Presenter Resources

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Presenter Resources

 

CREDITS

Center StageSM logo placement is greatly appreciated. On web-based materials, please link from the Center StageSM logo or written name to www.centerstageUS.org.

The following credit is required on the title page in all printed performance programs.  We appreciate its use wherever else it’s practical: brochures, posters, ensemble-only promotional materials, press releases, advertisements, etc.

The presentation of [name of ensemble] is part of Center StageSM, an initiative of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, administered by the New England Foundation for the Arts, in cooperation with the U.S. Regional Arts Organizations, with additional support from the Robert Sterling Clark Foundation, the Asian Cultural Council, and the Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art. General Management for Center StageSM is provided by Lisa Booth Management, Inc.

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[Name of Artist or Ensemble]
On tour as part of Center StageSM

 

Arieb Azhar - On tour as part of Center StageSM
Sharp eloquence, humanist politics, and mystic poetries are given a global voice by this singer-songwriter and his acoustic band from Islamabad, Pakistan. Defying easy categorization, Arieb Azhar’s mesmerizing baritone “encompasses about all the emotions life has to offer.” (PRI)  He leads a quartet of musicians in an eclectic mix of urban and folk-based songs grounded in Sufi and other humanist poetries from across Eurasia. Azhar pays tribute to Irish balladeers, Croatian gypsies, Punjabi traders and ancient Sanskrit texts.  “Rather than preserving ‘pure’ art forms, we try to express the human soul the best we can, while making use of all influences we have absorbed along the way.” (Arieb Azhar)

Artist Website
Video: Husn-e-Hagigi 'Beauty of Truth' (5:38)
Video: Saif-ul-Malook (6:31)
Video: Hum Charsi Bhangi Hain - Live in Lahore (5:02)
Interview: Arieb Azhar interviewed by Anjum Dawood Alden for PakUSonline
Blog Post: The Good Life - Express Tribune

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BélO - On tour as part of Center StageSM
Haiti’s acoustic innovator and social activist channels his home’s deep and diverse Afro-Caribbean roots with catchy, reggae-inflected songs and R&B soul.  BélO’s punchy, energetic Ragganga cocktails served up in Creole are a perfect fit for the dance hall or the concert floor.  “His mix of reggae with jazz and slicker pop has made him a star both at home and in Europe.” (NY Daily News)

Facebook 
Video: Kote moun yo (3:28)  Lyrics/Translation: Where are the people
Video: Lakou Trankil (5:35)  
Audio: Banda (3:27)  Lyrics
Print Essay: BélO's Return is Sweet Music to Haiti
Video Feature: TIME Magazine: BélO, Singing for Haiti

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Compagnie de Danse Jean-René Delsoin - On tour as part of Center StageSM
This company's gorgeously entwined movement and sound embraces Haitian drumming, ballet technique, and modern dance influences.  “Bold, energetic, sensational.” (Spotlight/Haiti) Jean-René Delsoin’s outstanding, vibrant dancers and drummers embody choreography that captures Haiti now – raw and refined, spiritual, powerful, and precarious.  “From Raboday to Nago, passing through Congo and the Yanvalou, corporeal rhythms and expressions worked in harmony to transform everything into beauty.” (Le Nouvelliste/Haiti)

Artist Website
Center Stage Blog
Video Excerpts (9:07)

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Jogja Hip Hop Foundation - On tour as part of Center StageSM
Indonesia’s foremost crew stands in the cultural cross-hairs, rapping across language and other borders.  Hailing from Yogyakarta, one of Indonesia’s artistic well-springs, this sharp Javanese collective promotes tolerance and pluralism. Jogja Hip Hop Foundation takes on corruption and inequality with wit and hooks that meld global and indigenous trance rhythms, Indonesian pop and gamelan music, ancient Javanese poetry and literature.

Artist Website
Print Feature: Jogja Beats in the Big Apple (Jakarta Globe)
Essay: Jogja Hip Hop Reaches Birthplace of Hip Hop by Ugoran Prasad
Video: Visibly Smart (5:55)
Video: Hiphopdiningrat (3:29)
Video: Cicak Nguntal Boyo (2:50)

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Nan Jombang - On tour as part of Center StageSM
West Sumatran contemporary dance company bursts open ethnic traditions and contemporary cultural tensions with percussive, persuasive and vital modern dance.  Made and performed by a family of artists, Nan Jombang’s work is a compelling mix of Minangkabau performing arts traditions (drumming, dance, martial arts), spirituality, and contemporary movement. On tour they present Rantau Berbisik (Whisperings of Exile) by artistic director Ery Mefri. “This was a moving and profound evening of dance. If you can still get a ticket, do so.” (Glam Adelaide/Australia)

Video: Repertory Excerpt (1:36)
Video: Profile (3:57)
Video: Rantau Berbisik (excerpts; 9:28)
Video: Sarikaik (excerpts; 9:20)
Review: 'Sangketo Piriang' dance fuses traditional and modern (Jakarta Post)

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noori - On tour as part of Center StageSM
One of Pakistan’s top pop bands busts through local convention and international rock barriers with brainy songs and emotional beats.  Led by charismatic brothers Ali Noor and Ali Hamza, noori delivers a great rock and roll show with a distinctive subcontinent kick.  The band’s complex thematic and musical explorations push boundaries to deliver “one hell of a rock ‘n’ roll ride with funkier grooves and a remarkable spirit.” (Instep/The International News, Pakistan)

Artist Website
Video: Dil Ki Qasam - in concert (5:29)
Video: Manwa Re (3:26)
Video: Hor Vi Neevan Ho 'Even More Bowed Down Be' (8:28)
Print Feature: Noori: Back with a bang (Express Tribune)
Print Feature: Concert: Revamped with new single, Noori steals the show (Express Tribune) 

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Papermoon Puppet Theatre - On tour as part of Center StageSM
In a country with world-renowned puppetry traditions, the young, expert artists of Papermoon are extending the form with their mixed-media productions, and creating works that imaginatively explore identity, society and Indonesia’s recent past. On tour for Center Stage: Mwathirika, set in 1965, the infamous Year of Living Dangerously, when thousands of Indonesians were jailed and murdered during anti-Communist purges.  Papermoon’s non-verbal multi-media production unravels Indonesian culture and recovers a lost history with grace and graphic boldness.

Artist Web Site
Video: Mwathirika Trailer (5:39)
Print Feature: Maria Tri Sulistyani & Iwan Effendi: Making puppets for all (Jakarta Post)
Review: ‘Mwathirika’ reveals dark side in RI history (Jakarta Post)

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Ti-Coca & Wanga-Nègès - On tour as part of Center StageSM
Rootsy acoustic twoubadou by modern masters sways, seduces, and evokes a late-night dance party, no matter where the performance. Mereng (Haiti’s cousin to the Dominican meringue), and Konpa-direk, the most popular dance rhythm from the 1950s to the 1980s, share the stage with contredanse and Cuban influences. Renowned internationally, Wanga-Nègès (the name refers to a hummingbird that's a symbol of seduction) was formed by David Mettelus -- Ti-Coca ('little coke bottle') in 1976.  For 30 years, the musical cocktails they mix have offered up the sparkle and also the bitter and sweet sides of life.

Video: Ti-Coca & Wanga-Nègès Live 2011 (9:07)
Video: Ti-Coca à la Radio des Suds (3:19)
Video: "Simbi Dlo" (4:25)

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Very Live - On tour as part of Center StageSM
As Danish Ali (that’s Dah-nish), a doe-eyed MD turned punster, and improv maven Ali Gul Pir tell us that in Pakistan there’s no lack of material for a comic.  And they’ll have a whole new set of experiences to riff on when Center Stage brings these bilingual and multi-cultural tricksters to the U.S. just in time for our November Presidential election.  Exchanges, workshops, and meet-ups  with the occasional open mic segment will highlight largely off-stage (non-performance) residencies – no joke.

 
Danish Ali's website
Ali Gul Pir's Facebook
Print: Ali Gul Pir on being a 'Tony Marroo' (Tribune)
Print: For Danish Ali, laughter is the best medicine (Tribune)

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Zeb & Haniya- On tour as part of Center StageSM
Hailing from Lahore, Pakistan, this female singer/guitarist duo's ingenious folk renditions and jazzy blues span Central Asia with savvy warmth. Backed by their 5-piece band, a mix of original songs and newly interpreted tunes from Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Central Asia carve a space for music that transcends national boundaries. Whether singing in Farsi, Turkish, Pashto or English, Zeb and Haniya bend ears to understanding.  “There is poetry in the air when Zeb & Haniya take the stage with earthy and sultry glory.” (Arab Times)

Artist's Website
Audio Feature: Music in The Time of Extremism (NPR Morning Edition)
Print Feature: Fans rock out with Zeb and Haniya at NYUAD (Abu Dhabi Week)
Video: Bibi Sanam Janem ("My Adored Lady") (6:16)
Video: Chal Diye (4:00)

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