News 2012: Free performance of Contemporary Cape Verdean Dance at UMass Dartmouth on April 19

News 2012: Free performance of Contemporary Cape Verdean Dance at UMass Dartmouth on April 19
Free performance of Contemporary Cape Verdean Dance at UMass Dartmouth on April 19

Kaminhu Longe, The Long Journey, a performance of contemporary Cape Verdean Dance is Thursday, April 19, 2012 at 7:30 p.m. at University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Bailey Theatre/Main Auditorium. Admission is free.

Culture*Park in collaboration with the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth College of Visual and Performing Arts and the Center for Portuguese Studies will present Kaminhu Longe, The Long Journey, a performance of contemporary Cape Verdean Dance.   

The performance is Thursday, April 19, 2012 at 7:30 p.m. at University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Bailey Theatre/Main Auditorium. Admission is free. 

Kaminhu Longe is a production of modern dance told through a contemporary lens, incorporating music, spoken word, theater, movement and film to tell a story informed by Cape Verdean culture and history. Kaminhu Longe depicts the challenging and exhilarating journey we must make as human beings, as we place one foot before the other to navigate through life. Both traditional and contemporary Cape Verdean rhythms and musical styles underscore the dance story. The archipelago of Cape Verde and its history and development from slavery to an independent nation are resonant themes in this multi-media performance. 

Alive with sounds and images of the islands of Cape Verde, an original filmography of the islands is an integral story-telling technique utilized in this passionate dance-theater event. Choreographed and conceived by Jose "Zezinho" Semedo, Kaminhu Longe is performed by six dancers. The performance time is approximately 1 hour, 15 minutes. 

Zezinho Semedo is a choreographer & dancer from Cape Verde, living in New Bedford, MA. Zezinho is a founding member of Raiz du Polon, and former member of Clara Durmatt's Lisbon-based modern dance touring company. Zezinho has collaborated with Culture*Park since 2001, as director and lead dancer of Cabo Verde Dance Project. In 2005, Zezinho's new work, Pan de Terra, an homage to Cape Verdean women, premiered at the New Bedford Whaling Museum with additional performances at UMass Dartmouth, and elsewhere. Zezinho conducts workshops in modern dance informed by traditional Cape Verdean rhythms and music, for people of all ages. 

Culture*Park Theatre of New Bedford, MA, is a not-for-profit collaborative of theatre and performing artists and entities that supports the production and development of new works in theatre and dance, especially those with regional and culturally provocative themes. They are the producers of Two Portuguese-American Plays, published by the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Press. www.culturepark.org