Lincoln Center Programs Coming To Queens Locations
Free music and dance performances with an international flair will come to local libraries in Queens through the “Lincoln Center Live at Queens Library” summer program officially launched on Monday, July 7, at the Broadway branch in Astoria.
Participating at the announcement were City Council Majority Leader Jimmy Van Bramer; Lincoln Center Local Live’s Hillary McAndrew Plate; Queens Library COO Bridget Quinn Carey; representative performers from Zikrayat (Middle Eastern music/dance) and Villalobos Brothers (violin virtuosos from Mexico).
Lincoln Center Live is a series of world-class music, dance and theatrical performances free at neighborhood libraries. The performers offered a brief showcase of performances to come.
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts and Lincoln Center Education present Lincoln Center Local Live, a series of one-hour theatrical performances by renowned musicians and dancers. The performers will engage with the audience through question and answer sessions developed from the Lincoln Center’s popular Meet the Artist series and Lincoln Center Local.
Performances will be held at select community libraries beginning Saturday, July 12, through Sept. 20. A final performance on Sept. 27 at the David Rubenstein Atrium will be live-streamed to viewing parties at select library locations.
“Bringing the world-class cultural programming of Lincoln Center to the Queens Library is a partnership that I am proud to champion,” said Van Bramer. “This is a dynamic partnership that helps make sure that every resident of Queens has access to the life-changing cultural opportunities of our great city. This is the second year of this fantastic program, and I am so happy that the performances begin at the Broadway Library-my childhood library.”
“This summer, we will be hosting Lincoln Center Live events in Jamaica, Cambria Heights, Flushing, Forest Hills, Ridgewood, Broadway, Jackson Heights and at the Langston Hughes Library in Corona,” added Carey. “Queens Library’s partnership with Lincoln Center Local makes high-end performing arts accessible to everyone, which is what we do here at Queens Library-make everything the world has to offer accessible to anyone who visits us in person or online.”
Performances genres range between American musical, flamenco, and opera and include Caïn et les Cadiens, Elementos de Flamenco, Choban Elektrik, Dr. Zsa’s Powdered Zydeco Band, Fiesta Flamenca, Interweaving, O Sole Trio and the Villalobos Brothers. Performers were carefully selected by more than 10,000 library patrons.
Lincoln Center Local 2014 is made possible by support from Blanchette Hooker Rockefeller Fund, Disney, United Airlines, and Resorts World Casino New York City. For more information about Lincoln Center Local Live, visit about.lincolncenter.org/lclocal.
Artists, dates and locations are subject to change. Special seating policy at double sets may apply. Due to varying seating capacities at each location all seating is first come, first served.
The schedule of Lincoln Center Local Live events is as follows:
– Saturday, July 12, 3 p.m., Elementos de Flamenco, Central branch, 89-11 Merrick Blvd., Jamaica. In flamenco dance, both women and men use different props or tools to tell their stories, including shawls, fans, canes, hats, and capes. Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana use the style’s powerful movements and striking music to guide viewers along a journey through Spain. For more about Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana, visit flamenco-vivo.org. Suggested for ages 4 and up.
– Saturday, July 19, 1 p.m., Dr. Zsa’s Powdered Zydeco Band, Cambria Heights branch, 218-13 Linden Blvd. Dr. Zsa’s Powdered Zydeco Band’s repertoire includes Cajun folk, zydeco, New Orleans funk, swamp pop, and the band’s own unique take on pop covers and adaptations of Appalachian folk music. For more about Dr. Zsa’s Powdered Zydeco Band, visit doctorzsa.com Suggested for ages 7 and up.
– Saturday, July 26, shows at 2 and 4 p.m., Caïn et les Cadiens: Chez Nous Autres (Cain and the Cajuns: Our Home), Flushing branch, 41-17 Main St. With Chez Nous Autres (Cajun French for “our home”), Cain- Oscar Bergeron and his ensemble, Caïn et les Cadiens, take audiences on a musical journey across Cajun America while exploring the universality of change and the rebirth of the human spirit. This musical and visual collaboration tells the story of the French settlers who became known as Acadians, or Cajuns. For more information, visit cainoscarbergeron.com.
– Saturday, Aug. 9, shows at 2 and 4 p.m., O Sole Trio, Forest Hills branch, 108-19 71st Ave. Blending popular Italian opera, Neapolitan, and classic jazz standards with a concentration on the Italian language, O Sole Trio captures the essence of Italy. For more about O Sole Trio, visit osoletrio.com. Suggested for ages 12 and up.
– Saturday, Aug. 16, 3 p.m., Choban Elektrik, Ridgewood branch, 2012 Madison St. Balkan and Roma/Gypsy beats soar from this Brooklyn-based electric dance band whose repertoire draws from the folk music of Albania, Macedonia, Greece, Bulgaria and the Romany people. In this multi-lingual program, the band incorporates the psychedelic sounds of the 1960s and ’70s with its vintage keyboards and creates a highenergy dance party with its powerful rhythm section. For more information on Choban Elektrik, visit chobanelektrik.com. Suggested for ages 7 and up.
– Saturday, Aug. 23, 3 p.m., Villalobos Brothers, Broadway branch, 40-20 Broadway, Astoria; also on Saturday, Sept. 20, shows at 2 and 4 p.m. at the Flushing branch, 41-17 Main St. Blending the indigenous rhythms and melodies of their native Xalapa in Veracruz, Mexico, with the intricate harmonies of jazz and classical music, the Villalobos Brothers, in a bi-lingual program, deliver an intoxicating brew of musical brilliant cadence and virtuosity that awakens the senses as it redefines notions of Latin music. For more information about Villalobos Brothers, visit villalobosbrothers.com. Suggested for ages 5 and up.
– Saturday, Sept. 6, 2 p.m., Interweaving, Jackson Heights branch, 35-51 81st St. Francisco Roldán and Gretchen Farrar enchant with a bi-lingual concert of classical guitar and vocals of varied styles, genres, and eras with a common thread. For more information on Interweaving, visit franciscoroldan.com and gretchenfarrar.com. Suggested for age 12 and up.
– Saturday, Sept. 13, 2 p.m., Fiesta Flamenca, Langston Hughes Cultural Center, 100-01 Northern Blvd., Corona. The dancers and musicians of Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana, in full flamenco costume, present a variety of dances revealing a life full of pride, passion, honor, love, and sorrow and show how flamenco is one of the most popular Spanish art forms because of the intensity of its music. For more about Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana, visit flamenco-vivo.org. Suggested for ages 5 and up.
