October 25, 2013 8:00 PM "Skins and Songs and Steps" at Swarthmore College

Swarthmore College, Pearson-Hall Theater
500 College Avenue
Swarthmore, PA 19081

SKINS & SONGS & STEPS creates multitextured contemporary compositions that link the past and present, the ceremonial and the secular. This percussion, vocal, and dance event brings together Philadelphia's Spoken Hand Percussion Orchestra and Philip Hamilton's Voices with dance forms from all over the globe including South Indian Bharatanatyam, West African dance, hip-hop, and hoofing (tap dancing).

Skins:
Spoken Hand is a 16-piece percussion orchestra that unifies the drumming traditions of Afro-Cuban bata, North Indian tabla, Afro-Brazilian samba, and West African djembe. Drummers are Joe Bryant, Ron Howerton, Tom Lowery, Josh Robinson, Alex Shaw (Brazilian Samba); Kenneth Fauntleroy, Ishmael Jackson, John Wilkie (Cuban Bata); Mike Nevin, Dan Scholnick, Lenny Seidman (North Indian Tabla); Daryl Burgee, Chuckie Joseph, Omar Harrison, Steve Jackson Jr, Steve Jackson Sr. (West African Djembe).

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Songs:
Led by Philip Hamilton, Voices is an a cappella choir that combines the influences of global vocal tones and techniques such as Tuvan throat singing, Congolese mouth clicking, Balinese monkey chant, and hip-hop's beatbox with the singing styles of doo-wop, Bulgarian choirs, gospel, barbershop quartet, South African miners' songs, and Gregorian chant. Vocalists include Patricia Antunes, Harry Bayron, Alexander Elisa, Philip Hamilton, Gio Moretti, Giovana Robinson, Patricia Silveira, and Elisabete da Veiga.

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Steps:
Dancers include Viji Rao's Three Aksha Dance Company (Vijay Rao, Director & Choreographer with Kristy Ghose, Rochitha Nathan, Sitara Soundararajan, Vidya Sukumar), a West African/hip-hop duo from Kulu Mele African Dance and Drum Ensemble (James Ali Wilkie & Eddie Smallwood), and rumba tap dancer, Max Pollak.