Open Gates Caribbean art display
Project
forming Arts Center (Queens),
and Nov. 14 at Pregones Theater
(Bronx).
Taking its name from the
creative force that brings
all things into being, GEMS
told Caribbean Life that “The
Divine Feminine” features
sacred and secular works
by preeminent 17th–century
female composers Chiara
Margarita Cozzolani, Barbara
Strozzi and Francesca Caccini,
performed by “outstanding
rising and established American
and international artists,
with careers encompassing
early, chamber, and Classical
music, opera, jazz, and musical
theater.”
“The program is bookended
with works devoted to the Virgin
Mary,” GEMS said.
It opens with Madre, de los
primores by New World visionary,
Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz,
who is considered the first
great Latin American poet and
recognized for her influential
perspectives on women and
scholarship.
“Pergolesi’s glorious and
sublime Stabat Mater closes
the program,” GEMS said.
Through its Open Gates
Project, GEMS said it is “committed
Caribbean Life, N 32 OVEMBER 12-18, 2021
to significant efforts
to make early music performance
opportunities more equitable
for artists of color and
more accessible to historically
excluded communities of
color.”
Over the coming year,
GEMS said the Project will
offer a “rich variety of music”
performed by distinguished
artists for diverse audiences
throughout New York City.
General admission seating
is available online at gemsny.
org; by calling 212-866-0468;
and at the door, subject to
availability.
For more information, visit
the website or email media@
gemsny.org.
each vignette builds its own
story by invoking a “raw and
unfiltered response to real
emotions.”
For the second half of this
program, Complexions will
present last season’s hit ballet
“Love Rocks”, a full company
piece set to works by the iconic
GRAMMY Award-winning singer,
producer and songwriter,
Lenny Kravitz.
“Inspired by his vision and
eclectic musicianship, this
piece will follow Kravitz’s musical
exploration, where his lush
melodies and retro musical style
lay a foundation for passionate
storytelling through edgy, athletic
and theatrical movement
that examines humanity and
its vulnerability,” Complexions
said.
Dwight Rhoden, co-founding
artistic director and choreographer
for Complexions,
said “Snatched Back from the
Edges” is meant to be “a chronicle
of the human spirit with all
of its vulnerabilities.
“As the world faces a
momentous time in history, we
as people must face one other,”
he said. “We know that the
challenges, and our response
to them ultimately determine
our future.
“We naturally dig in for the
answers and are aware that the
solutions — yet to be realized
— may be simple but never
easy,” Rhoden added.
In the second week’s program,
Program B, Complexions
said patrons “can experience
‘Truly, Madly, Deeply’, a
suite of repertory favorites that
capture the infinite beauty and
grit of the heart.”
Included will be the soulstirring
solo, “Elegy,” dedicated
to and inspired by Rhoden
and legendary dancer Desmond
Richardson’s belated
mothers, excerpts from Bach
25 and “Snatched Back from
the Edges,” among others.
During the run, Thursday,
Nov. 18 will be dedicated to
Complexions’ annual benefit
performance.
Proceeds from the benefit
performance will continue to
help build Complexions’ educational
initiatives through
scholarships, mentorship
programs and the continued
development of Rhoden’s and
Richardson’s methodology of
dance training.
“The benefit performance
will give audiences an opportunity
to see the next generation
of performers, as they grace
the Joyce stage,” Complexions
said.
In addition to the company
performing excerpts
from “Snatched Back from
the Edges” and the full “Love
Rocks” program, there will be
a world premiere performed by
the students of Complexions’
pre-professional program.
Performances will take
place: Tuesday, Nov. 16, 7:30
pm, Program A; Wednesday,
Nov. 17, 7:30 pm, Program A;
Thursday, Nov. 18, 7:00 pm,
Gala; Friday, Nov. 19, 8:00 pm,
Program A; Saturday, Nov. 20,
2:00 pm, Program B; Saturday,
Nov. 20, 8:00 pm, Program A;
Sunday, Nov. 21, 2:00 pm, Program
Dancers Thomas Dilley and April Watson. Rachel Neville
B; Tuesday, Nov. 23, 7:30
pm, Program B; Wednesday,
Nov. 24, 7:30 pm, Program
B; Friday, Nov. 26, 8:00 pm,
Program A; Saturday, Nov. 27,
2:00 pm, Program B; Saturday,
Nov. 27, 8:00 pm, Program A;
Sunday, Nov. 28, 2:00 pm, Program
B.
For more information on
the Complexions Contemporary
Ballet benefit performance,
contact: Muadi Dibinga
at muadi@muadidibinga.com.
Continued from Page 31
Patricia Ann Neely-viola da gamba. GEMS
Continued from Page 31
featured, since the return of the
show that was halted due to the
Coronavirus pandemic.
Pilgrim, also the director
of Caribbean Fine Arts Fair
(CaFA) in Barbados, a unique
annual event featuring over 35
visual artists exploring the cultural
traditions of the entire
Caribbean, founded in 2010,
and features “Diaspora Dialogue”
and student exhibitions,
praised the works on display by
the creators.
One such is Carl Anderson’s
“Ribbons” awarding-winning
series — acrylic on canvas.
Anderson, who received his
early art education at the Burrowes
School of the Arts in
Guyana, and later immersed
himself in the Latin American
art milieu by living for 13 years
in Venezuela, showed some of
his most colorful acrylic pieces.
He told this reporter, he is not
a part of the mainstream art
world, where artists just throw
objects, together paint them,
and call them art.
“My audience might be different,
those who appreciates
artist who values academia artwork,
and the principles of art,
not the madness called mainstream
art, argues Anderson,
an award-winning painter,
whose collection was featured
prominently, at an art installation
program, at New York’s
busy Port Authority station,
some years ago.
Known internationally for
his bold geometric “Ribbon
Series” as well as striking photo
realistic paintings, Anderson’s
whose work has been exhibited
widely in Europe, North and
South America, including the
Malta Biennale, Italy’s Grolla
D’Oro and the Guyana National
Art Gallery, said he is now
painting with acrylic in neon
colors that can glow in the
dark.
His pieces tackle controversial
subjects such as a series of
works on domestic violence and
the long-term results of such
abuse. Most recently, Anderson’s
paintings represented the
Americas at 8th International
Beijing Biennale held in 2019.
The visual artist says he has
many pieces available for a oneman
exhibit and for sale. Those
on display at “Diaspora Now,”
are Aquatic Nature, oil on canvas
board, 9” X 18”, $1500;
Kumu WaterFall, oil on canvas
board, 9” X18”, $1500; Rupununi,
oil on canvas board, 9”
X 18”, $1500, and White Water
Creek, oil on canvas board, 9”
X 18”, $1500.
Continued from Page 31
BALLET’S BACK
link
/gemsny.org
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