Divine News

Cheeyang Ng is an impressive human. They are celebrating nearly a decade as a resident of New York. The native of Singapore came here, as they said to escape some traditions and find a truer, more authentic version of themself. That journey is reflected in many of their songs, which focus on the joys and the uncertainty of being in unfamiliar territory, whether it be relationships or career ambitions of just self-actualization. They seem drawn to examining the multitude of thoughts and feelings that occur in a split second of actual time. In short, Cheeyang Ng writes about the active mind.

The Cathedral of St. John the Divine's Great Music in a Great Space concert series presents Heaven's Door, a performance by the Cathedral Choir and Orchestra, on Tuesday, April 5 at 7:30pm at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, 1047 Amsterdam Avenue (at 112th Street). The concert will be held in person and available to livestream.

Oscar Cabrera, Alisha Espinosa, Latinx Playwrights Circle (LPC) and Primary Stages have announced that the playwrights selected for this year’s Intensive Mentorship are Julissa Contreras, Daniela Gonzalez y Perez, Luis Roberto Herrera, and Phanésia Pharel.

The service organization Dance/NYC has announced the 37 recipients and 8 runner ups of the 2022–2023 Dance Advancement Fund, made possible by the generous support of the Howard Gilman Foundation and the Ford Foundation. The purpose of the funding initiative is to address the inequitable distribution of resources in the dance field and advance its resilience and thriving by supporting dance making organizations and groups with budgets between $10,000 and $500,000.

 Nancy Manocherian’s the cell theatre and Nightclub Cantata LLC, by special arrangement with Concord Theatricals, will presen the 45th anniversary production of Elizabeth Swados’ 1977 breakout sensation Nightclub Cantata, a provocative, eclectic and heralded theatrical creation rarely seen since its inception decades ago. 

Nearly a year after the release of her highly praised breakout debut album Overgrown, R&B singer and songwriter Joyce Wrice returns today with fresh new single, “Iced Tea.' The track finds the new Proud Family theme song vocalist reconnecting with GRAMMY Award-winning producer KAYTRANADA for an irresistible empowerment anthem.

Tim Connell is not letting any grass grow under his feet, as he opens his second show in five months.

One of the foremost classical Indian dance companies returns to The Soraya with the world premiere production of Fires of Varanasi: Dance of the Eternal Pilgrim co-commissioned by The Soraya and The Kennedy Center.  

On Friday, April 1, 2022, GRAMMY Award-winning classical guitarist Jason Vieaux will release Bach Volume 2: Works for Violin on Azica Records. A follow up to his critically acclaimed 2009 Azica album, Bach Volume 1: Works for Lute, Volume 2 completes Vieaux's Bach cycle with J. S. Bach's Partita No. 3 in E Major, BWV 1006.

In 2017 the award-winning playwright and actor Justin Butcher marshalled a motley crew of marchers on a pilgrimage from London to Jerusalem, calling for equal rights for all in the Holy Land.  More than one hundred walkers took part. Nine walked the whole way, through Europe, Turkey, Jordan, and the Holy Land.  

The Grammy-nominated Western Wind Vocal Sextet will present 'Of Dreams, Desires & Dragons: Music by Women from Hildegarde to Joni Mitchell'on Saturday, March 19 at 7:00 PM at St. John's in the Village, 218 West 11th Street, NYC (West Village). The concert celebrates Women's History Month with a rich assortment of music by classical and modern women composers. Both live in-person and live streaming tickets are available.

Baryshnikov Arts Center (BAC) is pleased to present the New York premiere of Minneapolis-based choreographer and dancer Ashwini Ramaswamy’s Let the Crows Come, an experimental Bharatanatyam work, and a “Best of Dance 2021” selection by The Washington Post. Performances will take place Wednesday–Friday, April 13–15, at 8pm, at BAC’s Jerome Robbins Theater, 450 West 37th Street, in Manhattan.

Goodman Theatre announces its next Future Labs reading: Cephianne's Reflection by Mallory Raven-Ellen Backstrom, directed by Wardell Julius Clark. The second offering (of six workshops and presentations anticipated) of Future Labs' second season, Backstrom's new play is penned in homage to an American dialect and colorful culture found on the Sea Islands off the coast of Georgia—where the descendants of slaves learned how to turn pain into power.

This current production is being directed by Awoye Timpo (The Bluest Eye, Good Grief) and choreographed by multihyphenate Adesola Osakalumi (Skeleton Crew, Coal Country, Fela!) with theater newcomer Proda (Ms.Lauryn Hill 2020 Tour) as Composer.

Circle Theatre, West Michigan's go-to destination for exceptional theatrical arts in an intimate setting, kicks off their 2022 season with Nobody Does It Better: The Music of James Bond on Friday, April 15, directed by Kathy Gibson with music direction from Scott Patrick Bell.

Baryshnikov Arts Center will present the New York premiere of Minneapolis-based choreographer and dancer Ashwini Ramaswamy’s Let the Crows Come, an experimental Bharatanatyam work, and a “Best of Dance 2021” selection by The Washington Post. Performances will take place Wednesday–Friday, April 13–15, at 8pm, at BAC’s Jerome Robbins Theater, 450 West 37th Street, in Manhattan.

The Cathedral of St. John the Divine's Great Music in a Great Space concert series continues with Musica Sacra: Te Deum Laudamus: Centennial & World Premiere on Tuesday, March 22 at 7:30pm, at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, 1047 Amsterdam Avenue (at 112th Street).

In May 2022 the British Museum will open the first major exhibition to explore female spiritual beings in world belief and mythological traditions around the globe. Tickets go on sale today, International Women's Day, for The Citi exhibition Feminine power: the divine to the demonic.

On Sunday March 20, 2022 at 3pm, composer Robert Sirota's Assimilations will be presented by Concerts on the Slope at St. John's Episcopal Church (139 St. John's Place).

For his first-ever solo show Sam Gravitte went all out, and it showed in every flawlessly perfect moment.