The Kitchen & The Studio Museum in Harlem present Hoofers'
House
Press Contact:
Blake Zidell & Associates
tel: 718.643.9052
fax: 718.643.9502 blake@blakezidell.com
For Immediate Release
The Kitchen and The Studio Museum in Harlem present
Hoofers’ House, May 23 Hosted by Jason Samuels Smith;
Featuring DJ Reborn and video artist Rashaad Newsome
Evening is part of citywide weekend of events celebrating
National Tap Dance Day
New York, NY, April 29, 2008—On Friday, May 23, The Kitchen
and The Studio Museum in Harlem present Hoofers’ House, an
ongoing quarterly series in which some of the best of New
York City’s rhythm tap community come together to share and
showcase their work. The evening will be hosted by
performer, choreographer and director Jason Samuels Smith
and will feature DJ Reborn. Film and video artist Rashaad
Newsome will create unique visuals to accompany the
performance. Tap dancers of all ages are invited to take
the floor for a jam session. Curated by Rashida Bumbray,
Hoofers’ House will take place at 8:00 P.M. at The Kitchen
(512 West 19th Street). Admission is free. Among the most
unique and cutting edge tap jam sessions in the city,
Hoofers’ House has been propelling a rejuvenation of the
genre for the last several years with the addition of live
and electronic music and projected visuals. This year,
Rashaad Newsome has reprogrammed a Logitec duel action
video game controller to manipulate moving images live
during the performance. Past hosts and performers include
Chloe Arnold, Jason Bernard, Ayodele Casel, Marshall Davis,
Omar Edwards, Dormeshia Sumbry-Edwards, Michaela Lerman,
Tamango and Joseph Wiggan. Tap Legends including Harold
Kromer, Fayard Nicholas, Tina Pratt and Jimmy Slyde have
also attended. From the 1920’s through the 1940’s, the back
room of Harlem’s Comedy Club on 131st Street, owned by
Lonnie Hicks, was the home of the legendary “Hoofer’s
Club,” a site for the creation of, the listening to and
stealing of steps. Among the rhythm tap dancers given the
esteemed title of “hoofer,” celebrated performers including
Legendary Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, King Raustus Brown,
John Bubbles, Charles “Honi” Coles and many more graced the
floor of this intimate room. In honor of this important
place in Harlem’s history, The Studio Museum in Harlem and
The Kitchen are proud to co-host a new home for hoofers.
Jason Samuels Smith (performer, choreographer, director) is
a leader in the art form of Tap. He won both an Emmy and
American Choreography Award for “Outstanding Choreography”
for the opening number of the 2003 Jerry Lewis/MDA
Telethon—a tribute to the late Gregory Hines. Samuels Smith
recently received the Gregory Hines Humanitarian Award.
Past honors include a Certificate of Appreciation by the
City of Los Angeles for creating the First Annual Los
Angeles Tap Festival in 2003; the “Ivy of Education” from
Brainerd Institute; the “President Kenny Award” from Stony
Brook; an Alpert/McDowell Residency Award; and an Arts
International Grant among others. Samuels Smith recently
appeared as a choreographer for Grammy Recording Artist Mya
on CBS’s Secret Talents of the Stars, and as a special
guest on Fox’s hit series So You Think You Can Dance. He
also co-starred in Dean Hargrove’s Tap Heat, an
award-winning short film; Outkast’s feature film Idlewild;
and Debbie Allen’s AMC television series Cool Women.
Performance credits include Sammy (a tribute to Sammy Davis
jr.), a leading role of the production of Soul Possessed;
the Tony Award winning Broadway cast of Bring in Da’Noise,
Bring in Da’Funk; and starring in the critically acclaimed
production of Imagine Tap! Mr. Samuels Smith continues to
tour the U.S. and beyond with India Jazz Suites, a dynamic
collaboration with Kathak Master Pandit Chitresh Das, his
own tap company A.C.G.I (Anybody Can Get It), JaJa
Productions Band featuring jazz-influenced hip hop music,
and Charlie’s Angels: A Tribute to Charlie Parker,
featuring some of the best women performers today. DJ
Reborn spins a mix of soul, hip-hop, reggae, house,
afro-beat, nu-jazz, rock and more. A Chicago native, she
now resides in New York and spins at clubs, parties,
museums including The Studio Museum in Harlem and the Bronx
Museum and live performances with The Roots, Common, Talib
Kweli, India Arie, John Legend, Alice Smith and Goapele.
Reborn is also a mentor/workshop facilitator for N.Y.C.
teens. She has crafted a new workshop specifically for teen
girls, which explores djing, creative writing and women’s
images in music and media culture. Since 2002, DJ Reborn
has been the musical director and a live on stage DJ with
Will Power on the off Broadway Hip Hop theatre hit show
Flow. She partnered with Will Power again in 2007 as the
musical director and sound designer for his original
children’s theatre production Little Honey Bo. Reborn was
the 2004- 2005 international tour DJ with Russell Simmons
Def Poetry Jam and she has made four appearances on BET’s
Rap City. She has been featured in Trace, NRG, URB,
Scratch, DJ Times and recently appeared on the cover of The
Village Voice. Born in New Orleans, LA, Rashaad Newsome
received a B.A. in Art History at Tulane University before
studying Film at Film Video Arts in New York. He has been
the recipient of several awards and grants including the
2008 Location 1 International Residency Program, New York,
NY; the 2007 BCAT/Rotunda Gallery Joint Multimedia
Residency, New York, NY; the 2006 Franklin Furnace grant
for Performance Art, New York, NY; the 2005/2006
l’Entreprise Culturelle Artist in Residence, Paris, France
and the 2005 Harvestworks Artist in Residence,
Harvestworks, New York, NY. Newsome has also exhibited and
performed nationally and internationally at such renewed
institutions and galleries as K.U.E.L., Berlin, Germany;
Glassbox Gallery, Paris, France; Rush Arts Gallery, New
York, NY; Veletrzni Palace, Prague, Czech Republic; Ingalls
& Associates Gallery, Miami, FL; Fondation Cartier, Paris,
France as well as The Contemporary Arts Center, New
Orleans, LA. The Studio Museum in Harlem is the nexus for
black artists locally, nationally and internationally, and
for work that has been inspired by black culture. It is a
site for the dynamic exchange of ideas about art and
society. Located on 125th Street, between Adam Clayton
Powell, Jr. Blvd. and Lenox Avenue in the Harlem
neighborhood of New York City, New York, The Studio Museum
in Harlem was founded in 1968 as the first museum in the
U.S. devoted to the art of African-Americans. The museum
specializes in 19th and 20th century African-American art;
20th century Caribbean and African art; and traditional
African art and artifacts. It has a collection of over
1,600 works including pieces by Romare Bearden, Robert
Colescott, Jacob Lawrence, Norman Lewis, Chris Ofili, Betye
Saar, Lorna Simpson, Kara Walker and Hale Woodruff. The
museum also maintains an extensive archive of the work of
James VanDerZee, photographer of the Harlem community from
1906 to 1983. Funding Credits This program is made possible
with generous support from Altria Group, Inc., The Harkness
Foundation for Dance, The Jerome Robbins Foundation, the
Mertz Gilmore Foundation, and with public funds from the
New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and the New
York State Council on the Arts, a state agency. ABOUT THE
KITCHEN The Kitchen is one of New York City’s oldest
nonprofit performance and exhibition spaces, showing
experimental work by innovative artists, both emerging and
established. Programs range from dance, music, and
theatrical performances to video and media arts exhibitions
to literary events, film screenings, and artists’ talks.
Since its inception in 1971, The Kitchen has been a
powerful force in shaping the cultural landscape of this
country and has helped launch the careers of many artists
who have gone on to worldwide prominence. Box Office
Information: 212.255.5793 ext. 11 Tue-Sat, 2-6pm The
Kitchen 512 West 19th Street New York, NY 10011
www.thekitchen.org
>>>CHECK OUT THIS INTERVIEW ABOUT THE UPCOMING EVENT:
http://infinitebody.blogspot.com/2008/05/rashida-bumbray-body-and-soul-podcast_01.html
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