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NJPAC Alternate Routes Series presents Hip Hop: Out, Loud & Proud and Newark Is Burning: Cakewalk to Catwalk

HIP HOP: OUT, LOUD & PROUD IV, April 9, 2010
and
NEWARK IS BURNING: CAKEWALK TO CATWALK, April 10, 2010

Newark, NJ, March 17, 2010 – The New Jersey Performing Arts Center’s (NJPAC) Alternate Routes series brings to Newark a two-day GLBT festival, opening with the return of the annual audience-pleaser, Hip Hop: Out, Loud & Proud IV, a night of spoken word and hip hop focusing on sexuality and performed by artists of all sexual orientations, and Newark is Burning: Cakewalk to Catwalk, an homage to the gender-bending high energy performances and haute couture fashions from the gay “House Ballroom Scene.”

Purchase Tickets
Hip Hop: Out, Loud & Proud IV, April 9, 2010
Newark is Burning: Cakewalk to Catwalk, April 10, 2010

Artist Video and Photos:
April 9 – Hip Hop: Out, Loud & Proud IV
Pandora Scooter at NJPAC -“The Alphabet”
DaLyrical – “Let me know”
Simply Rob – “Blind”
JenRO – “Try It”

April 10 – Newark is Burning: Cakewalk to Catwalk
House Ballroom Scene – Photos by Frank Leon Roberts aka Father Frank Garcon

Hip Hop: Out, Loud & Proud IV takes place in NJPAC’s Chase Room on Friday, April 9, 2010 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $16. Newark is Burning: Cakewalk to Catwalk takes place in NJPAC’s Victoria Theater on Saturday, April 10, 2010 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $28. All tickets can be purchased by telephone at 1-888-GO-NJPAC (1-888-466-5722), at the NJPAC Box Office at One Center Street in downtown Newark, or by visiting the NJPAC website at www.njpac.org. Alternate Routes is made possible, in part, by American Express, the Ford Foundation, the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts and the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. For more information: www.njpac.org.

HIP-HOP: OUT, LOUD & PROUD IV is a provocative evening featuring six performing artists of different races, ethnicities and sexual orientations. The lineup of artists revisiting their sexcapades includes Atlanta’s eclectic old school hip hop/R&B/rock singer DaLyrical; Los Angeles hip hop artist JenRO, who has appeared on VH1 and MTV’s LOGO; one of the first openly gay hip hop artists, Tori Fixx; the theatrically-trained lyrical virtuosos Mayhem Poets, who blend elements of hip hop, theatre, improv and stand-up comedy to tell gut-wrenching truths; and activist and poet, Simply Rob.

Host and guest curator of Hip Hop: Out, Loud & Proud IV, is Pandora Scooter, a self-identified “QUEERMAMASAPIEN,” whose words and rhymes have inspiring effects on audiences. Her work has included everything from stand-up comedy to hip hop to folk poetry to performance art. Scooter, like her work, defies traditional social labels. Her “pro-people” stance makes her an advocate on behalf of the misfits and ‘fits’ of the world. Among her numerous credits, this frequent NJPAC collaborator has performed two solo shows, along with sold-out performances of Hip Hop: Out, Loud & Proud. www.pandorascooter.com

NJPAC’s Alternate Routes brings to the stage a behind-the-scenes look at the culture of the “Ballroom scene” in Newark is Burning: Cakewalk to Catwalk. The “Harlem Drag Balls,” brought to mainstream audiences in the award-winning controversial 1991 documentary “Paris is Burning,” were full of stylish competition, fabulous haute couture fashion, gender-bending runway theatrics and one- of-a -kind dance performances. Through Newark is Burning, NJPAC creates a catwalk of its own in this production that tells the story of the creative Ball competitions and honors the long history and love that reside in a community that has transfixed and evolved a social scene for nearly a century. There will be a post-performance discussion immediately following the event and a late-night after party at Aljira, a Center for Contemporary Art, at 591 Broad Street (across the street from NJPAC). Newark is Burning: Cakewalk to Catwalk is curated by James Credle in collaboration with The Federation of Houses.

New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC), located in downtown Newark, New Jersey, is the sixth largest performing arts center in the United States. As New Jersey’s Town Square, NJPAC brings diverse communities together, providing access to all and showcasing the State’s and the world’s best artists while acting as a leading catalyst in the revitalization of its home city. Through its extensive Arts Education programs, NJPAC is shaping the next generation of artists and arts enthusiasts. NJPAC has attracted over 6 million visitors (more than one million children) since opening its doors in 1997, and nurtures meaningful and lasting relationships with each of its constituents. Visit www.njpac.org for more information.

Programming has been made possible in part by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts and by funds from the National Endowment for the Arts.

NJPAC is a wheelchair accessible facility and provides assistive services for patrons with disabilities. For more information, call 888-GO-NJPAC.

Media Contact: Josh Balber, Public Affairs, 973-353-8051, jbalber@njpac.org

Source: New Jersey Performing Arts Center

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Tags: Drag, Entertainment, Hip Hop, LGBT, NJPAC, Pandora Scooter, Poetry