Music, dance, and boxing come together in unique ways at Gleason’s on March 16
THE INTERNATIONAL STREET CANNIBALS
Gleason’s Gym
77 Front St., DUMBO
Saturday, March 16, $20, 8:00
718-797-2872
www.gleasonsgym.net
www.streetcannibals.com
The best boxing matches are like vibrant dances, the sights and sounds coming together in exciting yet violent ways. On March 16, New York City’s own International Street Cannibals, a new music collective whose goals include bringing contemporary and classical music to new performance venues, educating young audiences, expanding the instrument repertoire, and putting together unique collaborations that combine music, dance, voice, and, yes, boxing, will be presenting their latest “Strike!” show at legendary Gleason’s Gym in DUMBO. Led by director Dan “Lefty” Barrett, ISC will play chamber-music pieces in between live boxing matches, with everything taking place in three rings. The music schedule features ten-to-twelve-minute sets of three-minute works by Barrett (“Philomela,” “Technical Knock Out,” “March of the Balonie Sandwiches”), Dan Cooper (“Hoof & Mouth,” “Ephemeral Blues,” “Soca”), Gene Pritsker (“Aeon II,” “Dust and Mirages of the Communal Mind”), John Clark (“Full Count,” “Horn Call,” “Going Coastal”), Paul Hindemith (“Marsch,” “Lied,” and “Musikstück”), Daniel Palkowski (“Bela’s Pusette,” “Duet for a Wet Space”), and Dave Taylor (“Brother,” “Dance”) as well as Johann Sebastian Bach and a Dixieland version of “Die Gedanken sind Frei.” Barrett will be conducting Clark on French horn, Tish Edens on cello, Rachel Golub on violin, Franz Hackl on trumpet, Gregor Kitzis on violin, Cesare Papetti on percussion, Pritsker on electric guitar, Troy Rinker on bass, Taylor on bass trombone, Linda Wetherill on flute, and Chala Yancy on viola. Getting into the ring, which has been home to 132 champions, from Ali, Frazier, Foreman, Tyson, and Holmes to Hearns, Qawi, Hagler, La Motta, and Chavez, will be nine boys and girls between the ages of twelve and seventeen, duking it out in three rounds of three minutes each: Paul Anthony, Kevin Barker, Jennifer Guzman, Eryan Rodriguez, Matt Nicelli, Kevin Anderson, Antonio Arca, Isabella Arca, and Nicole D’Alessio. In between rounds, there will be music as well as dance by Andrew Broaddus, Adrienne Misko, Amanda Mottur, Cat Murcek, Max Pollak, and choreographer Megan Sipe. The event is a benefit for Gleason Gym’s “Give a Kid a Dream” program, which uses boxing to help disadvantaged youths both mentally and physically.
“What’s up with this song? So kitschy, yet so profound,” director and narrator Roberta Grossman says at the beginning of her rollicking documentary, Hava Nagila (The Movie). “And what’s the deal with the chair?” A staple at Jewish celebrations, primarily weddings and bar/bat mitzvahs, “Hava Nagila” instantly gets friends and family members out on the dance floor, forming a circle and doing the Hora. Grossman delves into the history and mystery of the catchy song, which over the years has been performed by an unlikely crew that has included Harry Belafonte, Connie Francis, Glen Campbell, Johnny Yune, and Regina Spektor, all of whom appear in the film and discuss the tune’s popularity. (There are also archival performances from all around the world as well as an anti-“Hava” song from Bob Dylan.) Also putting “Hava Nagila” into perspective are Yiddish theater veteran Leonard Nimoy, communications professor Josh Kun, and KlezKamp founder Henry Sapoznik, a “Hava” hater who says with a more than a touch of cynicism, “It’s relentless. It’s resilient. But then again, so are cockroaches,” a statement that exemplifies Grossman’s playful attitude, exemplified by her corny captioning and clever clips from such TV shows and movies as Laugh-In, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Thoroughly Modern Millie, The Danny Kaye Show, A Serious Man, Wedding Crashers, History of the World Part I, and Fiddler on the Roof. But she also reveals another side to the song, as described by professor James Loeffler, who explains, “‘Hava’ is a portal into a century and a half of Jewish history.” Grossman ( Blessed Is the Match: The Life and Death of Hannah Senesh) sets off on what she calls a “Hava Quest,” venturing to the village of Sadagora in Ukraine, the birthplace of the song, and later meeting with two warring families battling over authorship of the words and music. She traces its impact on the development of the State of Israel and the Jewish migration to suburban America, and, yes, she lays out precisely what the words of the song mean. Like the song itself, Hava Nagila (The Movie) is a fun and fanciful frolic into the fascinating story behind one of the most famous songs that so many know so little about. The film opens March 1 in New York, but you can catch a special sneak preview on February 28 at 7:00 at the JCC in Manhattan, followed by a conversation with Grossman.