21666: VODOU DRUM AND DANCE GROUP PERFORMS ON MAY 7 AT HUNTER COLLEGE (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Lois E Wilcken <makandal-ny@juno.com>

For immediate release

Contact:  Lois Wilcken, 718-953-6638, makandal-ny@juno.com

VODOU DRUM AND DANCE GROUP PERFORMS RESISTANCE, A TRIBUTE TO POPULAR
STRUGGLE IN HAITI, ON MAY 7 AT HUNTER COLLEGE

La Troupe Makandal, New York's Center for Haitian Drum and Dance, and
Master Drummer Frisner Augustin invite the public to celebrate the spirit
of Resistance on Friday, May 7, 7:30 pm at the Brecher Hall of Hunter
College.  Follow the beat of the drum and the rhythm of dancing feet
through 500 years of popular struggle in Haiti.  Meet Anacaona, "Golden
Flower," the Taíno leader and poet slain in 1503; Makandal, the visionary
18th-century maroon; the women and men of Bwa Kayiman who inspired the
seminal uprisings of 1791; Caroline Aca'au, who danced kongo as indigent
farmers rose up in 1844; Charlemagne Péralte, leader of the first
struggle against U.S. intervention; and Ibo Lele, the mythical soul
escort and eternal symbol of resistance.

Master Drummer Frisner Augustin (Makandal's Artistic Director and
National Heritage Fellow, 1999) composed and arranged the music with the
assistance of Music Co-Director Steve Deats and vocalist Rosena Zila.
Adia Whitaker of the Ase Dance Theatre Collective consulted on
choreography in collaboration with Smith Destin and Daniel Moïse of La
Troupe Makandal.  Dr. Lois Wilcken (Executive Director) is producing the
program.

You will find Brecher Hall in Room 635 of the North Building of Hunter
College.  Take the #6 subway to East 68 Street.  Use the East 69 Street
entrance to the College (between Park and Lexington Avenues), take an
elevator to the 6th floor, turn left off the elevator, then follow signs
to Brecher Hall.  Admission is free with Hunter College student ID; $10
for the general public; and $5 for children (under 12), students from
other campuses (with ID), and seniors.  The program begins at 7:30 pm.

Resistance is made possible, in part, by a grant from the National
Endowment for the Arts.  The Haitian Drum Workshop of Hunter College is
sponsoring it with support from the Department of Music, the
Undergraduate Student Government, and Hunter Performing Arts.

For further information, please contact the Troupe at 718-953-6638 or
makandal-ny@juno.com.