Laughing Waters
Was a Minneapolis MOSAIC Art Commission
Saturday June 4, 2011 7:00 pm at Pantages Theater
(710 Hennepin Avenue)
Admission is free
A collaboration between Green T Productions and Sumunar Indonesian Music and Dance. A 20 minute performance of kabuki-inspired dance to Indonesian Gamelan music in celebration of Minneapolis lakes and rivers.
(710 Hennepin Avenue)
Admission is free
A collaboration between Green T Productions and Sumunar Indonesian Music and Dance. A 20 minute performance of kabuki-inspired dance to Indonesian Gamelan music in celebration of Minneapolis lakes and rivers.
Laughing waters from Bill Cunningham on Vimeo.
9th ANNUAL MINNEAPOLIS MOSAIC ART COMMISSION CELEBRATES FUSION OF CULTURES
Sumunar and Green T Productions Selected by Minneapolis MOSAIC and the Minneapolis Arts Commission for Original Cross Cultural Performance
Each year Minneapolis MOSAIC commissions a lasting artistic work that celebrates the city’s diversity and serves as a commemorative representation of the festival. Minneapolis MOSAIC and the Minneapolis Arts Commission are proud to announce that Sumunar and Green T Productions have been selected to produce the 2011 Minneapolis MOSAIC Art Commission.
“We received outstanding creative interpretations of cultural fusion in response to our commission RFP – they made our selection process very difficult,” said Sarah Rust Sampedro, Minneapolis Arts Commissioner. “I'm extremely proud of the artistic creativity and cultural diversity of our city.”
This year’s art commission is presented by Sumunar and Green T Productions. This innovative cross-cultural collaboration brings together Japanese Nihon Buyoh, a dance style seen in kabuki theater, and Indonesian Gamelan music. The original performance is entitled “Laughing Waters,” and is a beautiful expression of how two different artistic elements can collaborate to strengthen each other.
In addition to the performance’s unique cultural fusion, “Laughing Waters” was selected because of its unique incorporation of the one common theme shared by Gamelan, Nihon Buyoh and Minneapolis: water. Indonesian Gamelan music has traditionally been compared to the sound of water as it flows down from the mountain. Water is also an important element in kabuki dance as it is represented by a water cloth that ripples and catches the light as dancers move through and around it using movements that swirl and flow. Therefore, by focusing on the idea of water, the performance is able to bring the art forms together and make it appropriate to MOSAIC’s celebration of Minneapolis, the “City of Lakes.”
“We are honored to have been chosen for this opportunity,” said Green T Productions Artistic Director, Kathy Welch. “We are lucky to be working in Minneapolis where disparate cultural traditions are fostered so they can meet and collaborate to create a completely new and unique work of art.”
The commission performance, “Laughing Waters,” will be performed on the Pantages Theater stage at the Minneapolis MOSAIC celebration on June 4, 2011. For more information about Sumunar and Green T Productions, visit their websites at www.sumunar.org and www.greentproductions.org.
Previous Minneapolis MOSAIC commissions include photography, ceramics, a youth media project, a symphonic composition, a choreographed dance and spoken word. The 2010 Minneapolis MOSAIC commission was a collaboration between Katha Dance Theatre and Robert Robinson Music. The original work was entitled “Soul to Sole” and featured Kathak dance from north India with all American gospel music.
The Minneapolis Arts Commission was chartered in 1974 with the mission to strengthen the arts and enrich cultural life in Minneapolis. The Commission has initiated a wide variety of programs and projects in order to foster development and high standards of quality in the arts. Community involvement is encouraged by the Commission through cooperation and coordination of artists, and participation and appreciation of the arts by all city residents. For more information about the Minneapolis Arts Commission please visit http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/dca/arts_home.asp.
Minneapolis MOSAIC, a festival of arts celebrating cultural diversity, encourages the community to experience a wide range of cultural and artistic activities that make the city unique. MOSAIC is presented by the City of Minneapolis and funded by private sponsors, not tax payers. For more information, graphics and links please visit www.minneapolismosaic.com or call the Minneapolis MOSAIC hotline at (612) 673-3379.
Sumunar and Green T Productions Selected by Minneapolis MOSAIC and the Minneapolis Arts Commission for Original Cross Cultural Performance
Each year Minneapolis MOSAIC commissions a lasting artistic work that celebrates the city’s diversity and serves as a commemorative representation of the festival. Minneapolis MOSAIC and the Minneapolis Arts Commission are proud to announce that Sumunar and Green T Productions have been selected to produce the 2011 Minneapolis MOSAIC Art Commission.
“We received outstanding creative interpretations of cultural fusion in response to our commission RFP – they made our selection process very difficult,” said Sarah Rust Sampedro, Minneapolis Arts Commissioner. “I'm extremely proud of the artistic creativity and cultural diversity of our city.”
This year’s art commission is presented by Sumunar and Green T Productions. This innovative cross-cultural collaboration brings together Japanese Nihon Buyoh, a dance style seen in kabuki theater, and Indonesian Gamelan music. The original performance is entitled “Laughing Waters,” and is a beautiful expression of how two different artistic elements can collaborate to strengthen each other.
In addition to the performance’s unique cultural fusion, “Laughing Waters” was selected because of its unique incorporation of the one common theme shared by Gamelan, Nihon Buyoh and Minneapolis: water. Indonesian Gamelan music has traditionally been compared to the sound of water as it flows down from the mountain. Water is also an important element in kabuki dance as it is represented by a water cloth that ripples and catches the light as dancers move through and around it using movements that swirl and flow. Therefore, by focusing on the idea of water, the performance is able to bring the art forms together and make it appropriate to MOSAIC’s celebration of Minneapolis, the “City of Lakes.”
“We are honored to have been chosen for this opportunity,” said Green T Productions Artistic Director, Kathy Welch. “We are lucky to be working in Minneapolis where disparate cultural traditions are fostered so they can meet and collaborate to create a completely new and unique work of art.”
The commission performance, “Laughing Waters,” will be performed on the Pantages Theater stage at the Minneapolis MOSAIC celebration on June 4, 2011. For more information about Sumunar and Green T Productions, visit their websites at www.sumunar.org and www.greentproductions.org.
Previous Minneapolis MOSAIC commissions include photography, ceramics, a youth media project, a symphonic composition, a choreographed dance and spoken word. The 2010 Minneapolis MOSAIC commission was a collaboration between Katha Dance Theatre and Robert Robinson Music. The original work was entitled “Soul to Sole” and featured Kathak dance from north India with all American gospel music.
The Minneapolis Arts Commission was chartered in 1974 with the mission to strengthen the arts and enrich cultural life in Minneapolis. The Commission has initiated a wide variety of programs and projects in order to foster development and high standards of quality in the arts. Community involvement is encouraged by the Commission through cooperation and coordination of artists, and participation and appreciation of the arts by all city residents. For more information about the Minneapolis Arts Commission please visit http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/dca/arts_home.asp.
Minneapolis MOSAIC, a festival of arts celebrating cultural diversity, encourages the community to experience a wide range of cultural and artistic activities that make the city unique. MOSAIC is presented by the City of Minneapolis and funded by private sponsors, not tax payers. For more information, graphics and links please visit www.minneapolismosaic.com or call the Minneapolis MOSAIC hotline at (612) 673-3379.