Shall We Dance on Thursday July 24, 2008
The final night of Shall We Dance will include instruction by “ America ‘s first hip-hop choreographer,” Buddha Stretch. A screening of From Mambo to Hip-Hop: A South Bronx Tale will take place immediately following the instruction.
The film tells the story of the creative life of the South Bronx, beginning with the Puerto Rican migration and the adoption of Cuban rhythms to create the New York Latin music sound; continuing with the fires that destroyed the neighborhood but not the creative spirit of its people; chronicling the rise of hip hop from the ashes and ending with reflections on the power of the neighborhood’s music to ensure the survival of several generations of its residents, and in the process, take the world’s pop culture by storm. Depicting two different styles of music that were nurtured in the neighborhood (mambo) and born there (hip hop), the film shows how members of this Bronx community, especially Puerto Ricans, influenced and were inspired by them.
Posted on July 18, 2008 by D. Bell