On your way to Victorian Christmas, come up the hill to 505 Main Street to experience our Waldorf-inspired Winter Fair at Yuba River Charter School. Free to enter, with tickets to purchase for making crafts for the whole family, as well as soup and hot drinks. Also, watch Shingebiss, an old story, and “Arrow to the Sun”, a seasonal puppet show.
https://www.facebook.com/events/1072212326145867/
This week’s New and Renewing Members:
New – Alvarado Farms • Grateful Bears
Renewing – Atria Grass Valley • Cirino’s at Main Street • Ernie’s Van & Storage • Hecox & Associates • Holdrege & Kull • Holiday Lodge of Grass Valley • Inland Business Systems, Inc. • Rick Dejesus-Coldwell Banker Grass Roots Realty • Sculptured Spikes • Sierra Stages • Tintle, Inc.
Thank you for your membership!
On Saturday, December 5, from 10am to 3pm, Santa and his elves will make their annual visit to the Railroad Museum. They love to be photographed for Christmas cards beside the 1880’s Nevada County Narrow Gauge Railroad’s Engine #5.
It is a free day for everyone as the holiday decorated Museum features local transportation history displays, the railbus will give rides weather permitting, there will be visits available to the equipment restoration shop, the Gift Shop will be open, there will be refreshments, a silent auction and a children’s raffle.
The Museum is located at #5 Kidder Court in Nevada City off Gold Flat Road from Bost Avenue at New Mohawk Drive.
For information call (530) 470-0902 or go to www.ncngrrmuseum.org.
The Center for the Arts presents
Pink Martini: Joy to the World featuring Storm Large
Friday, December 4, 8:00PM
VETERANS MEMORIAL AUDITORIUM
Purchase tickets online
$47 members, $57 non member Tier 3
$32 members, $37 non-member Tier 4
(Ticket price includes $2 facility fee. Does not include applicable fee for online purchases.)
Unparalleled purveyors of a multilingual blend of cosmopolitan sounds, Pink Martini deliver a festive holiday concert featuring beloved songs from around the globe. Led by bandleader Thomas Lauderdale and vocalist Storm Large, the “little orchestra” draws inspiration from music all over the world, crossing genres of classical, jazz and old-fashioned pop.
This performance will feature tracks from their phenomenal holiday album, Joy to the World, which featured chestnuts like “White Christmas” alongside Hebrew prayers, Chinese New Year tunes and a samba-inspired version of “Auld Lang Syne.”
This concert will feature many songs from Pink Martini’s 2010 holiday album Joy to the World.
Joy To The World is a festive, nondenominational holiday album with music from around the globe. “There are 14 songs on Joy to the World,” says Thomas Lauderdale, “including well-known traditional holiday songs like Irving Berlin’s “White Christmas” sung by China Forbes in English and by the incredible Saori Yuki, “the Barbra Streisand of Japan,” in Japanese.
With the Pacific Youth Choir and the handbell choir Bells of the Cascades, we recorded “Shchedryk,” known in English-speaking countries as “Carol of the Bells,” with the original Ukrainian text which tells of a lark flying into the house at the start of a new year, thus bringing good fortune.
We recorded a Hebrew prayer “Elohai N’tzor” with Ida Rae Cahana and Ari Shapiro and Patricia Costa Kim. (Ida Rae Cahana was for many years the canter at Central Synagogue in New York City and now lives in Portland. Ari Shapiro is the NPR White House correspondent, and accordionist Patricia Costa Kim was just named director of education at Experience Music Project in Seattle, but is also known by millions on YouTube as the keyboardist bandleader of Sonseed and their Christian ska song “Jesus is a friend of mine”).
There’s a Chinese New Year song from 1946, a Felainspired version of “We Three Kings,” a song in Ladino (the intersection of Spanish and Hebrew), “Silent Night” in the original German, as well as a verse in Arabic and another in English.
The album ends with a samba parade of “Auld Lang Syne” with choruses in English, Arabic and French over the incredible percussion of the Lions of Batucada.” Lauderdale notes, “I love the holidays and all the music that goes with it. We strove to make an inclusive and nondenominational album that could be played anywhere in the world.”
GOVINDA / DRRTYWULVZ / SPOKEN BIRD
Haven Underground, Nevada City, California
Thursday, December, 3rd, 9:30pm – 2am
You are invited to an electrifying evening of gypsy future bass music and dance with international touring recording artist and violin virtuoso Govinda releasing his newest cd “Decadence” joined by Merkaba Music recording artist Drrtywulvz and Chillage Record’s Spoken Bird at the Haven Underground, 226 Broad Street, Nevada City. Dance performances by Jordan Proper and Kendal Luna. Prepare for full body vibratory experience as the bass waves wash over you, massaging mind, body and soul with Funktion 1 sound. 21+ Adv.tickets $20 available at Briarpatch Co-Op and ON LINE
The Govinda live show immerses the audience with a textured atmosphere of exotic, dubby vibrations interwoven with cosmic visual projections, world class dancers and mesmerizing vocals- all to the magic of his live electronics and violin.
Govinda is the alter-ego of Austin based producer/composer Shane Madden. He began studying violin and composition at the age of eight and went on to study classical violin at the University of Texas where he fell in love with electronic music production. It was in Madden’s pursuit of his gypsy roots that he opened his ears to music from around the world. From experiences learning violin with mysterious masters on his journeys across the globe and his passion for modern design and technology, the current sound of Govinda was born.
Govinda has played with Thievery Corporation, Tipper, Bassnectar, Shpongle, Cheb I Sabbah, STS9 and many more and been featured on over 25 compilations such as Buddha Bar II, Asian Travels II, and Nirvana Lounge selling a combined 400,000 copies. Govinda has played at numerous festivals throughout North America including Coachella, Lightning in a Bottle, Lights All Night, Euphoria, Sea of Dreams, Camp Bisco, SXSW and many more. Govinda’s music has been on TV including stations like WB, MTV and Bravo as well as many independent films.
YPN’s next Mix & Mingle Event date is set! Mark your calendars for Wednesday, December 2nd from 5:30pm to 7:30pm at Kane’s.
YPN’s will be teaming up with BaliThreads again for a night of networking, Christmas shopping, and supporting a good cause: Each mixer attendee is asked to bring a can of food to be donated to families in need. BaliThread will have their inventory of Bali clothes, jewelry, purses, etc for purchase and as always, there will be LOTS of networking.
Hope to see you all there. See the attached flyer and please share with your colleagues!
KNOW & GO
WHAT: Miners Foundry, DANK, and
the Nevada Museum of Art present an Exclusive Trip to
“TAHOE: A Visual History”
WHEN: Wednesday, December 2, 2015, 8am-5:30pm
WHERE: Nevada Museum of Art, 160 Liberty Street, Reno, NV
TICKETS: Tickets are $65 for Nevada Museum of Art Members, $73 for Seniors, and $75 for General Admission. Tickets are available online at www.minersfoundry.org, by phone (530) 265-5040, or in person at the Miners Foundry, or in person at Briar Patch Co-Op.
The Miners Foundry, DANK, and the Nevada Museum of Art are delighted to present an exclusive trip to visit the Nevada Museum of Art for “TAHOE: A Visual History”. This special excursion includes round trip transportation in a luxury coach to the museum located in Reno, NV, admission to the museum, a private overview of the museum by William Fox, Director of the Center for Art + Environment at the Nevada Museum of Art and Amanda Horn, Director of Communications for the Nevada Museum of Art, and light refreshments.
The Nevada Museum of Art has organized the first ever major art and historical survey exhibition of painting, Native baskets, photography, architecture, and contemporary art dedicated to Lake Tahoe, Donner Pass, and the surrounding Sierra Nevada Region. The full exhibit, which uses all 15,000-square feet of the museum’s gallery space, covers a timeline from the time of Native Americans; through the region’s first contacts with Europeans – including original maps of Lake Tahoe when it was referred to under various names; the building of the transcontinental railroad over the Sierra; into the age of tourism.
“This trip provides an opportunity to see two centuries of work about Lake Tahoe – from native baskets to Maya Lin – including paintings by Albert Bierstadt, Maynard Dixon, the maps and journals of John Muir and John C. Fremont, as well as work by Frank Lloyd Wright,” said Roseanne Burke, one of the trip’s organizers and an artist with DANK. “It really covers a wide gamut of artists and media in the largest exhibit ever about Lake Tahoe.”
The exhibit includes the largest-ever exhibition of Native American basket maker Louisa Keyser, also known as Dat-So-La-Le, who was at the forefront of basket making at the turn of the 20th century as it transitioned from functional to fine art.
Another one of the highlights is a 6-feet by 10-feet painting of Donner Lake done in 1872 by New York artist Albert Bierstadt, a painting well known among art historians. It is on loan from the New York Historical Society. While Bierstadt came from New York to Donner Summit for research, the painting itself has never been so close to the subject matter it depicts.
This is the second “arts and culture” trip planned by the Miners Foundry and DANK. The first trip was last spring to San Francisco to tour @Large: Ai Weiwei on Alcatraz.
“It was such a great experience to travel with a group of artists and be able to talk about the art and our experiences on the ride home,” said Gretchen Bond, Executive Director of the Miners Foundry. “We thought because of the close proximity of the museum and the subject of the exhibit, it would appeal to many people in our community.”
Photo Caption: This Image provided by Nevada Museum of Art shows “Emerald Bay,” 1999, oil on canvas by Gregory Kondos, that is part of a new exhibit “Tahoe: A Visual History” at the Nevada Museum of Art, in Reno, Nev. For the first time, all 15,000-square feet of the museum’s gallery space is devoted to a single theme with 400 objects by 175 painters, photographers, architects, basket weavers and sculptors. (Nevada Museum of Art via AP)
The 24th Annual Nevada County Food and Toy Run will take place on Saturday, December 12, 2015. The Toy Run is the oldest Toy Run in Northern California to never have been canceled, postponed or had the date changed. We are always on the second Saturday in December. We are at the mercy of the weather. In the past, we have had snow the Friday before the Toy Run, but the skies cleared by Saturday. We had threatening skies the day of the Toy Run, and it held off until the rain or snow came on Sunday. We have been lucky, so far. If we have a 100 Year rain or snow storm, the Toy Run would be wiped out, financially.
Our expenses run the gamut beyond just buying food. We have computer and phone service to pay for, permits, fees, rentals and a myriad of other things that just happen to pop up unexpectedly. This year, in a sign of desperation, we are putting our plight out for all to see.
Yes, we have started a “GoFundMe” account! We hope that this will bring us in the money we need, before the day of the Run, to make sure that we have money to pay the bills. Every year, we see that at least 350 families get a turkey or a five pound canned ham, a ten pound bag of potatoes and a grocery bag of canned food. Each child gets 3 presents. These are local Head Start, Big Brothers Big Sisters and low income families.
Everyone who donates at least $50.00 will get one of our long-sleeved Toy Run shirts. Anyone who donates at least $250.00 becomes a sponsor. That will get you a couple of our shirts, mention on our FB page (www.facebook.com/NevadaCountyFoodAndToyRun), put on our web site for 2016 (www.toyrun.org) and mentioned in our Christmas Day “Thank you” ad in the Union. Plus, you will receive a receipt for your taxes, as the Toy Run is a 501(c)3.
So, would you, please send our account info: www.GoFundMe.com/aj6qpqh4 to all that you think who would like to support us. We bring more that 15,000 people to Nevada City and Grass Valley on the day of the Nevada County Food and Toy Run. I have talked to hundreds of riders over the years, and they say that the Toy Run introduced them to our towns and that they make it one of their destinations in the Summer months. The beauty of our small towns and the smiles and waves from the thousands of people lining the route have really made a positive influence on them.
Thank you.
Thom Staser, CEO and Founder
Nevada County Food and Toy Run
P.O. Box 549, Nevada City, CA 95959
530-470-0697 • thom@toyrun.org
Relax, rewind, and skip the mall this Thanksgiving weekend. Spend time wandering the charming streets of Nevada City instead! Shop for artistic gifts at LeeAnn Brook Fine Art, enjoy homemade soup & pie at the Nevada City Methodist Craft Fair & Sandwich Shoppe, and catch a live performance of “A Christmas Story” in the Nevada Theatre.
“Artisans Bounty” Show
LeeAnn Brook Fine Art
300 Spring Street
Friday, Saturday & Sunday 10am-6pm
(530) 265-6817 www.leeannbrookfineart.com
LeeAnn Brook Fine Art, Nevada City’s newest gallery and artist studio will be having an opening reception for a special show on Thanksgiving weekend, November 27, 28 and 29, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The show entitled “Artisans Bounty” will showcase contemporary nature-inspired art that will include new original paintings by LeeAnn Brook, sculptural wooden vessels by Mike Snegg, hand blown glass by Nicholson Blown Glass and Mark Einert, ceramics by Sam Tubiolo and Lynn Wood, large-scale assemblage sculptures by David Ward and jewelry by Antje Dormeyer.
Visitors can sit and enjoy the live jazz of guitarist Jim Rodney of Induction, as he plays in the courtyard of the gallery on Spring Street in downtown Nevada City. Several of the gallery artists will also be on hand throughout the weekend to talk about their work and share their process. Mike Snegg will have a special display that will demonstrate the process of his exquisite wooden bowls on Saturday, November 29 at 11:00 a.m.
Longtime Nevada City fine artist and gallery owner LeeAnn Brook will roll out her newest gift items for the holidays, including new custom silk scarves of paintings by the artist. Other items by Brook will include signed, gift-wrapped copies of Brook’s award-winning book “Points of Inspiration: An Artist’s Journey with Painting and Photography”, a line of limited edition fine art holiday cards, limited edition giclee reproductions, and gallery gift certificates.
Craft Faire & Sandwiche Shoppe
NC United Methodist Church
433 Broad Street
Friday, Saturday & Sunday 10am-4pm
(530) 265-2797 www.nevadacitymethodist.com
Beautiful hand crafted gifts for all ages. All proceeds go to support church ministries and community outreach programs. Stop by for delicious homemade soup and sandwiches, pie, coffee and hot spiced cider.
“A Christmas Story”
Nevada Theatre
401 Broad Street
Friday & Saturday 7:30–9:30pm
Tickets $22 ($20 in advance)
(530) 268-5419 www.legacypresents.com
LeGacy Presents is proud to bring back the beloved family Christmas classic…A Christmas Story to the historic Nevada Theatre from November 27th through December 27th.
Shawnna Frazer directs the Philip Grecian adaptation of the hit 1983 movie written by Jean Shepherd, whose tale of little Ralphie Parker’s Christmas wish for a Red Ryder BB gun is told with poignancy and humor, interspersed with the nostalgia of a 1939 Indiana town’s holiday season.
Thursday shows at 7 pm, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 pm, Sundays at 2pm, with a special Christmas Eve matinee at 2pm.
Tickets are $20 in advance, $22 at the door. Available at The BookSeller in Grass Valley, Harmony Books in Nevada City, online at Brown Paper Tickets or by calling (530) 268 5419.
The Center for the Arts presents
Hugh Masekela and Larry Willis:
Best of Friends
Wednesday, November 25, 7:30PM
$34 members, $40 non-member
(Ticket price includes $2 facility fee. Does not include applicable fee for online purchases.)
“Then something magical occurred. With nothing more than Masekela’s trumpet and voice and Willis’ piano playing I, along with the couple hundred in the audience, were treated to the performance of a lifetime…I just don’t feel my vocabulary is vast enough to express the greatness that the two old friends displayed on that stage. But a once-in-a-lifetime feeling fell over me listening to these two treasures, and listening to Masekela tell tales of hanging out in Harlem and playing with Miles Davis and the stories he told of Louis Armstrong and Dizzy Gillespie and Sarah Vaughn. It was like getting a first-hand lesson in music history, delivered by one of the deans of the college.” – InsightNews.com
Hugh Masekela, world-renowned trumpeter, band leader, composer, singer and activist combines his talents with long time musical cohort and exceptional pianist Larry Willis for a show of historical proportions. These two giants of music, after decades of cultivating careers apart and together, take us on a grand journey through the Great American Songbook.
How music became an instrument for change in Mandela’s fight for freedom from Wynton Marsalis.
When they first met in 1961 at the Manhattan School of Music, over fifty years ago, Masekela was fresh off the plane from South Africa imbued with not only the sounds of kwela, marabi and mbaqanga, but the richness of American jazz players and singers, and Willis was an opera major with heavy jazz leanings.
Masekela, with the help and tutelage of the likes of Miriam Makeba, Harry Belafonte, Dizzy Gillespie, Louis Armstrong and Miles Davis went on to carve out a seemingly endless (5 decades and counting) career that has produced a diverse range of music from the 1968 number 1 hit “Grazing In The Grass” to the 1986 anti-apartheid anthem “Bring Him Back Home (Nelson Mandela)”, a rallying call around the world for Mandela’s release from prison.
Willis has performed as a sideman or band member to Hugh Masekela, Blood, Sweat and Tears, Dizzy Gillespie, Stan Getz, Lee Morgan, Woody Shaw, Cannonball and Nat Adderley, as well as a solo artist.
Experience this rare opportunity to listen to two master musicians, and best of friends, perform the Great American Songbook together.
Hugh Masekela – Masekela started on trumpet at an early age and, with some friends, he started the Huddleston Jazz Band, South Africa’s first youth orchestra. He worked regularly in South African bands until 1960, when the increased brutality of the apartheid state forced him to move. With the help of friends such as violinist Yehudi Menuhin and conductor John Dankworth, Masekela earned a scholarship to London’s Guildhall School of Music, and South African singer Miriam Makeba helped him get to the Manhattan School of Music in New York. Once in the United States, his recording schedule became very full. His contributions to Makeba’s records make them the best in her catalog, and his solo records from this period are an amazing conflation of 1960s pop and African influences. His 1968 hit “Grazing in the Grass” is a staple of this period.
The 1970s and 1980s saw a number of high-profile events: a meeting with Fela Kuti spurred Masekela to explore his Afrobeat roots, and his 1980 reunion concert with Miriam Makeba in Lesotho was attended by seventy-five thousand people. His two records with Herb Alpert are revered, and his contributions to Paul Simon’s Graceland make the record the landmark that it is. Today, very little has changed for Masekela, as he continues to spread his musical message of peace, harmony, and unity throughout the world. “A musician of phenomenal grace and power: intricate and fiery on flugelhorn and still blessed with a voice that can strip the leaves from the trees.”—The Independent (U.K.)
Larry Willis – Upon graduating from the Manhattan School of Music in the mid-1960s, pianist Larry Willis immediately became a force on the New York avant-garde jazz scene. His playing—bold, frenetic, and ambitious—found a home in the free jazz scene and also landed Willis recording dates with Lee Morgan, Jackie McLean, and Stan Getz. A longtime devotee of Herbie Hancock, Willis moved into jazz-rock and fusion, eventually joining the band Blood Sweat and Tears for a time. Willis has also worked with Sonny Fortune, David “Fathead” Newman, Carla Bley, Nat Adderley, and Woody Shaw.
www.facebook.com/pages/Bra-Hugh-Masekela/147130960234
– See more at: http://thecenterforthearts.org/hugh-masekela-larry-willis-friends/#sthash.q7faiug5.dpuf
This week’s Renewing members:
Renewing – Antonio Ayestaran Catering • Barry Binning-Coldwell Banker Grass Roots Realty • Broad Street Executive Suites • California Solar Electric Co. • Camp Augusta, Inc. • Elixart • Extasia, Inc. • Fenrich Enterprises • Friar Tuck’s • Gold Country Fudge • KVMR Radio • Larry & Glady Birdsong • Nevada City Picture Framing • Nevada City Traders • Nevada Lodge #13 F&AM • Paul Sieving – MacLeod Sierra Realty-GV • Placer Title Company • Sierra Gold Insurance Services, Inc. • Spring Hill Manor • The Mine Shaft • VFW #2655
Thank you for your membership!
“Artisans Bounty” Show Featured at
LeeAnn Brook Fine Art
LeeAnn Brook Fine Art, Nevada City’s newest gallery and artist studio will be having an opening reception for a special show on Thanksgiving weekend, November 27, 28 and 29, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The show entitled “Artisans Bounty” will showcase contemporary nature-inspired art that will include new original paintings by LeeAnn Brook, sculptural wooden vessels by Mike Snegg, hand blown glass by Nicholson Blown Glass and Mark Einert, ceramics by Sam Tubiolo and Lynn Wood, large-scale assemblage sculptures by David Ward and jewelry by Antje Dormeyer.
Visitors can sit and enjoy the live jazz of guitarist Jim Rodney of Induction, as he plays in the courtyard of the gallery on Spring Street in downtown Nevada City. Several of the gallery artists will also be on hand throughout the weekend to talk about their work and share their process. Mike Snegg will have a special display that will demonstrate the process of his exquisite wooden bowls on Saturday, November 29 at 11:00 a.m.
Longtime Nevada City fine artist and gallery owner LeeAnn Brook will roll out her newest gift items for the holidays, including new custom silk scarves of paintings by the artist. Other items by Brook will include signed, gift-wrapped copies of Brook’s award-winning book “Points of Inspiration: An Artist’s Journey with Painting and Photography”, a line of limited edition fine art holiday cards, limited edition giclee reproductions, and gallery gift certificates.
Brook opened the combined studio and gallery in July 2015 and is a bright face on the corner of Spring and South Pines streets in the historic downtown area. Housed in an industrial-type auto shop-turned-gallery, the eclectic environment is a perfect complement to Brook’s contemporary art.
When visiting the gallery, customers will be pleasantly surprised to have Brook herself welcome them into the spacious setting where they can also get a personal peek into her studio that is incorporated into the gallery. Seeing work in progress on Brook’s newest paintings is an every day feature of the gallery.
LeeAnn Brook Fine Art is located at 300 Spring Street in downtown Nevada City, and will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving weekend. Extended hours through the holidays will be Wednesdays through Sundays, noon to 6 p.m., and until 9 p.m. during Victorian Christmas. For further information, call 530-265-6817 or visit www.leeannbrookfineart.com.
Loana Beeson will be showing her artwork at the Nevada County Fairgrounds during the Country Christmas Faire Thanksgiving Weekend.
Hours: 10 am to 5 pm on Friday and Saturday; 10 am to 4 pm on Sunday
Cost: $4 for adults; children 12 and under are free (Bring a can of food on Sunday, and receive $1 off admission)
Parking is free – No Pets Allowed
Round up at the BriarPatch for
Sierra Harvest
In November we can all make a big difference with our spare change. If you round up to the next dollar as you check out at BriarPatch, 100% of your donation goes to support our Harvest of the Month Program!
The Harvest of the Month program brings fresh, local, organic food into 20 schools in Nevada County each month, enabling over 6,500 elementary school children to taste local farm produce they might have never tried before.
Over the past three years Sierra Harvest has brought 30,000 pounds of local food into our schools. Not only is this good for the health of the children and their families, it’s great for local farmers, many of whom have become household names to these families.
For more info on the CAUSE Program: http://sierraharvest.org/round-up-at-the-briarpatch-for-sierra-harvest/
6th Annual Sustainable Food and Farm Conference, Jan. 8-10, 2016, a Project of Sierra Harvest
Tickets on sale now for Sierra Harvest’s newest project – the Sustainable Food and Farm Conference 2016 taking place January 8-10, 2016 in Grass Valley, CA with incredible Keynote Speakers: Paul Stamets, Gabe Brown and Jean-Martin Fortier! More information here: foodandfarmconference.com
Chamber After Hours Mixer
November 19th • 5:30-7:30pm
Hospice of the Foothills’ Gift & Thrift Store
762 Freeman Lane, Grass Valley
KVMR Variety Show
Friday, November 20th at 7:30pm
at the Nevada Theatre
Lights! Camera! Action!
Come and be entertained by KVMR Broadcasters showing off their other creative talents by performing live music, poetry, comedy and other antics.
A pre-show Art Exhibit will take place in the KVMR Community Room at 7:00pm, featuring paintings, photographs, sculptures and more done by KVMR Broadcasters. A portion of the proceeds from sales of the artwork will be donated to KVMR.
Tickets to the Variety Show are $18 for KVMR members and $20 to the general public. They are available at the station’s front desk, online at http://www.kvmr.org/events and at the door the night of the show while available. The Art Exhibit is open to the public at no charge.
This event is a benefit for KVMR and the Bridge Street Project.
KNOW & GO
WHAT: Nevada City Dance Festival
WHEN: Tuesday, November 17, Doors 6:30pm, Performance 7pm
Thursday, November 19, Doors 6:30pm, Performance 7pm
WHERE: Miners Foundry Cultural Center, 325 Spring Street, Nevada City, CA
TICKETS: $25 General Admission, Ticketing Fees May Apply, Tickets are available online at www.minersfoundry.org, by phone (530) 265-5040, or in person at the Miners Foundry, or in person at Briar Patch Co-Op.
INFO: www.minersfoundry.org
The Miners Foundry Cultural Center presents the Nevada City Dance Festival, November 14-19, the first-ever festival of professional dance in Western Nevada County. Presented with support from the California Arts Council (CAC) and local sponsors, the Nevada City Dance Festival offers master classes for local dancers, a gala reception, and two professional dance performances by visiting companies including the exciting contemporary San Francisco ballet company, dawsondancesf on Tuesday, November 17, and the internationally renowned Afro-Cuban dancer, Kimberly Miguel-Mullen on Thursday, November 19.
Last August, the Miners Foundry Cultural Center was awarded a grant by the CAC to be used to support the production of the festival. These grants were awarded to smaller arts organizations for the purpose of providing project support and fostering equity, access and opportunity to arts programs in smaller communities.
“Although our area hosts a range of professional level arts experiences, never in the history of Western Nevada County has there been a dance festival” said Karen Attix, Miners Foundry dance consultant and choreographer. “This is not for lack of interest,” she continued. “We have a large community of dancers, dance educators, choreographers and dance students here, including six dance studios, two high school dance programs, all pursuing a wide range of dance forms”.
Artistic Director Gregory Dawson formed dawsondancesf in 2007 as an outlet for his choreographic goals and vision. dawsondancesf has steadily delivered risk-taking, muscularly elegant performances since its establishment. The company breaks down the barriers placed on classical ballet, and brings to light the strength and beauty that artists possess within themselves. dawsondancesf has been described as “raw, chilling physicality” and “So You Think You Can Dance” on steroids.” For the November 17th performance, Dawson has choreographed a piece specific for the Miners Foundry’s Osborn/Woods Hall.
“Having created a good amount of my larger works in unconventional spaces, I find myself attracted to the challenge. So much so that I’m slightly uncomfortable with the conventional proscenium,” said Dawson. “What attracts me to the space is the history that lies within. The richness of the architecture, the sweat that was behind the construction of the edifice, and most definitely how lives are effected by its existence. Having visited the Miners Foundry, I was inspired to create a composition that is intimate and inclusive, and having the structure be the gateway into the world that we will create.”
Kimberly Miguel-Mullen is an acclaimed choreographer and dance ethnologist. The Los Angeles Times has described her movement as “spectacularly supple,” a well-crafted mixture of Silvestre contemporary dance and traditional techniques from the African diaspora. She is considered one of the world’s best Afro-Cuban dancers and has performed in the USA, Brazil, Puerto Rico, Trinidad and Tobago, Cuba and Hong Kong.
On November 19th, Mullen will perform Yemanjá: Mother of the Deep, an inspirational performance piece; a creative interplay of live music, song and dance that will engage and transport its audience on a journey that evokes the transformative spirit of the sea. The audience will dive into the mythical and legendary world of Yemanjá, the revered water goddess and universal mother figure set to the eclectic soundtrack of driving polyrhythms, ethereal harmonies and Mullen’s solo dance performance. Music composed by producer and Grammy Award-winner Alberto Lopez will accompany texts penned by critically acclaimed songstress Mia Doi Todd. Also featured will be the musical talents of extraordinary Brazilian guitarist Fabiano do Nascimento, percussionists Evan Greer and Kahlil Cummings, among others.
“Historically speaking, the local music and dance community in Nevada City is reputable for their efforts in painting a strong African/Afro-Diaspora cultural arts presence,” explained Mullen who has for the last four years made Nevada City one of her main flagship cities for her dance residencies and intensives in California. “Karen Attix approached me about the possibility of performing my full-length concert show for the festival with the concept of exposing audiences to two California native artists whose contrast in artistic dance styles both exemplify high art at its best. The contrast between Contemporary Ballet and AfroCuban/AfroBrazilian Dance – each form requiring a life-time commitment to learning, training, and developing a specific skill set. Karen’s vision to juxtapose these two different forms as both examples of high art is a progressive and innovative concept that speaks on the standard of what is considered high art in the dance world.”
“The mission of the Miners Foundry is to preserve, enhance and utilize the historic Miners Foundry for cultural, educational and social activities in our community,” stated Gretchen Bond, Miners Foundry Executive Director. “With the support of the community, we have been working for a number of years to enhance the Osborn/Woods Hall to better support a diverse selection of performing arts programs,” she continued. “With the completion of the installation of the professional dance floor in the winter of 2013, we are now able to welcome professional dance companies to perform, and to develop ongoing professional dance residency programs to our community. We are very grateful to our local sponsors and for the award of the CAC grant funds which will enable us launch this new long-term program.”
All dance activities will take place at the Miners Foundry and at the dance studio at Nevada Union High School. The Foundry has also partnered with local dance studios; Holt Ballet Conservatory, KSK Dance Collective and the Nevada Union Theatrical Dance Department, in the promotion of the festival, and support of the week-long events including the Opening Night Gala Reception.
Event Activities include the following:
A Gala Reception at the Miners Foundry on November 17th
Two dance master-classes (November 14 & November 18)
Three technical and dress rehearsals (November 15, 16 & 19)
Two professional dance performances by the visiting companies (November 17 & 19)
This week’s Renewing Members:
An Honest Pie • Barbara Tanner • Four Paws Animal Clinic • Gold Seam • LeGacy Productions • New Moon Café • Patricia Weiss • Scott Jackson’s Real Life Fitness • Smiley Guys Smokehouse • Spirithouse Import Gallery
Thank you for your membership!
Upcoming Events at the Miners Foundry
11/17 thru 19 – Nevada City Dance Festival
11/18 – Sierra Stages’ Reading of Phyro Giants
