Wanda's Picks Wednesday to Friday, March 7, 8 & 9, 2012

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Rebroadcast of Sam Pollard speaking about his film: Slavery by Another Name broadcast nationally February 13, 2012.

Live interview with Esailama G.A. Diouf, filmmaker, scholar, about Diamano Coura's 17th Annual Collage des Cultures Africaines's "Knowledge Transporters," beginning March 8-11, 2012 in Oakland. Ms. Diouf's original goal of documenting West African dance's influence on American culture in three specific cities: Oakland, St. Louis, and Chicago, has now expanded to include not just West Africa, but other places in the Pan African Disapora, such as Haiti, Brazil and elsewhere, like Congo. This weekend there will be a preview of the work, which will have a debut in 2013.

Esailama G. A. Diouf has been a performing member of Oakland–based Diamano Coura since 1989. Esailama has also worked with choreographers and directors in the United States from various genres of African-derived dance theatre including the late Dr. Pearl Primus and Kemoko Sano and theatre companies such as the Ballet Folklorico de Bahia, Les Ballets Africaines, and the Liberian National Cultural Troupe. Internationally, she has worked with director John Martin (London) and such performing companies as Le Ballet National du Sénégal (Senegal), Theatre for Africa (South Africa) and Abhinaya Theatre Research Centre (India). She is currently a doctoral candidate in Performance Studies at Northwestern University. Her research looks at the 1966 First World Festival of Negro Arts, the migration of professional dancers and dancing from the Senegal region to the United States during the 1960s and the performance of Africanness.

Visit http://www.diamanocoura.org/dc/ Music: Meklit Hadero from On a Day Like This.

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/wandas-picks/2012/03/07/wandas-picks-radio-show

International Woman's Day Special Broadcast, March 8, 2012

Today is International Woman's Day. In its 101st observance, this year, we honor women past, present and future, with an interview with three women: Mama Naomi Diouf, Artistic Director of Diamano Coura West African Dance Company, celebrating the 17th Anniversary of Collage de Africaines, beginning today, March 8-11, 2012, at the Malonga Casquelord Center for the Arts, 1428 Alice Street, Oakland, CA.

The second woman is Mama Lola Hanif, founder of Sacred Space Spiritual Support Group, third Thursdays monthly, at 2147 Broadway, Oakland, 4-6 p.m. For the past five years this Sacred Space has hosted over 130 African American women in a spiritually-based, emotionally safe and supportive environment for African American women to gather, network, experience a sense of community. Sacred Space serves as a means of advocating healthy, peaceful African American families.

The third woman we feature is one whose voice was formally silenced behind prison walls. Convicted as a child, LaKeisha Burton, born and raised in Compton, spent 18 years in California Institute for Women (CIW) when at 15 she was arrested and tried as an adult and sentenced to life plus 9 years consecutively, which meant she had to serve 9 years first and then life—she was first at youth authority at Camillo in Southern California, for 90 observation where they recommended she stay in the juvenile facility. The sentencing judge said no, send her to prison. In CIW—she was the youngest person there, so she was in a segregated housing unit or in solitary confinement until she turned 18. She served 18 years before release in 2006. No one died. Ironically, she met her victim in CIW, asked for and received her forgiveness. The victim, who killed someone, was released from CIW after 9 years.Visit www.womenprisoners.org

March 8, 2012: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/wandas-picks/2012/03/08/wandas-picks-special-3-women-on-international-womens-day

Friday, March 9, 2012

Mama Lola Hanif, founder of Sacred Space Spiritual Support Group, third Thursdays monthly, at 2147 Broadway, Oakland, 4-6 p.m. For the past five years this Sacred Space has hosted over 130 African American women in a spiritually-based, emotionally safe and supportive environment for African American women to gather, network, experience a sense of community. Sacred Space serves as a means of advocating healthy, peaceful African American families. Excerpt from an interview with Mama

Mama Naomi Diouf, Artistic Director of Diamano Coura West African Dance Company, celebrating the 17th Anniversary of Collage de Africaines, beginning today, March 8-11, 2012, at the Malonga Casquelord Center for the Arts, 1428 Alice Street, Oakland, CA.

Michael Gene Sullivan, director of Julius Caesar, which opens at the African American Shakespeare Company this weekend, has performed in, written, and/or directed over 20 San Francisco Mime Troupe productions, a company he joined in 1988. Sullivan is head writer for the political satire-minded San Francisco Mime Troupe; he recently penned a re-interpretation of A Christmas Carol for the masses, which was performed at Occupy Oakland and SF, and LA's famed Actor's Gang is currently remounting his adaptation of Orwell's novel 1984 this February, directed by Tim Robbins, as a highlight of its 30th anniversary season.

Filmmaker Yuriko Gamo Romer’s film Mrs. Judo: BE STRONG, BE GENTLE, BE BEAUTIFUL opens at the SFIAFFMarch 11 in SF. She holds a master’s degree in documentary filmmaking from Stanford University, a BFA from UCLA, a brown belt from World Oyama Karate and lives in San Francisco with her husband and son.

Here is a link to Friday, May 9, 2012 show: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/wandas-picks/2012/03/09/wandas-picks-radio-show