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 VOLUME 7, NO. 5
October 20, 2009 
About Us
The Alliance for California Traditional Arts strives to "ensure California's future holds California's past" by providing programs and services to support the state's diverse living cultural heritage. The Alliance cultivates the growth of traditional arts and culture through Stewardship, Services to Artists, and Connection-Making.

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Upcoming Events

ABAD�-Capoeira SF 18th ANNUAL CAPOEIRA BATIZADO & Training Seminar
Oct 21 2009
San Francisco, CA

'Ayoo'en 'Ammaman 'A'an "The All Nations Many Hands Gathering"
Oct 23 2009
San Pedro, CA

Cuban Chanteuse Omara Portuondo at UCLA Live Royce Hall
Oct 23 2009
Westwood, CA

Arts Tune-Up from the L.A. County Arts Commission
Oct 24 2009
Glendale, CA

Performing Diaspora: Work in Progress Showings
Oct 24 2009
San Francisco, CA

Kathak Samaroh, a Festival of Kathak Dance
Nov 1 2009
Fullerton, CA

ACTA's Traditional Arts Roundtable: Performing Diaspora Symposium
Nov 7 2009
San Francisco, CA

Intertribal Arts Marketplace
Nov 7 2009
Los Angeles, CA

Central Valley Dance Festival
Nov 7 2009
Fresno, CA

Halau Hula Nā Meakanu O Laka O Hawai'i Presents Their Fall Recital
Nov 14 2009
Long Beach, CA

Chookasian Armenian Concert Ensemble
Nov 14 2009
Northridge, CA

Bharathiar's Pudumai Penn (A Vision for the New-Age Woman)
Nov 21 2009
San Jose, CA

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Current Exhibits

The World According to Joyce Gross: Quilts from the Dolph Briscoe Center
Aug 4 - Oct 25, 2009
San Jose, CA

American Masterpieces: The Artistic Legacy of California Indian Basketry
Mar 14 - Mar 14, 2010
Sacramento, CA

Japanese Papercraft: Miko Dolls
Oct 1 - Mar 1, 2010
Oakland, CA


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Funding Opportunities

Creative Work Fund: Peforming Artists
Deadline: Nov 6

 An Apprenticeship in Garifuna Wanaragu        

Alliance for California Traditional ArtsMaster artist Flavio "Paps" Alvarez and his grandnephew and apprentice Carlos Gonzales-both from Los Angeles- participated in the Alliance for California Traditional Arts 2009 Apprenticeship Program focusing on their work in Garifuna Wanaragua song and dance.

Wanaragua occurs every New Year's Day and Christmas, with drummers, singers and masked and costumed dancers who travel in a day-long procession from household to household. Wanaragua commemorates Garifuna ancestors, and at the same time is a tribute to historic resistance against colonialist forces. Practiced predominantly in Honduras, Guatemala and Belize within Garifuna communities, Wanaragua has also extended where the Garifuna diaspora has settled, including Los Angeles.

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A Public Space for Vodoun Practice: The Haitian Dance & Drum Conference 2009

Alliance for California Traditional ArtsA public park in San Francisco became the site of a ritual led by Mambo Florencia Pierre and her daughter Djeanne St. Juste.  The warm and brilliant autumn day was filled with the usual picnics, birthday parties, skateboards and puppies.  But in one corner of the park, the complex world of honoring the Vodoun deities came alive.  As an altar was being constructed with the symbols of the deities upon it, blessings were made to the four directions, and the cosmology of the Vodoun world took its shape through the rendering of veves, the symbolic designs that are made on the ground with cornmeal to create the sacred space of the ceremony. Many interested participants and passerbys were led through a ceremony whose intent was to share this practice with outsiders.  The drumming, songs and dance over the next several hours gave not only a sense of the power of the ceremony but led the mambo into a period of trance where she was "visited" by the spirit of a deity until she was brought back from her visit to this alternate reality to rejoin the Bay Area participants to conclude the ceremony.

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Thai Cultural Center Performs Thai Masked Dance Theater

Alliance for California Traditional ArtsOn Sunday, October 11, 2009, the Thai Cultural Center of the San Francisco Bay Area presented Ramakian: An Adaptation of the Ramayana Epic. The performance was a collaborative effort between the Thai Cultural Center and visiting performers from Ban Somdejchaopraya Rajabhat University in Bangkok and from Thai Temples in Fremont and Los Angeles.

For centuries, the khon tradition of masked theater has been performed for Thailand's royal courts and is regarded as the country's highest artform. The genre exclusively depicts the Ramayana epic of India, referred to as the Ramakian in Thai literature. The epic has become a symbol of Thai cultural heritage and is depicted on the murals surrounding the Emerald Buddha Temple adjacent to the Royal Palace in Bangkok. The story represents the classic tale between good and evil, following the exiled Phra Ram (Rama) and his struggles against the demon Totsakan (Ravana).

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ACTA's Traditional Arts Roundtable Series: Upcoming Events

With generous support from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and the San Francisco Arts Commission, the Alliance for California Traditional Arts completes its Tradtional Arts Roundtable Series for 2009 with two free events that provide a venue for traditional artists and arts advocates to discuss issues important to the field.

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Outdoor Arts Festivals - Survey by the NEA

The Alliance for California Traditional Arts invites outdoor arts festival organizers to participate in the National Endowment for the Art's (NEA) important online study of outdoor arts festivals. The NEA's Survey of Outdoor Arts Festivals is an ambitious effort to learn about the number and variety of outdoor arts festivals in the United States; the artists they employ; the communities they serve; and the role they play in our nation's cities, towns, and neighborhoods. The survey is intended to include a broad range of festivals that showcase live arts events. Outdoor arts festivals of all sizes and types are encouraged to respond. If you aren't involved in an outdoor arts festival, feel free to pass this along to colleagues who are.

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Join the California Dance Network

Alliance for California Traditional ArtsOver 2,010 resources listed in the state, and you could be one of them. Create your own FREE profile and add to the growing network. If you are a dance artist, company, venue or fan, the California Dance Network (CADN) is your free connection to the dance community in California. This growing website provides dance-related contacts throughout the state through an interactive map featuring dancers, teachers, performance spaces, dance suppliers, administration resources and more. You can also read news and reviews from around the country as well as post your own shows, workshops and events on a state-wide calendar.  Along with creating a profile and connecting to the statewide network, check the CADN website to plug into your local community by joining the partner organizations in your vicinity. Regional membership gives you access to more resources and detailed information about dance in your area, including events, funding, and advocacy.

To find out more about the California Dance Network, visit their website.

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Contact ACTA
[email protected]
559-237-9812