AFROLOGICS MINI-NEWSLETTER: scurrying

LOVE & HAPPINESS!

Yes! That's been my theme today since listening to as many songs as I possibly could last night where the word "love" figured prominently in the lyrics. Sappy, but therapeutic. I am right now making a mad dash for UCLA to catch some short films being screened by my colleague Cathy Cole. I will not even say, "and you should come too" because if you are not anywhere near UCLA at this very moment, you will not make it anyway. Friday. This week has been really wild with the Swine Flu starting to appear in the US and the 100 day mark for Obama passing with the bankruptcy of Chrysler. While these things are shifting our ability to think about non-vital activities (this is usually where people plug in the arts,but especially dance), a few bills promoting and supporting the arts are wending their way through national and state senates. In particular, California has a bill going through that demands your attention and faxes. I'll have more details on that later tonight. So stay tuned!

Afrolicious. Afrologia. Afrodelic. Afropoesia. Afrologica. How big is your 'fro? Fractal, improvisational, polemical, but always moving with spirit and in service to lifting us all up! That's the Logic of the Afro--sign up, read up, be up--you can move mountains, now make it beautiful


BLOWIN BACK DA 'FRO tonight a lot of action at UCLA. But there is much more all over and you will hear about it later on this evening.

DANCE UNDER CONSTRUCTION
Follow this link for info on the conference, Dance Under Construction, $25 registration fee, all day tomorrow. I present in the afternoon on this newsletter experiment with Arianne Hoffmann who will talk about ear full of dance podcast. Se the link in my side nav bar to check out her programs. Our panel is called "Alternative Transmissions."

Glorya Kaufman Hall, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, 120 Westwood Plaza, 90095-1608. (map)
Pappas and Dancers in Monster
8 PM tonight, tickets at the window
Part of DUC conference

Look for some parking meter antics somewhere in Westwood tonight and tomorrow...follow us @meterdance on Twitter

UCLA Royce Hall
Ballet Preljocaj presents Les 4 Saisons
Tonight Friday May 1 through Saturday May 2 $54/42/28 students $15
Looked the clips and I have to say this looks amazing. Not your typical ballet by a long shot.


LOVELY (for now)
It has not gone without notice that today is International Worker's day. I think it is kismet that Dance Week encompasses this very important day this year. I'll have more to say about dance and labor, but I just want us to think of ways as consumers who are demanding smarter, leaner, greener industries can lovingly embrace and support the unemployed laborers and those who have just recently had a lot of their hard-won benefits reduced or stripped altogether. We are at a critical moment that could signal an extreme rupture in our society if we do not love and respect each other AND lend a helping hand, not a hand out. In this climate of lay-offs and anti-union, anti-art, anti-poor sentiments every one must join together and celebrate the fruits of our labor, which to my mind should always be the joy in our hearts.

in love,
-Anna