M ay 21, 1997 • T he P ortland O bserver P agi AS ^ o r tla n h (©hseruer -w ENTERTAINMENT Afro-Cuban dance workshop at Portland State Portland State U niversity’s W orld Dance O ffice presents a three-day A fro-C uban dance workshop. It is titled “Afro-Cuban Ritu­ a ls , “ w ith C u b a n a r tis ts T e r e s ita D om e P e re z and Regino Jim enez Saez Friday through Sunday, May 23-25, from 4 to 6 p.m. in Room 207 o f PSU ’s Health & Physical Edu­ cation building, 930 SW Hall. Cost is $8 per class for the general public; $6 for PSU staff, faculty and non-PSU students with valid identification; free to PSU students with valid I.D. For more inform ation call 725- 5670. The w orkshop is open to the whole com m unity and to danc­ ers o f all experience levels. Participants will learn about the dances, rhythm s, religion, and rich culture o f Cuba. Women should wear long full Cuban dance artists present workshop at PSU Ali, Cosby honored at Essence Awards The Tenth A nniversary Essence A w ards C eleb ratio n w ill be p re­ sented as a p rim e-tim e, tw o hour special that w ill air on Fox B ro ad ­ casting T hursday, M ay 22 at 8:00 P.M . (E D T ). T h e s ta r-stu d d e d show will feature honorees in clu d ­ ing boxing g reat M uham m ad All (w ho receives a L iving L egend A w ard); M arilyn C ham berlain: a Los A ngeles w om an who runs a hom e for p eople w ith A ID S; Bill an d C a m ille C o sb y and 1996 O ly m p ic G old M ed al g y m n ast D om inique D aw es; C. K enneth Jo h n so n , a W a sh in g to n , D .C ., single foster parent who has taken in m ore than 90 children over the past decade; and W hitney H ous­ ton receives the first Essence T ri­ um phant Spirit A w ard, established to honor an outstanding A frican- A m erican who exem plifies the true spirit Essence through extraordi­ nary actions and accom plishm ents. Cissy H ouston, H o uston’s m other, will be in attendance to accept the honor in her daughters behalf. Sinbad and Halle Berry are the cohosts o f the special w hich was taped at The T heater at M adison Square G arden. The evening fea­ tures outstanding perform ances by Stevie W onder, Patti L aB elle, LL Cool J, L uther V andross, M ary J. B lig e , C eC e W in a n s, J e n n ife r H olliday and K irk Franklin, with p re se n te rs Q u in c y Jo n e s, Jada Pinkett, the A rtist (form erly known as P rin c e ), B ra n d y and M alik Y oba. T his y e a r’s presen tatio n includes such m om entous high­ lights as Stevie W onder’s touch­ ing and original m usical tribute to Bill and C am ille C o sb y ’s son, Ennis; LL Cool J ’s charged appeal for a stop to the violence in the rap-m usic industry. 'The Wedding' opens Rose Festival Arts Cuba and abroad. Regino Jim enez Saez is one o f the forem ost authorities on A fro-C uban music and the b a t- drum. He is the m usical director o f Danza Contemporanea de Cuba, originally known as C onjunto de Danza M oderna. He joined the group in 1963 under the leadership o f Jesus Perez, known as the grand m ae­ stro o f b a t- drum m ing, taking over as director o f the p ercus­ sio n o rc h e s tra a fte r P e r e z ’ death. Regino also directs one o f the m ost sought-after sacred b a t- groups in the H avana Santeria com m unity, perform ing m ore than six cerem onies a week. His expertise in the m usic, custom s and rituals o f Cuba is well known there and has been o f a ssistan ce to several re ­ searchers in the US. skirts. Men should w ear com ­ fortable clothing allow ing for a range o f m ovem ent. R egistration begins in Room 207 a h alf hour before the class begins. Teresita Perez was born in Cuba and grew up am idst the ric h fo lk lo ric tra d itio n s in M atanzas. At 17 she was asked to jo in the w o rld -re n o w n e d G rupo A fro-C uba de M atanzas. For 15 years she perform ed and toured w ith A fro-C uba as an ensem ble m em ber, principal dancer and educator. She has participated in the Festival de C aribe in Santiago de Cuba, the Fiesta de Rum ba y Tam bor, the Havana Jazz Fes­ tival, and the B anff Centre for the Arts A frocubanism o F esti­ val in Canada. She has won awards and com ­ m endations for her work both in The Captain’s X Global Grooves ¿ SR«*»' TRibuit To O scar P eterson ................... "Live Al 11« Jeff C o lliN E nstm H e ......... ..................................... T e ( arc ‘ O u is id i Thi L ines ' ......................... A rti F lfx 'E xrtssktns ' treasures.” Also from The O rego­ nian, columnist Jonathan Nicholas once described a Ballet performance as “A highly successful artistic ex­ perience that bordered on the reli­ gious.” The Ballet joyfully and en­ ergetically presents a world class mix o f music and dance. The Ballet consists o f sixteen dancers and five principal m usicians, occasionally augmented by guest artists, ihey are true cultural ambassadors, whether presenting original work or keep­ ing alive the dances and music o f W est Africa. The Ballet strives to present work that is uniquely and wholly African, but also deals with universal themes that most cultures share in common. The Rose Festival Concert will present the premier performance o f “The W edding,” an original work written and choreographed by Bal­ let director Bruce Smith. “The W ed­ ding” leisurely unfolds as a story o f courtship and marriage in a typical Bisquera: Moving up in the world of Jazz As one o f the Pacific Northwest’s up and coming young talents in the music scene, pianist Edward Bisquera, although a relative newcomer to the Portland music scene, “displays both versatile playing and promise as a composer...an impressive debut’ - (Willamette Week, 12/96). He has achieved much success since returning home to the Pacific North­ west in late 1995; with over ten years experience as a Professional pianist, his playing displays both finesse and sensitivity, as well as a deep sense o f a strong melodic presentation. He has the experience and ability to entertain and sustain an audience through a full program o f music, providing a re­ laxed feeling with his performance. For the 1996 holiday season, Bisquera released an album “Home for the Holidays.” produced with P o rtla n d ’s prem ier saxophonist. Patrick Lamb. The album was re­ leased under The Bisquera+Lamb Duo. and features two originals by Bisquera, one o f which, ‘Lullaby for Jazmyne, ’ continues to receiveair play from stations like 106.7 KKJZ- Smooth Jazz and FM 102 KINK. W arni r B ros 'T b i A ri o i T rio " K uri E lliN q ............................ ......................................... ' l l « M iss » n ( ,( r ' ............................ B lut N oti ............... CRP 'B I u t s F o r S c I turr ' D ia n i S c I iurr O m s i /W B ......................... B ral I M i hldAu I a u H iA ds " M an H a i î i n M o r n in ç * .................... B lu t N o n “ N a i ly DRtAd” CU ar I ii H u nier Q uarte i M ill SION) 'T lu T r u i I i ' ................................ luRk M auro ........................ The Northwest Afrikan A m eri­ can Ballet is proud to announce it’s fourth annual Rose Festival Con­ cert at the Intermediate Theater on Friday, May 30 at 8:00 p.m. The B allet’s perform ance will be the Rose Festival’s kick-off arts event. It is also the B allet’s second major concert celebrating its fifteenth an­ niversary season. Oregonian w riter Bob Hicks has called the Northwest Afrikan Ameri­ can Ballet “One o f O regon’s artistic LABEL T own H a II" .................... ................................... Thi C k y io N B rot I iir s ................................. "Listin' ............. MARk C ary B illy M arc us 'H a m p ' ShiR lty H orn 'T b i M ain lixçRtdiENi* A raìmsoui I a ; ; ... C on it M poRARV ............ ................ ............................ 'T I iru M y E y is ' ............................ M ic h i 1 C a m i I v V ir v i ÎR o p t-lA ;; EI aine EI ía s .......................... ................................ 'S o lo s & D uets ' ............................ ............. BI ut N o it D ennis S p r in t e r ................. .................................. 'O n T hf P at I t " ............................... .............................PS - C i/T / i/ v s is you o /v M \sri( V()\ \c,i KM H D