► ♦ * ♦ • * »*< < < * # * < > • ♦ r t e 9 r * *♦ e r t r < * < January 23,1991 -T h e Portland O b s e rv e r- Pag© 5 Portland Observer ENTERTAINMENT Innovative Dance Program Stresses Black-Jewish Ties On Febru. y 10, . pie Go , a collaborative work by two New York dance companies, will be pre­ sented at the Mittleman Jewish Com ­ munity Center (MJCC), 6651 SW Capitol Hwy., in Portland. The performance begins at 7:30 p.m. Let My People G o ” is product of the Avodah Dance Troupe and the Louis Johnson Dance Ensemble. It was spe­ cially created for Black History Month showing the bonds between African- Americansand Jews. The piece isbased on a poem by Black American Poet James Weldon Johnson (1871-1938). His “ sermon in verst’ ’ com bines bibili- cal material with black folklore, ex­ pressed in the language o f a Southern black preacher. “ Let My People G o ” is a retelling ot the Jewish Exodus story with parallels for blacks force from their Arian homeland to exile and slav­ ery in the New W orld. It is meant to help audiences explore common ele­ ments of African-American and Jewish histories and to make the audience see the universality in them es o f struggle and freedom. Dancing, singing, shouting, play­ ing o f drums and saxophones, and reci­ tations overlap to form this exciting piece. “ Let My People G o ” combines urban “ rap,” Hebrew chanting spiritu­ als, modem dance and theatrical ele­ ments to form a m oving work. The New York Times described it this way: ‘ ‘The work has both substance and texture with eloquence and emotional force suffusing spoken and movement sequences. Images and bodies seam ­ lessly melt into one another. A vision of the Israelites in Egyptian bondage becomes a tableau o f black slavery as black and Jewish voices become one cry for deliverance...The choreogra­ phy contains wonderfully exuberant movement with runs, leaps an turns that carry the smell o f the desert in them as well as the hum an spirit’s yearning to be free. The harmony o f the ensemble never sacrifices the individu­ ality o f the dancers, w hose ethnic and stylistic diversity add to the very hu­ man quality o f the w ork.” (Barbara Gilford, 2/19/89) Joanne Tucker of Avodah and Louis Johnson were co-choreographers and directors for “ Let My People G o.” Tucker formed the Avodah Dance Troupe in 1983 and has c re ited over 20 pieces for the group. A .o d ah tours extensively, often performing as part o f Sabbath services. Dr. Tucker, who studied at Julliard and the M artha Bra­ ham Studio received her Ph.D. from the University o f Wisconsin. She was honored with a Carnegie Award in Dance and has recently com pleted a book on creating dance midrashim, improvisa­ tions based on passages from the To­ rah. Louis Johnson directs the dance departm ent at the Henry Street Settle­ ment in New York City. He has worked in every phase of theatre and dance. He danced with the New York City Ballet under George Ballanchine and Jerome Robbins. He was choreographer for the Broadw ay production o f “ Tree- monisha” and “ Purlie.” He has mounted ballets for ’h • Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, The Cincinnati Ballet, the Dance Theatre o f Harlc -. md the Jotfrey Ballet. He also choreographer the movies “ Cotton Comes to Har­ lem ” and “ The W iz.” The special touring company for C H IN O O K SA LM O N OR BRO ILED LO BSTER TAILS JU M B O PRAW NS FISH & C H IPS C LA M C H O W D ER BRO ILED H A LIBU T C RA B STU FFED M U SH RO O M S LO BSTER TH ER M ID O R O R PAN FRIED O YSTER S SA UTEED SH R IM P RO SSI O R STEA K & LO BSTER C RA B AU G RATIN OR FREN C H FRIED SC A LLO PS STEA M C LA M S O YSTER STEW C H IC KEN STEA KS O R . . . . W o rld Beat Reggae House The M ittle m a n Je w ish C o m m u n ity C e n te r C o n g re g a tio n Neveh S h a lo m and Je ffe rso n H igh S chool ‘ ‘let My People G o’ ’ has seven dancers and musicians. Besides the M JCC concert, the group will do a perform ­ ance and m aster class for Jefferson High School students on February 11. A workshop on liturgical dance will be given on Sunday, February 10 from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. at W estm inster Pres­ byterian Church, 1624 NE Hancock Street. That w orkshop is open to the public and costs $25 per person. Call 246-8831 for information on the w ork­ shop. Tickets for the M JCC perform ­ ance will be S 10 general adm ission and $8 for seniors and students. They may be purchased by mail or charged by phone. Call 244-0111 for ticket infor­ mation. This project is funded in part by grants from the Collins Foundation and the Oregon Arts Commission. Co-spon­ sors are the M ittleman jew ish Com m u­ nity Center, Jefferson High School and Congregation Neveh Shalom. .'. . «el­ ate sponsors are the Albina M inisterial Alliance, the American Jew ish Com ­ mittee, and Ecum enical M inistries of Oregon Rap Blues Soul C ospel F o lk present Let My P eop le Go fe a tu rin g The Avodah Dance Ensem ble and The Louis Jo h n so n Theatre Ensem ble In h o n o r o f B la ck H isto ry M onth th is piece e x p lo re s th e c o m m o n e le m e n ts o f A fric a n -A m e ric a n a n d Jew ish h is to rie s e m p h a s iz in g th e u n iv e rs a lity o f s tru g g le a n d fre e d o m . M o v in g a n d th o u g h t- p r o v o k in g .'' /Yew» Y o r k T im e s SUNDAY, FEBRUARY IO, 1 9 9 1 7 :3 0 p .m . at M ittle m a n J e w is h C o m m u n ity C e n te r 6 6 5 1 S .W . C a p ito l H ig h w a y • P o r tla n d , OR Jazz $ 1 0 G eneral A d m is s io n • $8 S e n io r/S tu d e n t G rou p Rates A va ila b le CALL 2 4 4 - 0 1 I I fo r T ic k e t In f o r m a t io n r h i s p r o j e c t is f u n d e d in p a r t b y g r a n t s f r o m T h e C o l l i n s F o u n d a t i o n a n d T h e O r e g o n A r t s C o m m i s s i o n . A s s o c ia t e s p o n s o r s : A l b i n a M i n i s ­ t e r i a l A l l i a n c e T h e A m e r i c a n J e w i s h C o m m i t t e e a n d E c u m e n i c a l M in i- tr ie s o l O r e g o n . Music