Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts

Philadelphia Says Bonjour, And Bienvenue (Welcome), Paris! Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts, April 7 to May 1

NOVEMBER 10, 2010

For Three Weeks in April, Philadelphia Will

Get Its French on as Artists From the City of Light

Light Up the First 

Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts

                

Love baguettes and berets? Chanel and Chagall?  How about ballet, French jazz, mimes and Babar?  All that and more will be center stage next spring, as Philadelphia goes French for three weeks (April 7 to May 1) with the launch of the first Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts (PIFA), offering a slate of programming featuring French artists from the City of Light and beyond.

 

Philadelphia has always had more than a touch of the soul of Paris:  The Ben Franklin Parkway, modeled after the Champs Elysée. The Seine-like Schuylkill River bordered by tree-lined pathways. The city’s narrow streets and ironwork-trimmed homes. Its outdoor cafes, its Parisian walkability, and its spectacular French Impressionist collections at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the renowned Barnes collection. Philadelphia has enough similarities to be the City of Light’s nearest and dearest American sister.

 

“France is iconic in terms of its impact on the arts,” says festival executive director J. Edward Cambron. “One hundred years ago, Paris was the epicenter of creativity. What happened during that time shaped how we defined the arts throughout the 20th century, and now, Philadelphia’s cultural community is poised to fuel the same spirit of ingenious creativity.  Plus, as always in America’s birthplace, there is history here as well. Philadelphia¾going back to the days of founding fathers Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson¾has always held a special place in its heart for France, and especially Paris. PIFA gives us a spectacular way to highlight that connection, for both residents and visitors alike.”

 

PIFA, inspired by the Kimmel Center¾Philadelphia's renowned performing arts center and architectural gem that's more Pompidou than Louvre¾ pays homage to that spirit of collaboration and innovation that made magic in Paris 1910-1920.  The festival will be a celebration of works from that era and new creations inspired by the brashly avant-garde spirit of the period. Through PIFA’s launch, the vibrant cultural center that is Philadelphia and its neighboring communities will serve up a rich banquet of music, dance, fashion, fine arts, outdoor events, theatre, literature, cuisine and more, ensuring that just about everyone will find something irresistible to enjoy.

 

Festival highlights include over 30 specially commissioned works as well as the participation of nearly 140 regional arts and cultural partner organizations. “It  provides an extraordinary opportunity for Philadelphia,” remarked Michael Scullin, Consul of France in Philadelphia, “not only for our French and francophile communities, but really for all arts lovers and newcomers to experience the diversity of French artistry right in their backyard, without having to leave home.”

 

Pierre Vimont, French Ambassador to the United States, observed: “The Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts is an ideal way to further the strong bonds between France and the U.S., and particularly the longstanding connection between Paris and Philadelphia. I have always admired your city and its special commitment to the arts. I am delighted to see such diversity and vitality displayed in the festival's schedule. During this amazing French April in Philadelphia we encourage all people from France and the U.S. to attend and enjoy.”

 

Part of what makes the precedent-setting PIFA a “can’t miss” experience is its unique mix of programming, from traditionally classic to the inventive pairing of radically different art forms and cultural organizations. From music to dance, theatre to film and even symposia, just some of the highlight works to be showcased that feature French artists include:

 

MUSIC / FROM CLASSICAL TO HIP-HOP, JAZZ & MORE

 

Philadelphia will be ringing with the sounds of music next April, with something to satisfy music lovers of every genre. Love classical? The exciting, young French quartet Quatuor Ebéne will enchant audiences with the rich sounds that have earned them international acclaim – performing a pair of Gallic masterpieces by Ravel and Debussy as well as Bartók’s Quartet No. 3 in their Philadelphia debut with the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society.

 

Orchestra lovers will revel in the appearance of L'Orchestre National de France as part of Great Orchestras on Tour. Praised by the Philadelphia Inquirer for its “sheen and brightness that bathes the music in a new light,” France’s best-known orchestra returns for the Kimmel Center debuts of conductor Daniele Gatti and pianist Jean-Efflam Bavouzet to perform works that revolutionized musical composition—and scandalized audiences—more than a century ago, and which continue to challenge and inspire today.

 

Grand Master of French Jazz, Martial Solal ¾still going strong at 83, comes to Philadelphia as part of the Kimmel Center Jazz Up Close series in a tribute to the legendary Thelonius Monk with a rare solo performance. Solal, who honed his chops in Saint-Germain-des-Prés underground jazz dives after moving to Paris in 1950 at 23, quickly rose to prominence, recording with jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt and sax man Don Byas before being tapped to score Jean-Luc Godard’s classic film Breathless. Since then he’s composed 15 piano etudes and scored over 35 films.

 

Contemporary pop and hip-hop fans will themselves be breathless with the appearance of ?UESTLOVE with KEREN ANN ¾an inventive pairing combining new music with the realm of singer/songwriters. Unconventional drummer, DJ, and producer, ?uestlove launched to stardom as a member of Grammy® winning band The Roots. Recognized for his expressive style, infused with hip-hop and multicultural elements, he’s collaborated on projects with musical artists spanning every genre from pop to Broadway, including Christina Aguilera, John Mayer, Jay-Z, and Iggy Pop. Paris -based Keren Ann has been at the forefront of the French music scene for over a decade, melding trip-hop, folk and pop to create works featured internationally, including U.S. television series such as Grey’s Anatomy and Six Feet Under. For PIFA, ?uestlove's spin on Paris of 100 years ago, together with French singer/songwriter Keren Ann, is sure to attract its own pairing of audiences from both genres!

 

Lovers of jazz and global music styles are sure to groove with Les Nubians¾French-Cameroonian sisters Celia and Helen Faussart whose unique fusion of Funkin' Fashion and Modern Amazon weaves a tapestry of hip-hop, jazz, R&B and Afropop. The Grammy®-nominated recording artists’ inventive and glamorous Afropean style embodies the timeless vibrations of Miriam Makeba, Ella Fitzgerald, Doudou N'diaye Rose, Fela Kuti, Edith Piaf, The Fugees, and Soul II Soul.

 

From French-Cameroon to French-Algerian comes Watcha Clan¾Marseille-based musical nomads Sista K, Suprême Clem, Matt la basse, Soupa Ju and Jah Rob. Juggling languages, rhythms and cultures of their roots, Watcha Clan’s music has been described as a feast of controlled chaos. The jump from French to Arabic to Hebrew to English and gleefully mash up hip hop, electronic, Mediterranean and Eastern European musical stylings creating a sound that defies classification.

 

DANCE

 

One of the most anticipated works of the festival ¾HEAVEN with Rennie Harris PureMovement ¾ presents the most intricate work of the world-renowned hip-hop ambassador’s choreographic career. In collaboration with French choreographers Gemini (a global force in the Locking style of hip-hop dance who got his start on the streets of Paris) and Michel “Meech” Onomo (acclaimed professional dancer in House Dance and hip-hop "Newstyle”), Harris has created a new work inspired by Stravinsky’s masterpiece Rite of Spring, rethinking how shared vocabularies in dance and music cross generations and cultural divides. Featuring 15 dancers, Japanese motifs, and multimedia anime that includes an innovative lighting installation and live music, HEAVEN reflects on the birth and growth of hip-hop dance.

 

From hip-hop to multi-cultural and multiple art forms, comes another level of unique collaborators in Compagnie Transe Express. Born out of a vision of dancer/choreographer Brigitte Burdin and sculptor Gilles Rhode to assemble a troupe of street artists who create public spectacles that break all boundaries, cross all disciplines and leave audiences in awe, Compagnie Transe Express enraptured the world with their magical, almost unbelievable gravity-defying stunts at the 1992 Albertville Olympics. A “can’t miss” experience, they’ve brought their creative signature spectacles of music, dance, aerial gymnastics, pyrotechnics, and theater to audiences in more than 60 countries across 5 continents.

 

COMBINING MUSIC, THEATRE AND FILM

 

PIFA’s distinctive pairings are exemplified by the must-see Remember Paris, a world premiere and part of the Kimmel Center Master Musicians series that combines music, theatre and film into an unforgettable art form of its own. Featuring international organistThierry Escaich, acclaimed director Emmanuelle Delpech-Ramey and

filmmaker Gilles Boustani, the work centers on a man and a woman, played by two silent actors, who poignantly transport audiences back to a Paris embodied by decadence and eroticism, by artistic daring and the devastations of war. Escaich, known as “an improviser of genius,” is renowned for his concert work and brilliant compositions. Here, he and Emmanuelle Delpech-Ramey musically and theatrically re-create Paris from 1910 to 1920, aided by avant-garde filmmaker Gilles Boustani’s commissioned video featuring inventive projections of historic images and dreamlike reimaginings of the City of Lights. Delpech-Ramey is known to local audiences, having made her mark with Pig Iron Theatre earning a Barrymore Award for Best Supporting Actress in James Joyce Is Dead and So Is Paris.

 

In another captivating coupling, for music and film buffs, the artistry of Philadelphia’s Relâche takes a new form with Les Films Silencieux¾ the screening of the French film The Mystery of the Rocks of Kador (1912, dir. Léonce Perret) with a new score by French composer Régis Huby, performed live by Relâche, which also performs to several Max Linder shorts with live, improvised music.  The Breton-born Huby, as violinist, composer and improviser, and influenced by his studies in jazz and Indian music, takes the tradition of French avant-garde jazz and turns it on its ear.

 

SYMPOSIUM/ A CONVERSATION: PARIS 1910 – 1920

 

Speaking directly to the heart of the Festival¾What was so unusual about that decade in Paris? Why did artists from all over the world flock to the City of Lights, and what was so world-changing about what they did? And what was it really like to live in Paris, for artists as well as everyday citizens? Alex Ross and Joan Acocella, noted music and dance critics for The New Yorker, Michael R. Taylor, Curator of Modern Art at The Philadelphia Museum of Art, and Jeffrey Jackson, historian and author of Paris Under Water, take us on a journey back to Paris at the beginning of the 20th Century to find the answers.

 

The full slate of PIFA programming to date can be accessed both on www.pifa.org as well as on-hand at the Kimmel Center Box Office. While special ticket packages will be announced soon, tickets to individual performances and events can be purchased on the PIFA website, in-person at the Kimmel Center Box Office, or by phone at 215-546-PIFA. Tickets are priced by individual presenting organizations, ranging from FREE to the public to $125. For the most up to date information, contact PIFA at (215) 790-5800 or visit www.pifa.org.  

 

PIFA¾The Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts (PIFA), inspired by the Kimmel Center, launches the city’s art and cultural scene onto the world stage with a three-week festival offering performances, exhibits and events for loyal fans and casual attendees. Based on the philosophy of collaboration, innovation and creativity, PIFA’s programs represent every arts discipline and include more than 100 partners. Offerings include newly commissioned works, classical performances and exhibits, surprising partnerships featuring local and international artists and exciting explorations of traditional, non-traditional, new and emerging art forms. In homage to the artistic energy of Paris 1910-1920, PIFA celebrates works from that era and new creations inspired by the brashly innovative spirit of the period. The festival was made possible by an extraordinary grant from Philadelphia philanthropist Leonore Annenberg, whose vision for a city-wide celebration of the arts shaped its philosophy and programming. PIFA takes place April 7-May 1, 2011. 

 

Kimmel Center, Inc., a charitable, not-for-profit organization, owns, manages, supports and maintains The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, which includes Verizon Hall, Perelman Theater, Innovation Studio and the Merck Arts Education Center.  Kimmel Center, Inc. also manages the Academy of Music, owned by the Philadelphia Orchestra Association, and the University of the Arts’ Merriam Theater. Our mission is to operate a world-class performing arts center that engages and serves a broad audience from throughout the Greater Philadelphia region. The 2010/2011 season is sponsored by Citi, and the Broadway 2010/2011 season is sponsored by Verizon, and American Airlines.  For additional information, visit kimmelcenter.org.  

 

For further press information on PIFA, including access to the festival, media appearances or interviews, please contact Nina Zucker Associates, (610) 667.0706 or nzapr@aol.com.

For information on sponsorship or festival participation please contact Dawn Frisby-Byers at (215) 670.2324 or DfrisbyByers@kimmelcenter.org.

For general information about the festival, please call (215) 790.5800 or visit www.pifa.org.                                

> index of news releases
> For more information, and to request high resolution images for press use, send us a message online.