Posts Tagged ‘Women’
| Tweet |
JUNE 18, 2010, 12:00PM
Joseph Campbell’s interpretations of humanity’s various myths are popular because they ring true; he was remarkably effective in revealing their wisdom about life and even death. Coming from a very similar place (though perhaps somewhat more curatorial in her process) is Virlana Tkacz, the director of the Yara Arts Group. She has been researching ancient songs and poems from Ukraine, Mongolia, Central Asia and points further east for years, and her work with the troupe reflects her desire to re-integrate the ancient “ways of knowing,” as she puts it, into modern life.
I first caught Yara’s work in 1999 when I was assigned to review their musical play “Circle.” It blew me away with its combination of great singing, songs, inventive staging, and earthy humor. (It was also where I first met Eugene Hutz of Gogol Bordello, who had a role in the play.) Ever since then I’ve thought more people should know about Yara, and now that I am “vlog enabled” (!) I finally can not only write about it, but bring you an interview with Virlana, and present some excerpts from Yara’s most recent production, “Scythian Stones.”
Even if you missed this last production, the good news is that Yara continues to create these intimate theatrical pieces here in NYC (and abroad, in the countries from which much of the the music and myth come) and you can catch more of them in the future. And there is more to Yara than just theater, as a visit to the Yara Arts Group website will reveal, at brama.com/yara/
| Tweet |
| Tweet |
Here comes my rant: These days it seems we throw the term “throat singing” around a bit loosely. It can get confusing. After all, Mongolian and Tuvan overtone singing (the technique of singing more than one note simultaneously) is called throat singing. But as far as I can hear, the Inuit singing technique does not deal with overtones. Rather, it is about vocalising on both the inhaled and exhaled breath. Yet it is referred to as throat singing. Personally I’d rather just call one overtone singing, and call the other Inuit singing (or two-way singing?).
That said, Tanya Tagaq visited us in the summer, and she was a trip, as you’ll see from our interview.
She also appears in a fantastic short film called “Tungijuq” in which she also contributes to the soundtrack. It concerns itself with the cycle of life and death from an Inuit perspective, and it is not for the squeamish…or prudish. Be on the lookout for it, as of this writing it is just about to hit the film festival circuit.
| Tweet |
| Welcome: Here’s where you’ll find my weekly original world music video blogs that appear on Huffington Post, as well as an archive starting in April of 2009. This is also the place where you will find video that is exclusive to my site. I’ve traveled to places like Uzbekistan, Morocco, and Taiwan and no matter where I go I have found amazingly talented and creative people working in every genre from the deepest traditions to the cutting edge. It’s been incredibly rewarding to interview them and to capture some of what they do on video. Enjoy what you see and hear, and let me know what you think. I welcome your feedback. |
Social Media
