Marcus Center for the Performing Arts to Host Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday Celebration Next Month

The 31st Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday Celebration, coordinated by the MLK Steering Committee, will be held on Sunday, January 18, 2015 at the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts. The program will begin at 1:00 PM in Uihlein Hall and highlight our youth who interpreted Dr. King's works through art, speech and writing.

The only cities that have celebrated Dr. King's Birthday annually since 1984 are Atlanta, Georgia and Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

The theme for this year's program is "We Have A Great Deal of Positive Work To Do" which was taken from, A testament of Hope, The Essential Writings and Speeches of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Young people who are involved in the performing arts will also be highlighted as they salute Dr. King's legacy through music, dance and song. This year's performers include: Aarabhi Indian Dance School, Ballet Folklorico Nacional of Milwaukee, and many more.

This year we are fortunate to have new performance groups, which include Skai Academy Stage Band, Dnipro Ukrainian Folk Dance and Xalaat Africa Drum and Dance for Life, Ltd.

Skai Academy Stage Band was founded in 2012 by Kai Simone and Emmanuel Turner, is an opportunity for aspiring youth from various backgrounds and talent ability throughout the Milwaukee area to experience an intense yet fun learning rehearsal with professional performance opportunities at school and in the community that create life lessons that build character development, self-respect, responsibility, critical thinking and goal setting. The Skai Academy Band have performed in multiple performances statewide - recently appearing at Summerfest '14, and recognized as the award-winning participant in the 10th Annual WAMI (Wisconsin Area Music Industry) Youth Showcase.

The Dnipro Ukrainian Folk Dance Ensemble was formed in 1964 and continues to entertain audiences today under the direction of Ruslan Bachmaga, Viktoriia Senych, Casey Stefanowsi and Sara Zawicki. With fast and intricate footwork, strong rhythmic steps, acrobatic skills, fascinating spins, bright costumes and showmanship, Dnipro currently represents five styles of Ukrainian ethnic folk dancing: Poltarian, Bukovynian, Hutzulian, Podilska and Zakarpathian.

Xalaat Africa Drum and Dance for Live Ltd is a performance and competitive ensemble from Milwaukee High School of the Arts. The group performs African dance and praise dance. They are champions of the Rainbow Dance Competition 2013 and 2014.

The event concludes with the Paulette Y. Copeland Reception at 3:30 p.m. This reception is free and open to the public in Bradley Pavilion.

Admission to this event is open and free to the public along with free parking in the Marcus Center parking structure on State Street. For more information, visit www.marcuscenter.org.