If you’ve ever attended one of m.a.m.a. e a r t h’s amazing charity events, you may have had the pleasure of seeing the inspiring and ecstatic dance performances of Kimberly Miguel Mullen. Her love for dance is rooted in the process of training with Master teachers and traveling to the origins of the places where cultural dance forms persist. Kimberly says, “Dance is my vehicle for contributing to the preservation of culture and for celebrating the similarities and differences of our humanity. This is important to me because of my own mixed cultural heritage and the experiences my parents, grandparents, and ancestors endured to give me a better life. Dance found me as the result of my own longing for a creative and spiritual outlet to physically express the issues in my life to which I am dedicated. For the past 15 years, I have humbly immersed myself in the center of many dance communities in the US, the Caribbean, and Brazil. Transcending issues of race, politics, class, gender, age, language, etc – I have been witness to the joy, purpose, and abundance dance brings to the lives of the most modest communities. I am very gracious to my teachers who have gifted me with the knowledge and acknowledgement to perform and teach. It is through performance and instruction that I share the profound magic of dance in my life with others.”
At the end of this month, Kimberly Miguell Mullen and one of our favorite singer/songwriters, Mia Doi Todd are presenting a show called “Yemanja: Mother of the Deep.” It is an inspirational performance piece; a creative interplay of live music, song and dance that will engage and transport its audience to a journey evoking the transformative spirit of the sea. Dive into a world of myths and legends of Yemanjá, the revered water goddess and universal mother figure, set to the eclectic soundtrack of driving polyrhythms, ethereal harmonies, spoken word and Kimberly Miguel Mullen’s solo movement performance.
Music composed by producer Alberto López (Belú Music) will accompany texts penned by critically acclaimed songstress Mia Doi Todd whose album, Cosmic Ocean Ship was awarded New York Times, “Top 10 Albums of 2011”. Also featured will be the musical talents of extraordinary Brazilian guitarist Fabiano do Nascimento, multi-instrumentalist Andres Renteria and percussionists Evan Greer and Kahlil Cummings, among others. Yemanja is an offering combining the creative forces of Mullen’s traditionally inspired movement, Doi Todd’s poetic folk style and Lopez’s world music palette, forming a point of artistic intersection in search of a universal expressive language. Each performance will conclude with an open forum, allowing audience members to exchange ideas and opinions with the performers. This will be the first onstage collaboration among these artists.
If you are close to Los Angeles, purchase tickets by clicking HERE.
No matter where you are in the world, show your support for dance, live music, art and the inspiration of Yemanja by clicking HERE.
Mia Doi Todd — Canto de Iemanjá by Vinícius de Moraes and Baden Powell from Grace Oh on Vimeo.
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