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