By Meghan Bowden
We kicked it (aka We raised over $5,000 on our online community driven fundraising campaign at Kickstarter.com. Whoohoo!). It’s been funked up (nuf said). So what’s next?
David Dorfman Dance (DDD) is about to take over New York City. Tomorrow, 8/11/11, a concert modern dance company will perform live with a billboard chart-topping group of musical icons. Let me hit you with a little background information about the show you don’t want to miss (just in case you haven’t visited “The History of Funk in 550 Characters” See below).
At its peak, Sly and the Family Stone had three number one hits and spent over twenty weeks on top of the charts. They sold out all over the country, revolutionized the funk sound and beamed through TV sets across the nation with a joyful vision of race and gender integration never before seen.
Now The Family Stone is joining David Dorfman Dance for the live concert edition of Prophets of Funk, an evening-length modern dance work inspired by the songs that have made generation after generation get up and dance to the music.
Both groups, DDD and The Family Stone, met for the first time on Tuesday during technical rehearsals. The current band features founding members: Gregg Errico, Cynthia Robinson and Jerry Martini as well as Blaise Sison, Nate Wingfield, Trina Johnson Finn and Alex Davis. Due to delays from the rain and the normal needs of technical rehearsals, we were only able to jam with the band for about an hour, but that hour was exhilarating, and tricky. DDD has been groovin to the recorded versions of Sly and the Family Stone’s music for over two years. Jerry, Cynthia and Gregg have been playing it live for over forty! Both groups have got their own versions of the music engrained in their bones, which requires some meddling to meld as one.
Everyone was more than game to play along, though, and we’ve still got about seven hours of rehearsal left to lock this thing down. Combining the abstraction of contemporary concert modern dance with the accessibility of commercial pop music. Finding the balance between funky and ferocity. Accessing the joy while honoring the times. Fighting the sweat in 100 degree heat—BUT. YOU are in luck.
The weather calls for 0% chance of rain and a lovely evening in the mid-70s. So there is no excuse to miss this (plus the show is FREE.99!). Get your booty out the door and over to Lincoln Center Out of Doors at the Damrosch Park Bandshell between 62nd and 65th Streets and Amsterdam and Columbus Avenues in Lincoln Center. The party starts at 7:oopm with the 1970’s Ethiopian groove of Debo Band joined by Addis Ababa’s traditional dance and music troupe, Fendika.
David Dorfman Dance and the Family Stone hit the stage around 8pm. We better see you there!
Peace.
