World Music Star Sara Tavares and Virsky Ukrainian National Dance Company Make Kimmel Center Debuts this November
NOVEMBER 9, 2009
From the “sunshine soul” of an African vocalist to the rollicking acrobatics of a folkloric Eastern European dance troupe, spirited world music and dance performers make their Kimmel Center debuts this November.
- Cape Verdean chanteuse Sara Tavares debuts in Perelman Theater with works from her effervescent new album Xinti (Friday, November 20, 2009).
- Spectacular 85-member Virsky Ukrainian National Dance Company makes its debut in Verizon Hall with a medley of authentic Ukrainian folk dances (Sunday, November 22, 2009).
Sara Tavares
Friday, November 20, 2009 at 7:30pm
Perelman Theater
Price: $25-$30
“Singer-songwriter Sara Tavares…is one of the most gifted of a new generation of artists building a contemporary Cape Verdean music that remains firmly in touch with its roots.” –Los Angeles Times
Cape Verdean vocalist Sara Tavares makes her Kimmel Center debut on Friday, November 20, 2009 at 7:30pm in Perelman Theater with music from her new album Xinti (2009), an eclectic blend of Cape Verdean guitar licks, Angolese rhythms and warm Portuguese vocals. Abandoned by her parents at a young age, Tavares found solace, and her African roots, in music. Xinti, which translates to “feel it,” reflects Tavares’ inner journey, as she infuses contemporary music with Angolan and Portuguese slang, Cape Verdean Crioulo and English, layered with Afro-beat, reggae, jazz and infectious Cape Verdean rhythms.
One of a new generation of Cape Verdean singers, Sara Tavares has achieved international status on the world music scene with her global musical influences and multi-lingual lyrics that resonate the universal human experience. In 2007, she was awarded “Best Newcomer” by the BBC World Music Awards, and was named as one of Grammy® Award-winning singer-songwriter Lucinda Williams’ favorite artists in the New York Times. That same year, Tavares performed at the prestigious Liberty Medal Gala at Philadelphia’s National Constitution Center honoring Bono from the Grammy® Award-winning band U2.
Born in Lisbon to Cape Verdean parents, Tavares first gained recognition as a promising musician at 16 when she won a national talent contest and went on to represent Portugal in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1994. Her solo debut Mi Ma Bô (1999), rooted in R&B with an upbeat Afro-pop mix, reached gold status in Portugal and earned her a Portuguese Grammy Award (Globos de Oreo) nomination for Best Artist/New Album. Her second album Balancê (2006), focuses entirely on Cape Verdean and African music, and launched her into international fame. The CD/DVD box set Alive in Lisboa (2008) includes a complete selection of Tavares’ best work, as well as footage of a live 2007 concert in her hometown of Lisbon. Tavares sang the European-Portuguese version of "God Help the Outcasts" for the Disney movie The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996).
“For Sara Tavares, music isn’t just a vehicle for self-expression, it’s an ongoing quest through which she’s forged an identity and made a place for herself in the world.” –Boston Globe
This performance is sponsored by Bank of America.
Sara Tavares, vocals/guitar
Joao Baptista da Luz Monteiro, ukulele/guitar
Luis Miguel de Carvalho Leal Caracol, bass
Geoclandio de Fatima Lopes, percussion
Ivo Filipe Barros Costa, drums
Friday, November 20, 2009 | 5:30pm
Commonwealth Plaza | Friday LIVE
Lizanne Knott
Well-known locally for her understated music, floating vocals and lyrical juxtapositions, Lizanne Knott moves easily through dark poetic ballads to soul-infused folk, folk rock and jazz, joined by an eclectic group of musicians. This free performance will take place in Commonwealth Plaza as part of the Kimmel Center’s Friday LIVE series of free performances every Friday at 5:30pm.
Friday, November 20, 2009 | Post-Show (approx. 9:30pm)
Forte Party in K Lounge with DJ AfroDJiak
Kimmel Center's K Lounge on Tier 2
Forte, the Kimmel Center's young professionals group, hosts an after-party for performing arts lovers ages 21-40 with drinks specials, complimentary appetizers and live music by DJ AfroDJiak in the Kimmel Center’s K Lounge on Tier 2 immediately following Sara Tavares’ performance. Visit http://www.kimmelcenter.org/forte for more information and to RSVP.
___________________________________________________________________________________
Virsky Ukrainian National Dance Company
Sunday, November 22, 2009 at 3pm
Verizon Hall
Price: $29-$62
“Here is bravura dancing at its greatest; the young men in the Virsky Ukrainian National Dance Company are still soaring high in the air in splits, careering around the stage in gravity-defying butterfly jumps and spinning like tops in the 18th-century equivalent of break dancing.” –New York Times
Virsky Ukrainian National Dance Company presents the bold, spirited folk dance traditions of Ukraine, as part of their Kimmel Center debut in Verizon Hall on Sunday, November 22, 2009 at 3pm in Verizon Hall. Known for their acrobatic feats and ballet-inspired intricate footwork on stage, the company’s 85 dancers and musicians have entertained audiences for more than 70 years. The high-energy program includes such works as the greeting dance Ukraine, My Ukraine!; the light-hearted Povzunets (Cossack Playful Dance); the militaristic Zaporozhtsi (National Ukrainian Dance of Cossacks); and the lyricism of Precarpathian Dance “The Bells”; among others, accompanied by an onstage orchestra.
Named after national icon Pavlo Virsky, Virsky Ukrainian National Dance Company has performed for audiences in more than 30 countries on four continents. Ballet masters Pavlo Virsky and Mykola Bolotov founded the company in 1937 when they brought together a group of folk dancers to preserve the folk traditions of Ukraine. A talented choreographer, Virsky created an extensive catalogue of dance compositions that are still performed by the company today. Under his guidance, the dance troupe evolved from a small group of folk dancers into a highly professional and respected company in the global dance community.
Following Virsky’s death in 1975, Myroslav Vantukh has continued his legacy as the artistic director of the ensemble since 1980. An expert in folk traditions and ethnography, Vantukh believes in the continual preservation and development of Ukrainian folklore and choreography, adding his own crowd-pleasing pieces to Virksy’s repertoire. He has been named The Hero of Ukraine, National Artist of Ukraine and winner of State T. Shevchenko Premium. In 1992, Vantukh consolidated Virsky’s two year choreographic training course into a choreographic school for children, The Ballet School of the Ukrainian National Dance Company. The school now serves as a resource for talented young dancers to join the ever-evolving dance ensemble.
“The dancers transformed a bare stage by building structures with their bodies and the men executed gravity-defying inversions and cartwheels, and one soloist performed a magnificent sit-spin resembling a propeller.” –Dallas Morning News
Program:
Ukraine, My Ukraine!
Povzunets (Cossack Playful Dance)
Kmil (Hop)
Hopak (Ukranian Folk Dance) from the opera, Taras Bulba
Kozachok
Kyiv Fellows
Verbichenka (Little Willow)
Zaporozhtsi (National Ukranian Dance Of Cossacks)
-Intermission-
The Carpathians
Podolianochka (Girl From The Podilla Region)
Gipsy Dance
Shevchyky (Shoemakers)
Precarpathian Dance “The Bells”
Moriaky (Sailors)
Chumack Joy
Hopak (Ukrainian Folk Dance)
Sunday, November 22, 2009 | 1:30pm
Commonwealth Plaza | Free at the Kimmel
Svitanya
Svitanya (Svee-tah-nya) is a women's vocal ensemble whose lively performance of Eastern European folk music has captivated audiences across the northeast. The ensemble's mission is to bring this beautiful music to a wide range of audiences — from those who are familiar through their ancestral roots to those who are encountering it for the first time. This free performance takes place prior to the ticketed performance by the Virsky Ukrainian National Dance Company in Verizon Hall.
___________________________________________________________________________________
Tickets can be purchased by calling 215-893-1999, online at www.kimmelcenter.org, or at the Kimmel Center box office open daily from 10am to 6pm and later on performance evenings. (Additional fees may apply.) For group sales call 215-790-5883.
A limited number of $10 tickets are available for every Kimmel Center Presents performance. Tickets go on sale the day of the event and can be purchased at the Kimmel Center box office at 5:30pm prior to evening curtain time and 11:30am for matinees. Limit one ticket per person.
___________________________________________________________________________________
Kimmel Center Presents' 2009/10 Season is sponsored by Citi. American Airlines is the Official Airline of Kimmel Center Presents.
Free at the Kimmel programming and subsidized tickets offered to the community and social service groups for $10 are made possible through the Wachovia Gateway to the Arts Community Access Program, supported by a generous grant from the Wachovia Foundation.
The Kimmel Center is the recipient of partnership funding through the nationally recognized PNC "Grow Up Great" initiative, a ten-year, $100 million investment in preparing children for success in school and life. Funding gives support to the Kimmel Center's early childhood program "Bop and Swing," an arts program for children 1-5 years old, designed to promote an appreciation for American culture.
> index of news releases
> For more information, and to request high resolution images for press use, send us a message online.