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Name Description
Montana Logging & Ballet Co. Musical political satire troupe.
African Heritage Dancers and Drummers A leading Black performing arts company specializing in traditional West African dance, music and culture. The African HeritageCompany gives as authentic a cultural presentation as can be seen on this side of the Atlantic.
Traditional Aztec Fire Dancers The phrase In Tlanextli Tlacopan? is a nahuatl term meaning En El Esplandor de Tlacopan? in Spanish or ?In the Splendor of Tlacopan? in English. Our group is named such because our Aztec (Mexicah) traditions come from the barrio of Tlacopan (today known as ?Tacuba?). Our dances (5 to 7 dancers) represent the splendor of our Mexicah culture. Through these dances, we honor our Native American and Mexicah ancestors, and preserve our historical and cultural Mexicah identities. Our group is a family-based one, composed mainly of Tellez Family members. My entire family, including brothers, sisters, nieces and nephews are from Tlacopan (Tacuba). We have all learned the tradition of Aztec Dancing or ?La Danza Azteca? from our barrio in Tlacopan (Tacuba) since we were children and we continue to participate in important Aztec (Mexicah) ceremonies. We have presented our culture though our dances throughout the U.S., including New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Through our presentations at powwows or other community events, we try to share our culture with other people. We want people to know the splendor of the Aztec peoples is alive and well and not an imagination from the past. We hope you will become a part of that experience.
The Native Spirit Dancers The Native Spirit Dancers were formed by Brian Hammill in 1997 as a way to share native culture and dance with various people from all across the United States as well as overseas. The Native Spirit dancers are based out of Phoenix Arizona; however the dancers represent various nations from all across the United States as well as Canada. Through their unique style of education and Humor, Native Spirit is able to enrich the lives of those people that they encounter.Brian Hammill is a member of the Ho-chunk nation from southern Wisconsin and a proud veteran of the United States Army. He is an accomplished hoop dancer, constantly ranked among the top 10 in the world. His performance includes many intricate maneuvers creating various symbols significant in his life. He was born and raised in Benton, Wisconsin and now resides in Phoenix, AZ. We are able to provide a variety of dance shows using many of the different dances that you will find below. The explanations for these dances are from the knowledge and experiences of Brian Hammill. Throughout the United States and Canada, there are many different versions of the origins for many of the dances. The Native American culture is a living culture. Our people as well as the dances are constantly changing and evolving. These dances have strong roots in history as well as signs of modern influence.The dances that we share are known as social or intertribal dances. As people of the first nations we belong to a living and growing culture the dances are presented as they are portrayed today at our social events all across the country. The styles listed below are just a few of the ones that our people are blessed with. And eager to share with you.
NATIVE PRIDE DANCERS featuring Larry Yazzie NATIVE PRIDE DANCERS featuring Larry Yazzie Larry Yazzie (Meskwaki/Dine) is a World Champion Fancy Dancer who consistently takes top honors at American Indian powwows in the United States and Canada. In 1995, he won the World Championship for the Northern Style Fancy Dance. Larry was raised at the Meskwaki Nation’s homeland in Tama, Iowa (USA). At the age of seven he took up Fancy Dancing. The Fancy Dance is beloved for its flamboyant and colorful regalia, as well as for the physical challenge it poses for powwow competition dancers. Creativity and endurance are tested by song after song at an up-beat tempo. His repertoire also features the grass, horse tail, shield, buffalo, and traditional dances. Since he was in his early teens, Larry has been competing in the powwow category. As a performer, Larry has toured the United States, Canada, and Europe. In 1994, with the Foxwoods Dance Troupe, he performed in France, Poland, Finland, and Russia at the Goodwill Games in St. Petersburg. With the Discover Native American Dance Troupe, he performed at the 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympic Games. In 1998, he danced in the motion picture Grey Owl with actor Pierce Brosnan. In 1999, he was featured with the Lakota Dance Troupe at the Native American Film Awards in Los Angeles. In 2001 he co-produced an innovative collaboration with Keith Secola and The Wild Band of Indians, combining Native American dance with contemporary native folk, and blues. In 2001 Larry became an original member of the Kevin Locke Trio.
SALSA MAGIC SALSA MAGIC 2006 NACA National Showcase Alternate 2005 NACA Central Showcase 2005 NACA Mid-America Showcase 2005 NACA Mid-Atlantic Showcase Alternate 2005 NACA South Showcase 2005 NACA Mid-Atlantic Festival Showcase 2005 NACA Northern Plains Showcase 2005 NACA National Showcase 2004 NACA West Showcase 2004 NACA Northeast Showcase 2004 NACA South Showcase Alternate 2004 NACA Mid-America Showcase Alternate 2004 NACA L.I.F.E. Conference Showcase Alternate Featured on Fox Television's Ambush Makeover (Watch it on Feb. 22nd and Apr. 6th) There is only one EXCITING, INTERACTIVE LATIN DANCE PARTY on the College Market that will have your students begging for more!!! SalsaMagic College Interactive Latin Dance Party and Light Show with Lee & Florcita, have performed around the world with a one of a kind College Themed Dance Party that simply can’t be missed. Featured on Fox Television's Ambush Makeover, they have created an affordably priced, unique, interactive show and dance party, which will have you asking the question; why go to a club when you can have it come to your campus? You provide the students and dance floor and leave the rest to Salsa Magic. You get THREE HOURS OF NON STOP ENTERTAINMENT. Watch as Lee & Florcita dance their award winning Salsa Routine with unbelievable heart stopping flips, dips, lifts and moves that will have you asking yourself, IS HE REALLY WHITE! Students will interact and learn the NEWEST HOTTEST SALSA MOVES as they dance with one another as well as Lee & Florcita. ALL FOR AWESOME PRIZES: CD PLAYERS, CDS, BLING BLING LIGHTS AND SALSAMAGIC POSTERS. THIS SHOW IS COMPLETELY SELF CONTAINED, NO LIGHTING TECH, NO SOUND TECH, JUST STUDENTS READY TO HAVE AN AWESOME TIME!!! After the lessons and Dance Show Washington D.C.s own DJ Gringito will continue the Club party by lighting up the dance floor with the HOTTEST AND NEWEST ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY LIGHTING spinning the best in Salsa, Merengue, Bachata, Reggaton, Reggae, International, Hip Hop and Top 40. Whatever your flavor DJ Gringito will have it. Florcita will keep everyone moving and grooving from beginning to end. Lee & Florcita have won countless awards (National Finalist in the Washington D.C. Ortanique Salsa Challenge and winners of the Natura Park Salsa Competition, Punta Cana, Dominican Republic) They have performed in Canada, Mexico, the Dominican Republic and colleges across the country who are raving: We have never had this many students at a special events showcase, you guys rock! NACA West Official The Salsa Dancing was amazing. Fox Televisions Ambush Makeover "Most attended act of the year. You have to have this act!" Lawrence University - WI "It's the best act we ever brought to our campus." Universit of Maine - ME “The booty shaking contest was the funniest thing I had ever seen. The prizes are awesome!!!" Cochise College - AZ If you don’t book this act someone else will. The lights, selection of music and hot salsa, simply can’t be missed. There isn’t anything else like it! North Datota State University
Africatam Africatam Born in the West African country of Cameroon. Djembe drummer, traditional singer and juju dancer goes back to his experience as a young boy growing up in Africa.Africa Tam was launched at the African Festival where Emmy's tribal drumming skills and folkloric ancestral dancers entertained the audience. As founder and group leader Emmy brings skills in tribal drumming, singing, African drama, ancestral dancing and wood works of art that offers a different perspective to entertainment and cultural education. Live traditional African entertainment in both public and private events. Emmy Ayafor's sculptures, songs, dancing, drama and drumming sometime depict his inner thoughts, artistic vision and the love for his culture. Drumming is the heart and soul of Africa and plays a huge role in the African community. Africa is often known as a festival continent Drumming is used as a means of communication. Drums and other African percussions have been used for centuries to express feelings, stories, events, wedding, child birth, death ceremony, rituals and links to ancestral roots. Africans use drums and other musical instruments to communicate in their daily lives. Instruments used include wooden flute, Balophone, "kora" and Iron Gong {popularly known as the "ogene" in Eastern Nigerian}. Africatamtam will provide drums and teach drumming through drum circles. The master drummer will teach and create drum sounds into groups that when merged gives an African rhythm. Each group will play a particular tone. These tones will be following by stages of tones from other groups. In much of Africa , percussion often dominates music and in many cases the drum is the leading instrument. Hand clapping, foot tapping, and body patting were also important percussive sounds. The village crowd claps at times to the rhythms of the dancer or the songs. Sometimes the audience sings together with dancers and drummers. This brings harmony and relates to ones' love of culture and tradition.
JUXTAPOWER South Africa's Dance & Song JUXTAPOWER, (South Africas Song and Dance), Inc. is a project that was established by Sduduzo Ka-Mbili, in NEW YORK CITY, during the year 1999 so as to further showcase the rich and diverse culture of South Africa through dance and song. Sduduzo`s main vision for this project is to entertain, promote, and educate about the wealth of talent and culture that Azania has to offer. The whole idea for JUXTAPOWER was first galvanized by an unbalanced/complete lack of cultural/theatrical exchange between the United States and South Africa. It's time for CHANGE. JUXTAPOWER has truly grown into a successful entity whose talents are being recognized both nationally and internationally. JUXTAPOWER has since performed at Robert Deniro's TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL, Patrick Swayze's launch of his new Movie "KING SOLOMON'S MINES," hosted by Hallmark Channel, United Nations/States event honoring Justice Goldstone of South Africa, Miss World Pageant in the British Virgin Islands, and at the Apollo Theater Aids project for Africa. JUXTAPOWER has also performed before President Clinton, President Ford & President Carter, and many other famous personalities. JUXTAPOWER has traveled extensively to Pennsylvania, Memphis, Florida, Upstate New York, Baltimore, Connecticut, Pittsburgh, Georgia, and Washington DC, to name a few. JUXTAPOWER has also had the pleasure of working side by side with the Broadway cast of the Lion King on numerous projects and still continues to do so. The company had its first full production of Uhambo (The journey) showcased at the (Little Theater) Harlem YMCA. It was the first of the string of great performances to come. In May of 2002, JUXTAPOWER did its second biggest New York City season at the Kaye Playhouse in a 700 hundred-seat theater. The performance received great reviews and accolades from the audience and critics alike. Sduduzo Ka-Mbili's commitment to community service has offered him a home at the Harlem YMCA, which is where the company conducts its rehearsals and workshops.
Mayumana Mayumana is a performance group which specializes in percussion, dance, gymnastics, singing, and musicianship. Their shows are comparable to Stomp or Blue Man Group but with uniquely Israeli qualities. They perform regularly at their home theater in Tel Aviv, Israel and have also created several tours internationally playing to more than 2 million people in Europe, 1 million in Israel and 700,000 in South America. Although Mayumana officially began in 1996, they did not grow widely popular until 1998 at the Israel Festival, the annual national showcase for the performing arts. The name Mayumana is derived loosely from the Hebrew word meaning "skill" or "proficiency". Many skills are demanded of the performers in each Mayumana theatre troupe such as coordination, sight reading , flexibility, drumming techniques, and discipline in dance and yoga.
The Peking Acrobats Since their debut in 1986, THE PEKING ACROBATS have redefined audience perceptions of Chinese acrobatics. They perform daring maneuvers atop a precarious pagoda of chairs; they are experts at treacherous wire-walking, trick-cycling, precision tumbling, somersaulting and gymnastics. They defy gravity with amazing displays of contortion, flexibility and control. They push the envelope of human possibility with astonishing juggling dexterity and incredible balancing feats, showcasing tremendous skill and ability. They are masters of agility and grace. Often accompanied by live musicians skillfully playing traditional Chinese instruments and high-tech special effects that coalesce with the music and awe-inspiring feats to create an exuberant entertainment event featuring all the excitement and festive pageantry of a Chinese Carnival!
The Lux Aeterna Dance Company The Lux Aeterna Dance Company is a living experiment in movement fusion, seamlessly blending the raw aggression of breakdancing; the powerful grace of gymnastics, capoeira and the circus arts; and the refined beauty of ballet and modern dance. The result is a refreshingly new and unique approach to performance art. The group’s founder and director, Jacob “Kujo” Lyons, has been active in the B-boy scene for 15 years; he is committed to expanding the scope and vocabulary of the dance form.
Neil Bergs 100 Years of Broadway Neil Bergs 100 Years of Broadway 100 Years of Broadway is a jubilant review recreating the finest moments from the greatest musicals of the century featuring the actual stars of shows such as The Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables, Aida, Jesus Christ Superstar, and Jekyll & Hyde.
Hubbard Street Dance Chicago Hubbard Street Dance Chicago Internationally praised for exuberant, athletic and innovative repertory, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago presents performances that thrill, engage and challenge audiences worldwide. Hubbard Street’s skillful ensemble and leading-edge repertory place the company in the vanguard of contemporary dance in the U.S.
Paul Taylor Dance Company Led by a living legend and cultural icon, the celebrated Paul Taylor Dance Company has performed its founder/ director’s work for more than 50 years. Taylor’s imaginative choreography, rare sense of beauty and superb musicality—not to mention the brilliance of his dancers—are beyond compare.
Step Afrika Step Afrika! is a powerful collaborative project between young artists from the United States and the South Africa based Soweto Dance Theatre. The project highlights the African American fraternity and sorority art form of steping and it's link to traditonal South African dance. Recently performing at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., reviewers describe Step Afrika!'s perfromance as " a dance genre considered by some to be one of the most exciting created by Americans in the 21st century." Step Afrika! displays the roots of stepping in South Africa's gumboot dance and declares it's relationship with tap dance and hoofing
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater Exhilarating and endlessly inspirational, the extraordinary dancers of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater have dazzled audiences from New York City to China with their thrilling fusion of power, grace, and unparalleled artistry. The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater marks its 50th anniversary by bringing African-American cultural expression and the American modern dance tradition to the Fine Arts Center. The genius of Alvin Ailey forever changed the perception of American dance; the legacy continues in Judith Jamison's remarkable vision and the extraordinary artistry of the Company's dancers. Beauty, spirit, hope, and passion: this is the power of Ailey.
Diavolo Dance Company Diavolo was founded in 1992 in Los Angeles by Jacques Heim to create large-scale interdisciplinary performances which examine the funny and frightening ways individuals act with their environment. The craftiness and wit of Diavolo is captured by the stylized fox logo. Constantly changing the image presented to the audience, Diavolo has developed a movement vocabulary that creates an almost cinematic experience of powerful images that develop abstract narratives of the human condition. The company is comprised of dancers, gymnasts and actors who create performances collaboratively under the guidance of Heim. The sets created are outrageous and surrealistic and form an intrinsic part of each piece of work. Everyday items such as doors, chairs and stairways provide the back-drop for dramatic movement – leaping, flying, twirling – that creates metaphors for the challenge of relationships, the absurdities of life and the struggle to maintain our humanity in an increasingly technological world. The 10 member company currently has over a dozen works in repertoire (ranging from 10 to 75 minutes in length), most of which travel easily and can be adapted to large and small scale venues. Diavolo’s residency program, Learning To Fly, offers a broad range of community and educational workshops complementing the company’s dance performances. Employing the Diavolo technique, the program encourages risk-taking, trust and teamwork as means for achieving personal goals and interpersonal aspirations. Reaching In/Reaching Out currently offers four student level (K-12) workshops, and five college, community and professional level workshops. The residency programs are continually being adapted to fit a particular group’s affinity or needs. Diavolo has attracted the critics’ attention from the very beginning. After seeing Diavolo’s first Los Angeles performance, Los Angeles Times dance critic Lewis Segal wrote of Heim that the performance "establishes him as a creative force in the community, someone with both a compelling vision and the ability to inspire others to uncompromising performances." In 1993, the young company was nominated for two Lester Horton Awards in Los Angeles, and in 1995, the company made its European debut at the Edinburgh Festival where it was named Best of the Fest by The London Independent and Critic’s Choice by The Guardian. The company also received three Lester Horton Awards in 1995 for the work Tete en L’Air. In 1997, Artistic Director Jacques Heim was recognized by the Los Angeles Times as one of "36 Faces to Watch."
Yamato Drummers of Japan Yamato and its high-power exhilarating drummers returns to Kutztown with a brand-new show Shin-on — Heartbeat. With several dozen large and small drums (including an odaiko made from a huge tree over 400 years old), Yamato put their very souls into these unusual instruments, whose sound stirs the hearts of people everywhere.
Ballet Hispanico Noted ethnic dance troupe available for a concert or a lecture demonstration.This troupe has performed for more than 2 million people, appearing in such venues as the John F. Kennedy Center, Houston's Wortham Center, the Auditorium Theater in Chicago, the Annenberg Center in Philadelphia and Wolf Trap in Vienna, Va.
Black Knights The Black Knights Drum Corps was formed in the spring of 1989 by Director Pete Ellison and Assistant Director Russell Kingman.The Corps has performed on the “Kevin & Bean” (KROQ Radio) Show, the set of the “American Gladiators” T.V. show, on the stages at Disneyland, Magic Mountain, Knott’s Berry Farm and Universal Studio’s City Walk, as well as fundraising events such as Juvinile Diabetes “Walk for the cure” and Macy’s Passport, and has represented the City of Burbank as their “Official Musical Ambassadors” at events throughout the United States and Canada since 1994.The Corps enjoys world-wide popularity amongst it’s fan base and has students throughout the United States and other parts of the globe audition for Cast positions each year.The Corps offers performance opportunities for young adults ages 14 to 22.The Corps is a founding member of the Southern California Percussion Alliance.
Recycled Percussion Members of Recycled Percussion make their instruments from stuff other people throw out: barrels, basement garbage, building site leftovers, pots, pans, stepladders, fifty-gallon drums and even the occasional recycled chainsaw. Then the guys proceed to create heart-pounding beats in an interactive show that is great for all ages. In the four years Recycled Percussion has been together, the group has played with performers such as LL Cool J and entertained crowds during halftime shows of many NBA and NFL games. They have also been featured on television shows such as Late Night and Talk Soup.
Forever Plaid A musical comedy which has received rave reviews from New York to Japan. Forever Plaid is the story of four unlikely heroes whose dreams of musical glory come true. It concerns the miraculous return to earth of the Four Plaids. This endearing harmony group was snuffed out in a collision with a school bus. Now through a hole in the ozone layer these nerdy crooners with angelic voices come back to do the show they never got to do in life.
The Percussion Plus Project The Percussion Plus Project is a unique contemporary chamber music ensemble, which focuses on an unusual and exciting repertoire that is little-known to general audiences. Their programs consist of works for percussion (ranging from one to many players) and another solo instrument. No other ensemble devotes itself solely to this repertoire. The Percussion Plus Project was founded in 1993 in Prague, Czech Republic, by Amy Lynn Barber, who was then professor of percussion at the Prague . The Percussion Plus Project had its own very successful concert series for several years in Prague, and later in Ljubljana, Slovenia, where Barber was a member of the Slovenian Philharmonic. From 1998-2002 it was based in Vienna, Austria. The ensemble has performed throughout Central Europe as a guests at international festivals and concert series, and has recorded many Czech, Slovak, and Slovenian works for radio and for CDs. Many composers have been inspired to write pieces for them. Guest soloists have included many outstanding European and American musicians. The concerts and recordings of the Percussion Plus Project have consistently won critical acclaim for the quality of their performance and for creative and unique programming.
Lisa Rinna Lisa Rinna "Merged" on Lifetime TV & "Dancing with the Stars" With her exotic looks and prodigious talent, Lisa Rinna has become one of the most recognizable faces in Hollywood. In addition to hosting SOAPnet's talk show, "Soap Talk" — which earned her two Daytime Emmy Award nominations — Rinna hosts the new Lifetime show "Merge." Rinna is known to many as Billie Reed, the free-spirited character she played on NBC's daytime hit "Days of Our Lives" throughout the 1990s and in 2002. She portrayed the love-to-hate-her character Taylor McBride on Fox Network's long-running nighttime smash "Melrose Place." She also starred in two Lifetime movies: "Another Woman’s Husband" and "Sex, Lies & Obsession," opposite husband Harry Hamlin. A native of Medford, Oregon, Rinna loves outdoor activities and stays active with kickboxing, yoga, scuba diving, Pilates and horseback riding. She also loves fashion and has a clothing boutique named Belle Gray, after the middle names of her two daughters. Rinna resides in Los Angeles with her husband and children.
Break Show A distinctive American art form with hazy African roots that run deep through the streets of inner cities, Hip Hop defies easy definition. Comprised of five elements - Dance, MC (or rap), DJ, Graffiti, and Fashion - each component is improvised and recombined in a myriad of rhythms and styles so that Hip Hop reinvents itself continually. Though the exact origins of Hip Hop are unclear, dance elements hearken back to an African tradition, involving a variety of footwork patterns, spinning and gymnastic type moves, Hip Hop dancing has been heavily influenced by a number of sources. Some consider James Brown and his 1969 hit: "Get on the Good Foot", one of the starting points. Inspired by his energetic, almost acrobatic dance on stage, many people began dancing on the "Good Foot," often incorporating moves that involved dramatic drops and spins. Martial-arts films, which were extremely popular in the 1970s, contributed some of the more spectacularly muscular and acrobatic elements to this burgeoning urban dance phenomena. The term, "Breakdancing" actually arose with the growing recognition of this art form by the media. The early 80's "battles" between dance crews, attracted the attention of the public and "Breaking" "B-Boy-ing" or "Breakdancing" became associated with other street dance styles such as "Locking" and "Popping". BREAK! The Urban Funk Spectacular traces the history of Hip Hop Dancing over the last thirty years. It is a tribute to this American urban art form. Cast members are supremely talented artists from the world of "Breakdancing", "Locking", "Electric Boogaloo" or "Popping," Power Tumbling, as well as DJ-ing and Bucket Drumming. Many have been featured soloists in performances with such show-business legends as Madonna, Janet Jackson, B2K, 50 Cents, Ringo Star, Whitney Houston, Puff Daddy and Luther Vandross. BREAK! - based in New York City - has received standing ovations across five continents for its sensational show.
Black Violin To most people, jazz, hip-hop, funk, and classical are musical genres. But to revolutionary music group Black Violin, theyre nothing but ingredients. Combining a daunting array of musical styles and influences to produce a signature sound that is not quite maestro, not quite emcee, this group of two classically trained violinists and their DJ is redefining the music world-one string at a time. With influences ranging from Shostakovich and Bach to Nas and Jay-Z, Black Violin breaks all the rules, blending the classical with the modern to create something rare-a sound that nobody has ever heard, but that everybody wants to feel. When the members of Black Violin first learned to play their signature instruments-Wil B at the viola 14 years old and Kev Marcus the violin at the tender age of 9-neither could have foreseen that it would become their livelihood, though it was already becoming their passion. The two Florida natives first met while attending the Dillard High School of Performing Arts in Fort Lauderdale, a school whose exceptional music programs served to nurture their already budding talents. But it was not until the two were exposed to the work of legendary violinist Stuff Smith that the seeds that would one day become Black Violin were truly planted. Smith, born in Portsmouth, Ohio in 1909, was one of preeminent jazz violinists of the swing era, who went onto perform with names like Alphonse Trent, Coleman Hawkins, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie and Sun Ra throughout a long and storied career. His final album and most soulful, entitled "Black Violin," so inspired and influenced the young Kev Marcus and Wil B that they would eventually name their band in honor of the man who had shown them that there were no limits to what the violin could do. After graduating from high school, both Wil and Kev were granted full music scholarships to college, Florida State and Florida International University respectively. It was at FIU that Kev first encountered the group's future manager, Sam G, with whom he and Wil soon formed a production company: DKNEX. Now they had a platform for their dream, and the talent and inspiration to back it up. Black Violin was born. Once formed, the group wasted no time in making a name for itself, starting with the rigorous touring that would become a trademark of the group. Black Violin was making ripples in the music industry, but it wasn't long before these ripples became waves. In 2004, the group joined superstar Alicia Keys on stage at the Billboard Music awards, delivering a performance that made the tastemakers and music enthusiasts of America sit up and take notice. Not long after, in 2005, the group was awarded the coveted title of Apollo Legend by the esteemed Apollo theatre in Harlem, effectively confirming what many were beginning to suspect-Black Violin was on its way to the top. The next step in BV's journey came in the form of Mike Shinoda, lead singer of legendary rock act Linkin Park, who had had his eye on the two virtuosos for a while. Impressed by their imaginative composition and finely tuned musicianship, he invited them along on a world tour with his hip-hop side project, Fort Minor. Finally granted the worldwide platform their talents deserved, the members of Black Violin now introduced their own brand of genius to audiences across the globe. In addition to Shinoda, BV has worked with musicians as diverse as P.Diddy, Kanye West, Fifty Cent, Aerosmith, Tom Petty, Aretha Franklin and the Eagles-among many others. But Black Violin is only getting started. The group recently released its eponymous debut album-a record whose top notch production and musical cohesion make it feel like the work of seasoned veterans rather than industry upstarts, as many patrons of the iTunes store and Amazon.com are discovering for themselves. The group continues to tour far and wide, opening for hip hop mainstays like Fat Joe, Akon, and the Wu-Tang Clan in locations as diverse, as Prague, Dubai, and South Africa. The group's rising fame has also made it a highly desired act for celebrity events-Black Violin just recently provided the music at both Minister Lois Farrakhan's 75th birthday and at NFL star Santana Moss's wedding. But beyond all the glitz and glamour, the members of Black Violin just want to give children the same opportunities that they had. With school music programs being culled all across the country, Kev and Wil are concerned that urban youth will not have the benefit of music as a positive alternative to other, more destructive pursuits. With this in mind, they have embarked upon a campaign of social change-using youth orchestras and reinvigorated music programs to show children and teens that they are capable of expressing themselves in ways they have never dreamed. In an age where music is coming to be more and more defined by the labels given to it, Black Violin shows that music does not exist within a box, but rather exists in another space-one as open and unrestrained as the minds that produce it.
Larry Yazzie LARRY YAZZIE Larry Yazzie (Meskwaki/Dine) is a World Champion Fancy Dancer who consistently takes top honors at American Indian powwows in the United States and Canada. In 1995, he won the World Championship for the Northern Style Fancy Dance. Larry was raised at the Meskwaki Nation’s homeland in Tama, Iowa (USA). At the age of seven he took up Fancy Dancing. The Fancy Dance is beloved for its flamboyant and colorful regalia, as well as for the physical challenge it poses for powwow competition dancers. Creativity and endurance are tested by song after song at an up-beat tempo. His repertoire also features the grass, horse tail, shield, buffalo, and traditional dances. Since he was in his early teens, Larry has been competing in the powwow category. As a performer, Larry has toured the United States, Canada, and Europe. In 1994, with the Foxwoods Dance Troupe, he performed in France, Poland, Finland, and Russia at the Goodwill Games in St. Petersburg. With the Discover Native American Dance Troupe, he performed at the 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympic Games. In 1998, he danced in the motion picture Grey Owl with actor Pierce Brosnan. In 1999, he was featured with the Lakota Dance Troupe at the Native American Film Awards in Los Angeles. In 2001 he co-produced an innovative collaboration with Keith Secola and The Wild Band of Indians, combining Native American dance with contemporary native folk, and blues. In 2001 Larry became an original member of the Kevin Locke Trio.