Promoting Chicago as a global cultural destination
Just a quick note to let you know of a great Latino networking event happening at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra tomorrow starting at 6:30 pm. It includes a performance by conductor Jose Mena featuring Brazilian composer Villa-Lobos work titled Amazonas, the story of a beautiful girl who bathes in the Amazon river only to be swallowed by a monster.
Prime seating starts at $35. Call 312-294-300 and mention the promo code NETWORK.
Brace yourself, because I will take you on a trip down memory lane! Come prepared to sing and dance to popular music from the 80s, 90s and beyond.
We will mix and celebrate musical genres, time periods, and languages from all of the Americas.
Se vale todo/anything goes as long as it is popular and danceable!
Our DJ is open to special requests, so if you have any song you want to hear that evening, just post it here and we will pass it along to add it to the playlist.
Saturday May 4, 2013
10pm- 2am
NO COVER
Little Bucharest Bistro
3661 N Elston Chicago IL 60618
==THIS IS A COSTUME-OPTIONAL PARTY==
We welcome party-goers who want to wear costumes of famous singers and fashion of the era. BE CREATIVE AND HAVE FUN DOING IT! 🙂
RSVP on Chicago Urbanite’s Facebook page.
Zouk (pronounced “Zuke”) is a partner style coming from the Latin category but has become the first structured partner dance to incorporate significant elements of jazz and contemporary movement. It is presented at world music and dance festivals, but for the most part it is performed in nightclubs. Dance comes in two speeds with separate choreography (below are 2 videos showing different styles. There are others as well). This dance is extremely popular in Europe, South America, parts of Asia and Africa and it is slowly growing on the east and west coasts of the U.S.
Music utilized is sensual (light or heavy) French Caribbean Zouk and Portuguese Cape Verdean Zouk with a little Flamenco-Rumba and a few other anglo songs with a similar beat (the videos shown at bottom of this post are performance oriented and do not represent those musical styles; they are representative).
My friend Randy Nufer, an avid promoter of Zouk dance in Chicago, is looking for a female dance partner for performances and class instruction.
This is not a salaried position. However, once training is complete, performance, instructional and other small business opportunities can be realized. It is an opportunity to help build a community in Chicago and make a name for oneself.
Complete training included as part of the deal at NO CHARGE. If there is enough interest, it is possible that more than one female can be trained. Rehearsal studio is located in West DePaul/Lincoln Park.
Desired qualifications / time requirements:
Someone who is dedicated and dependable (meeting 2x times per weekday evenings and weekend afternoons if necessary for training and practice. Availability for performances and or instruction once a recurring event is launched.
Ethnicity unimportant
Some classical training – Contemporary/Jazz/Ballet
Will need to have fairly flexible back
Free flowing hair. It doesn’t have to be as long as shown in the videos below. It can be medium length. But it needs to move to create an effect. If one has long coarse hair, braids are a good solution.
Someone who can breathe life into the dance and enjoys experimenting with new movement and choreography.
Light acrobatics may be employed. TBD.
Please send short description of your dance background to zoukdancers@yahoo.com or whatever other material you would like to share. Looking to train soon!
Have questions about the dance? Ask another female Zouk dancer from Chicago: Katherine M. at kmetres@yahoo.com or 773-969-0140 .
Dance: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITRCYkFMqfk
Dance: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KNhi7eVQg0
Music: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xsre7n_fanny-j-sa-ke-ay-yourzouktv_music?search_algo=2#.UXNA9KJg-mA
Music: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xe9j9q_darius-denon-mes-larmes_music?search_algo=2#.UXaq-KLUemA
After a few months of silence, I am back ready to continue help you discover cool dance and music activities happening in Chicago. Talking about dancing in Chicago, I know many of you are interested in dance flash mobs, so I want to pass along this information. Flash Mob America is coming to Chicago on April 25 for a marriage proposal flash mob. They are recruiting people to dance with them. If you are interested, then register here to join: Http://goo.gl/VCkPi
Also, I want to invite all of you to a party on May 4 at 10 pm that will celebrate dance/popular music from the 80s, 90s, and beyond in English in Spanish. It is called Party of the Americas! This is a costume-optional party, so feel free to dress as one of your favorite singers from the 80s and 90s or wear the fashion of the era. Be creative and have gun doing it! Click here to RSPV
Location: Little Bucharest Bistro 3661 N Elston Chicago
No Cover
Do you want to have your favorite song added to the playlist? Leave a comment here and we will pass it along to our DJ.
Hope to see you there!
On the day of Love, show some love and join this dance flashmob to stop violence against women. Rosetta Magdalen from Flamenco Chicago Dance Studio LLC is organizing this event as part of a global initiative called “One Billion Rising”. V-Day, the organization behind this initiative, is inviting ONE BILLION women and those who love them to WALK OUT, DANCE, RISE UP, and DEMAND an end to this violence. According to their website:
By being a part of One Billion Rising we will all discover our solidarity and the scope of this issue. We will come to know that ending violence against women is important and it is not a local issue or particular to any culture or religion. We will come to see what is possible. When One Billion bodies rise and dance on 14 February 2013, we will join in solidarity, purpose and energy and shake the world into a new consciousness.
The event will take place this Thursday, Feb. 14 at Union Station with flash mob occurring at 5 and 5:30pm. There is a rehearsal today from 2pm to 4pm at Flamenco Chicago Studio (2914 W. Belmont Ave. Chicago). If you can’t make it to rehearsal, here is the video you can use to rehearse the choreography at home:
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And this is the song that will be used for the dance flashmob around the world:
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Want to participate? Visit the Facebook event page for details: https://www.facebook.com/events/483715515001164/
In addition to this flashmob there are other events happening in Chicago. Click here for additional information.
Snow finally arrived! I hope the cold weather does not stop you from checking some cool events going on in Chicago. Here are my suggestions:
Feb 7: I will be moderating the fist panel discussion for “The Art of Business: Making a Living from your Music” series. The Chicago Sinfonietta is proud to present a monthly Thursday evening discussion series offering insight from industry professionals to continue to nourish a vibrant music community in Chicago and provide an overview on the different aspects of the profession. Each panel discussion will be followed by Q&A and networking. Join this conversation to tackle a wide range of topics from playing for exposure, credit and recognition, income sources and opportunities, financial transparency, negotiating and more! This a FREE event. RSVP here
Feb 8: Tibetan and Modern Dance show in the spiritual pursuit of tranquility, balance, and happiness at Athenaeum Theatre. Click here for more information.
Feb 9: I will be celebrating Carnival with my band Nu Bambu at the Latin Street Dance Academy. Click here for more information.
Feb 12-17: Make plans to see some great Chicago theater productions during Chicago. Click here for more information.
Feb 14: On V-Day Chicago is joining One Billion Rising; walk out, dance and rise up against gender-based violence!http://chicagourbanite.net/2013/02/09/join-a-dance-flashmob-in-chicago-on-valentines-day/
Feb 16-17 FREE workshop to create papier mache alebrijes (Mexican folk art sculptures of fantastical creatures)http://ow.ly/hzzY2
Ongoing: The LunchBreak Series in the Randolph Café of the Chicago Cultural Center has taken off! Wired Fridays is a series of LunchBreak concerts featuring DJs and electronic music. From ambient to dance, the world of DJs and soundscape artists will be uncovered each Friday through May. The LunchBreak Series will continue to feature music of all genres on Tuesdays and Thursdays. For more information visit www.chicagoculturalcenter.org
Feb 22: Sound Culture is presenting From the Arctic to the Middle East (Broken Narratives by an American Flamenco Dancer) by Wendy Clinard at Mayne Stage on Friday, Feb. 22 at 8PM. Click here for more information
Do you know there is a TV channel that belongs to the people of Chicago and gives every Chicagoan a voice on cable television? Did you know that it provides video training, facilities and channel time? I am talking about Chicago Access Network Television, or CAN TV. This is an independent nonprofit organization that administers and promotes the use of Chicago’s public access channels. CAN TV’s five local, non-commercial channels reach one million viewers in the city of Chicago and is recognized as one of the finest access centers in the country. Cable companies provide support for CAN TV as part of franchise commitments in the City of Chicago. Its programs are over 90% local, helping viewers find jobs, locate HIV/AIDS and domestic violence counseling, access art and educational resources, interact with local public officials, and experience a diversity of viewpoints.
Yesterday, I had the pleasure of hosting my first episode of CAN TV’s show Perspectivas Latinas, a weekly English/Spanish-language forum. My guests were the Director of Pachacamak Folk Foundation, Carmen Edith Freeze, an enthusiastic promoter of Ecuadorian culture in Chicago, and New York band Chota Madre, a band that promotes Afro-Ecuadorian music out of Ecuador. Here is the English version of the show:
If you want to see more of this awesome band, don’t miss their last show in Chicago tonight at Multikulti. You can find more information about this show here. Also, if you are a Chicagoan, I would highly recommend connecting to CAN TV as a viewer, as a producer, or as someone who believes in the right of free expression. This channel is true democracy in action!
This World Music dance party derives its name from Caravan Serai, an ancient roadside motel that gave weary Silk Road travelers a safe place to park their camels, count their furs, and maybe even sip on some wine. Hot food, hand-washing stations, and live music were a must. Luckily for us, sans camels, Chicago has all those things, without having to experience the austere life styles of the vagabonds of yore. So, grab your headdress and gold coins, lace up your leggings, and join a night of music and dance that celebrates the weary traveler in all of us! The dance party lineup includes gypsy surf band Lamajamal, raucous brass/reed sextet Black Bear Combo, abstract international spinmeister DJ Warp and Middle Eastern dance performer Erika Ochoa, among others.
For tickets please visit http://bit.ly/WwS7x1
Chicago Urbanite followers can get free tickets for this party. In other to participate in the drawing, do the following:
Chicago Urbanite 