Celebrate Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with KEEPING THE DREAM at NJPAC, 1/16-17

The New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) observes its Annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration, "Keeping the Dream" on Friday, January 16 and Saturday, January 17 with performances, a Ninth Annual Girl Scout Sleepover, and student/family arts education workshops.

The Arts Center will also be bestowing on Marilyn M. ("Penny") Joseph the "Steward of the Dream" and Tai M. Cooper the "Visionary of the Future" awards for the work they have done throughout the community that continues to inspire and promote the vision of Dr. King.

NJPAC has celebrated Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s legacy for the past eighteen years by paying tribute to one of the most inspiring leaders of the 20th century through live performance and arts education. This tribute looks to the arts to understand and remember the fight for civil rights. Dr. King's quest for unity, the triumph of the human spirit and respect for others are all touched upon throughout the weekend celebration.

John Schreiber, President and CEO states, "The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is a symbol of justice, equality and freedom and NJPAC's tribute to his legacy is an annual event that impacts the entire Newark community. On March 27, 1968, Newark was one of the last places where Dr. King made a public appearance prior to his assassination in Memphis eight days later. NJPAC's mission is to engage New Jersey's diverse population and to convene ongoing civic, social, cultural, and intellectual exchanges. NJPAC embraces New Jersey's diversity year round with our entertainment, arts education and community engagement programming, and thus, we commemorate and celebrate Dr. King's legacy not only during our annual MLK celebration, but really every day here.

Donna Walker-Kuhne, NJPAC's Vice President, Community Engagement adds, "The celebration of Dr. King's legacy through the arts provides an opportunity for the Arts Center to salute his tireless efforts for equality and freedom. The breadth of programming presented throughout the weekend is dedicated to youth and their families. These performances and activities inspire them to engage in artistic events throughout the community and offer them better knowledge and understanding of the arts and how they relate to Dr. King's message."

NJPAC's Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration is held in cooperation with the Newark Chapter of the New Jersey NAACP and is sponsored by the PSE&G Foundation.

Dance Theatre of Harlem (Friday, Jan. 16; Student Performance at Noon; Public Performance at 7:30pm; Prudential Hall)
On Friday, January 16th, the legendary ballet company, Dance Theatre of Harlem (DTH) returns for a second year to collaborate with NJPAC paying tribute to Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

At noon in NJPAC's Prudential Hall, some 2,000 Newark public school students will be treated to a performance by the Dance Theatre of Harlem. A keynote address will be given by Virginia Johnson, the Dance Theatre of Harlem's Artistic Director.

The public evening performance follows at 7:30pm (also in NJPAC's Prudential Hall) with a keynote address to be given by Rev. Jerry M. Carter, Jr., pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Morristown. The Dance Theatre of Harlem will be performing three works especially important to its history: Agon, from 1957, created by George Balanchine to music by Igor Stravinsky including a pas de deux created on Arthur Mitchell (DTH's founder); Robert Garland's classical ballet Return set to music by Aretha Franklin and James Brown; and past-carry-forward by Tanya Wideman-Davis and Thaddeus Davis, a work from 2013 that focuses on the Great Migration and themes of persistence and the impulse toward freedom. It is set to music by Willie "The Lion" Smith and SLIPPAGE (Thomas F. DeFrantz and Jamie Keesecker).

Dance Theatre of Harlem, one of the nation's most vital dance institutions, consists of racially diverse dancers, known worldwide for bringing a contemporary flair to classical and neo-classical ballet repertoire. The company was founded in 1969 by Arthur Mitchell (the first African-American man to become a principal dancer with a major U.S. ballet company, the New York City Ballet) and the late Karel Shook (a teacher and ballet master of the Dutch National Ballet) as an artistic means to turn despair into hope following the assassination of Dr. King. Mitchell was inspired to start a school that would offer children - especially those in Harlem, the community in which he was born - the opportunity to learn about dance and the allied arts. Dance Theatre of Harlem remains committed to artistic excellence, and to reaching new audiences with a powerful message of self-reliance, artistic relevance and individual responsibility.

Tickets for the public performance are $27 - $79 and are available online at NJPAC.org by phone at 1-888-GO-NJPAC (1-888-466-5722), or in person at NJPAC Box Office, One Center Street in downtown Newark.

NJPAC in YOUR Community! Views from the Mountaintop: Dance Theatre Harlem and the Civil Rights Era (Tuesday, Jan. 13, 6 to 9pm; Montclair Public Library at 50 S. Fullerton Avenue)
In advance of Dance Theatre of Harlem's January 16th performances at NJPAC, dancer and writer Charmaine Warren moderates a panel discussion about DLH's ties to Dr. King's legacy. On the panel will be Theara J. Ward, a teaching artist at NJPAC and a program associate with Dance Theatre Harlem's Dancing Through Barriers Education and Outreach Program. Ms. Ward, a former dancer with DTH, made her Broadway debut in Black and Blue, and has appeared with artists such as Aretha Franklin, Liza Minnelli and Patti LaBelle.

"Steward of the Dream" and "Visionary of the Future" Reception (Friday, Jan. 16 at 5:30pm; Chase Room)
NJPAC continues its tradition of naming a "Steward of the Dream" and a "Visionary of the Future" in conjunction with its annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration. For eighteen years, the New Jersey Center for the Performing Arts has honored those individuals in the community that inspire and promote the ideas of Dr. King.

The 2015 "Steward of the Dream" recipient will be Marilyn M. ("Penny") Joseph. Ms. Joseph joined the Panasonic Corporation in 1989 and holds the position of Vice President, Community Relations and Corporate Outreach, Panasonic Corporation of North America where she is responsible for the management, coordination and implementation of Panasonic's annual corporate giving efforts in North America. With the move of Panasonic's North American HQ's operations to Newark, NJ, she is responsible for establishing strategic partnerships with civic and political leaders at the City, Essex County and State of NJ levels. Upon graduating from college she worked for the City of Newark, NJ as a Senior Personnel Technician in HR and for five years as an Administrative Analyst in the Planning and Grants Department where she had oversight of several federal grant programs budgets. She has also served as the legislative liaison between the Department and the Newark Municipal Council. Most recently, she was appointed by Mayor Ras Baraka to serve as Chair of the Newark Workforce Investment Board (NWIB). Ms. Joseph resides in Bloomfield, New Jersey.

NJPAC also honors Tai M. Cooper with its "Visionary of the Future" award. Ms. Cooper serves as the Chief Policy Advisor for Newark Mayor Ras J. Baraka's administration. During the 2014 Newark Mayoral election, Cooper served as Spokesperson and Senior Policy Advisor for Mayoral Candidate Baraka and helped to craft key policy initiatives that served as the foundation for his platform. Upon winning the election, Cooper was selected by Mayor Baraka to serve as the Executive Director for his Transition Team. Cooper also serves as a founding Steering Committee member for the Run Sister Run leadership program which encourages minority women to campaign for public office. A Newark, New Jersey native, Cooper has a Masters of Urban Planning from the Robert F. Wagner School of Public Service at New York University.

This program is made possible in part by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts and by funds from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Ninth Annual NJPAC Girl Scout Sleepover (Friday, Jan. 16 at 7:30pm; Prudential Hall
More than 200 Girl Scouts from throughout the Newark area will be attending the Dance Theatre of Harlem's evening performance and "camp out" in NJPAC's lobby. These girls, ages 6 to 17, will receive a special pre-and post-performance greet and meet with former Girl Scout and DTH Ballerina Stephanie Rae Williams. On Saturday morning they will be treated to a continental breakfast followed by two dance workshops - a wake-up and stretch with Newark Yoga Movement, and a session on hip-hop dance with choreographer Jennifer Weber from DecaDance and Embodying the Dream programs for the Center for Arts Education.

"Embodying the Dream" (Saturday, Jan. 17 from 11am to 2pm; NJPAC Center for Arts Education located at 24 Rector Street, Newark)
On Saturday, January 17, NJPAC will be offering a FREE community event for children and their families in its Center for4 the Arts Education (24 Rector Street, Newark). "Embodying the Dream: A Celebration of the Life and Message of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr." will consist of a series of performing arts workshops that support and demonstrate the essence of Dr. King's "Dream" through interactive experiences, including dance, music, movement, visual arts and spoken word. Activities are for all ages and will include a master class with dancers from Dance Theatre Harlem, Civil Rights storytelling, workshops in Jazz Music in the 1960's, liturgical dance and the history of stepping.

- Dance: Dance Theatre of Harlem Community Workshop; Liturgical Dance Workshop
- Music: Civil Rights Sing-in; Nina Simone: Jazz Music of the 1960's
- Movement: History of Stepping Workshop (a percussive dance form that utilizes the entire body to meld folk traditions, percussive movement, singing, speaking, hand claps, chanting and drama; Civil Rights Storytelling
- Visual Arts: Community Mural: Dreamscapes; Video Time Capsule: Reflecting on MLK's Legacy
- Spoken Word: Protest Through Poetry (create, explore and inspire your own words of change in this workshop)

For a complete schedule including workshop times, go to www.njpac.org.

NJPAC Stage Exchange: Reading of Rajendra Ramoon Maharaj's drama "Little Rock" (Saturday, Jan. 17 at 7pm in The Chase Room
The Stage Exchange, where cutting-edge new play development meets insightful community dialogue, features a reading of Rajendra Ramoon Maharaj's drama "Little Rock," the true story of the Little Rock Nine, the first African Americans to volunteer to integrate Little Rock Central High School in Arkansas in 1957. A panel discussion with the playwright and Linda McDonald Carter, Esq. will be moderated by Donna Walker-Kuhne, NJPAC Vice President for Community Engagement.

This event is presented in association with Rebel Theatrical Management and Passage Theatre. Promotional partners include Go On Girl Book Club, Howard University Alumni Club of New Jersey, Hue-Man Bookstore, Women in Media-Newark, National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Inc., Bergen/Passaic Chapter, Jack and Jill of America, Inc. Chapters of the Greater Essex, Union and Hudson Counties, Association of Black Women Lawyers of New Jersey, The NAACP New Jersey State Conference and The Bibliophiles: An African-American Reading Group.

New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC), located in downtown Newark, New Jersey, is among the largest performing arts centers in the United States and is the artistic, cultural, educational and civic center of New Jersey -- where great performances and events enhance and transform lives every day. As New Jersey's Town Square, NJPAC brings diverse communities together, providing access to all and showcasing the State's and the world's best artists while acting as a leading catalyst in the revitalization of its home city. Through its extensive Arts Education programs, NJPAC is shaping the next generation of artists and arts enthusiasts. NJPAC has attracted over eight million visitors (including more than one million children) since opening its doors in 1997, and nurtures meaningful and lasting relationships with each of its constituents. Visit www.njpac.org or call 888.GO.NJPAC for more information.

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