"Target Passport Fridays 2011" Series
Queens Museum of Art
This event has ended.
The Queens Museum of Art and Target present Target Passport Fridays 2011,the seventh season of the museum’s annual outdoor summer festival of international music, dance and film.
This year’s journey around the globe begins in Ecuador and includes stops in Africa, Haiti, Taiwan, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Colombia and Venezuela. Each evening begins with live dance and music performances followed by the feature film screening after sunset. In addition, the museum’s galleries and café will stay open until 8:00pm and kids can enjoy free art workshops between 6:30-8:00 pm. Every Friday is a chance to escape New York for a night and step into a cultural harmony, traveling the globe through music, dance, and film. From learning a traditional African dance to listening to world class singers and instrumentalists, you can open your mind to discover different locales every week. Let Target Passport Fridays take you on a trip around the world without Get swept across the world on a 3,000 mile walking journey with three young boys from Rwanda to the 2010 Soccer World Cup in South Africa in Africa United (screening July 15); find yourself immersed in the magical escape efforts led by a group of Ecuadorian travelers from detainment in a first world airport in Prometeo Deportado (screening July 8); and discover the rare sounds of Julliard trained and traditional Chinese instrumentalists of Taiwan from Drum Spirit of China (performing July 29). From the riveting performance inspired by the “Golden Age” of Egyptian musical cinema (the 1940s to 1960s) from dance and music ensemble Zikrayat to the complex survey of lives intertwined and overlapped in the Egyptian metropolis of Cairo in the film Heliopolis (performance and screening August 12), you can expect nothing less than an electrifying night. Let brilliant pianist and musical visionary Pablo Mayor wow you with his unique musical arrangements of Colombian folklore and jazz harmonies with Pablo Mayor & Ensemble (performing August As the sun sets and the excitement slows down, sit back, relax and watch as an ordinary citizen becomes an avenging motorcycle hero with plans to foil the crime spree of a local street gang in Caracas, Venezuela in Libertador Morales, el justiero (screening August 26). Or travel to the lush mountains and historical relics of Haiti while following the stories of three teenage street boys who live amidst the hundreds of thousands of orphaned children and share a common dream of education, government assistance, and social acceptance in the film Children of Haiti (screening July 22). Whether it’s Merengue Tipico (Perico Ripao), dating back to 1850s Dominican Republic and the oldest style still performed today, from Chepe & su conjunto tipico (performing August 5) or the premiere Ecuadorian rock band Sal y Mileto (performing July 8), there is something in Passport Fridays for everyone.
Every Friday is a chance to escape New York for a night and step into a cultural harmony, traveling the globe through music, dance, and film. From learning a traditional African dance to listening to world class singers and instrumentalists, you can open your mind to discover different societies every week. Let Target Passport Fridays take you on a trip around the world without ever leaving Queens.
JULY 8: ECUADOR
Dance: Ayezamana presents colorful folkloric dance styles from various regions of Ecuador. They promote the diversity of Ecuadorian culture through public performances and classes for children.
Music: Sal y Mileto, Ecuador’s premiere rock band, visiting from their home country!
Film: Prometeo Deportado (Fernando Mieles, 2010, Ecuador/Venezuela, 112 min, Spanish with English ST) In a European airport, a large group of Ecuadorians is detained. Everyone is hiding something, like Prometeo the young magician in handcuffs with a mysterious trunk. As time passes in this dark comedy, the sociopolitical
atmosphere of Ecuador recreates itself in this waiting room. A little magic seems the only way out of their confinement. Co-presented with the IV Showcase of Ecuadorian Films produced by the Ecuadorian Consulate
in NY and SENAMI
JULY 15: AFRICA
Dance & Music: Ballet African International is an internationally touring dance and drum ensemble from Queens under the direction of Director/ Choreographer, Amina Heckstall and Damon Foster. Since 2005, the company has stood for conserving, innovating, and teaching the cultural arts of The African Diaspora. They will perform “Listen for the Drum Call,” in which the African Ancestors through the drum’s sound have come to return a child home to Africa. The drum call alerts the community to the beginning of a celebration, ceremony, or rites of passage. The dances are inspired by the movements of forest animals and the work of women in the
fields, transporting audiences to the time of tradition and ritual in Africa.
Film: Africa United (Debs Gardner-Paterson, 2010, Rwanda/South Africa/UK, 88min, English)
The extraordinary story of three Rwandan kids who walk 3000 miles to the 2010 Soccer World Cup in South Africa. They set off through the endless horizons of Africa in pursuit of an unlikely dream. And as they walk they gather a ragamuffin team of broken and brilliant characters who help them negotiate a way through a series of glorious, dangerous, hilarious and often bizarre situations through seven countries. Co-presented with the New York African Film Festival
JULY 22: HAITI
Dance: The Legros Cultural Arts Dance Project will perform two folkloric dances deeply rooted in African and French traditions, releasing one’s spirit to nourish the soul.
Music: Jocelyne Dorismé migrated to the U.S. in 1997 and is a performer who maintains a folkloric style in contemporary songs about the reconstruction of her country.
Film: Children of Haiti (Alexandria Hammond, 2010, USA/Haiti, 60 min, in Kreyòl with English ST) In the midst of Haiti’s lush mountains and historical relics, hundreds of thousands of orphaned and abandoned children wander the streets day and night. Known as the sanguine (“soulless”) and forgotten by their own people, the film follows three teenage street boys, who reflect on their country and their lives, sharing a common dream of education, government assistance and social acceptance. Preceded by shorts from the Ciné Institute in Jakmel which provides Haitian youth with film education and edutainment, technical training, and media related micro enterprise opportunities. Co-presented with Legros Cultural Arts.
JULY 29: TAIWAN
Dance: H.T. Chen & Dancers infuse Western modern dance with the strength and beauty of Asian aesthetics. The Company’s dynamic style has enchanted audiences across the United States, Europe and Asia since its inception in 1978.
Music: Drum Spirit of China’s members include Juilliard trained & traditional Chinese instrumentalists on gu (drums), luo (gongs), muyu (temple-blocks), and ba (cymbals), as well as zheng (zither), dizi (flute), and pipa
Film: Kung Fu Dunk/ Gōngfū Guànlán (Yen-ping Chu, Taiwan/China/Hong Kong, 2008, Mandarin with English ST) Shi-Jie (Jay Chou), an orphan who grew up at Kung Fu school, possesses extraordinary manual dexterity. By accident, he demonstrates a super-human slam-dunk maneuver, which impresses Uncle Li, who makes a living hustling on the streets. Under the pretext of helping Shi-Jie find his parents, Li invites him to play basketball for First University, but in fact is scheming to use him to make money. Co-presented with the Taipei Cultural Center and the Press Office of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in NY.
AUGUST 5: DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Dance: Ballet Folklorico Group of the Father Billini Association, a community-based agency founded in 1979 by a group of civic leaders in response to the needs of the immigrant community. It provides educational, cultural, job training, health and family services to residents of Corona, Elmhurst, East Elmhurst and Jackson Heights. The association serves about 3,000 people annually, primarily immigrant, low income, school-aged children, older adolescents, parents and community residents.
Music: Chepe & su conjunto tipico will present Merengue Tipico (Perico Ripao), the oldest style still performed today, dating back to the 1850s. After the 1960s, as Dominican society changed rapidly through urbanization and migration, merengue tipico changed too: the music became faster and more technically demanding, while incorporating new instruments.
Film: Sugar (Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, USA/Dominican Republic, 2009, 120min, Spanish & English with English ST) At 19, Miguel “Sugar” Santos, a serious kid from the Dominican Republic, signs with Kansas City. He flies to Phoenix for tryouts and is sent to the Class A team “The Swing” in the fictional town of Bridgetown,
Iowa, where he lives with a farm family. Thus begins his odyssey: leaving his mom and girlfriend; living in an alien culture; learning English; overcoming jitters; achieving early success; navigating friendships, occasional racism, dealing with an injury; and, searching for his place in the world. Co-presented with the Dominico-
American Society.
AUGUST 12: EGYPT
Dance & Music: Zikrayat is a music and dance ensemble dedicated to presenting the classical music and the dance traditions of Egypt and the greater Arab World. Alternating between vocal and instrumental pieces with solo and group dance numbers, the group is inspired by the “Golden Age” of Egyptian musical cinema (the 1940s to 1960s), a period during which most of the major figures in music and dance in the Arab world worked in film. Zikrayat’s repertoire also includes traditional and standard numbers, as well as original classical and folkloric compositions in the style of the period.
Film: Heliopolis (Ahmad Abdalla, Egypt, 2009, 96min, Arabic with English ST) The events of one day in the lives of a number of Cairo residents is a portrayal of unfulfilled dreams and frustrating details of life in the overpopulated metropolis. Paths cross and stories overlap, but the characters are caught up in their struggle
and are oblivious to one another against the background of what used to be one of Cairo’s most glamorous neighborhoods. Co-presented with Alwan for the Arts.
Dance: Estampas Negras Colombian folkloric dance covering the diverse costumes and styles of several regions of the country.
Music: Pablo Mayor & Ensemble - Pablo Mayor is a composer, arranger, pianist, from Cali, Colombia, whose reputation has grown from that of a brilliant pianist and writer to that of a leader and visionary since moving to NYC in 1999. While Professor of Jazz at Universidad Javeriana in Bogotá, Colombia, in 1998, Mr. Mayor
began his personal investigation of the native music of Colombia. Mr. Mayor has taken his knowledge of Colombian folklore and has combined it with an extensive knowledge of jazz harmonies and arranging. His work with his group, the Folklore Urbano Orchestra, has produced three CD’s and taken the band to both national and international venues.
Film: The Accordion Kings (Alan Tomlinson, USA/Colombia, 2008, 60min, English & Spanish with English ST) Travel down to Colombia and go behind the scenes of the Vallenato Kings Festival where, each April, the world’s greatest accordionists assemble to perform, compete, and celebrate the squeezebox. Meet the players and hear their stories, including pop star Carlos Vives who is from the Magdalena River region where the music originated and who popularized this folk form, and Yeime, who became the first female to win the juvenile competition in over forty years. Film courtesy of Smithsonian Channel. Co-presented with Festival de los Flores NY 2011, which will present the largest floral tapestry in the world encircling the majestic
Unisphere!
AUGUST 26: VENEZUELA
Dance: Los crema paraiso is the new sensational and powerful trio from Neil Ochoa (Si Se), José Luis Pardo (Los Amigos Invisibles) and Alvaro Benavides that brings Venezuelan traditional music into jazz, rock, funk, latin grooves, electronica and exotic sounds from all over the world.
Music: Big Mandrake! (formerly Sin Sospechas), bring their upbeat latin ska sounds to Flushing Meadows, on a special trip from their native Venezuela.
Film: Libertador Morales, el justiero (Efterpi Charalambidis, Venezuela, 2009, 102min, Spanish with English ST) An honest motorcycle-taxi driver and law-abiding citizen, Libertador Morales dons a disguise to become El Justiciero, an avenging motorcycle hero who foils the crime spree of a local street gang in Caracas. Co-presented with the Havana Film Festival NY.
Media
Schedule
from July 08, 2011 to August 26, 2011
Every Friday, 6:30 – 10 pm