World Premiere: SOLUNA Music Festival 2019
This collaboration combines live musical performance by Terence Blanchard and the E-Collective, choreography and dance by Rennie Harris and his company Pure Movement, and Andrew F. Scott’s visual projections, sculpture, and projection mapping with the ATEC LightSquad. This project expands upon themes Terence Blanchard began exploring a few years ago. Responding to real-life events stemming from racial tension and injustice, Blanchard and the E-Collective recorded an album, Breathless, and performed across America, visiting cities most affected by racial conflict with police and against police, including Dallas. Feeling empowered by the intense emotional reaction from the audiences – many were moved to tears – and recognizing the healing impact of his music on people, Blanchard decided to continue the conversation and engage more artists.
Terence Blanchard, Andrew Scott, and Rennie Harris have teamed up to add a new dimension to Blanchard’s work, to bring about a changing of hearts and souls. Blanchard’s fusion of jazz, R&B, blues, funk, and soul synergistically interweaves with Harris’s approach to movement, representing the archaeology of the human spirit through vernacular African American dance styles. Scott’s conceptually-based visual projections and installations, which are rooted in African and African American art and culture, seamlessly integrate into the overall artistic narrative. The skeleton of the work examines these larger societal issues. At the same time, the individual nuances of the stories reflect the life experiences of each artist and their thoughts and feelings about Black Lives in the 21st century.
Articles
- Cullen Ormond, “Musician Terence Blanchard Gets Real About Race,” L’Officiel, Apr 15, 2019,
- Hady Mawajdeh, “Healing Through Music.” Art and Seek Spotlight, April 4, 2019,
- Caravan: A Revolution on the Road Performance at Adrienne Arsht Center. Photography by Steve Blaine on October 23rd, 2019 in Lifestyle
Terence Blanchard & E-Collective
Fabian Almazan Piano, Charles Altura Guitar, David”DJ”Ginyard Bass, Oscar Seaton Drums
Rennie Harris PureMovement American Street Dance Theater Company
Joshua Culbreath, Phillip Currino JR, Tatiana Desardouin, Mai Le HoJohnson, Michael Mansion, Emily Pietruszka, Kai Rapelyea, Yuko “Uko Snowbunny” Tanaka
Andrew F. Scott & LightSquad
Matthew Unkenholz Technical Director, Amanda Goodwyn Lighting, Mike Snyder Video, Roxanne Minnish, Sarah Wall Photography, Amanda Marder, Vic Simon Production, Students: Omar Davila, Melanie Estes, Amanda Garrison, Paul Hinderliter, Alphonse Muse, Amir Naqi, David Rake, Pablo Reyes, Hae-Jin Scott, Joseph Wintermote,
- Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, Saint Paul, MN, October 26, 2019.
- Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, of Miami-Dade County, Miami FL, Oct 18, 2019.
- Bass Concert Hall, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, Apr 11, 2019.
- Caravan: A Revolution on the Road, Dallas Symphony Orchestra SOLUNA Festival, Majestic Theatre, Dallas, TX. Apr 9, 2019.