Multi-genre Archives - Alliance for California Traditional Arts

Son de Fandango

acta_admin — Thu, 27 Jun 2024 03:17:59 +0000

Son Fandango is a traditional music group from southern Veracruz, Mexico. This group was formed in the Bay Area by Claudio Vega and Lolis García. The son jarocho they perform is a mix of the countryside and the city. Claudio’s main project is to invite renowned traditional son jarocho musicians and musicians from other genres in order to enrich this fandango music.

Grupo de música tradicional del sur de Veracruz, México. Este grupo se formó en el área de la bahía con Claudio Vega y Lolis García. El son jarocho que interpretan es una mezcla del campo y la ciudad. Su principal idea del proyecto es con nuestras bases invitar a músicos renombrados tradicionales del son jarocho y músicos de otros géneros con la finalidad de enriquecer esta música de fandango.

The post Son de Fandango appeared first on Alliance for California Traditional Arts.

Bernard B. Ellorin, Ph.D.

acta_admin — Wed, 20 Mar 2024 18:13:49 +0000

Dr. Ellorin is the leading expert on maritime Southeast Asian gong-chime music in Southern California. He is also a master of the Filipino banduria (a version of the Spanish bandurria, a plucked string instrument similar to the mandolin) and the associated rondalla music. He is versed in the percussion music of the Cordillera Mountains of Northern Luzon, as well as being one of the few Philippine kulintang instructors in the United States. Kulintang is an ancient instrumental form of music played on a row of small, horizontally laid gongs that function melodically, accompanied by larger, suspended gongs and drums. Dr. Ellorin has served the San Diego and Los Angeles communities as a performing artist and educator since 1992 and is the musical director of the Samahan Filipino-American Performing Arts and Education Center.

The post Bernard B. Ellorin, Ph.D. appeared first on Alliance for California Traditional Arts.

Kai R La Pena

acta_admin — Wed, 20 Mar 2024 18:02:46 +0000

I am a featherman (regalia maker). I specialize in dance regalia of the Wintu, Maidu, and associated tribes. I have been active in dance and ceremony for 30 years and have been an active maker for 20 years. I come from the Nomtipom wintu of Northern California. I am of mixed ancestry including Irish, Filipino, and Germanic, in addition to my tribal background. It is my honor and privilege to follow in my grandfather’s footsteps of education and culture bearing.

The post Kai R La Pena appeared first on Alliance for California Traditional Arts.

Berenice V Badillo

acta_admin — Thu, 21 Dec 2023 20:36:57 +0000

Berenice is a Spanish speaking Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, illustrator, muralist, and multimedia artist. She is an immigrant from Mexico and has found herself straddling intertwined cultural and subcultural identities her entire life. She illustrated an award-winning book “Am I Blue or am I Green?” that explores the identity and impact of a boy’s life with parents that are undocumented in the United States. Berenice strives to document and encourage the creation of communal cultural wealth through murals, sculpture, pop up art galleries and in the co-creation of counter stories. Berenice believes that there is an importance in representation and sees art expression as a means to both amplify the voices of BIPOC and disseminate the stories of their community where it can be witnessed on a grand scale. Berenice is a Chicano Park muralist, has a doctorate in Art Therapy and is a (SEL) social emotional learning consultant. Berenice is the co-founder of XoQUE art in motion an all women multi-media group determined to evoke change on how the U.S./Mexico border is portrayed and represented in the cultural imaginations. Badillo started her career as a community muralist mentoring homeless youth. She co-created a monthly hip hop event called ELEMENTAL that showcased the art of local youth and developed after school programming that was recognized by the city of San Diego and the state of California. She was a MANA Honoree (Mexican-American Women’s National Association) in recognition for “Outstanding Work and Dedication to the Community through Arts and Culture” and became a Community Fellow through The California Wellness Foundation Violence Prevention Initiative. Her work has appeared in many galleries and group shows including at the Havana Biennale, Insite 97 and the Tamaro Contemporary Art Exhibit in Tokyo, Japan.

The post Berenice V Badillo appeared first on Alliance for California Traditional Arts.

Francis Kofi Akotuah

acta_admin — Mon, 25 Sep 2023 07:55:41 +0000

Francis is a performer and educator from Ghana, West Africa. Born and raised in the melting pot neighborhood of New Town, Francis grew up in an environment bursting with the sights and sounds of Ghana’s many ethnic groups.

During his almost two decades as an instructor at the University of Ghana School of Performing Arts, Francis taught Ghanaian drumming to hundreds of students from around the world and mentored many of Ghana’s up-and-coming young artists. Francis’ students have included people of all ages, from kindergartners to retirees, and all skill levels, from complete beginners to professional percussionists.

In 2017 Francis relocated to the California Bay Area and is now a lecturer at UCLA and UC Santa Cruz, where he directs Ghanaian drumming and dancing ensembles.

The post Francis Kofi Akotuah appeared first on Alliance for California Traditional Arts.

Makeda Kumasi

acta_admin — Fri, 15 Sep 2023 03:59:17 +0000

Makeda Kumasi (MFA / M.Ed) is the founder of WE 3 PRODUCTIONS, as well as the co-founder and artistic director of The Umoja Ensemble of the Inland Empire. Along with being a featured performer on stage and T.V., Kumasi has danced for two prominent Southern California based African dance ensembles, Abalaye African Dancers; an Orange County Arts Group, and Niancho Eniyaley African Performers. Kumasi is a University of California, Riverside Continuing lecturer in the Department of Dance.

In Summer of 2021 she released her first wide release album, A Spoken Word Experience, including music videos for the tracks Maat and Electricity. Kumasi is expanding the tour of her multimedia show, Urban Djali Tour which is based on the album. The Urban Djali Tour show features various dance genres, original video, photography and paintings, as well as music from West African instruments that Kumasi plays, including a 21 string Malian instrument called the kora.

For 15 years Kumasi has been a beacon of Pan-African Arts and education for all ages in the Inland Empire. She works extensively with the youth through various performing arts programs including “The Sesh Project”, as well as receives grants to produce cultural events including, Inland Empire’s Ultimate Doundounba Festival in Riverside.

Furthermore, Kumasi is an author of two books, 12 Days in Senegal; An Artist’s Journey, Xlibris, 2016
and I See Hip Hop Afrika, Xlibris, 2015, as well as contributing author to the dance anthology, Dance Adventures: True Stories About Dancing Abroad, Megan Morrison, Mtm Coaching and Consulting, December 2020

The post Makeda Kumasi appeared first on Alliance for California Traditional Arts.

Del Harrison

acta_admin — Fri, 08 Sep 2023 23:43:08 +0000

Del Harrison is a standup comedian and singer who produces live comedy and music shows. She is a a phenomenal host and hosts Let’s Talk Hair on FOX Soul as well as Up Late with Sha & Del every Sunday on iHeartRadio. She is a Comedy Store and Hollywood Improv regular and has performed all over the world, including performing for our US Troops in Germany, Japan, Kuwait and Alaska.

Del Harrison is currently starring in the movie Sisters, airing right now on BETPlus and has been featured on Hulu’s Wutang Series, TruTV’s Laffmobb Lafftracks and Tubi’s Lesbian Homie 2: Bounce Back. Through her company Del Harrison LLC, a certified women owned, disadvantaged small business, Del provides services to both customers and businesses directly.

The post Del Harrison appeared first on Alliance for California Traditional Arts.

haejin bang

acta_admin — Fri, 28 Apr 2023 22:20:36 +0000

Drawn between silence/sound, d. haejin bang’s transdisciplinary and community work is currently based within occupied Tongva land (otherwise known as Los Angeles) and corea. Born and raised in Koreatown, LA, their explorations revolve around the voice, body, and Silence. Their main focus underlines gaps and the interjacent: How can we better listen?

A Fulbright Fellow, haejin’s focus as a diasporic, trans corean is based on exploring ‘embodied silences,’ a cartography of collective intergenerational trauma, by exploring the affects of sound tied to body. Their project focuses on the breath and energy of voice/body/silence, of undoing and (un)learning contemporary notions and rationales of sound embedded in dominant language and discourse of knowledge. Through the practice and performance of pansori, their goal is to both explore and create multidisciplinary resources for other diasporic folks looking to learn more about indigenous corean music and histories. Learning both the 소리 (voice) and 북 (drumming) that make up 판소리/pansori, they are currently studying with 명창/Master Singer Song Jae-Young and 고수/Master Drummer Cho Yong-Soo.

The post haejin bang appeared first on Alliance for California Traditional Arts.

MariaLuisa Colmenarez

acta_admin — Sat, 15 Apr 2023 01:35:09 +0000

For over four decades, proud daughter of Oaxaqueños, Maria Luisa Colmenarez has played a large role in ensuring Mexican folk dance remains accessible to the community while advocating for a larger presence in the performing arts space. She currently serves as the executive director of Danzantes Unidos de California, a cultural network of Mexican folk dancers and artists which plans the largest Mexican folk dance festival in the U.S., Danzantes Unidos Festival, and facilitates a wide variety of Mexican folk dance and cultural programming. Ms. Colmenarez is a lecturer at San Jose State University, and the co-founder and artistic director of San Jose’s “La Ultima Parada: A Celebration of Life on the Day of the Dead.” Additionally, she served as a cultural consultant for the award-winning Disney/Pixar film, “Coco.”

The post MariaLuisa Colmenarez appeared first on Alliance for California Traditional Arts.

Evie Ladin

acta_admin — Wed, 23 Nov 2022 04:22:37 +0000

Evie Ladin is a percussive-dancer, choreographer, singer, songwriter, banjo player and square-dance caller with a lifetime of experience in traditional American cultural arts and intercultural music/dance performance and education. Based in Oakland, CA, Evie grew up in a traditional folk scene on the East Coast of the US, and early on was drawn to other cultures where music and dance are an integral part of social communication. Her performances, recordings and teaching reconnect Appalachian arts with other African-Diaspora traditions, in the American folk music world, the international Body Music and percussive dance communities, and at all levels of education. Evie graduated from Brown University (BA: African Studies In Dance), and received both Fulbright and Watson Fellowships, studying music/dance in Eastern Nigeria. For 8 years, she toured concert halls and festivals nationally with the music/dance ensemble Rhythm In Shoes. Since landing in California in 2000, Evie has choreographed numerous works for and with partner Keith Terry and his intercultural, rhythm-based Crosspulse ensembles, performing from Lincoln Center, NY to SFJAZZ, Brazil to Bali and many points in between.

In the percussive dance world, Evie is Executive Director of the International Body Music Festival, directs the moving choir MoToR/dance (whose dance-for-camera works have been shown in several film festivals) and is an ace freestyle flatfooter. In the Trad world, Evie teaches banjo at the infamous Freight & Salvage, online to over 350 students at Peghead Nation and numerous camps; calls and plays for square dances; and has won contest ribbons in Folk Song and Neo-Trad Band. In the songwriter world, she writes clever, poignant songs with funny stories. Touring solo, with Keith Terry, and her Evie Ladin Band she has produced 9 CDs, and two instructional clogging DVDs. A highly entertaining performer, Evie enjoys facilitating arts learning in diverse communities. She is a 2020-21 Jubilation Fellow, awarded to those who facilitate music and rhythmic learning.

“You don’t often hear words like ‘traditional,’ and ‘authentic’ paired with ‘innovative’ and ‘unique,’ but Evie Ladin has brought them together brilliantly, and the result is truly a high point in new music.” – FOLKWORKS, Los Angeles

The post Evie Ladin appeared first on Alliance for California Traditional Arts.