NUBIAN KNIGHTS NETWORK: Thursday, October 18, 2012

QUOTATIONS OF "BLACK"

"Whenever I use BLACK it relates to some history of Africans in that particular place. It’s the idea of the color BLACK as a metaphor, or as a representation of African-Americans. It’s the notion of BLACK- BLACKNESS - and all its other meanings in relation to the history of race..."

- Fred Wilson

"Most of my fortitude to continue doing the work comes from the moral outrage I feel about the injustices that Black people endure disproportionately daily."

- N. Abdul-Wakil

"In the end, what matters is not skin shade but pan-African consciousness. Loving your complexion, your nose, lips, hair length and texture, no matter what the politics or trends decide, and simply be. That's the problem with us (African folks). We're still learning how to love ourselves. So used to glorifying others and putting others first..."

- Dredlocks Tree

Thursday, October 18, 2012

THPAC Presents A RAMP TO PARADISE 2
1 Performance ONLY!!!
November 8th, 2012 @ 7:30PM
The Kumble Theater in Brooklyn, New York

Official Website: ThelmaHill.com

PURCHASE TICKETS HERE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Fatima Kafele
718-484-0022; fatima.kafele@liu.edu

Paradise Garage, New York City’s Legendary Underground Dance Club Celebrated in Major Multi-media Dance Project by Thelma Hill Performing Arts Center

"A Ramp to Paradise 2"

Dancers Recreate One Night at Paradise Garage Under the Choreography and Direction of Walter Rutledge

October 8, 2012 (Brooklyn, New York) Renowned Brooklyn, New York arts organization, Thelma Hill Performing Arts Center (THPAC), in association with Kumble Theater, presents A Ramp To Paradise 2, a groundbreaking chronicle of the legendary New York City underground dance club, Paradise Garage, choreographed by Walter Rutledge. The performance will take place on November 8, 2012 at the Kumble Theater on Long Island University’s Brooklyn Campus located on Flatbush Avenue between DeKalb Avenue and Willoughby Street (Trains-2,3,4,5,B,Q,R). Performance is at 7:30 p.m. Tickets cost $20 until October 20, $25 thereafter and may be purchased at the Kumble Theater box office or website www.kumbletheater.org. Ticket prices include an after party.

The groundbreaking A Ramp To Paradise 2 is a multi-media dance narrative of one night during the 1980s at the edgy, predominantly Black and Latino lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT)/same gender loving (SGL) club, which featured the awe-inspiring DJ talent of the late Larry Levan, live performances by everyone from Luther Vandross to Jocelyn Brown, Patti Labelle to Grace Jones, Madonna to Sylvester, a host of house music superstars, and a mix of LGBT/SGL and straight patrons no other club has matched.

“While all of our programming has its challenges, the magnitude of A Ramp To Paradise 2 required 5 years of planning,” states THPAC Executive Chair, Alex Smith, Jr., who conceived and developed the project. "Choreographer and dancer selection were critical as there is a huge Paradise Garage fan base we wanted to satisfy as well as the dance enthusiasts who support THPAC,” he stated. A Ramp To Paradise 2 exclusively uses period club music mixed by a DJ including mixes by Paradise Garage DJ phenom Larry Levan.

The work not only celebrates the twenty-fifth anniversary of the closing of the iconic Paradise Garage, but also exalts the great strides made in the LGBT/SGL community. Over its ten years of operation (1977- 1987), the groundbreaking Paradise Garage shaped the club scene in New York City and set the standard worldwide. "We feel a responsibility to share this unique era in club culture and LGBT/SGL history," says director Rutledge. The cast will reflect the diversity of the LGBT/SGL community with old way vogue artists, couples who hustle, transsexuals who “walk runway and face” as well as traditionally trained dancers.

About Thelma Hill Performing Arts Center (THPAC)THPAC, www.thelmahill.com, an independent non-profit organization, was formed in 1976 to forge and temper creative talent. Over 36 years, the organization has attracted both emerging and established artists of color who developed a perpetual evolutionary cycle in which hundreds of alumni have gone on to successful careers as dancers and choreographers in the U.S. and abroad. The mission of THPAC is to build bridges of understanding through the presentation and celebration of choreographic works by artists of color. From fostering grassroots involvement at home to expanding awareness of the arts abroad, THPAC facilitates artistic collaborations, such as performances, workshops, seminars and community projects. Alex Smith, Jr. has been at the helm of the organization for the past 15 years.

Choreographer, director, playwright, and author Walter Rutledge studied at Harkness House for Ballet Arts where he was encouraged to develop his interest in choreography and direction. He danced with the Harkness Ballet of New York. His choreography was performed at the Paradise Garage in the late 80’s. Presently he is the Associate Artistic Director and resident choreographer of the Nanette Bearden Contemporary Dance Theatre and Senior Cultural Arts contributor for Harlem World Magazine.

About The Paradise GarageHoused in a parking garage, now owned by Verizon, in lower Manhattan, the Paradise Garage was founded by Michael Brody and operated from 1977 to 1987. The club was famed for its DJ Larry Levan and its award-winning sound system designed by Richard Long and Associates (RLA). It was also known for its highly diverse celebrity patrons and its all night parties, which often lasted until past noon the next day. The club was focused on dancing and was one of the first to put the DJ at the center of the action.

PURCHASE TICKETS HERE

Ebony Soul 2013-2014 19-Month Wall Calendar;
Photographer Anthony Ragland PUSHES The Envelope, Yet Still Maintains A Sexy, Stylish and Succulent Multi-Hued Portrait of Black Men

Official Website: EbonySoul.net

FINALLY!!!! It's been a looooong minute since photographer Anthony Ragland has released a new calendar of sexy Black men. His last and previous calendar was the 2010-2011 edition!

Unlike most calendars, Anthony takes a different approach by creating calendars that typically overlap from one year and into the next - generally he creates TRUE 18th-month calendars. And by "TRUE" I mean you get to flip to a new model once a month for 18 months!! There's none of that bullshit where some calendars CHEAT by condensing the last 4 months of the current selling year onto 1 page and then turn around and call it a 16-month calendar when it is not, as an example.

I had met up with Anthony (for the first time) and we had lunch at Grand Central Station back in May 2012. He showed me the new calendar, and of course, it was off the chain!! And being a fan of Anthony's work you know I had him sign the cover to my copy of the calendar...

Now that we are in calendar season, and the NEW EbonySoul.net website is up and running, I wanted to do this blog entry on the calendar.

As usual, and as I have been saying for many, many years now, Ebony Soul is the PRE-EMINENT top of the line producer of Black male calendars. I like other calendars such as Spirit of Black Men (which is published by the Shades of Color company which, by the way, also produced the previously awesome and now defunct ONYX calendar), Black Men and City Gym Boys, but this time around he really pushed the envelope by having some of the models pose nude -- and no there's no private parts revealed -- yet Anthony's photography once again TASTEFULLY shows his VISION of Black men as sexy, stylish and very succulent! There are too many calendars out there that are really just boring and ordinary especially the nude ones -- NOT EBONY SOUL! Ebony Soul, in my mind, continues to be the KING of Black male calendar for 10 YEARS NOW!

For the record, Anthony does not pay me to do this, nor do I endorse something that I don't like or not passionate about (especially to my Nubian Knights Network readers)... with that said, out of the 19 models this time around there are a few models with a photographic look by Anthony that exceptionally exude sexy, stylish and succulence...

ROD's Top 7 Favorites Bruthaz Are: