This spring, Jacob's Pillow Dance and MASS MoCA come together once again to present acclaimed Afro-Cuban folkloric music and dance group Los Muñequitos de Matanzas. Named the "reigning regents of rumba" by the San Francisco Chronicle, the ensemble combines high-energy drumming, vocals, and dance in vibrant performances that call upon the deep African roots of their Cuban culture. Internationally renowned as one of the world's finest rumba groups, Los Muñequitos returns for a 16-city national tour after a nine-year absence from the United States. They will perform Tambor de Fuego en Homenaje a los Ancestros at MASS MoCA's Hunter Center on April 30 and May 1. Peter Watrous of The New York Times states, "Expect wild machete play, spectacular sensual dancing and some of the most complex drumming to be heard in this hemisphere."
Ella Baff, Jacob's Pillow Executive and Artistic Director comments, "Los Munequitos has been away far too long and we are so happy to welcome back this beloved and respected troupe. They are the keepers and innovators of important traditions - the soul and spirit of Afro-Cuban dance and music. Expect to be uplifted; expect to feel like dancing."Tambor de Fuego en Homenaje a los Ancestros (Drum of Fire in Tribute to the Ancestors) incorporates Afro-Cuban ritual dances with innovative new musical compositions and contemporary rumba in an exuberant two-part program. The first half of the performance merges rhythms, songs, and dances from Afro-Cuban folkloric heritage, including Yoruba, Brikamo, Kongo, Arará, and Iyesá, while the second half contains several subgenres of Cuban Rumba such as Yambú, Guaguancó, and Columbia. Sixteen drummers, vocalists, and dancers fuse the traditional elements of the rumba with contemporary forms of expression. The performance closes with the Conga Matancera, a high energy Carnival rhythm of Matanzas, Cuba.In December 2010, MASS MoCA announced that Irene Hunter's estate had created a new endowment fund for dance at MASS MoCA. The purpose of the fund is to enhance MASS MoCA's capacity to nurture and present innovative dance programming of the highest quality; to develop new audiences for dance in the Berkshires; and to encourage continuing collaboration between MASS MoCA and Jacob's Pillow Dance, deepening the institutional connections that have been formed over the past twelve years, and encouraging new ones. The Irene Hunter Fund for Dance will support dance performances of the highest quality, together with dance residencies and creative development workshops focused on dance at MASS MoCA. The program will include major performance engagements in MASS MoCA's Hunter Center plus several dance residency workshops. It will also allow for the continuation of professional dance instruction that precedes MASS MoCA signature, and wildly popular dance parties.
Jacob's Pillow and MASS MoCA have co-presented performing arts programming since the museum was founded in 1999. Together, they support the development of visual and performing artists, encouraging experimentation within and between various art forms, and expanding the public's understanding of creative processes. Past co-presentations have included Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company, STREB, MOMIX, DanceBrazil, Stephen Petronio Company, Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, and Armitage Gone! Dance.
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