|
|
Big Sur Spirit Garden
Presents
|
Register for weekend workshops
and get your tickets
for July 3rd show now !
www.esalen.org
|
____________________________________
Festival Workshops & Performances
|
______________________________________
Afro Cuban Music and Dance
Workshop
with Jesus Diaz, Muñeco Aguilar
a tribute to Francisco Aguabella
"Aguabella is the John Coltrane of the Conga Drums." Dizzy Gillespie
 
This workshop is a high-energy celebration of Afro cuban music, dance, and culture. Taught by two world-renowned Cuban performers, the workshop weaves together traditional and contemporary concepts of Afro-Cuban percussion and choreography. Drumming classes will provide students with anintroduction to techniques, strokes, and basic patterns for the conga, batá (talking drum), and hand-percussion instruments such as cowbells, claves, shekere, and other hand-percussion. Jesus and Muneco will teach participants the fundamentals of soloing and group playing. The dance classes will focus on the three basictypes of Afro-Cuban Rumba-Rumba Yambú, Rumba Guaguancó, and Rumba Columbia-and traditional and folkloric dances of the Orisha. Through singing, movement, and infectious rhythms, the group will create a joyful and passionate week together.
October 10th,1925 - May 7th 2010 Afro-Cuban jazz giant died of cancer Friday in his Los Angeles home. He was 84. Born in Cuba, Francisco was a master of the Yoruba-derived bata drums and rumba form, as well as contemporary traditions including Cuban son, salsa, and Latin jazz. He has recorded and/or performed with artists such as Tito Puente, Dizzie Gillespie, Cal Tjader, and Celia Cruz.
Workshop Leaders
Pedro "Muñeco" Aguilar, Cuban dancer and drummer, has been a fixture in Macho Men for the past two years, providing the movement and soul necessary to bring the show to life. He has performed with the legendary congero Francisco Aguabella and appeared in the feature film,
"Dance with Me".
Jesus Diaz, Cuban born percussionist and vocalist, arrived in the United States from la Habana in 1980. His collaborations with world-renowned artists are recognized for their contributions to the richness of an ever expanding musical genre worldwide. Jesus Diaz has performed, toured and recorded with such artists as Carlos Santana, Andy Narrell, Dizzy Gillespie, Bobbie Womack, Steve Coleman Caribbean Jazz Project, Planet Drum, Talking Drums, Pete Escovedo / Sheila E, José Luis Quintana "Changuito", Giovanni Hidalgo, Rebecca Mauleón & Round Trip, Omar Sosa, Columna "B", John Calloway, and Conjunto Cé, Carspedes among many.
Ramon "Sandy" Pérez joined Grupo Afro-Cuba de Matanzas at age 17, and within a few years he earned the positions of principal drummer and soloist. He was a featured artist at the 1996 Havana Jazz Festival and performed at the 1996 Afrocubanismo Festival in Banff, Canada. Although the roots of his techniques are founded in Afro-Cuban folkloric styles, Pérez's open-minded approach has enabled him to adapt to styles ranging from Cuban popular (salsa) to fusion and avant-garde jazz.
|
______________________________________
Singing From Your Heart and Soul
with Renee Wilson
 This acapella singing workshop explores improvisational singing, composition, vocal training and performance. Covering the basic elements of vocal improvisatory sound and voice technique,
"Singing from Your Heart and Soul" is a powerful course that will give you the valuable life skills and confidence in finding your own voice. Whether you sing in the shower or perform on stage, this workshop is designed for singers of all levels.
R enee Wilson is a highly imaginative teacher and qthat sings a unique mix of jazz, gospel, funk, soul, blues, world beat, and R&B. Best known for portraying Raelette Pat Lyle in the Academy Award winning film "Ray", she has just completed producing and directing a documentary about her home town of New Orleans and released a new album with Grass Roots records..
|
|
__________________________________________________________
Family Arts celebration
Multicultural arts workshop for children and families
with Jayson Fann, Climbing PoeTree,
Samara Gaev, Persay Bryant
Join Jayson Fann, the Arts Festival founder and creative director, ClimbingPoetree, and guest artists for an extraordinary multicultural family arts celebration. Mask making, drumming, dancing, fire dancers, storytellers and performances under the stars will be among the many creative and dynamic elements woven into an unforgettable family weekend. Drawing from an incredible group of artists from around the world, this workshop is guaranteed to be an inspiration for both children and adults. All ages are welcome, including parents with small children. The Family Arts program will help you rediscover that, "Yes! This is exactly what I want to be doing." $50 materials fee per student.
Alixa and Naima: the Brooklyn-based, internationally-acclaimed performance duo, ClimbingPoeTree, a ground-breaking, multi-media show that obliterates the boundaries between performance and activism. With roots in Haiti and Colombia, Alixa and Naima track footprints across the country and globe on a mission to overcome destruction with creativity.
www.climbingpoetree.com
Persay Bryant : acclaimed storyteller, poet, mystic, dancer and musician. Persay brings 50 years of experience in theater arts. Currently serving as an adviser and resident muse at the Big Sur Spirit Garden. One of his favorite sayings is, "Don't forget to be happy."
Jayson Fann: musician and artist , multi-cultural arts education consultant. Jayson has devoted his life to cultural bridge building through the arts . As the founder and director of the Esalen International Arts Festival and Big Sur Spirit Garden Arts and Cultural Center, he has created hundreds of programs celebrating cultural diversity throughout the world. His work as an artist and producer has been featured in many prestigious publications such as the London Guardian, BBC, San Francisco Cronicle ,New York Times, Conde Naste European travel magazine, Sunset Magazine and many others world wide.www.bigsurspiritgarden.com
 Samara Gaev: New York based artist, educator, organizer, and doula. She holds a BA from NYU's Gallatin School of Individualized Study with a concentration in performance as a tool for cross-cultural education and social change. She received an MA in Performance Studies from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. She has been working as a teaching artist in the New York City for ten years.
|
|
_____________________________________
Until I Overflow
Unearthing Your Creative Genius through Writing and Poetry
with Iyeoka Ivie Okoawo
This workshop is for both beginning and experienced writers, slam poets, actors and even non-writers who seek to discover the empowering medium of poetry. Through group exercises and nightly jam ciphers, participants form a fertile environment to express their creative poetic soul. Writing becomes a spiritual exploration that brings you into contact with your authentic voice. The aim of this workshop is to bring each participant face to face with the invincible spirit of his or her own being. Weave a spellbinding tale, tell the burning story or poem that will tap into the genius and beauty inside of you, lifting you into greater self expression, passion, freedom, and joy . Here we experience deliberate spiritual nourishment and poetic powers to recharge our spirits, bodies and hearts.
"My goal is simple...I just want to move the world one poem at a time."
A first-gen eration Nigerian-American. Iyeoka Ivie Okoawo is the founder and lead singer of the music group Rock by Funk Tribe. Iyeoka is at the forefront of creating a new artistic genre that gracefully interweaves spoken word poetry with jazz, blues, gospel and electronic soul. As a dynamic sensation in the Boston music scene, Iyeoka and the Rock by Funk Tribe have been chosen as the supporting act of choice for touring artists including the son of Afrobeat FEMI KUTI and other popular world music groups such as ZAP MAMA
www.iyeoka.com
 Guest Teacher: Akili Jamal Haynes. Composer and multi-instrumentalist Akili Jamal Haynes began his career at the age of 15 as a trombonist under the mentorship of Wynton Marsalis and three years later was touring with Illinois Jacquet's Big Band. Early on, Akili embarked on his pursuit to perform on multiple instruments at high skill levels in order to bring greater levels of excellence to his original compositions. Akili has honed his skills and knowledge of Haitian,
Ugandan, Brazilian, and Senegalese folklore, music, dance, and drumming. Recently, he was musical director for Dr. Glory Van Scott's production of "Urban Canaan" at the John Hancock Hall in Boston, as part of the Boston Arts Academy's 10th Anniversary Celebration. He currently performs with Senegalese Wolof Griot, master drummmer and dancer Lamine Toure & Group Saloum. Here he contributes as composer, trumpeter, vocalist, and percussionist.
|
__________________________________________________________
Awakening Creativity and Inspiration Art, Spirit and Transformation
Wawi Amasha, Dulce Maria Perez, Nasambu Wamalwa
A three-day exploration of the infinite creative spirit within you. Join Wawi,
Dulce Maria, and Nasambu in an unforgettable multi-media arts celebration. Painting, dancing, poetry, and performances under the stars will be among the many dynamic elements woven into a memorable weekend. The Art Barn will be pulsating with colors, irresistible rhythms, and imagination.
The aim of this workshop is to ignite your imagination and awaken you to new possibilities within your creativity. These three extraordinary artists will be sure to lift your spirit!
Dulce Maria Perez: artist, poet, shamanic spiritual practicioner. Dulce Maria was born in the Dominican Republic and has traveled extensively, learning from communities around the world. She holds a doctorate degree in Multicultural International Education. She has shared her multicultural experiences as a teacher in many different settings and countries. She currently lives in Ojai, California.
Wawi Amasha, is among an emerging generation of Kenyan artists working and living in the USA. Wawi draws inspiration from her home country. Themes of her work mirror varied aspects of Kenyan culture. She was born and raised by her grandmother in a small village in the Embu district, about 220 miles from Nairobi, Kenya. She currently lives in Big Sur, California and serves on the faculty of the Big Sur Spirit Garden.
www.wawiamasha.com
 Nasambu Wamalwa: singer-songwriter and visual artist of Kenyan heritage, a traverser of musical worlds. Based in southern California, Nasambu performs internationally and collaborates with artists in a variety of styles including African, American, and Jamaican-based reggae, jazz, world beat, and under-ground hip hop. She also shares her love of African dance with children and adults alike during her travels. For Nasambu, freedom music continually defies the constructs of language, race, and culture. "Music is one of the most powerful aspects of the human experience. It is medicine for the spirit," voices Nasambu. That is what she strives to radiate through her own music: healing for all people. |
_____________________________________________________________
Documentary Filmmaking Intensive
with Bella Shing
 "I believe that filmmaking is a highly metaphysical
practice. Especially with documentary, I find that there is often a flow that if you are available to the energy of a story, you find yourself in exactly the right place at the right time ,where seredipity, circumstances, and people all arrive to help a story unfold."
Whether you are an emerging filmmaker, a seasoned professional or just a movie lover, come to the Esalen Video Project and experience the full spectrum of film making. Get inside the filmmaker's world as you explore the art of low and no-budget digital film making. Bella Shing, an independent filmmaker from the Bay Area, presents a complete filmmaker's workshop: from screenwriting to directing, shooting to editing. Through this hands-on three-day crash course, you will gain invaluable experience of film and video as you make your own films (narrative, non-narrative, documentary, music and video), or you can team up and collaborate.
Bring a camera to shoot your own short film at the festival.
Requirements: Any digital camera, any editing system (computer), microphones, and head phones (optional). If you do not have a camera or a computer, it may be possible, with enough advance notice, to rent equipment from the leader.
Bella Shing is an award winning director, who has always had an unerring understanding of how to communicate empowering messages to different audiences. She has written and directed over 70 commercials for congressional candidates, with 6 out 7 winning their seats in congress. She has also worked with dozens of other entrepreneurs to boost success in their businesses through compelling web, video, seminars, and marketing.
|
____________________________________________________________
Antics Hip Hop Dance Company
Antics Performance is a hip hop dance/theater company based in Los Angeles under the artistic direction of Amy "Catfox" Campion. Antics Performance creates multi-media urban dance performances that incorporate breakdancing, locking, popping, DJ's, spoken word, theater, and film into hand-clapping, foot-stomping performances.
www.AnticsPerformance.com
|
____________________________________________________________
Rocky
Dawuni
 Ghana's international music star Rocky Dawuni has leveraged his
popularity within and without the Continent to champion social causes and
inspire a generation of artists and fans alike. Dawuni's eloquence as well as
his successful melding of musical celebrity and social action has made him a
spokesperson for various causes worldwide. Over the last few years, Rocky's
music and electric live performances have attracted thousands to his concerts.
Superstars such as Stevie Wonder
and Peter Gabriel
have joined him on stage at his shows to tremendous response.
|
_________________________________________________________________
Ma Muse
The Muse fell from the sky one night and landed in the spaces between our heart beats.
She instantly took a liking to the rhythm in our chests, and her sweet melody joined the pulse.
"Roots Music that bonds strangers, draws loved ones close, suspends applause, and lifts a house to its feet."
Songstress duo of Sarah Nutting and Karisha Longaker: with a hauntingly rich accapella presence, these alto-sopranos weave a blend of whimsy and emotional depth.
http://www.mamuse.org
|
_________________________
Iyeoka Ivie Okoawo 
"She's an amazing artist, a powerful performer and wordsmith. Currently manifesting everything she believes in, she radiates positive energy, delivering her silky smooth voice and soulful rhythm. An award-winning singer and poet, Okoawo words and melodies will lift you body, heart and soul."
 A first-generation Nigerian-American, Iyeoka Ivie Okoawo is the founder and lead singer of the music group Rock by Funk Tribe. Iyeoka is at the forefront of creating a new artistic genre that
gracefully interweaves spoken word poetry with jazz, blues, gospel and
electronic soul. Iyeoka & the Rock by Funk
Tribe are a much sought after supporting act for touring
artists showcasing worldwide. Iyeoka and the Rock by Funk Tribe have been chosen
as the supporting act of choice for touring artists including son of
Afrobeat FEMI KUTI, and popular world music group ZAP MAMA . www.iyeoka.com |
____________________________________________________________
Renee Wilson
a highly im  aginative performer that sings a unique mix of jazz, gospel, funk, soul, blues, world beat, and R&B. Best known for portraying Raelette Pat Lyle in the Academy Award winning film "Ray", she just completed a new album and produced and directed a documentary about her home town of New Orleans . http://www.reneewilson.org/
|
___________________________
Afro -Cuban Music and Dance Company
A tribute performance in honor of
Francisco Aguabella
featuring:
Kati Hernandez
Jesus Diaz
Pedro "Muñeco"
Aguilar
"
Fracisco
Aguabella performed, recorded and toured with Katherine Dunham, Carlos
Santana ,Tito Puente, Mongo Santamaria, Ray Charles, Hugh Masakela,
Paul Simon, Peggy
Lee, Frank Sinatra, Benny Carter, Dizzie Gillespie, Don Ellis, Weather Report, and on and on.
He was truely a "living legend."
spirit garden productions
http://www.franciscoaguabella.com
|
_________________________
Climbing PoeTree
"ART is our WEAPON, our MEDICINE, our VOICE, our VISION"
 Alixa and Naima, the Brooklyn based,
internationally-acclaimed performance duo, ClimbingPoeTree, a ground-breaking,
multi-media show that obliterates the boundaries between performance and
activism. With roots in Haiti and Colombia, Alixa and Naima track
footprints across the country and globe on a mission to overcome destruction with
creativity.
|
______________________________________________________________
Viviana Guzmán
Described by the New York Times as "an imaginative artist,"
Chilean-born flutist, Viviana Guzmán is a virtuoso flutist, composer, dancer and poet,
who performs over 80 concerts a year, and has played in 74 countries.
Guzmán attended Rice University on fellowship, first with an emphasis on medicine; subsequently, she chose music as her career path and attended the Juilliard School of Music on scholarship. Ms. Guzmán gave her New York recital debut at the Carnegie Hall Recital Hall.
www.vivianaguzman.com
|
______________________________________________________________
Festival Visual Arts Exhibits
|
_______________________________________________________________
Haitian Arts Exhibit 
Wilbert
Laurent, Ezene Domond, Marie Danielle, Florial
Domond of the Foyer des Artistes Studio, will be exhibiting their work
and the work of 15 other painters from Jacmel, Haiti. Following the Esalen
Arts Festival, Ezene and Marie will be artist-in-residence at the Big
Sur Spirit Garden for the months of July and August.
This year's festival stage was designed by Wilbert Laurent, painted in
Haiti, and completed in Big Sur with the Spirit Garden artists.
|
___________________________________________________________
Wawi Amasha
Wawi is among an emerging
generation of Kenyan artists working and living in the USA. She draws
inspiration from her home country. Themes of her work mirrors varied
aspects of Kenyan culture. She was born and raised by her grandmother in a
small village in the Embu district, about 220 miles from Nairobi, Kenya.
|
______________________________________________________________
Maasai Artists
coming to this years festival
Nicholas Sironka
received a Fulbright Award in 2000-01 to teach batik art workshops and Maasai
Culture in the US and Europe. His batiks and murals have been featured in museums,
galleries and lodges throughout Kenya and South Africa.
Sironka will be bringing a group of Maasai artist to this years arts festival. The Massai, known as 'the people of cattle', are nilotic pastoralists who are found in the Rift valley
plains of East Africa. A Maasai by
birth and tribe, Sironka was born in Narok, Kenya, and lives in the Ngong Hills
region of the Kenyan Highlands. Sironka is a skilled artist and designer who
creates beautiful color images through the mediums of batiks and murals.
Sironka's art interweaves the Maasai culture into his images as he portrays his
people's culture truthfully, with dignity and beauty.
|
________________________________________________________________
 "BEYOND THE EYES"
works of Masauso Mchiumya: Native
of Zambia, South Africa.
A journey into the subconscious beyond the
naked eye, provoked by color, words, images abstract and real, evoking
emotions, feelings, thinking.
Beyond seeing what is.
Masauso Mchiumya will be An artist in residence at the Big Sur Spirit Garden for the month of July.
|
____________________________________________________________
Women Painters of Big Sur
Big Sur's beauty
is often referred to by writers as deeply feminine, and no where else will you find such an expression of this beauty as through the eyes of the Women Painters of Big Sur. Bold, visionary, colorful and touching, this exhibit expresses the mystique of this sacred land.
|
photos complimentary of Sacred Celebration Photographywww.sacredcelebrationsphotography.com , Patrice Ward photography ,Jayson Fann photography,Lisa Gazara :gizaraarts.com
For more information contact jayson@bigsurspiritgarden.com or 831-667-1300 cell 831-2381056.
The Spirit Garden is located 26 miles south of Carmel at Loma Vista along Highway 1 next to the Big Sur Bakery.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
