Islands, Spain, and Debuts

Al Andalus photos by Dan Mohr
Richard Hubscher and Sterling Ramsey in the Al Andalus men's duet

This blog is supposed to be mainly about the Al Andalus Project, but as a bonus, this update includes several other topics that are connected to it.

First, the next performance in our ongoing Al Andalus Project is in the Dance Gathering, an annual event of Big Range Dance Festival at Barnevelder. Richard Hubscher, in the role of Hasdai Ibn Shaprut, and Sterling Ramsey, as Nicholas the Greek Christian Monk, perform the exhuberant, whimsical men's duet from Act I of Al Andalus! The Legend. The Dance Gathering is this Sunday, May 31 at 7:00pm. You can get tickets at the Barnevelder website.


Hubscher and Ramsey in the men's duet

Second, the next big Al Andalus presentation is called Scenes from Al Andalus. It will be a highlight of our June 20th debut in Zilkha Hall of the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts in our repertory concert, Memories of Spain.


Lydia Hance as Fatima of Cordoba; Hubscher

Scenes from Al Andalus is a suite of solo and duet dances from our Al Andalus Project. It will showcase two of the passionate love duets between the Jewish Hasdai Ibn Shaprut and the Muslim Fatima of Cordoba; the whimsical Act I men’s duet with Shaprut and Nicholas the Greek Christian Monk; the elegant solo of Eleanor of Aquitaine; exotic solos of the Berber Princess, and the fiery Gypsy Matron solo.

Arabic, Sephardic, pre-flamenco, and medieval Spanish Christian music are all represented in Scenes from Al Andalus, as well as modern dance influenced by authentic dance styles. A special treat will be the live music played for one of the love duets by members of our Al Andalus Orchestra, with mezzo-soprano Isabelle Ganz singing a soulful Sephardic song that has been recorded by her ensemble, Alhambra.


Joani Trevino as Eleanor of Aquitaine

In addition to our Dancepatheatre dancers Lydia Hance, Richard Hubscher, Sterling Ramsey, and Joani Trevino, will be guest choreographer/dancers Kristina Koutsoudas and Lucia Rodriguez Sanchez.


Singer Shannon Langman with Hance and Trevino
in the premiere, Tonadillas with Elementals

The Memories of Spain concert will also feature a premiere including mezzo-soprano Shannon Langman and pianist Timothy Hester with the dancers; two of Dancepatheatre’s more seasoned dances; and flamenco guitar solos by Valdemar Phoenix with dance by Ana de la Peza. The evening will be filled with images of various eras and styles of Spain.


Meghan Tarkington, Eugene Joubert, and Lyndsey Johnson at Island Arias

To assist in defraying costs for our Hobby Center debut, we held a delightful fundraising event on May 3rd. Island Arias was co-sponsored by Songbird Sancturary, and a great time was had by all.

Singers Lyndsey Johnson and Meghan Tarkington wowed the audience with their beautiful voices, their classical and musical theater selections, and their wonderful performance skills. Multi-talented Eugene Joubert not only accompanied the singers beautifully on the piano, but as an aspiring chef, he also provided incredible pastries for the guests…which also drew applause. It was a wonderful occasion and successful all around.

right: Lyndsey Johnson performing at Island Arias.

below: Meghan Tarkington performing at Island Arias.


About thirty-five happy guests were donned with leis upon arrival at Island Arias in the Songbird Sanctuary, and then enjoyed strolling the native-plant gardens, napping in the hammock, swinging on the porch swing, savoring wine and delicious tropical delights, shopping at the Authentic Hawaiian Shirt Market, and of course, enjoying a stellar classical voice concert.

We are still gratefully accepting contributions to help defray costs for our Hobby Center debut at the Dancepatheatre website, and additionally, tickets to the June 20th Memories of Spain are on sale now at The Hobby Center. You might consider the VIP tickets which include premiere seating plus an invitation to our private cast party. However, General Admission and Student/Senior tickets are available, so find the ticket that is right for you and please bring ten of your closest friends! I hope to see you there!

Me (Sara Draper, center) with Meghan Tarkington and Eugene Joubert at Island Arias

Serendipity and Plans

Is it serendipity, a small world, or is it just that like-minded people tend to gravitate to similar activities, groups, and people? I’m going to call it serendipity. Because it sounds like me and Johnny Depp, who I have a crush on. Sara-n’-Depp-ity.

Getting back to my point, Donna Garrett and I had chosen some of our pieces to include in our collaborative project, but were still tossing around ideas and themes,


Cherry Steinwender
at Dancepatheatre's
International Women's Day Soiree

while I was trying to pin down a date for the event at Barnevelder. One of the available dates happened to be on International Women’s Day, which Louie (Barnevelder manager and community dance activist) intuitively mentioned to me. We jumped on that date.

That’s when Cherry Steinwender sprang to mind as the community leader for Dancepatheatre to honor for International Women’s Day. Cherry’s work and that of her organization, Center for the Healing of Racism, had a transformative effect on me about ten years ago when I took the weekend intensive Dialogue Racism workshop that they offer. I knew she was out in the community, bringing her healing, transformative work into schools and other organizations. One of my works that was sitting on the shelf, waiting to be resurrected, was the monologue, Not, a product of artist insomnia from my weekend in the Dialogue Racism workshop. (Interestingly, its premiere was in a Women’s Works performance that also featured Donna Garrett, curated by Elizabeth Gilbert, the other poet with whom I have collaborated. Small world?)

Having some familiarity with Donna’s works, I suggested that we expand our theme of identity and women at various ages to include healing racism, and let that steer our choice of Donna’s poems and my works. Once that decision was made, everything fell into place. And so Caution: Women at Work was born.

It wasn’t until we were well into our creative process that I even discovered that Donna and Cherry knew each other. Two of Donna’s works we chose are accompanied by music recordings created specifically for Donna’s poetry by musicians in Taipei when she was there by invitation for Black History Month. Donna revealed to me that Cherry mentored her in preparation for her journey to China. Donna, too, had performance pieces emerge from her workshops with The Center for the Healing of Racism. Donna felt, as I did, that Cherry and her work had had a transformative effect on her, and was as excited to honor Cherry as I was.

This kind of thing makes it feel like “it was just meant to be”…it’s magical. Or maybe it’s just to be expected of three people in the same city who are each dedicated to finding their own way to help people to more deeply understand themselves and others, via whatever may be their particular talent and vehicle. Perhaps, just like the “seven degrees away” number theory, this is just a mathematical thing. But I like to think of it as serendipity.

The beginning of the Al Andalus Project had the same kind of amazing serendipity, and I am starting to see those kinds of serendipitous connections reveal themselves regarding our June 20, 2009 Memories of Spain concert, too, which will continue our Al Andalus Project, among other things. Maybe Johnny Depp will even show up. I’ll report back to you on that and other interesting aspects next month.

The Beat Goes On into the New Year!

Happy New Year!

Some of the Yuval Ron Music Ensemble relax at the reception that Dancepatheatre hosted for them in November, 2008. From left to right: Norik Manoukian, Smadar Levi, Yuval Ron, Jamie Papish

To continue where I left off last year, the Yuval Ron Ensemble concert at the Jewish Community Center was simply wonderful. With Yuval’s calming yet fascinating way of sharing historical and cultural tidbits to introduce the songs from Sephardic, Sufi, and Armenian Christian music traditions, everyone was left floating on a cloud. The music played and sung by these world class musicians on traditional instruments was simply rapturous! The ensemble’s beautiful dancer Maya Karasso highlighted the evening with occasional dances in her very personal, unique style that blends traditions from around the Middle East and Far East. I felt how lucky Dancepatheatre is to have been granted permission to use many of the Yuval Ron Ensemble’s recordings in our Al Andalus Project!


In addition to the concert and book signing was Maya’s Belly Dance Master Class, held in the JCC dance studio. I’d never before attended a dance class that was accompanied, not just by a musician, but by a band of 5 musicians! This was truly a unique experience. Maya often signaled to the musicians to continue playing the magical-yet-earthy music softly, while she spoke to us of philosophy and mystical imagery while demonstrating the flow of energy through her torso and limbs. Then she would glide us through various exercises, and finally would give us time to improvise on the principals taught to full volume musical accompaniment. She strongly emphasized the inner experience of the dancer rather than creating a “look”. All participants I spoke to afterwards agreed they had never been taught in quite this way before. Students included belly dancers as well as western-trained dancers and world dance lovers. I have since been enjoying experimenting with Maya’s teaching approach in my Modern Andalusian Fusion classes.

Al Andalus musicians Isabelle Ganz (2nd from left) and Sam Masri (far right) jam with our visiting musicians.

Maya, herself, is a beautiful vessel of light…a class with her is like an initiation. From her teaching it is obvious that this dance is a spiritual practice for her and that she delights in sharing it. Seeing her perform in the concert only confirmed that for me.



Two highlights for me, personally, of the Yuval Ron Ensemble’s visit to Houston were not even on the official agenda. Before they left on Sunday, I had lunch with the gang at a local café. Yuval and I talked and learned of one another’s history with dance and music, our artistic/life values and goals. It was fun to hear Yuval speak of his college days in Israel, when he began accompanying modern dance classes and collaborating with choreographers and learned the importance of holding a steady tempo for the dancers. Among his many accomplishments are his CDs specifically for modern dance. How magical to come full circle, to have a modern dance choreographer seek him out for his sacred ethnic music! Of course Yuval and I spoke of our greatest shared value: the importance of using our art forms to bring people together in peace; to uplift and inspire and invite people towards respect and peace through the performing arts.



The other highlight was a rather last-minute reception that I held for Yuval and the three ensemble members that arrived to Houston early with him. What a delightful evening! Two of our top-notch Al Andalus musicians, Isabelle Ganz and Sam Masri, attended and enjoyed jamming with our guest musicians once everyone finished eating and sat down to play. Our guest from Houston’s Spanish Consulate joined in the music aptly playing my castenettes, and enjoyed dancing with the ensemble’s singer, as did others (including yours truly) who could not resist the lure of the clarinet, drum, oud, and other instruments. It was a warm, vivacious gathering of Al Andalus and Yuval Ron enthusiasts, musicians and dancers.

Smadar dances with a guest.

The warmth and inspiration I experienced through my encounters with these talented artists continues to vibrate within.