2019–20 ESSENTIAL SERIES
Rennie Harris Funkedified OCT 29 | BASS CONCERT HALL
Rahim AlHaj Letters from Iraq NOV 8 | MCCULLOUGH THEATRE
TEXAS PERFORMING ARTS
In this issue
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Rennie Harris Funkedified
“The Basquiat of the US contemporary dance scene, Rennie Harris has literally embodied the history of hip-hop dance.” —London Times
5 The Essential Series 12 Student Spotlight 46 Scenic 53 54
Transformation Student Tickets Word Search
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John Cameron Mitchell Rocks Boston A review of The Origin of Love: The Songs & Stories of Hedwig
8 Photo by Julieta Cervantes for The New York Times
I Use A Wheelchair and I’m Still Happily Dancing
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Rahim AlHaj Letters from Iraq “[Letters From Iraq] is quite elegant and strikingly beautiful at times, built as it is on a series of instrumental tone poems. But the true stories behind these compositions are chilling.” —Paste
AXIS Dance Artistic Director Marc Brew shares his perspective as a dancer and choreographer with this unique dance company. texasperformingarts.org
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Welcome to Texas Performing Arts! We’re so glad you’re here! We are proud to present Austin’s most diverse and prestigious live performance experience. In addition to hosting our Essential Series, Texas Performing Arts is home to concerts, comedy shows, and Broadway In Austin. Every year, we are proud to work with artists from all over the world to share the performing arts experience with guests of all ages and all backgrounds. Please speak to the nearest usher or visit Guest Services should you need assistance. Thank you for joining us for this performance. Have a wonderful evening!
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2019-20 ESSENTIAL SERIES SEASON
The Essential Series celebrates the power of the performing arts!
MOMIX Viva Momix | APR 3; Photo by Aqua Flora
Texas Performing Arts continues a long tradition of presenting world-class performances to The University of Texas at Austin and the Central Texas community with our Essential Series season. We invite you to experience an eclectic season of dance, music, theatre, and film.
The Essential Series
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2019–20 Essential Series Artist: John Cameron Mitchell
Review:
John Cameron Mitchell Rocks Boston Charlotte Robinson Outtake Blog, March 3, 2019 Photo by Michael Muser
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ohn Cameron Mitchell brought his Origin Of Love Tour to the Boch Center Shubert Theatre in Boston on March 2nd and the audience went wild as the Tony Award-winning, Golden Globe-nominated co-creator of Hedwig & the Angry Inch threw himself into a mosh pit of adoring fans. For two hours, Mitchell presented this must-see concert with his rock trio from the Broadway show and the spectacular cabaret singer Amber Martin. Among the 31 songs performed were Hedwig originals and songs from his upcoming musical podcast
Anthem starring himself, Glenn Close, Patti Lupone, Cynthia Erivo, Denis O'Hare, Laurie Anderson and Marion Cotillard. When asked about Hedwig becoming a queer icon, Mitchell stated, “For a character with such an usual story, I am really gratified that Hedwig resonates for different reasons with people. Our audience isn’t just queer, it’s not just musical people, it really runs the gamut of age, race, sexuality, gender. I love the audience that we’ve built person-by-person. My work doesn’t really fit into a genre.”
Texas Performing Arts presents John Cameron Mitchell The Origin of Love: The Songs and Stories of Hedwig as part of the 2019–20 Essential Series Feb 7, 2020 | Bass Concert Hall texasperformingarts.org 6
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2019–20 Essential Series Artist: AXIS Dance Company
I use a wheelchair and I’m still happily dancing Marc Brew, AXIS Dance Artistic Director Miami Herald, Sept 2018
Photo by David DeSilva
Although I use a wheelchair, dance is an essential part of who I am. I communicate and express myself through movement to tell stories about being human, about who we are.
I have always felt a need to dance and create work for dancers and that need has taken me all over the world. Yes, it’s a unique dance company of disabled and non-disabled dancers, but it’s an example that disabled people have unique stories to tell and a different perspective on the world because they have lived experiences and challenges. This influences our creative process, the how and why we make our work. It’s honest, it’s real, it’s diverse, it’s not pretending, and people relate to the work on a human level. Having grown up in Jerilderie, a small country town in New South Wales, Australia with a population of 900 people, there were limited opportunities for the only boy in the village who wanted to dance. My supportive single parent mother put me into dance class, but I was teased and bullied by a majority of the village kids and adults as I was different, and wasn’t
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interested in playing sports like football and cricket. Leaving home at age 11 to go to boarding school I first studied as a professional dancer with the Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School, and the Australian Ballet School and performing with The Australian Ballet in Melbourne and the State Theatre Ballet Company of South Africa. But then my life and the direction of my career changed and deepened in a sudden turn of events — a car accident left me with a serious spinal cord injury. I was told that I would never walk again and was paralyzed from the chest down. Giving up was not for me. I pushed myself through extensive rehabilitation, having been used to injury as a dancer, taking this on as a challenge. My changed circumstances forced me to develop a new philosophy and aesthetics for dance. Although I couldn’t walk, stand, leap, or even point my feet anymore, I still felt I was a dancer. Although my body had changed, the dancer was still within me. It was then when I realized I had to alter my own perception of what a dancer was, and what it meant for me to dance. I could still express myself though movement, share my artistry through dance, I just had to find other ways to explore my physicality and what I could do. I started to look at finding solutions, rather than focus on the problems, and to use the idea of restriction to create new and interesting possibilities for movement. This included how I could move with my changed form, how I used my wheelchair, and also getting out of the chair on the floor, or being partnered and dancing with others. My career has amazingly texasperformingarts.org
flourished in a new direction since the accident. I spent time in New York studying with Kitty Lunn and dancing with her company Infinity Dance Theater and I was invited to join the London-based Candoco Dance Company, one of the world’s top contemporary companies that includes disabled and non-disabled dancers. After six years with Candoco, I dedicated time to my own choreography with Marc Brew Company and working with numerous ballet and contemporary dance companies around the world. Since then, I have become the artistic director in AXIS Dance Company in Oakland, California, a leader in physically integrated dance in the U.S. People with disabilities are
“Disabled people have unique stories to tell because they have lived experiences and challenges.” often shunted aside by the societies in which we live — ignored, discriminated against, or barely tolerated. Today though many of us have forged new movements, new ways of living, finding in our commonalities and our differences a strength that begins to change the world. That has been my experience, and in my work as a dancer and a choreographer, I have tried to express the best of who I am, of who we are, and find the beauty in the challenges we face.
Texas Performing Arts presents AXIS Dance Company as part of the 2019–20 Essential Series Feb 15, 2020 | Bass Concert Hall texasperformingarts.org
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Ragmala Dance Company Lecture & Demonstration
Photo by Lawrence Peart
Texas Performing Arts in the Community
Each season, Texas Performing Arts offers free community events to connect UT faculty, students of all ages, touring artists, and the greater Central Texas community with our performances. Some of these events include: • Artist-led master classes • Pre and post-performance talks • Lunch-time chats with touring artists • Daytime performances for youth grades 6-12 Join us for these fun events!
Visit texasperformingarts.org/getinvolved for more information. 10
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Student Spotlight At Texas Performing Arts, we are able to professionally involve students in every aspect of our organization. Having the opportunity to show, connect, and inspire our students to be the next generation of arts leaders is one of the most important things we do.
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PROFILE NAME YEAR JOB MAJOR CONCENTRATION
Julio Muñoz Class of 2021 Scene Shop Assistant/ Receptionist/ Student Engagement Events Manager Theatre and Dance Stage Management
e met with Julio Muñoz to chat about the stage, the performing arts, and his time as a valued student employee. THEATRE AND DANCE SEEMS LIKE SUCH A DYNAMIC MAJOR, WHAT DO YOU FIND MAKES YOUR PROGRAM SPECIAL?
My degree program provides real-world experience in stage management as plenty of shows in the Department of Theatre and Dance require a stage manager. Additionally, people outside of the department ask for stage managers which gives us opportunities to meet massive amounts of people all around the area. 12
BEING A STAGE MANAGER SOUNDS PRETTY INTENSE. WHAT IS THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE YOU FACE ON THE JOB?
The biggest challenge stage managers face behind the scenes, based on my previous experience, is the uncertainty of what might happen on the stage with the performers. Stage managers have control of calling the cues for lighting, sound, scenery change, projections—but we're usually uncertain about the performers. The possibility of them
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forgetting a line, skipping a whole section of the script, skipping a section of a dance that would serve as a visual or audio cue for a stage manager can be heart-stopping. Nevertheless, it is the responsibility as a stage manager to think quickly on their feet and find a solution for whatever may happen.
IT SEEMS THAT YOU ARE VERY INVOLVED WITH THE ARTS. WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO BECOME SO INVOLVED WITH THE PERFORMING ARTS COMMUNITY?
I'm inspired by the live productions and by listening to the crowd react after spending so much time bringing the production to life.
YOU’RE ALSO A SCENE SHOP ASSISTANT HERE AT TPA. ANY FAVORITE PROJECTS YOU’VE WORKED ON?
My favorite show that I have worked on is an opera called Eugene Onegin. The scenic designer had an outstanding vision for the set, which called for the floor and walls to look like wood with pieces of paper attached almost everywhere. In the center of the stage, there was a giant spiral with papers hanging off of it, which would spin during parts of the opera. I enjoyed every step of creating the set with the shop team.
TEXAS INNER CIRCLE Take your Texas Performing Arts experience to the next level by becoming a member of the Texas Inner Circle. Your membership supports our educational programs, the student employment program, and $10 tickets to students throughout Central Texas. Memberships start at just $150 for the year and, depending on contribution level, may include: • Free Parking • Behind-the-Scenes Tours • Access to our members-only Texas Inner Circle Lounge with pre-ordered drink service and express elevator To Join Call 512.232.8567 or visit texasperformingarts.org
“My experience at TPA gives me the opportunity to be involved in a dynamic business that constantly has something new to offer. I’m always learning.” —Julio Muñoz texasperformingarts.org
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Oct 29, 2019
Bass Concert Hall
Rennie Harris
Presented in partnership with Department of Theatre and Dance and KAZI-FM 14 texasperformingarts.org
Photo by Brian Mengini
Funkedified
Directed, Choreographed, Written, and Conceived Lorenzo "Rennie" Harris Lighting Design Bob Steineck Musical Composer Darrin M. Ross Sound Design, Musical Direction, and Production Darrin M. Ross Projections & Visual Design Jorge Cousineau Rennie Harris Puremovement Emily Pietruszka Katia Cruz Phillip Cuttino Jr. Tatianna Desardouin Joshua Culbreath Leigh Foaad Mai Le` Ho Uko Tanaka Shafeek Westbrook
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The Hood Lockers Ricky “Glytch” Evans Joshua “J Peazy” Polk Andrew “Riot” Ramsey Marcus Tucker Musical Directors Doron Lev & Matt Dickey Rennie Harris Funkedified Band Doron Lev, drums Matt Dickey, guitar Nicholas Marks, keyboard Osei Kweku, bass Samir Zarif, saxophone Shareef Clayton, trumpet
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ABOUT FUNKEDIFIED
PROGRAM
Inspired by the political turmoil and atmosphere of the 1970’s and set against a video landscape of African-American communities of the era, Rennie Harris Funkedified celebrates the funk music and street dance of Harris’s youth.
HADIKA
Funkedified features three power ensembles: Rennie Harris Puremovement Street Dance Theater; The Funkedified Band, who bring original music and pay homage to such funk legends as James Brown, Roger Troutman, George Clinton, and The Hood Lockers, a contemporary Lock Dance company based in Philadelphia, who trace their lineage to Don Campbell and the Lock Dancers, known for their memorable performances in the 1970’s, including regular appearances on the syndicated television show, Soul Train. Long considered the pioneer of “Street Dance” Theater, Rennie Harris takes us on a journey through the tumultuous times that gave birth to funk music and culture, and ultimately to hip-hop.
Music Original Composition by Rennie Harris Funkedified Band Musicians Doron Lev, drums Matt Dickey, guitar Nicholas Marks, keyboard Osei Kweku, bass Samir Zarif, saxophone Shareef Clayton, trumpet Dancers The Hood Lockers, Emily Pietruszka Phillip Cuttino, Joshua Culbreath, Katia Cruz, Leigh Foaad, MaiLe Ho, Tatiana Desardouin, Yuko Tanaka, and Shafeek Westbrook —
SOUL MAGGOT
Music "Maggot Brain" (solo) written by Eddie Hazel & George Clinton; interpolation by Matt Dickey Musician Matthew Dickey Dancer Leigh “Breeze-Lee” Foaad
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RENNIE HARRIS FUNKEDIFIED BAND SELECTION (interpolation) Musicians Doron Lev, Matthew Dickey, Nicholas Marks, Osei Kweku, Samir Zarif, Shareef Clayton —
110TH STREET BROTHERS
Music "Across 110th Street" by Bobby Womack & I’m A Good Man by Martin Soveig, interpolation by RHF Band Musicians Doron Lev, drums Matt Dickey, guitar Nicholas Marks, keyboard Osei Kweku, bass Samir Zarif, saxophone Shareef Clayton, trumpet Dancers Emily Pietruszka, Phillip Cuttino, Joshua Culbreath, Katia Cruz, Leigh Foaad, MaiLe Ho, Tatiana Desardouin, Yuko Tanaka, and Shafeek Westbrook —
SUPA JOSH & CRAZY SAX
Music Original Composition by FKAjazz
Photo by Lisa Marie Mazzucco
Musician FKAjazz Dancer Joshua “Supa-Josh” Culbreath
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AMBIENT LOCK
Music Rennie Harris Funkedified Band Musicians Doron Lev, drums Matt Dickey, guitar Nicholas Marks, keyboard Osei Kweku, bass Samir Zarif, saxophone Shareef Clayton, trumpet Dancers The Hood Lockers, Andrew Ramsey, Joshua Polk, Marcus Tucker, Richard Evans —
YES I CAN
Music "Can You Get it" by Mandrill, interpolation by Rennie Harris Funkedified Band Musicians Doron Lev, drums Matt Dickey, guitar Nicholas Marks, keyboard Osei Kweku, bass Samir Zarif, saxophone Shareef Clayton, trumpet Dancers The Hood Lockers, Phillip Cuttino, Joshua Culbreath, Emily Pietruszka, Katia Cruz, Leigh Foaad, MaiLe Ho, Tatiana Desardouin, Yuko Tanaka, and Shafeek Westbrook
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WHO’S WHO & WHAT’S WHAT CHOREOGRAPHER, FOUNDER, & DIRECTOR OF RENNIE HARRIS PUREMOVEMENT (RHPM) Lorenzo “Rennie” Harris has brought these social dances to the concert stage. “Harris is the most profound choreographer of his idiom” (The New York Times) and is considered the pioneer of street dance theater. At the turn of the century, alongside Princess Grace Kelly and Dr. Julius Erving, Harris was voted one of the most influential people in the last 100 years of Philadelphia history. He’s been compared to twentiethcentury dance legends Alvin Ailey and Bob Fosse. Harris has been awarded three Bessie awards, three Alvin Ailey Black Choreographers awards, the Herb Alpert Award in Choreography, a Governors Artist Award, and a USA Artist Award. He was also nominated for a Lawrence Olivier Award (UK) and was voted as one of Philadelphia’s Creative Ambassadors in 2010. He has received honorary doctorate degreees from Bates College (Lewiston, Maine) and an honorary doctorate degree from Columbia College (Chicago). Thought to be “the Basquiat of the US. Contemporary dance scene (London Times),” Harris has embodied the history of hip-hop dance and has pioneered a new genre of hiphop: street dance theater. Rennie Harris Puremovement served as one of four ambassadors for the US as part of President Obama’s cultural exchange
program DanceMotion USA, which was led by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Harris is hip-hop’s leading ambassador. RENNIE HARRIS PUREMOVEMENT Leigh Foaad (Artistic Director, Choreographer and Dancer) Foaad, also known as “BreezeLee,” has been exposed to dance since birth. His dance experience ranges from a wide variety of styles including classical ballet to hip-hop. He has been training and working professionally as a principle dancer for Rennie Harris Puremovement since 2005. In March 2012, Foaad was selected as a Cultural Ambassador for The Obama Administration, BAM, and DanceMotion USA. It was one of his proudest moments. Foaad was a principle dancer and educator in the Middle East; Egypt, Israel, and Palestine. Foaad has also toured as the first and only featured hip-hop dancer, nationally, and internationally with John Tesh. He choreographed and was featured in the national television special ALIVE Music & Dance (PBS). In 2002, he found popping and has since competed in some of the most prestigious competitions worldwide. Some of his biggest victories include Popping Champion for the international dance event The Week (Italy), Bust a Move (Canada), two-time Champion for Battle of the Belts (Los Angeles), International Champion for Freestyle Session, International Champion for 7 to Smoke (Israel) and North American
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Champion for R-16 Qualifier, which led Foaad to represent USA at the Finals in South Korea. In addition, Foaad is the Co-Founder, Co-Artistic Director & Choreographer of Versa-Style Dance Company and Versa-Style Next Generation. As a leader and member of Versa-Style Dance Company, he is determined to express and share the knowledge and importance of hip-hop culture while providing high-intensity movement for all artists around him. Most recently, he completed a three-week, five-city tour with the dance company to Alaska, where he had the opportunity to teach Master classes and also perform Versa-Style’s latest production Box of Hope. Currently, Foaad is an Adjunct Lecturer at the University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA) Department of World Arts and Cultures teaching hip-hop dance. He is also the hip-hop instructor of the UCLA Summer Dance/Performing Arts Intensive for high school students. Foaad takes pride in teaching the history and culture of hiphop and currently teaches all over Los Angeles. Emily Pietruszka is a Colorado native currently residing in New York City. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Pietruszka began her street-style training as a core member of Rennie Harris Grassroots Project in Denver, Colorado in 2015. She has been teaching in various contexts since graduation, ranging from the
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Front Range Community College of Thornton, Colorado to assistant teaching at the Ailey School in New York City. Pietruszka is honored to have the opportunity to perform with RHPM, and is excited to continue on her journey of taking risks as a movement artist and forever student. Joshua Culbreath was born and raised in Philadelphia, where he started dancing at the age of ten. During his middle school years, Culbreath joined a dance group called KRS ENT. The group won many talent shows and went on to perform on the TV show Showtime at the Apollo in New York City. While dancing with KRS ENT, Culbreath met and began to train with B-Boy Hannibal, owner and artist director of 360 Flava. He is currently a core member of Rennie Harris Puremovement. Katia Cruz was born in 1992 in Camden, New Jersey and raised in Pennsauken, New Jersey, where she currently resides. Cruz started dancing salsa at the age of nine with Barbara Capaldi at the Atrium Dance Studio. Two years later, she started training in hip-hop dance with Marcus Tucker, the co-founder of Face Da Phlave Entertainment, and India Hyman, also of Face Da Phlave. Cruz is a leading member and choreographer of In Da Clutch Entertainment, owned by Kennith Thomas. She is co-director of children’s hip-hop program In Da Clutch Junior Division. She has been dancing with RHPM since 2012.
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Phillip Cuttino Jr. is a Philadelphia native hip-hopper, instilled with the art of graffiti, breakin’, DJ-ing, and rapping. His first performance was at the age of four with his father, a prominent MC and B-Boy in the Philadelphia hip-hop scene. Cuttino started in a crew called the X-Men doing local talent shows and learned from some of the Philadelphia greats. He has toured throughout the United States and internationally. Mai Le` Ho was born in France. Ho is a dancer, art educator, and curator who moved to Brooklyn in 2009. As a dancer in RHPM, Passion Fruit Dance Company, and Theo Parrish Live Band, Ho has performed and taught in Japan, Vietnam, Brazil, Democratic Republic of Congo, Canada, across Europe, and in the US. She produces a monthly jam session of musicians and street dancers called LayeRhythm, and is the director of the program It’s Showtime NYC!, which provides performance and professional development opportunities to street and subway dancers. Tatianna Desardouin: Originally from Switzerland, Desardouin has won many notorious street dance competitions such as Juste Debout (France), Just for Laughs (Canada), and Clash in Session (Denmark). She has taught and judged international competitions such as Pura Calle Festival (Peru), Who’s That Lady (Italy), Urban Steady Groove (France), Reprezent Yourself (Switzerland), Flavourama (Austria), and Ladies of Hip-Hop (New York), all across Europe.
She is also the co-founder of the first hip-hop company in Switzerland Continuum, co-founder of the hip-hop dance school in Geneva, Le Centre Hip-Hop, member of JAIA non-profit who promotes the hip-hop culture in Switzerland (battles, sessions, dance camps & parties) and founder of the hip-hop theater dance company Passion Fruit Dance Company. She is also part of RHPM and teaches hip-hop and house dance at EXPG NYC. tatiana.desardouin@gmail.com facebook.com/tatiana.desardouin Shafeek Westbrook: A native son of north Philadelphia, Westbrook knew he wanted to dance at the age of 6 years old. He studied tap dance at the Philadelphia Dance Company. After winning various competitions, he was dubbed Mighty Mouse. Soon, he would find himself studying under the tutelage of Brian “Hannibal” Newby Founder/Director of 360/Flavor Crew in 2005. In the summer of 2009, he began training and performing with dance training company Rennie Harris Awe-Inspiring Works (RHAW), and also serves as an apprentice. Uko Tanaka was born in Japan, moved to New York to search for the roots of hip-hop culture, and was trained by legendary hip-hop dancer/choreographer/ instructor Buddha Stretch of Elite Force Crew. Tanaka is wellrounded in street dance.
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The Hood Lockers Richard Evans, Joshua Polk, Andrew Ramsey, and Marcus Tucker are some of the best hip-hop dancers from South Jersey who have joined forces to create and perform original contemporary street dance. The company’s work is an electric mix of foundational styles of hiphop dance culture. Collectively, they create and display a unique yet traditional approach to the locking dance style, which they characterize this understanding as “hood.” Appearances include Randy Jackson presents America’s Best Dance Crew, Step Up 3-D, So You Think You Can Dance, and many more. RENNIE HARRIS FUNKEDIFIED BAND Osei Kweku (Bass) is a Los Angeles-born bassist and rapper residing in Brooklyn, New York. At 24 years old, he has made a successful career playing regularly around New York City with various bands and projects, playing in other countries as well as recording his own material. Nicholas Marks (Keyboard) crosses boundaries between funk, neo-soul, hip-hop, chamber, and symphonic music. As an Australian pianist, composer, and producer, Marks’ musical vernacular seeks to push the preconceived idea of possibilities. His prolific output has been featured across multiple platforms including film, television, instrumental groups, chamber ensembles, theater, commercials, and songwriting. Marks has
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written for, performed with, and collaborated with acclaimed Australian and international artists. He has also served as musical director, arranger, and orchestrator on numerous projects. mattdickeymusic.com Samir Zarif (Saxophone) is originally from Houston, Texas. Zarif moved to New York after living in New Orleans, where he built the foundation of his artistry as a jazz saxophonist studying and performing with such notable figures as Terence Blanchard, Aaron Neville, and Jason Marsalis. After moving to New York, Zarif has been a part of numerous projects, touring the globe, and recently was nominated for a Grammy with Miguel Zenon for the album Identities Are Changeable. Alongside his achievements in jazz music, Zarif has also become a figure in electronic music, hip-hop, and R&B as a music producer, DJ, and saxophonist. “Under the bold, fresh artistic identity FKAjazz (formerly known as...), New York City-based saxophonist/DJ Zarif lays the dynamic groundwork for the possibilities of what jazz is for his generation and provides a vision for what the cherished American art form can be moving forward.” Jonathan Widran, Jazziz Magazine Shareef Clayton (Trumpet) is a jazz trumpeter and a native of Miami, Florida. He recorded the album Multiverse with the Bobby Sanabria Big Band which was nominated
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for a Grammy. Clayton performs regularly with Thomas Rhett, Melody Gardot, Bobby Sanabria, and the Duke Ellington Orchestra. In the past, he has performed with artists such as Stevie Wonder, Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis, The Roots, Macy Gray, Michael Mcdonald, Ruben Blades, and many more. CREATIVE TEAM Doron Lev (Musical Director) is a uniquely talented percussionist, drummer, multi-instrumentalist, educator, emcee, and vocalist. He is Miami born and Brooklyn based. Lev has been featured as a performer in The Radio City Music Hall Spring Spectacular, Invincible: A Glorious Tribute to Michael Jackson, King Michael, Impossible Izz Possible, Same Spirit Different Movement (Illstyle & Peace Productions), Legends of Hip-Hop (Jam-On Productions), Break The Urban Funk Spectacular, and many more. In 2015, Lev released the album Uglybraine to critical acclaim and has since toured Europe and the US. He was also featured as the headliner for the 2015 Breakthrough International Dance Festival in Zurich, Switzerland. Currently, Lev is recording and touring with Uglybraine, Evil Giraffes on Mars, Soul Inscribed, and is featured on the recent album release Cartography by Matt Dickey. Lev continues his educational outreach as a teaching artist with American Composers Orchestra. Matt Dickey (Musical Director) is a New York City-based guitarist, engineer, producer, composer, arranger, copyist, programmer,
and music technologist. His background as an instrumentalist lies in jazz, funk, R&B, soul, groove, rock, pop, reggae, world, hip-hop, singer/songwriter, and electronic/ experimental music. As an engineer and producer, he works with a broader range of artists and sounds. mattdickeymusic.com Darrin Ross (Composer, Director, Sound Design, Musical Direction, Production) has been collaborating with Rennie Harris for more than 32 years. Ross started by producing and engineering songs with Jam on Productions in 1984. This led to various television and record productions which eventually included owning his own record label, IQ Records. He has recently completed the score and sound design for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s Beyond the Steps (PBS), ballets Love Stories and Reminiscin’, along with sound design and composition for Suzan Lori Parks TopDog/Underdog. Ross is the recipient of a 2001 New York Dance & Performance Award (Bessie) for his music composition and soundscape for Rome and Jewels. Ross has established and worked with many artists in the industry such as Jazzy Jeff, Newcleus, Doug E. Fresh, Freeway, King Britt, Kim Waters, The Roots, Bahamadia, and many more. His sound design and composition credits include Rennie Harris Funkedified, Lifted, Heaven, Facing Mekka, Rome and Jewels, LOW, Prince ScareKrow’s Road to the Emerald City, The Kimmel Center Presents, Philadanco: The Philadelphia Experiment, Same Spirit Different Movement,
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CELEBRATE TEXAS
Photo by TK
PURCHASE TICKETS FOR ALL TEXAS ATHLETICS EVENTS
BUY NOW AT TEXASSPORTS.COM/TICKETS OR 512-471-3333 texasperformingarts.org
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Impossible Izzpossible, Evolution, Champions of the Dance, BREAK! The Urban Funk Spectacular, King Michael, Fallen Crumbs from the Cake, Cool Heat Urban Beat, BREAK! and Skate, The Pennsylvania Ballet, The Memphis Ballet, The Colorado Ballet, Hot Mouth, Love American Style, Maurice Hines’ Hot Feet, The Kennedy Center Honors, Carols in Color, We Dance to Inspire, and numerous dance theater pieces. Ross is currently touring his production Invincible: A Glorious Tribute to Michael Jackson. Ross is the president of RossLive Entertainment. Jorge Cousineau (Projections & Visual Design) is a designer of sets, lights, sound, and projections for dance and theater productions. Over the last twenty years his designs have been seen and heard internationally, regionally, and all over Philadelphia. Together with his wife Niki Cousineau and Scott McPheeters he co-directs their company Subcircle. Jorge is a recipient of two Independence Foundation Fellowship grants, a Lucille Lortel Award in New York City, and several Philadelphia Barrymore Awards. He was awarded the F. Otto Haas Award for Emerging Theater Artist and is a recipient of the Pew Fellowship in the Arts. Bob Steineck (Lighting Designer/ Production Manager) is currently the resident lighting designer for Texture Contemporary Ballet, Pittsburgh Playwright’s Theatre, Mercyhurst University Dance Deptartment, RHPM and RHAW, Pittsburgh Festival Opera, and Raphael Xavier Company. Steineck
has toured throughout the US and abroad with both Rennie Harris Companies Puremovement and RHAW, Reed Dance, Squonk Opera, the Lyon Opera Ballet, Sankai Juku, Phoenix Dance Company, Kirov Ballet Academy, and the American tour of Stars on Ice. Steinbeck’s television/video/ DVD credits include A Gathering of Sons for Pittsburgh Festival Opera, the Dizzy Gillespie All-Star Big Band (A&E Network), the Spyro Gyra Concert (PBS), and Johnny A. Trio (Warner Bros. Publications). He has designed for several corporate events including Mon Valley Sizzles at the Historic Carrie Furnace. His most recent lighting designs include the world premiere of A Gathering of Sons commissioned by Pittsburgh Festival Opera, Point of Interest (Raphael Xavier), and Lifted (RHPM). Other designs include Boundless (Texture Contemporary Ballet), In the Company of Ghosts (Adrienne Wehr & Frank Ferraro), as well as Xerxes, and Sweeney Todd (Pittsburgh Festival Opera). Rodney Hill (Company Manager) was born and raised in North Philadelphia and entered the hiphop scene in 1988. For more than a decade, Hill has blazed the stages in venues nationally and abroad. He has been featured in videos for artists such as Rennie Harris, Boys II Men, Will Smith, and Music Soul Child. He has performed on television shows such as R&B Divas: Los Angeles, Late Night with Conan O’Brien, Soul Train, NFL Under The Helmet, Teen Summit, and Showtime at The Apollo hosted by comedian Steve Harvey.
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Photo by Brian Mengini
Hill has toured and performed with R&B artist Brave Williams, R&B singer Julian King, Aries, Grammy Award-winning rapper Eve, Teddy Pendergrass, Shanice Wilson, Mary J. Blige, 50 Cent, Pharrell, N.E.R.D., and The Roots. As an accomplished teacher and choreographer, Hill has had the opportunity to perform and teach at universities and dance studios locally, nationally, and internationally in such countries as Colombia, England, Canada, France, Democratic Republic of Congo, Kazakhstan, Egypt, Israel, and Palestine. Currently, he is studying to receive his MFA in Performance Arts for Choreography at Wilson College. He is the Company Manager/ Director of RHPM and RHAW.
Dance Company), Jamie Merwin (former Executive Director of The Community Education Center of Philadelphia), Carla Perlo (Executive Director of Dance Place Theater), and the staff, faculty, and production team of the Dance Place Theater for their support.
THANKS & ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Rennie Harris Puremovement would like to acknowledge the Alan M. Kriegsman Creative Residency, Joan Meyers Brown (Artistic Director and Founder of Philadelphia
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Nov 8, 2019
McCullough Theatre
Rahim AlHaj
Letters from Iraq Oud and String Quintet
Tonight’s presentation of Letters from Iraq is made possible in part by Dr. Yessar Hussain. Presented in partnership with KMFA-FM 26 texasperformingarts.org
Photo by Š Michael G. Stewart
Rahim AlHaj, oud David Felberg, violin James Holland, cello Nicholas Baker, percussion Ruxandra Marquardt, violin Jean-Luc Matton, bass viol Luiz Barrionuevo, viola
Program The Last Time We Will Fly Birds Eastern Love Unspoken Word Fly Home –Intermission– Forbidden Attraction Friendships Going Home Running Boy Warm Voice
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ABOUT THE ARTISTS Rahim AlHaj (Oud) At eight years old, his elementary school’s Arabic teacher, Muhammad Al-Fadl, brought his oud to class and played it from time to time. Rahim was riveted and entranced by the sound of the pear-bellied, short-necked Arabian lute. One day, young Rahim summoned up enough courage to ask if he touch the instrument. “Be very careful,” said Al-Fadl as he laid the instrument face down on his lap. AlHaj says the sensory experience of caressing that oud’s curved belly for the first time was ecstatic—unique and unforgettable. Later in the term, Al-Fadl asked, “Would you like to hold it?” Again, ecstasy. The following year, Al-Fadl gifted his student an oud. Until his teens, AlHaj and his oud were inseparable. He spoke to it, slept beside it, carried it everywhere, and played for hours every day. At thirteen, AlHaj was accepted into the prestigious Conservatory of Music in Baghdad, as one of only five students from more than a thousand applicants. By the time he received his diploma in 1990, he had won awards and played across much of the world. However, to have a really successful career as an Iraqi adult, he was required to join the ruling Ba’ath party and support Saddam Hussein’s regime. He refused, and was twice imprisoned and tortured. AlHaj was outspoken about perceived injustices. In 1991, he went into exile in Jordan under threat of execution. However, once in Jordan, he was targeted by agents of the
Mukhabarat (the Iraqi secret police) which prompted his relocation to Syria. In 2000, he learned his life was in danger as he was once again targeted by the Mukhabarat. With the help of Catholic Relief Services, he emigrated to the US and arrived in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in April 2000. When he was offered a job in a fast food outlet there, he told his relief worker that he did not perform in restaurants. At that point, AlHaj had no money, no place to live, and no community. Somehow, he was certain that his musical gifts needed to be shared. His first year in the desert of the American Southwest was hard. He made a few friends, they arranged a concert for him locally, and it sold out. His journey since then has included hundreds more concerts in North America, South Asia, and Iraq, nine albums (including two Grammy nominations), a United States Artists Award, and a National Endowment for the Arts 2015 National Heritage Fellowship, the nation’s highest honor in the folk and traditional arts. He became a naturalized American citizen in 2008. David Felberg (Violin I & Conductor), violinist and conductor, is concertmaster for the Santa Fe Symphony. He is the Music Director for the Albuquerque Philharmonic and associate concertmaster for the New Mexico Philharmonic. He also teaches contemporary music at the University of New Mexico and is artistic director/co-founder of the contemporary and traditional music venue, Chatter. He has performed
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as a soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician, and conducted all over the country. Native to Albuquerque, he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from the University of Arizona and a Master of Music degree in Conducting from the University of New Mexico. Ruxandra Marquardt (Violin II) plays in the Santa Fe Symphony and the New Mexico Philharmonic. Born in Romania, she attended the George Enescu University of Arts (Iasi) and performed in national and international competitions and festivals. In 1986, she came to the US for a competition and seized an opportunity to remain in America, studying thereafter at Indiana University and Syracuse University. She joined the Syracuse University faculty and was associate concertmaster of the Syracuse Symphony. She maintains a violin studio while continuing to perform internationally as a soloist, and in chamber and symphonic orchestras. Luiz Barrionuevo (Viola) began his musical studies when he was ten years old. Participated in almost all relevant youth and professional orchestras in SĂŁo Paulo city, as well as international music festivals in South America, Europe, and US. He is a current graduate music performance student at the University of New Mexico in both violin and viola, and also performs as extra musician with New Mexico Philharmonic, and the Santa Fe Symphony orchestras.
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James Holland (Cello) is the principal cellist with the Breckenridge Music Festival. He is a soloist and chamber music performer in ensembles including the Albuquerque Philharmonic, Santa Fe New Music, and Chamber Music Amarillo. He was a former member of the New World Symphony in Miami, the Charleston Symphony Orchestra, and Charleston Symphony Orchestra String Quartet. He is president and Artistic Director of the Albuquerque Chamber Soloists, orchestra program director of Montessori Elementary and Middle School, and has an active studio. Bass viol. Jean-Luc Matton is the principal bassist for the New Mexico Symphony and the New Mexico Philharmonic. He was born in France, studied at the Versailles Conservatory (1st Prize), and recieved a Master of Music degree at Boston University. He has performed with orchestras across North America and the Caracas Philharmonic, including as a soloist. Nicholas Baker (Percussion) is originally from Kansas City, Missouri, Baker is an active and in demand percussionist. Nick received a Bachelor of Arts in Music degree from the Conservatory of Music at the University of Missouri - Kansas City in 2009, and a Master of Music degree in Percussion Performance from the University of New Mexicoin 2011. In addition to performing with Rahim AlHaj, his South American fusion group, Baracutanga,
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performs regionally, nationally, and internationally and has won four New Mexico Music Awards.
wing movements is reflected as they circle high above what was once the only home they knew.
Zack Kear (Arranger) has also composed and/or performed in orchestras, wind bands, choirs, and chamber ensembles, playing solo keyboard, voice, and electronics. He earned a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts in Music Theory and Composition from the University of New Mexico. He works as an accompanist at the Bosque School and teaches private students.
Letter 2: Eastern Love - Sinan The teenage boy and girl fell in love at first sight. Their families lived near each other in what had long been a peaceful, predominantly Shi’ite neighborhood of Baghdad. The boy and girl could only meet in secret and never for long. After Saddam’s dictatorship fell, streets and markets became unsafe, and the days and nights were filled with fear. The girl’s Sunni family had to flee bombings and daily gunfire. Former Sunni homes in the neighborhood were arson-gutted. Her parents had no real choice; Their only alternative was death. Several years have passed, but still—every time the boy passes the house where she lived—his tears flow uncontrollably. They had both known all along that their dream of marriage between a Shi’a and Sunni was impossible, even dangerous. But love is real, and everywhere in the world love at first sight happens. For him, just seeing her filled his heart. Now his heart is broken, but it will go on beating. This is a true story. The 10/8 sama’i rhythm is majestic. It insists that in spite of broken hearts, we go on, no matter what. There is hope yet. You may wonder, why in this piece is there no dumbek (Persian-derived Iraqi name for a single-head drum atop a vase- or goblet-shaped body)? Because in Iraqi tradition, the dumbek is associated with joy, dancing, and celebration. The sound
THE LETTERS Letter 1: The Last Time We Will Fly Birds - Riyadh Many teenage boys kept, and flew, homing pigeons before the war. The birds lived in coops on top of the flat roofs of typical Baghdadi houses. Imagine a feeling of freedom as you watch the birds come out and fly into the sky. This time, while a boy was traveling to a release point on a hill a few miles from his home, a car bomb exploded and blew his house up, leaving only a pile of rubble. His girlfriend next door was at home. She heard the blast and ran outside. Her alibi for the time they spent together was always that she had to hang laundry to dry, while he would say he was going to the roof to take care of his birds. Now, the rooftop was gone. With it missing, he lost a place to meet his girlfriend and he lost a place for his pigeons to land. The oud line paints the realization of their loss, while the violin’s high figure describes the birds flying. The bird’s essence of their
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of riqq (a small, single-head frame drum with jingles; a tambourine) is distinctive, and associated with all of the Middle East. Letter 3: Unspoken Word It opens sweetly with an Iraqi lullaby. Within its lyrical line, a little boy walks close beside his mother in the open-air marketplace. An explosion occurs, and suddenly his mother is nowhere to be seen. The boy only wants his mom, his lullaby. AlHaj captures this moment as the boy searches everywhere for his mom. He looks around in all directions, he becomes more and more frantic. He does not know yet that his mother is dead. All he knows is that he cannot find her. An expressive solo from the violin hits its highest note— grieving—over a cello and bass with percussion ostinato, as the boy cries for the mother he will never walk beside again. Letter 4: Fly Home - Fatima Some days are good. Sometimes a week’s quiet is undisturbed. Life settles to some degree, and the people can see a better day coming. After terrible times, people want very much to do things that are more hopeful, more joyful. The streets come alive. Iraqi families enjoy a moment together, sitting in a café, eating in a restaurant— they are alive. These moments of normalcy are gratefully received. There are countless stories of close-calls: “[…]The car blew up right in front of me, and I felt the heat,” and, “the explosion happened, I was so lucky.”
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The music is more abstract than these stories. The joy may be heard in the dialogue between oud and violin. It affirms that normal moments are precious. AlHaj learned that simply being alive is a gift. For Iraqis today, living is solely a moment without destruction, death, or injury. It may not be possible to imagine how Iraqis live their everyday lives: day-by-day, minute-by-minute. It is not one day at a time, but one moment at a time. Normalcy and hope will certainly return. Letter 5: Forbidden Attraction - Tiama During the sectarian violence, a Shi’ite man and his Sunni love could no longer see one another. They had to live in separate districts, each bristling with weapons and fear. The man muses: “How can I say aloud that I love this Sunni woman after all this violence, brutality, these car-bombings and ugliness? How can I tell my family, my tribe? But I cannot! We will not give up our love just because this destruction is happening all around us!” The oud speaks as the man, the violin as the woman. Though they have always been playful and flirtatious together, here, they both begin gently and solemnly. The violin speaks from her heart, the oud responds in kind. She responds again, and the ensemble carries her into shadows of sadness. The violin remembers their love as a past sweetness—the oud insists, “Our love still exists!” The ensemble
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carries on, reflecting the terrible paradox. She speaks again, very sadly and thoughtfully, her views affirmed by the ensemble. The bass viol and cello, representing society, play low, disturbed patterns, and the violin wails in sorrow. The oud responds with the same feeling. Finally, they remember together how they began. Letter 6: Friendships This piece was composed by Rahim AlHaj for his friend Nazar Jaber, the former first chair violinist for the Iraqi National Symphony. AlHaj created a playful composition in the maqam (mode) that Jaber liked. It utilizes call and response patterns throughout the piece, between the various strings in the quintet, and oud. Sadly, when AlHaj returned to Iraq after the war had begun in 2004, visited Jaber. Jaber looked very different, with a long white beard; Almost unrecognizable from earlier years when he knew him. He was no longer playing music, and when AlHaj asked him why, Nazar said: “When my son Ahmed was born, we struggled in very hard times – we had no heat or electricity— and the baby was very cold and shaking. “ (This was during the extreme anti-Saddam sanctions in the 1990’s.) “I was so desperate that I broke apart my violin, burned it for some heat, and never played again.” Letter 7: Going Home - Rahim Rahim AlHaj returned to Iraq in 2014 after a decade away to learn what’s going on from the people there. Riyadh Neama, whose art is featured
in this album, tells of returning to Baghdad from exile after the US invasion because he had suffered a constant yearning to go home: “I am far from it still, but I am going home. I will touch the ground of home again. I am filled with beautiful and horrible memories alike.” This piece starts with strings playing open tremolos of long duration. The composer points us to the oud solo in the middle, where a delicate and soulful melody requires the performer to play from deep in the heart. Here AlHaj identifies with his own life story. This introspective tale is about his first return to his childhood home in Baghdad in 2004. The rhythm changes, and the strings enter powerfully. It feels as if something is going to happen, and it does. What was once home does not feel at all like home now. Heavily armed American soldiers are in the streets; tanks guard principal intersections. There and then he realized that Baghdad, Iraq, was no longer his home and Albuquerque, New Mexico, was. “Until that moment, I had missed the Baghdad of memory, but never since then,” he recalls. Letter 8: Running Boy - Fuad AlHaj’s nephew was born prematurely, and his legs never fully developed. One day around 2005, the then-teenage Fuad was getting a haircut in a barbershop when an enormous car bomb exploded very close by. It was immediately followed by automatic weapon fire. Everyone around him ran for shelter. He tried to run, too, but could not. He fell and couldn’t
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Letter 9: Warm Voice AlHaj often taught oud students in Baghdad. Often frustrated about his students who were not taking their studies seriously, he worried that none of them would become musicians. This composition was written so that his students can have fun and be playful with their music. The melody moves from instrument to instrument, starting with the cello, then moving to viola and violins. Each of the instruments represent a different student. AlHaj’s oud interacts with each of them.
Photo by © Michael G. Stewart
stand up. There were sounds of crackling fire, bullets whizzing by, and people screaming in anguish. He was sure he was going to die, and his life flashed before him— friends, brothers, sisters, parents— he was in a state of complete chaos and shock. This composition is the story of that moment. The deep bass voice of the cajón (a wooden box drum of Latin American origin) is the most prominent, and it elicits anxiety in the listener as Fuad tries to run out of the barbershop.
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The Team Rachel Durkin-Drga
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ESSENTIAL SERIES
Profeti della Quinta
JAN 29
MCCULLOUGH THEATRE
Presented in partnership with the Butler School of Music and KMFA-FM
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Thirsty? Enjoy a Texas craft beer at Texas on Tap located on Level 3 of Bass Concert Hall. Wine, Frozen Cocktails, and non-alcoholic bottled beverages also available.
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TPA Team Creates McCombs Mural
A beautiful skyscape mural now appears outside the offices of the UT McCombs School of Business thanks to a team of students under the direction of Texas Performing Arts Scenic Art Supervisor Karen Maness. Maness was hired to lead the transformation of the concrete 147-foot wall outside staff offices into a calming environment for the McCombs employees. The team included Theatre and Dance senior Mikaela Kelarek, Theatrical Design graduate students Iman Corbani and Tucker Goodman, as well as Assistant Charge Scenic Artist Ashton Bennett Murphy. “When I visited the site, the existing wall felt heavy, dark, and imprisoning for the inhabitants of the offices,” Maness said. “My conceptual goal was to flip that perceived view to create a feeling of distance, openness and the infinite.
Now, each office has its own private view with an atmospheric sky that changes dramatically over the day as the sun, cloud cover, and weather patterns shift.” For the nine employees whose office windows look out to the wall, the mural completely transformed the bleak view into a serene scene. “With the mural in place, we now bask in a perpetually gorgeous skyscape,” said Matt Turner, a Marketing Researcher at McCombs. “Our blinds are usually open during the workday.” Despite many challenges, including time constraints and inclement weather, Maness provided mentorship that ensured students were able to contribute their ideas. Additionally, thanks to Maness and her team, the money that was budgeted for an outside contractor was repurposed to give each student team member a scholarship. Many departments collaborated to complete this project and Maness is grateful for the teamwork and opportunity. “It’s exciting to create monumental work for a public space that will transform an environment.”
“It’s exciting to create monumental work for a public space that transforms an environment.”
Photo by Ashton Bennett Murphy
Scenic Transformation:
Karen Maness
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ESSENTIAL SERIES
John Cameron Mitchell
The Origin of Love: The Songs and Stories of Hedwig
Feb 7, 2020
Bass Concert Hall
"The Origin of Love is a brand-new revelation, and John Cameron Mitchell is as relevant today as he has been for more than 20 years." – Broadway World Australia PRESENTED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH KLRU-TV Photo by Matthew Placek
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Student Tickets Thanks to the generous support of donors last season, Texas Performing Arts provided $10 Student Tickets for Essential Series performances to more than 3,000 students. Your gift to the Student Ticket Fund means that for just $10 and their valid student ID, any student from any school can experience the excitement and inspiration of live performances by world-class artists. Share the experience of the performing arts that you love. Donate to the Student Ticket Fund today!
Visit texasperformingarts.org/support or call 512.232.8567 to make a gift.
*The Essential Series is our selection of fine arts shows; Bass Pass tickets are available for select Broadway shows and concerts. Photos by Lawrence Peart
texasperformingarts.org
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1. Rennie Harris is considered to be the _ _ _ _ _ _ _ of street dance theatre. (7 LETTERS)
2. Rennie Harris is currently a_ _ _ _ _ _ _ at the University of Texas at Austin Department of Theatre and Dance. (7 LETTERS)
3. Harris toured the middle east as one of four Ambassadors for the US as part of President _ _ _ _ _’s cultural exchange program, Dance Motion USA. (5 LETTERS) 4. Rennie Harris was voted one of the most influential people in the last century of Philadelphia _ _ _ _ _ _ _ . (7 LETTERS)
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5. Rahim Al Haj is a master of the _ _ _ —a stringed instrument with a history dating back 5,000 years. (3 LETTERS) 6. In 2015, AlHaj was awarded the National Endowment for the _ _ _ _ National Heritage Fellowship, which is considered the highest honor for traditional arts in the US. (4 LETTERS) 7. AlHaj has performed with such varied musicians as jazz artist Bill Frisell, the string quartet Kronos Quartet, and the _ _ _ _ band REM. (4 LETTERS)
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ANSWERS: 1. PIONEER; 2. TEACHER; 3. OBAMA; 4. HISTORY; 5. OUD; 6. ARTS; 7. ROCK
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