Rennie Harris turns hip-hop on its head with “Facing Mekka”

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Rennie Harris' "Facing Mekka" is an ambitious new work of global fusion, where hip-hop meets international culture at Jacob's Pillow in the Ted Shawn Theatre, July 16-20. An innovator known for constantly pushing the boundaries of dance, Harris expands the language of hip-hop by integrating the dance and music of many cultures with what is primarily considered an urban form. Often mistakenly referred to as "breakdancing," hip-hop dance traditionally uses a fast-paced and dynamic physical vocabulary of athletic movements set to urban sounds of live DJ's and rap vocalists. With "Facing Mekka", Harris slows the pace of the dance and adds a newfound spiritual dimension. Live musicians perform Darrin Ross' original soundtrack of international sounds and rhythms with a hip-hop beat, and collage artists John Abner and Theodore Harris wash the stage with original video and projections. Performance and Ticket Information for the Ted Shawn Theatre: Evening performances are Wednesday, July 16 through Saturday, July 19 at 8 pm, with matinée performances on Saturday and Sunday, July 19 and 20 at 2 pm. Tickets are $40 for evening performances and $35 for matinées. Tickets can be purchased by calling the Box Office at 413-243-0745, faxing orders to 413-243-0749, or ordering online at www.jacobspillow.org . Student and senior 10 percent discount available with ID. Jacob's Pillow is located on George Carter Road in Becket, MA; 10 minutes East on Route 20 from Mass Pike Exit 2. When Rennie Harris last appeared at Jacob's Pillow in 2000, his company Puremovement performed his acclaimed new work, Rome & Jewels. Rome & Jewels updated Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet to the present day where two lovers were caught between rival gangs: the Caps (Capulets) and Monster Q's (Montagues). For "Facing Mekka," Harris has turned away from this portrait of gangs and street life to find a common language of world culture. Here he equates "Mekka" with "dance" and turns from the violence of the world to face dance as a positive and spiritual source. In "Facing Mekka," Harris reinvents hip-hop dance by drawing out many of hip-hop's influences, including dances of the African Diaspora and Brazilian capoeira. Lyrical movements and spiritual meditation combine with the top acrobatic theatrics of hip-hop. During the climax of "Facing Mekka," Harris performs a startling, virtuosic new solo, which combines his hip-hop specialty, "popping," with the determined movements of Japanese butoh. In her review in The New Yorker, Joan Acocella wrote, "Harris has at last achieved his goal of deepening hip-hop." An eclectic and impressive collection of musicians perform Darrin Ross's score live, which ranges in textures and sounds from hip-hop to international fusion, with DJ beats, cello, tabla, and voice. Philip Hamilton plays African drums and sings. Hamilton is familiar to many dance audiences as a composer and performer, whose music is often commissioned by many companies, including the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Dance Theater of Harlem, and Ronald K. Brown/Evidence. Vocalist Kenny Muhammad is known as "The Human Orchestra" for his talents at "beat-boxing," or creating percussive rhythms vocally. He is a three-time consecutive award winner on Showtime at the Apollo. Grisha Coleman has recorded music with poet Carl Hancock Rux and DJ Spooky; she doubles as both singer and cellist. Lenny Seidman performs on the tabla, and DJ Evil Tracy adds layers of sound and polyrhythmic beats to bring this diverse ensemble together as a collage of world-beat music. As a hip-hop dancer in the 1980's, Harris worked and performed with many influential rap groups, including Run DMC, Kool Moe Dee, and Salt 'N' Pepa. After formative years touring with many of these groups, he founded Rennie Harris Puremovement to present hip-hop as an art form rather than a spectacle. His productions with Puremovement have attracted a large audience and garnered critical acclaim. He received three New York Dance and Performance Awards (Bessies) for Rome & Jewels, which has toured consistently since its premiere in 2000. With his home base in Philadelphia, Harris has also received grants and fellowships for choreography from the Pew Charitable Trusts, the Philadelphia Dance Projects commission, and the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts. Related Free Events: One half hour before every performance, Pillow Scholars-in-Residence offer a Pre-Show Talk to provide an enlightening introduction to the company. After the performance on Thursday, July 17, Harris and his dancers come back onstage to hold a Post-Show Talk to answer questions from Scholars-in-Residence and the audience. Sponsors: Jacob's Pillow's presentation of Rennie Harris "Facing Mekka" is funded in part by the National Endowment for the Arts and National Dance Project (NDP) of the New England Foundation for the Arts. Lead funding for NDP is provided from the National Endowment for the Arts and Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. Additional NDP funding provided by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Altria Group, Inc, and the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts. Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival 2003 funding, including presentations and educational programs, is provided by Doris Duke Charitable Foundation; William Randolph Hearst Foundation; The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation; Wallace-Reader's Digest Funds; Surdna Foundation; The Shubert Foundation; The Prospect Hill Foundation; National Endowment for the Arts; Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency; The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation; Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation; Leir Charitable Trusts in Memory of Henry J. Leir; National Dance Project and Expeditions Program of the New England Foundation for the Arts; LEF New England; Goethe-Institut Boston; Berkshire Bank; Capezio Ballet Makers, Inc.; Arts International; Evelyn Stefansson Nef Foundation; Cultural Services of the French Embassy; Banknorth Massachusetts; Onota Foundation; The Frelinghuysen Foundation; Berkshire Businesses, and our Members. This organization is funded by the Talented Students in the Arts Initiative, a collaboration of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and the Surdna Foundation. About the Pillow: Located in the town of Becket, Massachusetts, internationally acclaimed Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival was originally a family farm in the 1700s and served as a station on the Underground Railroad in the 1800s. Legendary dancer, teacher, and choreographer Ted Shawn established the Festival in 1933 as a showcase for his company of Men Dancers. The Pillow encompasses 161 acres and 30 buildings, including three stages, four dance studios, a restaurant, a pub, artist housing, archives, and administrative offices. During the 10-week summer festival, the Pillow attracts thousands of visitors to see world-class dance on three stages and enjoy hundreds of free events, including performances, lectures, tours, film-showings, exhibits, and talks with the artists. The Festival is augmented by The School at Jacob's Pillow that draws a world-class international roster of students and faculty; the Archives, which are open to public access; commissions and world premieres; an Intern Program, which trains arts administrators for professional careers; support for artist development of new work with Creative Development Residencies; and year-round Community Programs throughout the Berkshires. Jacob's Pillow is a National Historic Landmark. Jacob's Pillow Schedule July 16-20 WEDNESDAY, JULY 16 PillowTalk: Lifelike Portrait: Merce Cunningham Using motion capture and real-time graphics and rendering, an evocative portrait of Cunningham has been created by Paul Kaiser, Shelley Eshkar and Marc Downie. The work itself is on view throughout the summer, but here the artists describe their process and show some behind-the-scenes footage. 5pm, Sommerspace, FREE Inside/Out: Carolyn Dorfman Dance Company High-energy narratives bring to life the interconnected community of this New Jersey-based company's intriguing work Echad ("one" in Hebrew). 6:30pm, Inside/Out stage, FREE Pre-Show Talk: Rennie Harris 7:30pm, Sommerspace, FREE Rennie Harris 8pm, Ted Shawn Theatre, $40 THURSDAY, JULY 17 Inside/Out: KR3T Violeta Galagarza's KR3T (Keep Rising to the Top) allows children and young adult dancers from Spanish Harlem to express their talents and dreams through ballet, modern, hip hop, salsa, African dance, and many other forms. 6:30pm, Inside/Out stage, FREE Pre-Show Talk: Rennie Harris 7:30pm, Sommerspace, FREE Rennie Harris 8pm, Ted Shawn Theatre, $45 Post-Show Talk: Rennie Harris Ted Shawn Theatre, FREE Pre-Show Talk: Kitt Johnson/Vincent Mantsoe 7:45pm, Doris Duke Studio Theatre porch, FREE Kitt Johnson/Vincent Mantsoe 8:15pm, Doris Duke Studio Theatre, $20 FRIDAY, JULY 18 Inside/Out: Thaddeus Davis Former Dance Theatre of Harlem and Complexions dancer Davis "dazzles audiences with powerful physicality combined with subtle and sublime sensitivity" (Dance Magazine). 6:30pm, Inside/Out stage, FREE Pre-Show Talk: Rennie Harris 7:30pm, Sommerspace, FREE Rennie Harris 8pm, Ted Shawn Theatre, $45 Pre-Show Talk: Kitt Johnson/Vincent Mantsoe 7:45pm, Doris Duke Studio Theatre porch, FREE Kitt Johnson/Vincent Mantsoe 8:15pm, Doris Duke Studio Theatre, $20 Post-Show Talk: Kitt Johnson/Vincent Mantsoe Doris Duke Studio Theatre, FREE SATURDAY, JULY 19 Pre-Show Talk: Rennie Harris 1:30, Sommerspace, FREE Rennie Harris 2pm, Ted Shawn Theatre, $35 Pre-Show Talk: Kitt Johnson/Vincent Mantsoe 1:45pm, Doris Duke Studio Theatre porch, FREE Kitt Johnson/Vincent Mantsoe 2:15pm, Doris Duke Studio Theatre, $20 PillowTalk: Alone Together Soloists Kitt Johnson (from Denmark) and Vincent Mantsoe (from South Africa) have strong personal visions that have been acclaimed in performances around the globe. Performing on a shared program here for the first time, they describe their own backgrounds and comment on their Pillow debuts. 4pm, Sommerspace, FREE Inside/Out: The School at Jacob's Pillow: Contemporary Professional-track students present repertory by world-renowned contemporary European choreographers Maguy Marin and Pina Bausch, studied during their second week at the Pillow. 6:30pm, Inside/Out stage, FREE Pre-Show Talk: Rennie Harris 7:30pm, Sommerspace, FREE Rennie Harris 8pm, Ted Shawn Theatre, $40 Pre-Show Talk: Kitt Johnson/Vincent Mantsoe 7:45pm, Doris Duke Studio Theatre porch, FREE Kitt Johnson/Vincent Mantsoe 8:15pm, Doris Duke Studio Theatre, $20 SUNDAY, JULY 20 Pre-Show Talk: Rennie Harris 1:30pm, Sommerspace, FREE Rennie Harris 2pm, Ted Shawn Theatre, $35 Pre-Show Talk: Kitt Johnson/Vincent Mantsoe 4:30pm, Doris Duke Studio Theatre porch, FREE Kitt Johnson/Vincent Mantsoe 5pm, Doris Duke Studio Theatre, $20
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Berkshire County Homes Celebrating Holiday Cheer

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff

There's holiday cheer throughout the Berkshires this winter.

Many homeowners are showing their holiday spirit by decorating their houses. We asked for submissions so those in the community can check out these fanciful lights and decor when they're out.

We asked the homeowners questions on their decorations and why they like to light up their houses.

In Great Barrington, Matt Pevzner has decorated his house with many lights and even has a Facebook page dedicated to making sure others can see the holiday joy.

Located at 93 Brush Hill Road, there's more than 61,000 lights strewn across the yard decorating trees and reindeer and even a polar bear. 

The Pevzner family started decorating in September by testing their hundreds of boxes of lights. He builds all of his own decorations like the star 10-foot star that shines done from 80-feet up, 10 10-foot trees, nine 5-foot trees, and even the sleigh, and more that he also uses a lift to make sure are perfect each year.

"I always decorated but I went big during COVID. I felt that people needed something positive and to bring joy and happiness to everyone," he wrote. "I strive to bring as much joy and happiness as I can during the holidays. I love it when I get a message about how much people enjoy it. I've received cards thanking me how much they enjoyed it and made them smile. That means a lot."

Pevzner starts thinking about next year's display immediately after they take it down after New Year's. He gets his ideas by asking on his Facebook page for people's favorite decorations. The Pevzner family encourages you to take a drive and see their decorations, which are lighted every night from 5 to 10.

In North Adams, the Wilson family decorates their house with fun inflatables and even a big Santa waving to those who pass by.

The Wilsons start decorating before Thanksgiving and started decorating once their daughter was born and have grown their decorations each year as she has grown. They love to decorate as they used to drive around to look at decorations when they were younger and hope to spread the same joy.

"I have always loved driving around looking at Christmas lights and decorations. It's incredible what people can achieve these days with their displays," they wrote.

They are hoping their display carries on the tradition of the Arnold Family Christmas Lights Display that retired in 2022.

The Wilsons' invite you to come and look at their display at 432 Church St. that's lit from 4:30 to 10:30 every night, though if it's really windy, the inflatables might not be up as the weather will be too harsh.

In Pittsfield, Travis and Shannon Dozier decorated their house for the first time this Christmas as they recently purchased their home on Faucett Lane. The two started decorating in November, and hope to bring joy to the community.

"If we put a smile on one child's face driving by, then our mission was accomplished," they said. 

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