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Category: Los Angeles Events

Debbie Allen Host Free Concert for World Renowned Complexions Contemporary Ballet

Los Angeles, CA – Debbie Allen Dance Academy (DADA) is thrilled to announce a FREE Concert with the internationally recognized and acclaimed Complexions Contemporary Ballet at the Rave Theater on the grounds of the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Mall, 4020 Marlton Ave, in Los Angeles on Friday, September 30 at 7:00 PM.

The informal presentation of Complexions’ new work is being developed at DADA during the month of September along with Resident Director Rasta Thomas and the DADA Ensemble. During the month of September, the Complexions Contemporary Ballet is DADA’s season resident. Co-founders Dwight Rhoden and Desmond Richardson, Ballet Master Jae Man Joo and 13 other Complexions company members from Italy, Korea, Cuba, Canada, the United States and Republic of Georgia will offer master, open, adult classes and ending with a Free Concert to the Los Angeles Community. Dwight Rhoden and Desmond Richardson were most recently guest choreographers on the current season of the hit FOX dance series, ‘So You Think You Can Dance.’

“Complexions is one of the most dynamic companies in the dance world today,” said DADA founder Debbie Allen. “Fusing the language of classical ballet with many other styles of dance and music, Complexions has lifted the possibility of the art form to its highest while remaining accessible and relevant to everyday people. I am thrilled to have them in residence at DADA here in Los Angeles. I know that they will inspire the entire dance community with the classes and demonstrations we will offer. Come one come all.”

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About Debbie Allen Dance Academy:
The Debbie Allen Dance Academy is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization committed to expanding the reach of Dance and Theater arts to enrich, inspire and transform the lives of thousands of young people in the Greater Los Angeles Area, across America and around the world.

About Complexions Contemporary Ballet:
It is Artistic Directors Dwight Rhoden and Desmond Richardson’s lifelong appreciation for the artistic & aesthetic appeal of the multicultural that forms the cornerstone of Complexions Contemporary Ballet’s singular approach to reinventing dance. Founded in 1994, Complexions’ groundbreaking mix of methods, styles, cultures has created an entirely new and exciting vision of human movement over the past decade-and-a-half.

It is Rhoden and Richardson’s unique career paths that have paved the way for them to re-define dance-as their multifaceted resumes will show, neither has ever been comfortable with his art being placed in a box. Instead, from E!, PBS, VH1, Cirque de Soleil to the Joffrey Ballet, the two have allowed the transformative power of their art to flow freely throughout the entertainment world-their creative vision restricted by nothing but the limits of the human body itself.

Together, Dwight Rhoden and Desmond Richardson have created in Complexions an institution that embodies its historical moment, a sanctuary where the passionate about dance can celebrate its past while simultaneously building its future. In the 16 years since it inception, the company has born witness to a world that is becoming more fluid, changeable and culturally interconnected than ever before-in other words, a world that is becoming more and more like Complexions itself.

About Complexions Co-Founders:

Dwight Rhoden, Artistic Director/Co-Founder/Resident Choreographer
Dwight Rhoden has established a remarkably wide-ranging career, earning distinction from the New York Times as “one of the most sought out choreographer of the day.” Since 1994, Rhoden’s choreography has been in the lynchpin in the development of the Complexions repertory. He has been praised for his prolific body of work, visionary style and boundary-breaking sensibility. Rhoden has created over 80 ballets for Complexions, as well as numerous other companies. Widely known as “a dancer’s choreographer,” Rhoden has worked with, coached and created for some of the most diverse artists spanning the worlds of ballet and contemporary dance.

Desmond Richardson, Artistic Director/C-Founder/Artist-in-Residence
Recipient of the 2011 60th Capezio Dance Award
Hailed by the New York Times as “one of the great modern dancers of his time,” Desmond Richardson is a multi-talented artist who has mastered a wide range of classical, modern and contemporary dance genres. Praised for his powerful dancing and singular performance quality, Richardson has been the hallmark performer who has shaped the essence of the Complexions style for over a decade.

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Gamble & Huff To Be Honored

NARM, the music business association, announced today that it will honor the legendary producer-songwriter duo Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff with the 2011 Outstanding Achievement Award for Musical Collaboration. The presentation will take place during the Awards Dinner Finale at NARM’s 53rd Annual Convention on Thursday evening, May 12 at the Los Angeles Hyatt Regency Century Plaza.

“This year marks the 40th anniversary of Gamble and Huff’s iconic Philadelphia International Records label, and next year will be the 50th anniversary of their incredible musical partnership,” said Jim Donio, NARM President. “There seemed no better time to honor these two creative visionaries, who brought the world countless songs and sounds that defined a generation.”

Recognized by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS) with the Trustees Award in 1999 and inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2008 as the first recipients of the then newly-created Ahmet Ertegun Award, the world-renowned pioneering music impresarios created “The Sound of Philadelphia,” one of the most enduring brands of Soul music anywhere. They created a massive catalog of 3,000 songs together, including Pop and R&B No. 1 hits, 100 gold and platinum records, GRAMMY winners and BMI songwriters’ award nominees. They have recorded with a galaxy of stars including Michael Jackson and The Jacksons, Elton John, Lou Rawls, Teddy Pendergrass, Patti LaBelle, Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes, Aretha Franklin, the Spinners, the Stylistics, the Delfonics, Dusty Springfield, Jerry Butler, Wilson Pickett, Laura Nyro, and many, many more. Their classic songs such as “Love Train,” “Me & Mrs. Jones” and “If You Don’t Know Me by Now” have been covered by no less than Elvis Presley and the Rolling Stones, among thousands of artists.

Past recipients of the NARM Outstanding Achievement Award for Musical Collaboration are Nick Ashford and Valerie Simpson (2009) and Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller (2010).

All registrants of the 2011 NARM Convention are invited to attend the Awards Dinner Finale. Other honorees at the event will include American Idol with an Outstanding Achievement Award celebrating the show’s 10th season; John Marmaduke, Chairman of the Board, President & CEO of Hastings Entertainment with the Presidential Award for Sustained Executive Achievement; and Rachelle and Joe Friedman, founders of New York retail icon J&R Music & Computer World, with the Independent Spirit Award. Additional award recipients will be announced in the coming weeks.

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Events/Food/Clubs

Post your events, play, club promotion, or favorite restaurant for your city in our new events/club/food forum for free. Reach out to your audience and customers by posting on The PUB Report. No registration required,

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Harry Belafonte, Florence LaRue and Cong John Conyers at the CBC

Florence LaRue Joins Civil Rights Icon Harry Belafonte

and Powerful Chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary

Congressman John Conyers at Leadership Africa USA Reception

Honoring Retiring Congresswoman Diane Watson during CBC

Los Angeles, CA–Thursday, September 23, 20106 time GRAMMY winning singer Florence LaRue of The 5th Dimension was the featured performer for US Congresswoman Diane Watson during the Leadership Africa USA Reception honoring the retiring California Congresswoman for her 30 year political carreer and her “International Legacy of Leadership,” before a packed house at the historic Willard Hotel in Washington, DC during the Congressional Black Caucus’ 40th Annual Legislative Conference. Miss LaRue posed for this shot with Congressman Conyers and Harry Belafonte after her performance.

Miss LaRue is currently conducting interviews about the 44th anniversary of The 5th Dimension as she continues to perform with the quintet. Upcoming dates include:

October 3: Bluffton, South Carolina

November 12: Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts; Cerritos, CA

For more information on Florence LaRue go to www.florencelarue.com

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PATTI SMITH TO BE HONORED AT 27TH ANNUAL ASCAP POP MUSIC AWARDS

ASCAP (the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) will honor rock icon Patti Smith at its 27th annual Pop Music Awards, taking place April 21, 2010 at the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel in Los Angeles, CA.  Smith will be presented with the prestigious ASCAP Founders Award and will perform with her band at the event.  The invitation-only gala will also honor the top songwriters and publishers of ASCAP’s most performed pop songs of 2009.

The ASCAP Founders Award is among the most prestigious honors that ASCAP gives to songwriters and composers who have made pioneering contributions to music by inspiring and influencing their fellow music creators.  Each recipient is a musical innovator who possesses a unique style of creative genius that will enrich generations to come.  Past recipients include Bob Dylan, Jackson Browne, Elvis Costello, Heart’s Ann & Nancy Wilson, Billy Joel, Annie Lennox, Sir Paul McCartney, Joni Mitchell, Smokey Robinson, Steely Dan, James Taylor, Tom Waits, Stevie Wonder and Neil Young.

Commenting on the award to Smith, ASCAP President and Chairman Paul Williams said:  “Patti fused raw rock energy with the heart of a poet and ignited the 1970s New York punk scene.  She expanded the boundaries of artistic expression, musically and otherwise, inspiring generations of rockers worldwide.  She continues to be a vibrant, prolific artist, working in a wide variety of media.  We are very proud to honor Patti Smith with ASCAP’s Founders Award.”

Patti Smith emerged in the 1970s, galvanizing the music scene with her revolutionary mergence of poetry and rock and roll.  In 1975 the album Horses established Smith as one of the most original and influential artists of her generation.  It was followed by eleven more releases, featuring songs such as “Gloria,” “Free Money,” “Ask the Angels,” “Ghost Dance,” “Because the Night,” “Dancing Barefoot,” “People Have the Power,” and “1959.”  Smith was awarded the title of Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres by the French Republic in 2005 and in 2007 inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  In 2008 Dream of Life, Steven Sebring’s documentary film examining her life and work, was honored at Sundance.  Recently she has released Just Kids, a memoir of her relationship with photographer Robert Mapplethorpe, who captured her trademark swagger for the cover of Horses.  She is currently recording an album for Columbia Records with longtime collaborators Lenny Kaye, Jay Dee Daugherty and Tony Shanahan.

In addition to the Founders Award, the songwriters and publishers of ASCAP’s most performed pop songs of 2009 will be honored at the awards ceremony.  Top awards will be given to Songwriter of the Year, Song of the Year and Publisher of the Year, in addition to the presentation of the ASCAP Vanguard Award, which recognizes the impact of musical genres that help shape the future of American music.

The 27th annual ASCAP Pop Music Awards will kick-off the ASCAP “I Create Music” EXPO, a three-day conference dedicated to songwriting and composing.  This year’s EXPO features Quincy Jones being interviewed by Ludacris, a conversation with Bill Withers, an interview with John Mayer, and numerous panels, workshops, master classes, One-on-One sessions, song critiquing, networking events, product displays, state-of-the-art technology demonstrations, performances, and more.  The EXPO will take place April 22-24, 2010 at the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel, in Los Angeles, CA.  For more details, please visit www.ascap.com/expo.

About ASCAP
Established in 1914, ASCAP is the first and leading U.S. Performing Rights Organization (PRO) representing the world’s largest repertory totaling over 8.5 million copyrighted musical works of every style and genre from more than 370,000 songwriter, composer and music publisher members.  ASCAP has representation arrangements with similar foreign organizations so that the ASCAP repertory is represented in nearly every country around the world where copyright law exists.  ASCAP protects the rights of its members and foreign affiliates by licensing the public performances of their copyrighted works and distributing royalties based upon surveyed performances.  ASCAP is the only American PRO owned and governed by its writer and publisher members.  www.ascap.com

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