February

John Gorka -
New Jersey Reunion Concert
Friday, February 11, 2005, at 8:00 p.m. - Ciccone Theatre
Tickets: $20; $18 - students & seniors (65+); $15 - BCC

New Jersey native John Gorka has enjoyed a solid, and growing, reputation since arriving on scene in the ’80s. Each new release not only equals the quality of his last, but exceeds it. While some songwriters create great melodies, Gorka’s forté is his lyrics - brilliant wordplay in evocatively beautiful songs. His mellow baritone, honest music, and engaging stage presence combine for amazing concert performances. “There's an attractive intimacy not only in the small moments of which he sings, but also in the sincere way in which he presents them. His music is hum-able acoustic pop, but his favorite themes are familiar to any placard-waving folkie: freedom, faith, the environment, and social justice,” Sonicnet.com. Don’t miss this musical son of the Garden State.

Batoto Yetu -
The Birth of Nzinga
Saturday, February 26, 2005, at 3:00 p.m. - Ciccone Theatre

Batoto Yetu is a Harlem-based children’s dance theatre devoted to using music and dance to instill a strong sense of cultural heritage. The Birth of Nzinga is an epic tale of Princess Nzinga Mbandi, a young girl destined to lead the people of the kingdoms of the 16th-century Congo from enslavement to freedom. Batoto Yetu premiered this colorful and energetic work during the summer of 2003 at the prestigious Jacobs Pillow Dance Festival in the Berkshires, Mass. Come see this 500-year-old African legend brought to life by talented young dancers. Ideal for ages 5 to 95.
Call for a calendar of related Black History Month events.

Linda Tillery & the Cultural Heritage Choir
Sunday, February 13, 2005, at 3:00 p.m. - Ciccone Theatre

Linda Tillery & the Cultural Heritage Choir perform and celebrate “survival music,” a treasure-trove of spirituals, work songs, field songs, slave songs, political and civil action songs, soul, and gospel. This music has been the mainstay of African Americans through their many struggles, and has been used again and again by other voices for freedom and justice. In addition to songs and chants, delivered through such stylistic forms as “call and response,” multi-layered harmonies, and repetitive verse, the CHC repertoire includes intoned sermons, folk tales, polyrhythmic percussion, and dance. This Grammy-nominated, multi-talented five member vocal ensemble “weaves myriad musical threads and cultural traditions into a stunning fabric.” Call for a calendar of related Black History Month events.

KINDERTRANSPORT
by Diane Samuels
Ender Hall Laboratory Theatre
February 25, 26, 27 & March 4, 5, 6
Fri. and Sat. at 8:00pm; Sun. at 3:00pm

In 1938 seven-year-old Eva Schlesinger is put aboard a train filled with other Jewish children and carried away from Nazi Germany in a little-known rescue operation called “Kindertransport.” More than four decades later she has become the quintessential Englishwoman who hides her origins from everyone, including her own daughter. Kindertransport tells of a miracle amid unimaginable horror. It probes the complexity of emotions in those who must lose everything they love... to live.