BAAD's BAAD!ASS WOMEN FESTIVAL Takes Place 3/7-3/26

BAAD! - The Bronx Academy of Arts & Dance presents BAAD! ASS WOMEN 2011, its eleventh annual cultural festival celebrating the empowerment of women through art, culture and performance. The festival opens on Monday, March 7, 2011 and continues through March 26 with dance, film, self-defense classes and workshops in dance and comic drawing and three sensational evenings of theater including new work from Marga Gomez. The festival takes place at BAAD!, 841 Barretto Street in the South Bronx. Ticket prices vary from free to $20. Participants can take advantage of the Five for $5 special (you and four "girlfriends" make a group of five and pay only $5 each with a prior reservation.) BAAD! offers discounts to BAADGE cardholders and Bronx Cultural Card holders. Ticket offers cannot be combined.

Crowned "a funky and welcoming performance space" by The New York Times , BAAD! is a 70 seat workshop and performance space that presents cutting-edge and challenging works by established, evolving and emerging choreographers, playwrights, poets, musicians and artists that are empowering to women, people of color and the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) communities.

The schedule for theater shows is as follows:

Saturday, March 12 at 8pm - $15
Theater and Performance
THEATRICAL THROW DOWN:
DESI MORENO-PENSON, AWILDA RODRIGUEZ LORA and YVONNE FLY ONAKEME ETAGHENE
These performers will "bring it" to BAAD! with mother earthquaking performances: Award-winning Bronx playwright and performer Desi Moreno-Penson delivers a hilarious, norm shaking monologue Don't Knock It Till You Try It... about a 40-something, uptight Latina college professor who finally gives in to her husband's demand for a threesome...and ends up falling for the other woman; Awilda Rodriguez Lora, direct from Puerto Rico, brings i wanted to be a cheerleader, but my cuntry didn't have it a multimedia performance of a queer Latina searching for answers and love and Yvonne Fly Onakame Etaghene, is an Ijaw and Urhobo Nigerian dyke performance activist, poet, dancer who was born with a mouth full of dynamite and sugarcane and performs an excerpt from her show I Love You So Much.

Friday, March 18 at 8pm - $15
"Deliciously Cheeky ...One To Watch" - The New York Times
Marga Gomez: Not Getting Any Younger
Marga Gomez spills everything in a workshop production of her 9th solo show "Not Getting Any Younger" a comedy about lies, vanity, and the good old days. Known for her critically acclaimed performances about her Latino family and queer adventures, the sly storyteller has saved her scariest tale for last. Marga doesn't want to do this show but she's giving it all because she's "Not Getting Any Younger." Presented by The Marsh and directed by Ellen Sebastian Chang.

Thursday, March 24 at 8pm - $15
Arab QUEERvolution
As the Arab world is leading an evolution/revolution, three queer Arab artists bring compelling works that put their culture and identity front and center with theatre/performance artist Andrea Assaf, spoken word artist Amir Rabiyah and more. Also a photo presentation titled The Women of the Egyptian Revolution complied by Leil-Zahra Mortada.

For a full schedule of events visit www.BronxAcademyOfArtsAndDance.org/schedule.html.