Last modified: Friday, October 26, 2012
African American Arts Institute presenting Potpourri concert, 'It's a New Season, It's a New Day'
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Oct. 26, 2012
BLOOMINGTON -- Indiana University's African American Arts Institute will present its annual "A Potpourri of Arts in the African American Tradition" concert at 8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 10, at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater, 114 E. Kirkwood Ave. in downtown Bloomington.
Tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for children and students, (limit two per IU ID), and are available at the Buskirk-Chumley Box Office.
"A Potpourri of the Arts" was created to bring together, in a single program, the diverse range of expressions the institute's ensembles showcase: the African American Dance Company, African American Choral Ensemble and IU Soul Revue.
The African American Dance Company will present a Ghanaian war dance to convey strength, power and unity within the community as well as traditional African and improvisational movements within the contemporary modern dance genre.
The African American Choral Ensemble will perform a varied program featuring choral anthems, hymns, spirituals, and inspirational and gospel songs composed and/or arranged by Jester Hairston, Moses Hogan and Raymond Wise, the ensemble's director.
The IU Soul Revue's set will feature the music of Motown, including memorable tunes recorded by the Temptations, the Supremes and Stevie Wonder.
"The students' contributions of ideas, movement sequences, and individual and collective expression are central to the African American Dance Company's ownership of the dance piece," said its director, Iris Rosa. "Their commitment to exploring the various movement genres through improvisation and collaborative effort will be evident in animated and energetic performance."
The theme of this year's Potpourri, "It's a New Season, It's a New Day," provides a fitting welcome to Wise, the new African American Choral Ensemble director. For the finale, which features all three AAAI ensembles, Wise has provided an arrangement to gospel artist Israel Houghton's "New Season," merged with pop artist Alicia Keys' "New Day."
"This performance will be special because it is my first time performing at length with ACE and it will be my first Potpourri performance. I'm looking forward to connecting with the IU and Bloomington community as well as collaborating with the other AAAI ensembles," Wise said.
