New York Prague Effects

By Tendayi Kuumba & Lenka Dusilová
February 6 - 7, 2016

Tendayi Kuumba, a company member of Urban Bush Women, joins forces with Lenka Dusilová, a Czech musical shaman specializing in layering voice and electronics, for this transatlantic collaboration commissioned by Czech Center NY, the first in a series of four cross-cultural world premieres. After the world premiere of this piece at JACK, it moves to Washington, DC to Georgetown University’s Gonda Theatre on February 8 before moving to Palác Akropolis in Prague.

PERFORMANCES:
Sat., Feb. 6 at 8 pm
Sun., Feb. 7 at 3 pm

Tendayi Kuumba is currently a touring company member of Urban Bush Women. Her training ranges from Buffalo Inner City Ballet, Ballethnic, Callanwolde Fine Arts and Moving in the Spirit. Tendayi is also company member of "Being Here...," Marjani Forté, ASE Dance Theater Collective and Axam Dance Theater Experience. Past work includes Liberata Dance Theater, T. Lang Dance, Nathan Trice/ Rituals Performance Project "StrangeLove" and Laurie Taylor/ Soul Movement. Tendayi performs regularly as resident Jazz vocalist at the Williamsburg Music Center in with the Gerry Eastman Quartet every Friday night in Brooklyn, NY. She has been working with Marjani Forté since 2011 and gives thanks and blessings for life, love, breath, and the pursuit of happiness through creativity. She is a graduate of North Atlanta High School of Performing Arts and Spelman College.

Lenka Dusilová is a Czech Angel Award-winning singer-songwriter. Dusilová began her career in 1988, joining the Bambini di Praga children's choir at age 13 after singing in family band RSP with her mother and brother. During the 1990s Dusilová belonged to several groups (most notably the popular Czech pop-rock band Lucie), playing guitar and singing on several CDs. The band opened for the Rolling Stones in their 1995 show at Prague's Strahov Stadium. Between 1991 and 1995, Dusilová led the rock band Sluníčko (Little Tiny Sun), which released an eponymous CD in 1994, won the Marlboro Rock '94 competition and opened the Open Air Gampell music festival in Switzerland. Dusilová was nominated for the first time at 1994 for "Discovery of the Year" Angel Award and since then she won the Angel Award as Best Singer of the Year already five times. In addition to her solo work, since 2000, Dusilová has recorded and performed with the Czech folk-rock band Čechomor. She appeared on the band's album Proměny (Transformations), produced by Jaz Coleman.

This project is supported by Petr Gandalovič Czech Ambassador to the United States and Andrew Schapiro United States Ambassador U.S. Embassy, Czech Republic.