ENTERTAINMENT
125TH &
FREEDOM
National Black Theatre thrills audiences
Caribbean Life, J BQ une 28–July 4, 2019 45
Dr. Barbara Ann Teer’s National
Black Theatre (NBT) presented the
world premiere of 125th & FREEdom
on June 8. Created, written and
choreographed by Ebony Noelle
Golden, 125th & FREEdom is a fivehour,
immersive public performance
dance piece that is part dance party,
part parade, part protest and ritual
performance, and all Harlem.
Exploring the question, “If Harriet
Tubman were alive today, how would
she free Black people?” the program
transforms Harlem’s iconic corridor
into a stage with performances along
125th Street from the East River to
the Hudson River.
Composed of 16 movements and
featuring a New Orleans-style brass
band, the choreopoetic performance
takes place at 11 sites as pop-up
installations along the world famous
street. An immersive, audienceparticipatory
cultural experience,
125th & FREEdom sees a victorious,
but battle-weary tribe of nomads
led by Tubman’s descendant on an
epic journey to a land of promised
liberation.
Fusing song and poetry with
choreography based on historic
and current Black social dances,
the one-of-a-kind event closes out
NBT’s milestone golden anniversary
season.
The cast includes Audrey Hailes,
Courtney Cook, Azusa “Sheshe”
Dance, Alec Stephens III and
Jason O’Neal. Paris Weeden, Ariel
Blackwood, Ava McCoy, Everton
Ricketts, Zenni Reach, and Trevor
Audrey Hailes dances and sings of freedom in 125th & FREEdom.
Continued on Page 46
Shaggy.
By Nelson A. King
The Washington, D.C.-based
Institute for Caribbean Studies (ICS)
has added Jamaican musician, singer,
DJ and actor, Shaggy, into its “Wall
of Fame.”
ICS on Monday noted that Shaggy,
whose real name is Orville Richard
Burrell, scored hits with the songs
“Oh Carolina,” “Boombastic,” “In The
Summertime,” “It Wasn’t Me” and
“Angel.”
Shaggy enlisted in the United
Continued on Page 46
By Tangerine Clarke
Guyana-American artist, Carl
E. Hazelwood is among five artists,
whose works of art are on display at
the Triangle Artist Studios residency
program, which opened on June 7, at
picturesque, Governors Island, New
York Harbor.
The Triangle Arts exhibition is open
on public days for art lovers to get an
inside look at what artists are working
on: Saturdays and Sundays, 11 am - 5
pm, June – October 2019.
A veteran painter, sculptor, curator,
and co-founder of the 30-year-old
Aljira Center for Contemporary Art,
in Newark, New Jersey, Hazelwood
tells Caribbean Life, that he decided
to go back to creating art, after a long
curatorial stint, and becoming what
Continued on Page 46
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Shaggy
inducted
Guyanese art
on display
A T ’ N ti l i t t g ith f l g lib ti
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