It's Ailey Time!

I’ve just returned from the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater Lecture/Demonstration at The Moore Theatre with more than 1,000 students. There is nothing quite like the energy of 1,000 theatre patrons all under the age of 16. So fun. Three Alvin Ailey dancers talked about Mr. Ailey’s experiences and influences that inspired him to become a choreographer. They then brought about 30 young people on stage to learn some movements from Ailey’s masterpiece “Revelations”.



Any donor to STG is invited to visit our Education and Community programs throughout the year. Please make arrangements with us in advance. There are many to choose from. Last year, we produced or supported 121 separate education and community programs and opportunities.

If you don’t have Alvin Ailey tickets for this weekend’s performance at the 5th Avenue Theatre, now is the time to get them before they are gone. Tickets are on sale here! You really don’t want to miss this phenomenal show.

- Kate Becker, STG's Director of Development

Ailey in Local Schools

World renowned dance company Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater will spend this week (March 21-25, 2011) with nearly 200 local students from Denny International Middle School, South Shore PK-8, and Aki Kurose Middle School, in an innovative curriculum-based workshop: REVELATIONS RESIDENCY. See some images from the workshops thusfar on our Flickr.

The Revelations Residency student workshop explores Ailey’s masterpiece, Revelations, celebrating 50 years during Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s 2011 North American tour. Students learn the Horton technique warm-up, knowledge of Alvin Ailey’s history and legacy and an excerpt of “I Been ‘Buked” from Revelations.



This innovative curriculum-based initiative for public school students utilizes Alvin Ailey’s Revelations as the inspirational framework for an in-depth study of language arts, social studies and dance. Seattle's 200 students are exposed to Ailey only through the generous funding provided by CHASE.



Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater performs in Seattle on March 25-27, 2011 at The 5th Avenue Theatre, in downtown Seattle. More information here.

SXSW 2011 Recap

Home sweet home!

SXSW 2011 is now officially in the books, and it sure was one for the ages...


6th Street - click to enlarge

I personally was at the 2 of the 3 biggest news-worthy events that took place in Austin this past weekend: a crane collapsing on the crowd just before OMD was set to take the stage at Stubbs on Friday night (the crane literally missed me by a mere 2 feet, very scary!), and the Kanye West/Jay Z (and many other big names!) performance at the Vevo Power Station. (The 3rd incident was a riot that broke out during Death From Above 1979’s set at Cedar St Courtyard on Saturday night).

On Thursday Adam Zacks and I were able to attend a breakout session titled Your Music Here: New Models in Brand Collaborations. It was moderated by Don McKinnon, President of Content for (RED) Nights and the founder of Hear Music (Starbucks). Panelists were Geoff Cottrill (Converse, Inc), Emmanuel Seuge (Coca-Cola), Sol Guy (Rebel-One, K’Naan manager) and Christina Speed (Patagonia). It was very interesting to hear representatives from these large corporations speak about the importance of music and organic collaborations with artists and how new partnerships are forming as a result.

For example, they spoke about the creative process behind K’Naan and Coca-Cola for the 2010 FIFA World Cup ™, and how good music is what drives people to want to be involved with a specific organization, or support its products. It was also interesting to hear Geoff Cottrill from Converse talk about how a shoe company has become ingrained in the punk rock culture simply by artists wearing their product. They have now begun focusing on artist collaborations and have even gone as far as creating a music studio in New York City that will allow artists with little to no means of getting their music heard out to the masses. Converse has created a state of the art recording facility and will give 100% of the right to any music recorded there to the artist themselves.

STG has worked with Don and (RED) Nights on a number of occassions, most recently for Corinne Bailey Rae. (RED) Nights is a way to help fight AIDS in Africa by having artists contribute money from each ticket sold at their show donated to the cause. STG is currently working with the (RED) Nights team to do more shows with artists to benefit this.

As for music, while I didn’t catch as high a number of acts as Ryan Cook did, I made up for it in quality. In no particular order, here are the artists I was able to see while in Austin: The Lonely Forest, The Kills, Bad Brains, The Head & The Heart, Yuck, TV on the Radio, John Legend, Kanye West, Jay Z, Kid Cudi, Pusha T, Big Sean, The Vaccines, Wye Oak, Charles Bradley, Wanda Jackson, Macklemore, Wild Orchid Children, The Redwood Plan, Starf*cker, Capsula (thanks for the tip Christopher Nelson!) and others I can’t recall at the moment ;)


TV on the Radio - click to enlarge


Charles Bradley - click to enlarge


The Kills - click to enlarge


The Lonely Forest - click to enlarge

The SxSeattle party was a smashing success. While this year’s venue was a little bit off the beaten path (at Copa) it was still a well attended showcase and Seattle came out and supported the artists en mass. I was able to get a few photos from the party (look for the killer STG banner!)




Fences - click to enlarge


Macklemore - click to enlarge



All in all it was an amazing time, and it was so nice to see Seattle peeps having a great time and representing the best our fine city has to offer. I’m so happy and proud to be a part of the music community in Seattle, especially here at STG!!! Yes, I am very lucky.

Cheers,
Jason Ross
STG Concerts Marketing Manager

Hot Java Cool Jazz High School

We found an excellent post by Timothy J. about the upcoming Hot Java Cool Jazz performance over on the Starbucks blog and thought we'd repost here:



Hot Java Cool Jazz at The Paramount Theatre in Seattle turns 16 this year. It is one of the great nights of performance by jazz musicians.

Did I mention these musicians are in high school? Pay no attention to that! Do you like to listen to the big band music of Duke Ellington, Count Basie or Benny Goodman? These students could have played in those bands, seriously.

The innocence of youth combined with extreme musical talent all comes together on stage on this night. Years ago, I was managing the Starbucks University Village store where many Garfield and Roosevelt High School parents had their coffee. The question I was asked most often: had I heard them perform? Did I know they went to New York and competed in the Ellington Festival and won, year after year! I did not.

Without dwelling on the history of this event let’s fast forward to what it is today. This show has evolved into a night people talk about all year. The first time I invited some folks to come with me I could see the whole “high school” notion come to mind. It’s a hard one to comprehend. I think they came to humor me, but I know they left believers. Last year’s show sold out the Paramount. It seats almost 3,000.

The show has an amazing vibe. Five schools play about four songs each with several minutes between bands. An intermission is included. The pace is perfect. The crowd is there for the whole show, not just to see their school but all the schools. The band directors and students in formal attire play so well and take such amazing solos you cannot leave your seat. These kids are at the top of their game. This is the essence of jazz and what I love about the show. That teenager with that saxophone is playing at a level he or she might never be at again. Or next year they might be blowing your mind on stage playing professionally at some international festival. You never know.

Every show I’ve been to I hear people seated around me lean over and say, “I had no idea, I just had no idea!” Did I mention this show sold out last year? If you’ve been, you’re probably going. If not – you need to!

Last year this show raised $35,000 for the music programs. So needed in these times, funding for the arts in schools is almost nonexistent. Perhaps you can find a way to make this work in your town. The talent is right there in a nearby high school.

Tickets and more info available here!