Brooklyn stars in Beat of the Boroughs: NYC Online Series

NEW YORK, N.Y. – Celebrating the diversity of cultural traditions in New York City, the Center for Traditional Music and Dance (CTMD) launched its online series, Beat of the Boroughs: NYC Online this fall to highlight the artistry of 54 of the City’s leading immigrant performers from around the world, a number who have made Brooklyn their home.

The artists—including several National Endowment for the Arts Heritage Award fellows—represent the strength and diversity of the cultural sector in the City’s five boroughs, with traditions hailing from Bulgaria, China, Colombia, Gambia, Haiti, Iraq, Japan, Mongolia, Ukraine, and West Africa, among other areas.

The series is presenting up-close profiles of the life and work of leading artists, including those from Brooklyn:

• Haitian-American educator and musicologist George Vilson with artist and visual anthropologist Régine Romain presenting on Haitian traditional song (December 2)
• Suvda Khereid sharing Mongolian short and long songs from Central Park (December 7)
• Renowned Indian Kuchipudi dancer and dance prodigy Yamini Kalluri (December 14)
• Oneza Lafontant presenting on spiritual healing, drumming, and activism during the pandemic (December 21)
• Algerian-American dancer and teaching artist Esraa Warda (December 28)

“New York City’s traditional and folk artists have been particularly impacted by both the pandemic and the anti-immigrant political climate in our country. Amid the pandemic, many of these artists have structural impediments including the digital divide and language barriers to access federal relief funds or private sources of funding. Now more than ever we need to support these artists, who have suffered losses because of canceled concerts, performances, exhibitions, and other events,” said Peter Rushefsky, Executive Director of CTMD. “It is imperative that we come together as a city to support and celebrate our immigrant communities, and Beat of the Boroughs: NYC Online will showcase the immense talents of our artists and further the public’s understanding and appreciation of their work during these trying times.”

Organizers hope the series will build more support for the artists and for CTMD, particularly as the nonprofit continues to highlight the artistic diversity within New York City, where millions of Americans can trace their immigrant ancestors. CTMD encourages donations at https://ctmd.org/donate/.

CTMD will highlight three artists or ensembles each week, on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Audiences can tune in on those days at 5:00 PM to CTMD’s YouTube channel, https://www.youtube.com/user/CTMDProgramsConcerts or Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/CTMDnyc.

“Through workshops, lectures, demonstrations, and streamed live performances, a stellar cast of musicians and dancers presents their personal stories, remarkable traditions, and pandemic experiences,” said Andrew Colwell, PhD, Project Director and Staff Ethnomusicologist. “Their voices—whether through music, movement, or the spoken word—will serve as a powerful platform for continued advocacy for traditional arts in our city of immigrants.”

After each broadcast, the performances will become part of a collection of combined voices, which will remain available online on CTMD’s website at www.ctmd.org. Recent, archived performances include:

• The Grupo Rebolu Family Jam with Johanna Castaneda, Ronald Polo, and their children, of Queens, performing Afro-Colombian folk songs;
• The Crimean Tatar Ensemble of Brooklyn, with folk music and dance from the Crimean Peninsula, Ukraine;
• The Mencius Society with Xiao Xiannian and Julie Tay of Manhattan, with yangqin (hammered dulcimer) and Chinese percussion;
• Sidiki Conde of Manhattan, with West African drumming and his sacred ancestral masks;
• Yuri Yunakov of The Bronx presenting traditional Bulgarian Roma/Gypsy music;
• Malang Jobarteh and Salieu Suso of the Bronx, presenting on West African jali/griot traditions; and
• Sachiyo Ito of Manhattan discussing and demonstrating Japanese classical dance.

Discover more upcoming events at https://ctmd.org/programs/sustaining-cultures/beat-of-the-boroughs-nyc-online/. And, audiences can see a preview at

Beat of the Boroughs: NYC Online is made possible through the generosity of the New York Community Trust’s NYC COVID-19 Response & Impact Fund and the Scherman Foundation.

About the Center for Traditional Music and Dance (CTMD)
Founded in 1968, the Center for Traditional Music and Dance has worked closely with dozens of diverse communities over the past five decades in creating a number of ongoing arts programs, festivals and community-based cultural organizations. Each year, CTMD serves thousands of New Yorkers through a full calendar of programs that provide unique opportunities to experience and participate in the City’s rich cultural traditions. Find out more online at www.ctmd.org

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