Zest Collective: Afro Blue + The Fountain | Oct 25-26, 2024 | WDNA 88.9FM
October 25 @ 8:00 pm - October 26 @ 10:00 pm
Don’t Miss Zest Collective: Afro Blue + The Fountain – Oct 25-26, 2024!
“Dance is movement literature. A language without words.” – Gentry George
Join us for an evening of contemporary performance
Afro Blue is Gentry Isaiah George’s latest installment from his series ‘Roots & Rhythms,’ designed to commemorate Black Musicians of the 20th century. Renditions of the Jazz standard Afro-Blue recorded by American Jazz Vocalist Abbey Lincoln and Cuban Percussionist Mongo Santamaria are the centerpieces for the new work. Harmonizing biography, social history, music, and performance, George’s Zest Collective dance troupe celebrates the beauty and triumph of musical pioneers whose songs rang out despite America’s dark history of oppression. ‘Afro Blue’ by Zest Collective is a dynamic dance work originally commissioned by The Dennis C. Moss Center.
The Fountain is a dynamic dance work set to Negro Spirituals, features music by Barbara Hendricks, Leontyne Price, and many more. It weaves together the rich tapestry of classical Negro Spirituals to celebrate spirituality and honor the legacy of pioneering female opera singers like Leontyne Price, Jessye Norman, and Inez Matthews. ‘The Fountain’ is a vibrant homage to the strength and beauty of the human spirit, reflecting the profound impact of these remarkable women on the world of opera and beyond. ‘The Fountain’ by Zest Collective is originally commissioned by The Dennis C. Moss Center.
Biography
Gentry Isaiah George is the Artistic Director of Zest Collective and Professor of Dance at Miami Dade College’s New World School of the Arts. At age eight, he began studying with Linda Agyapong at the Community Book and Dance Club and later with Vladimir Issaev at the Arts Ballet Theatre of Florida. In addition, Gentry was a scholarship student at The School at Jacob’s Pillow, The Ailey School, and The Miami Conservatory’s Thomas Armour Youth Ballet. In 2008 he graduated from New World School of the Arts High School.
George is a recipient of a Level 1 YoungArts award, and is featured on HBO’s ‘Masterclass,’ also starring Jacques d’Amboise. In addition, he has graced the pages of Essence Magazine and can be seen in the feature film ‘Life of an Actress.’
In 2012 Gentry graduated from the Juilliard School and began dancing with Ailey II of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Later that year, he was featured in the NY Post as “one of three men to watch in Ballet.” George was also a member of Lustig Dance Theatre, as well as the Dance Theatre of Harlem, under the Direction of Virginia Johnson.
Throughout his career, he performed throughout the United States, most notably at New York’s City Center, Apollo Theater, and the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center. In addition, George performed internationally, touring throughout Costa Rica, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, and Bulgaria.
Gentry has performed works by Alvin Ailey, Alonzo King, Bronislava Nijinska, Donald Byrd, Francesca Harper, Jerome Robbins, Jose Limón, Judith Jamison, Martha Graham, Nacho Duato, Ohad Naharin, Robert Battle, Stephanie Batten Bland, Ulysses Dove, and more.
In 2013 he and Tyler Garacci co-founded Washington Heights NYC’s premiere dance company Zest Collective. In New York, Zest has performed at SummerStage, The United Palace, HarlemStage, Ulster Performing Arts Center, The Wassaic Project, and more. In February 2015, Zest debuted ‘A Matter Of Heart’ with Visual Artist Brian Michael Reed, accompanied live by electronic performance duo Pax Humana at the Alchemical Theatre Laboratory.
In 2016 Gentry was invited to lead the Dance Ensemble at Usdan Summer Camp for the Arts. That year he also began working at the Dance Project of Washington Heights and became the school’s Youth Ensemble Director in 2017. In 2018 Gentry became an Adjunct Professor at the American Musical & Dramatic Academy (AMDA).
Gentry has created work on New World School of the Arts (Miami, FL), The Governor’s School for the Arts (Norfolk, VA), Arts High School (Newark, NJ), Randolph College (Lynchburg, VA), and Cooperative Arts and Humanities High (New Haven, CT). In addition, Gentry has choreographed six ballets for the Peter London Global Dance Company, the most recent of which premiered in December 2021 at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County.
In 2020 George relocated to South Florida and served as Rehearsal Director of the Peter London Global Dance Company until February 2022. Most recently, Gentry choreographed and directed PianoSlam 14, presented by Dranoff 2 Piano and the Adrienne Arsht Center. The work premiered in April 2022.
In South Florida, Zest has also performed at the Miami Hispanic Cultural Arts Center, Miami Light Project, Antioch Missionary Baptist Church, First Baptist Fort Lauderdale, African Heritage Cultural Arts Center, and the Broward County Main Library.
Get your tickets now and don’t miss out on this once-in-a-lifetime event!
