FEBRUARY 2017 • Volume 13 • Issue 2 ENJOY DANCE, THEATER, OPERA, AND CONGOLESE CACAO ART IN FEBRUARY Ah, February. The year’s shortest month often seems like the longest. So cold. So windy. So gray. And Queens is so far from Florida. Well, things are different in the borough this February, which is jam-packed with fascinating, fun, and fiery activities. The Secret Theatre presents Cabaret between Feb. 2 and Feb. 19. This independent Long Island City performance space (secrettheatre.com) is known for its unique twists on time-honored plays, so let’s see what the producers do to this 1931 story about a young American writer who falls in love with a 19-year-old English woman who performs at the Kit Kat Klub in Berlin. Performances start at 7:30 pm, plus matinees on Feb. 12 and Feb. 19 at 2:30 pm. Jun Miyake and Delehei perform jazz and world music from Mongolia at the Jamaica Center for Arts & Learning’s Community Gallery (jcal.org) on Feb. 9 at 8 pm. Miyake, who was born in Japan but currently lives in Astoria, specializes in woodwinds. Delehei is a traditional improvising Mongolian folk musician who plays eight instruments and incorporates throat singing into his act. Queens-bred poet Audrey Dimola hosts How We Create and How We Cope: Intersections of Art & Mental Health at Queens Council on the Arts (queenscouncilarts.org) in Long Island City on Feb. 10 at 6:30 pm. This panel discussion delves in the often stigmatized topic of mental illness, particularly in connection with the creative experience. Dimola seeks to use story, poetry, music, and visual art to explore how artists cope with mental health challenges. Flamenco Vivo offers shows at Queens Theatre (queenstheatre.org) on Feb. 11 (2 pm and 8 pm) and Feb. 12 (3 pm). Drawing from centuries of Arabic, Gypsy, and Sephardic Jewish influences, the company demonstrates the rich diversity of Flamenco in powerful, invigorating motions. Musica Reginae Productions (musicareginae.org) presents Parisian Cabaret by the Gavroche Jazz Band at The Church-in-the-Gardens in Forest Hills on Feb. 11 at 7:30 pm. Attendees can expect to hear the romantic jazz that was popular in France in the mid-1900s, including QUEENS WORLD FILM FESTIVAL TO HONOR LONG 5 ISLAND CITY FILMMAKER JULIE DASH The 7th Annual Queens World Film Festival (QWFF) returns to the Museum of the Moving Image and other venues with over 130 of the world’s newest, most compelling indie films from 25 nations from March 14-19. On opening night, March 14, Directors Katha Cato and Don Cato will present Queens native, filmmaker Julie Dash, with the 2017 Spirit of Queens Award at the Museum of the Moving Image Festival. Ms. Dash’s masterpiece, Daughters of the Dust (1991), was the first American feature film by an African American woman to receive a general theatrical release and was named to the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress in 2004. The film introduced a formidable talent, with its story of an island family, descendants of escaped slaves, living off the Southern coast of the US in 1902. Superb performances, cinematography, music and touches of magical realism grace this unforgettable film which will screen at Museum of the Moving Image on Wednesday, March 15, followed by a Q&A with Ms. Dash. Later in the week, QWFF will also screen Ms. Dash’s remarkable short film Illusions (1982) that takes place in Hollywood during WWII and tells the story of a female studio executive passing for white. It examines the power of perception and explores the illusions created by Hollywood and the very illusion of racial identity. The film won the Jury Prize for Best Film of the Decade, awarded by the Black Filmmakers Foundation. Born in Long Island City, Julie Dash is a filmmaker, music video and commercial director, author and website creator. Her film studies began in Harlem in 1969 and led her to the American Film Institute and UCLA, where she made The Diary of an African Nun (1977), based on a short story by Alice Walker, which won a student award from the Directors Guild of America. Her television films include Love Song (2000), starring R&B singer Monica Arnold; the romantic thriller Incognito (1999); and the domestic drama Funny Valentines (1999). Dash was nominated for a Directors Guild Award for The Rosa Parks Story (2002), starring Angela Bassett. She has directed music videos for Tony! Toni! Toné!, Keb’ Mo’, Peabo Bryson, Adriana Evans, Sweet Honey in the Rock and Tracy Chapman. IT’S IN QUEENS Edith Piaf, Charles Trenet, and Yves Montand. Plus, the band plans to premiere new arrangements of classical French art songs from Bizet, Debussy, Ravel and Satie as well as musical favorites of the Gypsy Jazz Era. Uilleann piper Cillian Vallely and flutist Kevin Crawford play traditional Gaelic folk music at the New York Irish Center (newyorkirishcenter.org) in Long Island City on Feb. 17 at 7:30 pm. The Korean Traditional Marching Band does a folk drumming repertoire at Flushing Town Hall on Feb. 19 at 5 pm. After the show, members facilitate an interactive workshop on Korean rhythms and instruments. Meanwhile, jazz phenomenon and vocalist Grace Kelly takes the stage with her quartet at the same venue (flushingtownhall.org) on Feb. 24 at 8 pm. The meatiest night of the year takes place at Flushing Town Hall on Feb. 25 at 6 pm. Charcuterie Masters (nyepicureanevents.com) is a competition with more than 20 professional and amateur makers of cured meats such as chicken liver mousse, pâté en croute, and salami. Then there’s the artisanal cheese. Queensborough Performing Arts Center (visitqpac.org) presents La Traviata in Bayside on Feb. 26 at 3 pm. Teatro Lirico D’Europa sings in Italian with English supertitles. Giuseppe Verdi’s opera is based on the true story of a scandalous high society affair. Violetta, a famous Parisian courtesan, must break up with her beloved Alfredo, a naïve nobleman, in order to save his family’s honor. Work by the Congolese Plantation Workers Art League is on display at SculptureCenter (sculpture-center.org) in Long Island City, now through March 27. The exhibitors are plantation workers who create sculptures with cacao as a primary material. First molded from clay, then 3D-printed and cast in chocolate, the sculptures are done in collaborative settings. The show includes existing and new sculptures and drawings. “It’s In Queens” is produced by the Queens Tourism Council. Get more information at www.itsinqueens.com.
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