April 2015 | Issue No. 28
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image: design by Katerina Kyselica, courtesy of KADS NY
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 Dear Friends of BBLA, Over this past weekend the BBLA hosted our yearly Beseda Ball. We filled the ballroom to the rim and, based on the accolades our office has received so far, I should say that it was a very successful one. Our Ball Committee worked its magic from the creation of the Ball brochure to the building decoration. Last year we presented our American Fund for Czech and Slovak Leadership Studies and this year we celebrated another of our organizations, DAHA, which was introduced by its President Susan Lucak. The audience thoroughly enjoyed a short performance by Maestro Peress and Professor Beckerman. The dance music was arranged by our favorite ensemble called Express Orchestra and the delicious catering was organized by our new BNH restaurant management group BKB, which stands for the (Bohemian) Bay Kitchen Bar, run by Eric Miller.  Photo: Radek Hasa, Kedar Photography We were delighted to welcome an international crowd and the partygoers enjoyed a surprise dance performance by professional dancers Stephen and Aleksandra Hughes. The guests also enjoyed the cheerful appearance of the young Czecho-Slovak Miss USA from Kansas City, Morgan McMichen, arrayed in a traditional folk costume. The highlight of the evening was the glorious moment when Standa Kotyza's voice spontaneously joined Michael Beckerman's piano piece. I want to thank both the building team and our office team for all of their efforts and dedicated work. I hope that all the guests enjoyed themselves, and that those who could not make it this time, will join us in 2016. Our Committee is already at work, preparing a totally different twist on the Beseda Ball for next year. Thank you,  Joseph Balaz, President Bohemian Benevolent & Literary Association |
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 CHECK THIS OUT
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CELEBRATING ANTONIN DVORAK: DAHA AT 25 YEARS
by Majda Kallab Whitaker  In December 2014, the Czech Foreign Ministry awarded DAHA the Jan Masaryk Honorary Medal
This year's Beseda Ball honored DAHA and its creative, accomplished, and forward-looking leadership, as exemplified by the special honorees Professor Michael Beckerman and Maestro Maurice Peress. DAHA also paid tribute to its visionary past leader Jan Hird Pokorny.
DAHA's History
Founded in 1990, the Dvorak American Heritage Association (DAHA) marks its 25th Anniversary this year, commemorating, celebrating, and continuing to explore composer Antonin Dvorak's extraordinary musical contributions, with a special emphasis on his influential residency in the United States from 1892 to 1895. From its home in the beautifully restored Bohemian National Hall in New York City, DAHA offers concerts, lectures, and educational programs, increasing awareness and appreciation of Dvorak and Czech musical culture. The Dvorak Room, DAHA's exhibition and study space, offers inspiration to present and future generations by preserving the composer's American legacy.
At its inception, DAHA spearheaded the campaign to preserve Dvorak House at 327 East 17th Street, which despite the best efforts of Dvorak admirers, was sadly demolished in 1991. DAHA then moved on to acquire, conserve, and successfully place the Dvorak Statue by sculptor Ivan Mestrovic in Stuyvesant Square Park in 1997, working together with the New York Philharmonic and neighborhood preservation groups. A section of East 17th Street was co-named Dvorak Place.
>> Read more in our News...
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HERE IS WHAT'S COMING IN APRIL
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VLADISLAV KUCHARSKI: PAINTINGS  art exhibition
venue: BBLA Gallery
viewing hours: Monday - Friday 10am - 4pm
The deepest layer of inspiration for Kucharski's work stems from his enjoyment of music, the wind blowing through the inner landscapes of his paintings, especially the music of Leos Janacek (as well as Igor Stravinsky, Anton�n Dvorak, Jimi Hendrix, and others) with all its vigor, ferocity, one might say pervasive eroticism, energy, and esprit, because his Janacek is neither constrained to "folklore" nor is he a formal "modernist." Kucharski paints all that is important.
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Wednesday, April 15, 7:00 pm
IVA BITTOVA: Opening Concert for "Vladislav Kucharski: Paintings" 
Iva Bittova started studying with Professor Rudolf Stastny, the primarius (first violin) of the Moravian String Quartet, in 1982. In the intervening years the violin has become her life's passion and the most inspiring musical instrument in her professional life. Iva firmly believes that, as playing the violin places extreme demands on musicians, the composer's work depends utterly on commitment and diligence.
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Friday, April 17, 7:00 pm
JAMES BOND DANCE PARTY  ballroom, latin, hustle & swing
Dance party hosted by dance instructor Blanka Stichova with music by DJ Raphael. Food buffet and open bar, dance show and lesson. Dress like James Bond or Bond Girl! >> Learn more... 
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Saturday, April 18, 3:00 - 4:30 pm
BOHEMIAN NATIONAL HALL: HISTORY AND ARCHITECTURE  walking tour
venue: Bohemian National Hallfree and open to the public; space is limited - RSVP is required, email Melanie Delesalle at [email protected]
From its construction in 1896 as a social hall for the Czech and Slovak community to its present-day use as a center for Czech culture and commerce, the Bohemian National Hall, a New York City Historic Landmark, has played a vital role in New York City life. In honor of the 50th Anniversary of Landmarks Preservation Law in 2015, we are pleased to present a guided tour of the Bohemian National Hall.
>> Learn more...
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Sunday, April 26, 3:00 pm
CELEBRATING ANTONIN DVORAK: DAHA AT 25 YEARS  panel discussion, exhibition, concert
venue: BBLA at Bohemian National Hallfree and open to the public; seating is limited, first come, first served DAHA's 25th Anniversary and a celebration of Czech composer Antonin Dvorak. Preservationist and DAHA founding member Jack Taylor will be honored. Featuring the ArtsAhimsa Ensemble. >> Learn more...
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Wednesday, April 28, 7:00 pm
6 MINUTES: CZECH AND SLOVAK ACADEMIC SHOW & TELL  presentations
venue: BBLA at Bohemian National Hallfree and open to the public; refreshments will be served
Short presentations by the young and bright Czech and Slovak women and men, students, interns and Fulbright scholars studying or working at universities and institutions in the New York City area. They will be challenged to present the subject of their studies, in any field, in a short presentation limited to six minutes each.
>> Learn more...
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BBLA RECOMMENDS
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PRAGUE FUNCTIONALISM: TRADITION AND CONTEMPORARY ECHOS 
exhibition
The exhibition presents photographs of Prague's functionalist buildings, projects, and drawings. The first section of the exhibition is focused on functionalist projects from the 1920s and 1930s, and the second section presents contemporary projects influenced by Czech Functionalist tradition. Texts by architectural scholars and researchers accompany the photographs.
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free and open to the public
Exhibition celebrating the 15th anniversary of the award-winning Czech studio. The work of the OK PLAN ARCHITECTS studio, founded in 1999 by the architect Luděk R�zner, echoes the style of Czech Functionalism in the 1920s and 1930s. It implements the typical motifs, such as the flat roof, white plaster, ribbon windows and proportions in the golden section scale.The exhibition offers interesting examples of how the functionalist style of architecture survived 60 years of the communist era and re-emerged in the work of the young architect.
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free and open to the public
Etchings from the series entitled " Morning Blues" by Czech-American artist and printmaker Katerina Kyselica are on view in an invitational exhibition curated by Anneli Arms. >> Learn more...
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Thursday, April 16, 7:00 pm
free and open to the public
From the last decades of the nineteenth century through the late 1930s, the West Bohemian spa towns of Carlsbad, Franzensbad, and Marienbad were fashionable destinations for visitors wishing to "take a cure". Mirjam Zadoff, associate professor of Jewish Studies and History and Alvin H. Rosenfeld Chair in Jewish Studies at Indiana University, explores in her talk the contradictions between this idyllic image and the reality that in the off-season, the same resort towns -under the influence of increasingly hostile nationalism - would often turn virulently anti-Semitic. >> Learn more...
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T he new friendly app for learning and practicing Czech nouns and their grammatical gender is now available for FREE!Download from the App Store
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Bohemian Benevolent & Literary Association | 321 East 73rd Street, 3rd floor | New York, NY 10021
(212) 988-1733 | www.bohemianbenevolent.org | [email protected]
BBLA is a not-for-profit organization established in 1891 in New York City as an umbrella organization for almost eighty Czech and Slovak immigrant organizations. The mission of BBLA is to preserve and support Czech and Slovak culture in New York City. BBLA's member organizations include American Fund for Czech and Slovak Leadership Studies, Association of Free Czechoslovak Sportsmen, Czech and Slovak Solidarity Council, Czechoslovak Society of Arts and Sciences in America, Dvorak American Heritage Association and Sokol New York. BBLA is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization.
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