Last night, a bunch of friends and I caught Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings at the swank Nokia Theater in Times Square. Sharon and the band played a mix of their last two albums, several awesome new songs that they are still working on, as well as amazing covers of Sam Cooke and Gladys…
Category: Dancing / Music
Global Art for Social Change: from Banksy to Korean B-boys (video)
For an upcoming Global Kids retreat, I’m helping organize a workshop on “Global Arts for Social Change” with some other trainers. As part of the session, we wanted to show our teens some examples of various forms of art related to activism and civic engagement. So I threw together this compilation reel of different forms…
Auto-tune: Music, manipulation and the authentic experience
There's a really interesting discussion in the comments section of Gizmodo about the use of "Auto-tune" technology to modify and correct the vocals of pop artists on their albums. The most notorious user of Auto-tune is hip-hop artist T-Pain. But according to Time magazine the modern recording industry uses Auto-tune for pretty much every album….
Swipes into chair freeze from breakdance practice today (video)
Here's a little video from my b-boy practice this afternoon showing how my swipes are coming along, as well as a swipe into a chair freeze. After a few months of work, these moves are finally starting to look like… something.
Cali Lindy Hoppers unite for 24 Hour Cancer Dance-a-Thon
I love hearing about lindy hoppers using their skills to help a worthy cause. I got news that a 24 Hour Cancer Dance-a-thon, is happening from March 5-9 in Orange County, California: The Dance-a-thon is a 24 hour swing dance in Orange County, CA. Its mission is to raise funds for cancer research and treatment…
America’s Best Dance Crew: the only TV show that makes me want cable
America's Best Dance Crew (Season 3) – MTV Shows I don't watch network or cable TV. What with Netflix (DVDs and streaming), Hulu, iTunes, YouTube, etc., I don't feel like I am missing out much. That said, I really wish I had cable so I could watch "America's Best Dance Crew" in its full, non.jpgxelated…
Iranian hip-hop artist Yas performing at Islam & Virtual World event (video)
Yesterday, I had the pleasure of attending the event "Understanding Islam through Virtual Worlds" at the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs with about 50 other people. The gathering featured Rita King and Joshua Fouts discussing their project to research how Muslims have been using virtual worlds, particularly Second Life, as a medium to…
Dancing alone, dancing in community
Several people at Quaker Meeting today wanted me to share this message I spoke at Meeting for Worship this morning. So here’s the gist of it: Last night I attended two dances. I ended the evening at a soul party in Fort Greene. There was a certain kind of joy in the room, with a …
The Mighty Hannibal at the Five Spot in Brooklyn tonight (video)
I just got home from "Dig Deeper", a monthly soul jam at the Five Spot in Fort Greene. Tonight the featured performer was the Mighty Hannibal, a 69-year old soul artist from Atlanta, backed by the Sweet Divines. Hannibal is still a powerful performer, despite losing his eyesight a few years ago. I love…
Legendary lindy hopper Norma Miller on TODAY show talking about Obama and swing as a unifying force
Here's a neat clip of pioneering lindy hopper Ms. Norma Miller on the TODAY show on NBC from a couple of days ago. Norma talks about how historic Barack Obama's presidency is and how swing has always brought people of different races together in harmony. Norma at 90 years young continues to perform and appear…