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From August 7-24, Lincoln Center’s Damrosch Park and South Plaza will be filled with three weeks of free performances by exciting international, U.S. and local artists for Lincoln Center Out of Doors 2008. This 38th annual edition of the summer festival that has become a summer institution in New York presents a schedule of varied musical events, World and U.S. premieres, special Lincoln Center commissioned works, as well as artists making their New York debuts.
Opening this season’s Out of Doors are performances by the incomparable Soledad Barrio with the noted Spanish flamenco company Noche Flamenca and French “gypsy jam” guitarist Stephane Wrembel on August 7. Closing Out of Doors on August 23 and 24 is the 25th Annual Roots Of American Music Festival, which includes a Battle of the Brass Bands, Music Maker Blues Revue from New Orleans, performances by Irma Thomas, “Soul Queen of New Orleans,” the debut of bassist Charlie Haden’s new all-star traditional country project and Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Famer Patti Smith.
This summer’s Out of Doors slate is the first under the leadership of Bill Bragin, who joined Lincoln Center in January as the Director of Public Programming, a newly created position which includes curating both Out of Doors and Midsummer Night Swing. Prior to joining Lincoln Center, Bragin served as Director of Joe’s Pub at The Public Theater, where he presented more than 3,000 concerts, introduced the “Joe’s Pub In The Park” concert series at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park, and developed ongoing contemporary dance and family programming.
Music Highlights:
Music presentations at Out of Doors include: a program of debuts and premieres in collaboration with Wordless Music, (August 15), a feast of minimalist music ranging from 13th century chant to a contemporary work featuring 200 electric guitars to influential electronic club music Nina Simone’s daughter Simone with the Rob Stoneback Big Band on a bill with Regina Carter (August 10) Keep a Light in the Window: An Homage to Joel Dorn with an all-star lineup of artists, including Dr. John, Roberta Flack, Jane Monheit, who worked with the famed producer, assembled by Hal Willner and Dorn’s son Adam Dorn aka Mocean Worker (August 13) the East Village Opera Company with rocked out versions of well-known opera arias, sharing the bill with chamber group the Ahn Trio (August 14) a 93rd birthday tribute to the First Lady of Latin Jazz, Graciela Perez-Grillo (August 17) the New York premiere of Still Black, Still Proud: An African Tribute to James Brown (August 22) directed by Pee Wee Ellis and Fred Wesley with guest artists Cheikh Lô and Vieux Farka Touré the return of La Casita, two days of music, dance, poetry and spoken word featuring more than two dozen artists (August 9-10) and an evening featuring some of Africa’s most celebrated musicians in collaboration with western Jazz and Rock artists: Extra Golden, Mahmoud Ahmed and Alèmayèhu Eshèté with The Either/Orchestra, and saxophonist Gétatchèw Mèkurya in his New York debut with Dutch band The Ex.
Family Programs Highlights:
Specially-designed programs for family audiences are once again part of Lincoln Center Out of Doors. An exciting line-up is planned for Family Day on Saturday, August 16, with a new installment of the popular Puppet Pageant, commissioned by Lincoln Center, created by members of the Puppeteers Cooperative in collaboration with the neighborhood groups Lincoln Square Neighborhood Center and Red Hook Community Center. In this year’s performance, Evangeline, Evil and Dancing in the Street, an entire city block picks up and walks, complete with cars, buildings, cats, dogs, and pigeons. Washington D.C.-based Step Afrika is the world’s first professional company dedicated to stepping, a unique dance tradition created by African American college students in the early 1900s. The group’s Family Day show, Stepping With Step Afrika, will be an interactive 50-minute performance for young people that highlights the rhythm, physicality and history of stepping, and culminates in a group activity that will get kids (and maybe even a few adults) on their feet.
Fraulein Maria, the brainchild of modern dancer/choreographer Doug Elkins, rounds out the afternoon. Doug Elkins & Friends—a cast of dancers, actors and singers—brings a kinetic twist to the timeless classic The Sound Of Music with hip hop-influenced lonely goatherds and other urban updates.
Three exciting traditional dance and music troupes will be presented on the afternoon of August 17, Heritage Sunday: the Afro-Brazilian group Ologundê Bonga & The Vodou Drums of Haiti and the Kotchegna Dance Company with stilt and mask dances from Africa’s Ivory Coast. And on Sunday, August 24 a special Family Concert at 11 a.m. featuring legendary folk artist Pete Seeger, joined by his grandson, Tao Rodriguez-Seeger and family friend and protégé, acoustic bluesman Guy Davis, brings a family focus to the 25th annual Roots Of American Music Festival.
Dance Highlights:
In addition to opening night with Noche Flamenca, dance presentations for Out of Doors 2008 include: the U.S. premiere of Summer of Love, a collaboration between choreographer Karole Armitage’s Armitage Gone! Dance and Burkina Electric (August 8) on a double bill with Evidence, A Dance Company, (Ronald K. Brown, artistic director) with two works: High Life and Upside Down Cyro Baptista’s Beat the Donkey Brazilian drum ensemble featuring capoeira and tap (August 10) Doug Elkins & Friends in a repeat performance of Fraulein Maria, a modern take on The Sound of Music (August 16) Step Afrika!, in an expanded evening program on August 16 the three featured troupes (see above) performing on Heritage Sunday (August 17) and David Dorfman Dance, performing Underground (August 21).
About Lincoln Center Out Of Doors:
One of New York’s most anticipated summer traditions, Lincoln Center Out of Doors is enjoyed annually by thousands of people who come to its free music, dance, spoken-word, special events, and interactive family programs representing traditional and contemporary arts and culture from around the world. Conceived in 1970, and launched in 1971 as a small festival of street theater “to bring the community to Lincoln Center and bring Lincoln Center to the community,” Out of Doors has grown into one of the largest free summer festivals in the U.S., with audiences averaging 200,000 each summer. Over the past 36 summers, Out of Doors has commissioned nearly 80 works from composers and choreographers presented hundreds of major dance companies, renowned jazz musicians, and traditional music and dance representing the rich cultural diversity of New York City created week-long celebrations of U.S. regionally based artists as well as daylong programming featuring performers from Mexico and Canada and presented the perennial favorite “Roots Of American Music” celebration.
For information and program updates visit www.LincolnCenter.org
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