to her training which began at age seven at the Dance Theatre of Harlem where she studied until she was 15 years old. “There is a lineage and a history that I feel a part of. I was always connected to the vision of Arthur Mitchell and the impactfulness of the founding of DTH. It permeated that environment where, as students we were able every day to see an exemplary level of excellence in the women and the men. There were just so many incredible women of color to look up to as a young woman, so I’m very grateful that I was placed in that situation. The history of Arthur Mitchell is just so meaningful.”

Bell uses the phrase “against the odds” and explains what she means by referring to her experience as a woman of color in the traditionally white space of ballet, saying, “For me it’s always been against the odds a little bit although I was always raised to believe that I could do anything. Yet, I guess I know it’s always been against the odds in some ways. I’ve always had this huge vision. I started making work when I was in high school and at that point, I was at the Alvin Ailey School. So I have the vision of these incredible huge Black-lead organizations.” Bell says the Ailey organization and the Dance Theatre of Harlem helped to fortify her sense of the possibilities. She recalls Denise Jefferson, head of the Ailey School who Bell says, “was a mentor and role model for me…I had this inspiration of people that were just doing it and doing it for the love of it.”

Now, as a young choreographer with her own company and a history-making commission for the New York City Ballet’s 2021 Fall Fashion Gala, like her mentors and role models Sidra Bell is doing it and doing it for the love of it while, at the same time, serving as a role model for other young aspiring African American female choreographers.

Sidra Bell (Umi Akiyoshi Photography)