Cinema in Nashville:
The 2024 International Black Film Festival
The International Black Film Festival (IBFF) held its 19th annual festival this October 2nd-6th. The IBFF is the only African-American established and inspired film festival in the state of Tennessee. Its mission is to “encourage culturally accurate depictions of all people in film with special emphasis on providing a forum of access for underserved and unheard voices as well as to showcase the artistically rich creativity and diversity found around the globe.”
This year’s films certainly fulfilled their mission! The 2024 festival included feature length narrative films and documentaries as well as narrative and documentary shorts. Besides the films, industry panels discussed everything from AI to finance, and networking mixers as well as the awards ceremony made for a full five days. Our journalists were only able to cover a small taste of the many offerings: A Documentary Feature (The Tennessee 11), one collection of Narrative Shorts, and one Narrative Feature (The 6th).
The Tennessee 11 (Review by Y Kendall)
It started with a 911 call. Panic in the voice of a woman reporting a horror. The horror—nearly predictable in twenty-first century America—a school shooting. But this time was different.
The 19th annual International Black Film Festival opened to an undeservedly sparse audience of a few dozen viewers. But the power of the story riveted every witness to this screening. The Tennessee 11, directed by Rod Blackhurst, was supported by Builders Movement, Citizens Solutions, and Convergence: Center for Policy Resolution, non-profit organizations dedicated to building unity in communities. This film originally premiered on September 23, at the Oscar-qualifying 2024 Nashville Film Festival.
In accordance with its advertised tagline, “In a divided America, can they find common ground on guns?” the film tells the story of a community effort bringing together eleven Tennesseans from different walks of life to deal with the issue of gun violence in our state. This came in the wake of the shooting at Covenant School in Nashville, a predominantly white Christian school in the upper-middle class Green Hills neighborhood. The shooter was a white former student who identifies as male.
The Tennessee 11, as they’re now called, comprises one middle school administrator, a high school teacher, a college literature professor, a combat vet who serves as a mental health counselor, a marriage/family therapist, a former State Trooper, a college student, a self-proclaimed “gun advocate,” a community activist who was formerly a gang member, and two pastors, one black and one white. For three days, conflict resolution specialists guided the group to eight consensus proposals that were placed on a website garnering over 30,000 community comments and majority agreement on five of the proposals.
Periodically, words appeared on a textured linen-appearing screen, alternating with scenes of parents and police outside Covenant, scenes of protests within and outside the Tennessee Capitol, the narrative of the eleven citizens willing to work toward change, and screens of cloudy black, white, and gray spills that seemed an apt visual metaphor for the varied points of view.
It would have been quite effective as a test of the group’s effectiveness to have at least a summary of all eight proposals on one of the text screens, because one of the proposals was actually passed into law in April 2024. HB2882/SB2923 is, unsurprisingly, one of the weakest of the proposals, requiring “local education agencies and public charter schools to provide students with age- and grade-appropriate instruction on firearm safety.”
Given the initial intransigence of the “Second Amendment” purists, it’s amazing any agreement was reached. For gun instructor Tim Carroll, even a mention of the term “gun safety” triggers a defensive reaction. Similarly, Jay Zimmerman, the vet counselor, held that owning guns is a “god-given” Constitutional right. Meanwhile Professor Brandi Kellett declared that “the right to carry a gun without a check or a permit infringes on my right to be safe.” Notably, all the pastors and the therapists are male and pro-gun-ownership. One is even an NRA member. But, Ron Johnson, Nashville Community Safety coordinator, whose mother died as collateral gun violence, spoke for all by sagely stating: “There’s nobody who lives in a community that don’t wanna be safe.”
The film’s director and cinematographer effectively used both closeups and panning over the entire group, spaced with poignant vignettes from individual life experiences: college student Jaila Hampton putting flowers for a memorial honoring her dear friend, a young black man dead as collateral damage in a senseless gun incident in Memphis, and vet Jay Zimmerman walking in the woods as he fondly remembers hunting with his grandpa in Elizabethton.
Mark Proctor, a white male with 24 years of Highway Patrol officer experience may have been the glue holding the prospect of success together. The pro-gun faction couldn’t dismiss his law enforcement credentials and his sincerity allowed the other side to put aside their concerns about over-policing and lax public safety to believe in his clear support for sensible legislation.
After the film, there was a brief discussion involving four of the eleven: Kellett, the lit professor who was removed from the Capitol for holding a sign supporting increased gun legislation; Johnson, who coordinates community safety programs; Proctor, the former State Trooper, and William Green, pastor and board member for the IBFF. The discussion was led by Leon Ford, a young wheelchair-bound victim of gun violence resulting from a traffic stop by a member of the Pittsburgh Police Department. Mr Ford, shot five times in a case of mistaken identity, is a mental health ambassador, recognized with President Obama’s 2017 Volunteer Service Award and named in Forbes 2023 “30 under 30.” Notably, none of the strongest “pro-gun advocates” attended the discussion.
Because of content gaps in the film, viewers are left wondering what was left on the cutting-room floor. For example, the film made no reference to the “well-regulated” text of the US Constitution’s oft-mentioned Second Amendment. Post-discussion, I was able to ask Pastor Green if that had ever come up. It had not. The film also made no mention of proper storage of firearms or any parental responsibility if underaged children get their hands on legally owned firearms and committed crimes with them, but Pastor Green assured me that that had been part of the discussion.
Ultimately, The Tennessee 11 tactfully shows the benefit of civil conversations in a free society. Yet Professor Kellett’s words remain true: current Tennessee gun policies are disproportionately weighted toward gun proponents and this is unlikely to change.
Short Suite 2 (Review by Bethany Morgan)
Superman Doesn’t Steal
This short is a slice of life set in the 1970’s in Atlanta during the Atlanta Child Murders. It is based on the writer’s (Tamika Lamison’s) own childhood. It opens with two children discussing superheroes and villains. The older brother, Jackson, explains to his sister, Harriet, that Robin Hood could be viewed as a villain because he stole, but he was actually a hero because he gave to the poor. As the short goes on we see that some people we view as heroes, like police officers, can be villains. Conversely, we see that a father who makes a choice to discipline his son, out of fear rather than anger, is not the villain that he might have appeared to the son in that moment, but a man doing his best to protect his family: a hero. Jordyn McIntosh did a stellar job as Harriet. The story is told from her viewpoint, and I found myself grateful for her curiosity because we see private moments when she peeks into rooms or through windows. Ellis Hobbs IV is wonderful as her older brother: slightly annoyed with his sister at times, and thinking he knows best. The most poignant moment of the film is the mom and dad sitting on the bed after everything is over, crying together. Seeing the vulnerability of the father who has to be strong for his family is beautiful and Tamika Lamison and Mustafa Shakir do a really lovely job. This is a captivating short that you should take the time to watch. Don’t skip the credits; they’re set to Shakir’s song “Black Super Hero:” a throwback to the big beats of the 90’s.
Diamond Mines: The Public Art of Ronald Llewellyn Jones
This documentary showcases the Houston Museum of African American Culture’s choice to commission Ronald Llewellyn Jones to create public art that would continue its efforts to create a sense of empowerment and pride in Houston neighborhoods characterized by segregation and high levels of poverty. John Guess Jr, the director of the film and the CEO of the Houston Museum of African American Culture, reveals an anecdote: he had told Jones that they wouldn’t be seeking permits for the art, only for Jones to reply that he wouldn’t work with permits anyways. He created a beautiful piece made of string, connected to trees and concrete blocks, that resembles a web with geometric shapes, similar to the facets of a diamond. Jones explains how the neighborhood where he placed his work is slowly changing due to gentrification. They come in like the area is a diamond mine, he says, but they view the land as the diamonds, when it’s actually the people that are diamonds. Members of the community were interviewed and spoke about what it meant to them to see such a unique and grand work of art in the middle of their neighborhood. Another clip shows Jones picking up trash in the area. He explains how change can start with just one person and one action: someone will see him pick up trash and decide to do it as well. John Guess Jr points out that Jones’ work is never vandalized, it’s too precious to the community. This was my favorite of the four shorts. Jones’ ability to turn hardships into blessings, and areas of poverty into areas of beauty was truly amazing to behold.
Ghostwriter…
Written, directed, and starring Vonii Bristow, this narrative short tells an important story: what happens to the families of a person that has been killed by police brutality. We have heard the stories of Breonna Taylor, Trayvon Martin, George Floyd and many others. Perhaps we haven’t always considered how these deaths have affected family members or if it’s possible to move on from the grief of a loved one being murdered by someone in a position of power. The short opens with a young boy, Simi, (Terrell Johnson Jr.) asleep. His mother (Rachelle Neal) comes in to read the note that he has left for her on his bedside table. Although she takes the letter with her, the boy wakes up to see it still sitting on the nightstand. We piece together that she has passed away but it isn’t clear until the end when the boy, now grown up, reveals the memory of a policeman pulling the family over and shooting her off camera. There is no clear resolution to the emotional toll that this has taken on the boy and his relationship with his father (Cornelius Muller). While I really loved the idea for this film, some choices didn’t make sense. The person to trigger him (by using the nickname his mother always used for him) is his old therapist, who apparently is dating his father. This is an unnecessary complication. The ending, although depressing, is a good choice, reminding the audience that there is no end to grief and real life doesn’t always have a happy ending.
The Nights of Verona
This narrative short is a contemporary prequel to Romeo and Juliet that follows Mercutio (Jean Elie). He must broker an alliance between his family and the Capulets in order to quell the power of the Montagues, while being terrorized by Queen Mab (Amber Azadi) with visions of his imminent death. The film goes back and forth in time and includes nightmarish hallucinations. It seemed inspired by Baz Luhrmann’s 1996 film Romeo + Juliet with bright colors and an almost frantic pace, although I would describe it as much more gritty and less campy. I admire the boldness of adding to Shakespeare’s play; however, I found the film difficult to follow and lacking substance. Art should have a message of some sort to convey and maybe I need to rewatch this short, because I didn’t get anything out of it, which is frustrating because this is the one I was most looking forward to watching. There are some things that I enjoyed: the costuming by Mieshia Petersen is flawless, the creepy Queen Mab adds the perfect amount of horror, and the all black cast is such a refreshing look at Shakespeare whose plays would have been performed by an all white, male cast when originally produced.
The 6th (Review by G. E. Tipton)
The 6th is a Narrative Feature written, directed, and starred in by local MTSU alum Ricky Burchell. While the IBFF is a welcoming space for first-time filmmakers, Ricky Burchell is hardly new to the scene: his IMDB lists 14 director credits and seven of his films are currently available on Prime Video.
The title of the film refers to the 6th Amendment of the Constitution. For those of you who (like me) can never keep the numbered amendments straight, this is the amendment providing rights to citizens undergoing criminal trial, such as the right to a speedy and public trial, a fair jury, legal representation, the right to know charges, and so on.
The urban drama starts viscerally: nighttime in an alley, one man beats a prone man with a metal pipe. Then we see what happened prior to the brutal event. The man who had been committing the violent act is prominent Atlanta attorney Marcus A. Coles (Burchell) just won a major victory and chooses to take on what at first seems like a simple defense case. Asked by his friend, rapper-producer Feylon X (Lil’ Flip), to defend a cop who claims he’s been framed for stealing evidence, what seemed like a straightforward case begins to spiral out of control: Feylon X is murdered and Coles is called in as a possible suspect. We see the slow corruption of Coles’ already compromised character as he has an affair with a fellow lawyer, attempts to investigate the murder, clashes with police, defends his client, and tries to protect his friends. The 6th’s message is that you are who you surround yourself with. Constantly defending and befriending criminals, Coles admits himself to having changed his ideals, from becoming a lawyer because he believed in truth and justice, to deciding that it’s actually all about winning. While not rated by the Motion Picture Association of America, I’d give this film an unofficial R-rating due to sexual content, profanity, and violence.
The characters are varied: a chauffeur/assistant, reporter, computer hacker, rappers, music moguls, nightclub owners, thugs, and clean and dirty cops. The cast is diverse and avoids any typecasting. Several characters speak Spanish as a first language and my only regret is that a brief scene includes their comic dialog in Spanish but doesn’t provide English subtitles. While not what I’d call an action movie, The 6th does have action scenes: car chases, gun shots, explosions, and murder. Much of the drama is conveyed through conversation and multiple story threads are explored and developed. I appreciated the sense of humor that appeared throughout the film, providing relief to the constantly mounting tension. In one such moment, Coles and his assistant come to their colleague computer hacker for help, and she welcomes them into her office while only wearing a towel. They’re clearly uncomfortable but she’s unfazed and asks them, “Don’t you shower?”
The plot was occasionally confusing, switching from event to event, and leaving some of the character’s actions and motives unclear. Some of the unevenness in the film was explained in the Q&A after the showing, when Burchell said The 6th was originally conceived as a ten part series, but conversations with distributors convinced him to adapt the story to a feature length film. He hopes to complete the story with a sequel, possibly in an episodic series format, which I think would suit his writing.
All the women are talented at their jobs and make sense. This film passes the Bechdel test: two women have a conversation with each other that’s not about a man. The only portion that cracked me up and felt a little man-writing-women was that no matter how late or unexpectedly Coles shows up at their houses, the women (with the exception of the computer hacker) are always wearing lingerie with full makeup and carefully styled hair.
While set in Atlanta, The 6th was shot in the Murfreesboro area. At the Q&A Burchell stated that the film was shot on a low budget, and the cast backed him up on this, calling the effort a family endeavor and cheerfully mentioning how they all played many roles behind the scenes: acting, carrying sandbags, changing lights and working long days. While this budget constraint is occasionally noticeable during some special effects (explosions and some gunfire), I think their hard work and good management of the budget is successful. The costumes match each character and the sets are good, with a variety of locations and plenty of extras.
Some of the shots, especially of car chases, are of impressive quality. To suit my personal taste, shaky-cam is almost completely avoided, except for a few brief moments where it fits the nature of the scene.
The casting is good, each actor enjoying their role and fitting the requirements of their character. As of publication, the full cast and crew credits have not been released, so I cannot give credit to everyone who deserves it. I can say that I enjoyed the haughty-eyed attitude of Hannah Brake, and Chanelle de Lau’s seeming straightforwardness. This film engaged its audience at the IBFF and I hope the cast and crew will continue to make films, develop the local film industry, and create more entertainment for us Tennesseans!
To learn more about the IBFF or to join their mailing list so you don’t miss the festival next year, see International Black Film Festival. Each year we work to expand our coverage of Nashville’s film festivals, and we look forward to covering and celebrating their 20th annual season next year!
Upcoming: For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow Is Enuf
Circle Players proudly announces its 75 season with the upcoming production of Ntozake Shange’s groundbreaking choreopoem, “For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow Is Enuf.” This poignant work weaves together the stories of seven women, each grappling with issues of love, loss, and identity in a society that often marginalizes their experiences. Through a blend of poetry, music, and movement, Shange’s piece addresses themes of racial and gender discrimination, empowerment, and the struggle for self-acceptance.
Director Cynthia C. Harris brings her vision to life, showcasing a talented cast of local artists who infuse each character with depth and authenticity. “My vision for this production is inspired by a photo of my mother and her four sisters around the kitchen table in the late 60s.” Harris says. “When they got around the table together, they shared stories and solved each other’s problems. I thought of other concepts and settings, but the image of the five sisters never faded. Thus, the seven characters in my interpretation of FCG are sisters reuniting in response to intimate partner violence inspired by the youngest sibling. Their stories are shared as medicine and signs of their unconditional love and support. The Ladies serve as sacred witness to each other’s healing and transformation. I hope that those in attendance will leave feeling witnessed and with more hope than they entered with.”
Each performance has a corresponding color theme. Audience members can dress to impress in the color to be eligible for 2 free tickets to Circle Players’ next production “And the World Goes ‘Round”. One winner will be chosen for each performance.
This production is suitable for ages 13 and up due to mature themes.The show runs October 11-20th at the Looby Theater. For tickets and more information, see: https://www.circleplayers.net/.
from Franklin Light Opera
The Pirates of Penzance
It’s easy on the one hand to write off the dramatic merits of Gilbert and Sullivan’s operettas, especially when they’re compared against much of the rest of the standard operatic repertoire from the second half of the nineteenth century. But at the same time, their silliness and levity are real strengths of W.S. Gilbert’s dramatic sensibilities. His libretti present these humorous, somewhat thin dream worlds that gradually twist themselves into ever more convoluted knots. That these narrative knots are usually unceremoniously cut in two seemingly only because it’s time for the play to wrap up contributes to the sense that the stories themselves are hardly more than trifles.
But this sense of unreality allows his libretti a degree of thematic abstraction belied by this very unseriousness. The characters, plots, and settings come across as sketches or caricatures, but this enables them to work themselves out like the elements of a probing, pleasant dream. Patience, for example, satirizes both military bluster and a certain type of vain, pretentious artsy dandy. However, neither our “fleshly poet” Bunthorne nor Patience nor any of the dragoon guards ever feels any more human than is required for the particular dramatic moment. So Bunthorne is not really “a” poet dandy, but rather the ur-Poet Dandy in the complete abstract and likewise for the rest of the cast.
What’s more compelling than Gilbert’s topical satire of the mores of London’s youth in the 1880s is that the plot concerns specifically a contest for the hand and heart of Patience. The ostentatiousness of England’s military and imperial tradition here come into conflict with the exact type of sentimental, genteel enlightened individualism which was all along the object of its “civilizing” mission. If we find Gilbert’s resolution of this conflict silly or contrived, I think it’s because the strength of his libretto is that it finds an intuitive and comedic way to highlight this contradiction by following the thread of its own logic, rather than offering some kind of prosaic and hollow way “out” of the problem.
This same sensibility is even clearer in The Pirates of Penzance where the key to its understanding lies quite conspicuously in its subtitle, The Slave of Duty. Frederic finds himself humorously caught between his duty to the pirates who have raised him into adulthood and that of the upstanding, affluent world he wants so desperately to marry into. The specific logic of this snare is characteristically Gilbert-esque: the confusion of “pirate” and “pilot,” Frederic’s leap day birthday, etc., but the ironies run deep. The pirates, though uncouth, are loyal and honorable, refusing ever to harm an orphan, while Major-General Stanley and the police are cowardly and deceitful.
Even though I think the themes of Pirates are, on the surface at least, more readily obvious than those of Patience, Gilbert’s libretto wades into far murkier waters here. We encounter the same conflict between the old imperial guard and a competing social force seeking to replace it, with a distinctive mixture of sharp contrast and ironic equation (“That’s the Pirate King’s tune!” protests the Major General at the start of his own number). But unlike the figure of Bunthorne, whose point of reference is a bit more straightforward, the titular pirates seem at times to refer to England’s working underclass with Frederic struggling for his own class mobility, but might just as well seem to stand for the disruption in England’s social fabric presented by the industrial revolution, where the power of capitalists, which had up to this point long remained largely upon and across the sea, suddenly found itself come ashore.
It’s hard to say what to make of Gilbert’s resolution here, where the at the height of tension the pirates submit “in Queen Victoria’s name” and are allowed to marry into polite society. An obvious, superficial reading of the final scene would hold that the duty to the nation and to the crown supersede all others, in a kind of direct inversion of the nineteenth century Marxian argument that international working-class solidarity would eventually overwhelm any nationalist loyalty. But of course this final plot beat is played as tongue-in-cheek as the rest of the operetta, making it hard to take this moment at face value. This is why Gilbert’s silliness and levity are features and not bugs. Only in the unreality of a farcical dream world could a portrait of Queen Victoria possibly be enough to resolve intractable class conflict.
But I think this quality of Gilbert and Sullivan’s works accounts for more than just an analytic appreciation of their themes or subtext. Their abstraction is a particularly theatrical one, which like a magic trick turns even modest stagings into something joyful and wonderful. It’s no wonder these works have been staged consistently by companies of all sizes over the last century and a half.
I had exactly this quality of Gilbert and Sullivan’s in mind during the Franklin Light Opera’s recent production of Pirates. Even with little more than a fishing net and an accordion for nautical color, the production managed to evoke the setting and tone perfectly at a glance. Pirates of Penzance is at its best at its funniest, and the cast kept the crowd laughing the whole night, especially the posh bluster of Chad Jones’ Major-General Stanley and an especially charismatic and athletic performance by Andrew Hutton as the Pirate King.
The Williamson County Performing Arts Center is a smaller venue than others up the road in Nashville, with no place but the wings of the stage for a small pit ensemble. This made for a few practical issues for the FLO, namely questions of balance between acoustic instruments, the electric piano playing through the auditorium’s sound system, and the unmiked voices of the cast here and there, as well as a few moments where the pit and the cast found themselves unsynchronized—unfortunately most prominently on Friday night during the famous Major General’s number. That said the balance was perfect where it counted—most notably during Sullivan’s rapturous Mozartian ensemble writing at the end of the first act.
I have little doubt these technical faults were forgotten by the majority of the audience by the end of the performance, mostly because everyone seemed to be having so much fun. It’s community theater after all, and one gets the sense many or most of those in the crowd showed up to support family and friends in the cast, crew, or pit. Community theater, in its personal and local nature, too, has a way of transforming what might otherwise be limitations into strengths. Community Gilbert and Sullivan, then, is a perfect marriage of material and performing forces, and has me looking forward to the FLO’s production of Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors later this year.
The MCR Interview:
Actress Lisa Arrindell and ‘Jubilee’
Actress Lisa Arrindell speaks with MCR journalist Andrew Davis on Tazwell Thompson’s Opera ‘Jubilee’ premiering at the Seattle Opera this month. They discuss the history of the Jubilee Ensemble and experience of participating in the production. (please like, subscribe, and share!):
From Russia to Romania
Balanchine’s Serenade and Vasterling’s Dracula
Born with the sound of church bells near his home in Bohemia, Bohuslav Martinů’s music was an effective choice for Paul Vasterling’s Dracula. After all, Martinů was born in central Eastern Europe, the same region that gave birth to the Dracula legends. The poignant melodies of his Nocturnes, Pastorales, and Concertino (often featuring Nashville Symphony Principal Cellist Kevin Bate who deserved solo mention) merged with Martinů’s incisive rhythms and haunting harmonies. This music elegantly sheathed Bram Stoker’s Gothic tale of a conflicted spirit. Dracula, the vampire; his flirtatious victim Lucy; Renfield, the crazed acolyte; and the targeted young lovers Jonathan Harker and Mina were joined onstage by a host of the living and the undead skillfully danced by the Nashville Ballet (NB).
The warnings of sex, nudity, and violence were rather oversold as the only nudity was Harker clad in a 19th-century undergarment; a few kisses constituted the sex. Likewise, as with many 19th-century melodramas, the violence is referenced rather than revealed, as in the inventive use of slender red scarves representing the blood from the vampires’ bites. This restraint makes the effect more powerful.
This was the strongest of Vasterling’s works I have witnessed. What worked so well was the fluid fusing of classical ballet, like flurries of bourée steps, with modern dance movements, like sharp angles in the arms. There are definite similarities with the Michel Fokine setting of Igor Stravinsky’s Firebird, especially the use of modern dance elements for the evil, unearthly creatures—Katschei’s creatures in Firebird; Dracula’s undead—when attacking the hero. Even Eric Harris’ bedraggled costumes for the undead served as a flattering tip of the hat to Marc Chagall’s 1945 Firebird costuming.
Vasterling’s choreographic art was especially powerful here with Mina (Jamie Kopit)’s passages delicate and graceful. Lucy (Marissa Stark) moved from innocent flirtation to post-bite sensuality. Dracula, played with stage-ruling authority by Owen Thorne, was given wide open spaces on stage, broadly spreading arms, expansive first-position arabesques, and the wonderfully dramatic use of his swirling red-lined black cape, while Harker (James Lankford)’s moves were appropriately more self-contained.
Only two issues caused a bit of a twinge. Harker’s scene with the undead showed more strength in his movements than one might expect, given his wounded condition. Renfield’s derangement, skillfully rendered by Garritt McCabe, was much more successfully represented in his passages writhing and crawling on the floor. Although this is Gothic horror, the sudden appearance of the massive cross seemed out of balance with the minimalist use of lights and props in the rest of the production.
But these are minor quibbles. The well-deployed use of narration from the dancers, lighting, props, whooshing sound effects with disembodied voices (no one was credited with sound effects), and a live orchestra playing compelling music, succeeded in creating a modern exemplar of Richard Wagner’s Gesamtskunstwerk, a total artwork. This expert fusing of every element of theater gave this work particular strength.
The choice to open the program with an elegant work by Vasterling’s stylistic ancestor, George Balanchine was inspired. For Serenade, the dancers of the Nashville Ballet were coached by Eve Lawson, a répétiteur from the Balanchine Trust, a non-profit dedicated to preserving the integrity of the great choreographer’s works. The corps de ballet work was some of the finest I’ve seen from the company.
As for the work itself, his first choreography upon immigrating to the USA, Balanchine’s clever use of a non-narrative piece by Tchaikovsky, a composer renowned for classical dance’s strongest narrative ballets remains deeply moving, the best of both worlds. The vision of choreographing an instrumental work from the composer of Nutcracker and Swan Lake can never be understated, nor can Balanchine’s gorgeous delicacy and velvety synthesis of classical and modern techniques with a touch of his signature humor.
This was indeed a night to be remembered, opening one of Nashville’s strongest years of dance in living memory. Other performances by NB, along with the TPAC International Dance series, and avant-garde works at OZ Arts should keep dance lovers gratified throughout the 2024-2025 season.
Music History in the Music City
How the Fiddle Became the Violin
On Sunday, September 29th, Music City Baroque put on a wonderful historical program mapping the history of violin in folk and art music. Titled “How the Fiddle Became the Violin” the event detailed the vibrant history of the instrument from the Renaissance until the 19th century. Pieces by John Dowland, Johann Schop, Antonio Vivaldi and several cultural folk tunes with unknown composers were delivered expertly by the musicians in their group. Guest artist, and concert programmer, Brandi Berry Benson proved to be extremely knowledgeable on the music and her insight added a whole lot of context to the pieces that were performed.
Starting in the Renaissance, Ms. Benson performed a few dance pieces including one of John Dowland’s most famous lute compositions, Lacrimae Pavan. She explained how the original violin band was primarily used for formal functions and associated with some kind of dance. At the beginning of the tradition these dances were created in order to accompany the song or tune. These two John Dowland tunes were originally composed for Lute as were many of Dowland’s compositions. Lacrimae Pavan is considered to be one of the most popular songs of the period, musicologists have claimed that it was one of the most distributed pieces of music of the Renaissance. Alongside this piece Ms. Benson performed a Galliard by Dowland and another dance tune Green Garters by John Johnson. All these pieces were arranged for string quartet and lute accompaniment. It was a pleasant experience to be taken back into the Renaissance and learn more about the origins of Violin playing in folk music.
Following the Renaissance, we are taken into the early Baroque with a collection of dance tunes written by John Playford in his collection “The English Dancing Master”. They selected three tunes from the 1651 collection: “Mr. Isaac’s Maggot”, “Long Cold Nights”, and “Queen’s Jigg” all were arranged for string quartet by David Douglass. As Playford’s title would suggest, all these songs have associated dances. We still haven’t gotten to the time where the song is made for the dance, so these dances were likely all unique to the song being played. These songs adapted some of the art music aspects of the Baroque period but retained, in vitality, the folk aspects of the Renaissance. The presence of newer contrapuntal technique is present but does not affect the dance style of the music. Ms. Benson detailed these intricacies before performing this part of the concert. She also showed complete understanding and mastery of these developing techniques during the performance.
As we advance further into the baroque and early classical period a lot of Violin music transitions into art music. However, the folk tradition continues throughout this period. Ms. Benson selected several pieces that still upheld folk music on the European continent with the added intricacies of Art music. Selections included the popular “Folia” , this one composed by Antonio Vivaldi; a newer version of the aforementioned Lacrimae Pavan, this one by Johann Schop; a Sonata by Dario Castello and several other pieces to express this transition from the older folk music. Especially of note was O’Carolan’s Concerto by Turlogh O’Carolan. This piece enunciated the differences between folk on the mainland continent and in Ireland, England and Scotland. This concerto is said to have been written in response to Francesco Geminiani’s visit to Dublin and his critique of O’Carolan’s violin music. No matter the history behind it, it stands as an excellent piece to show the collaboration between folk and art music in Ireland. Alongside this Irish concerto, the group performed a newer version of Lacrimae Pavan. Johann Schop put his own German spin on the English tune. He retained the original melody but added several folk elements from Germany, Austria and Bavaria. Ms. Benson made sure to mention the cultural differences in the music despite it being the same tune. One of my favorite pieces played was Vivaldi’s rendition of the Iberian folk tune, Folia. It is argued whether or not the Folia is a specific melody, harmonic structure or compositional technique. Despite this, Vivaldi’s version stands as a remarkable Italian take on this Iberian tune. I do wish Ms. Benson talked a little more on the cultural history of this specific piece, but like several other pieces she performed she simply let the music do the teaching.
The final part of the concert was dedicated to Folk tunes that “crossed the pond”. These folk pieces of varying cultural origin were brought over by several different groups to America. From these songs a lot of American folk tradition grew, including the likes of Bluegrass and other Appalachian music. Ms. Benson selected tunes of British, Irish, Scottish and French origins suggesting that a lot of these tunes came over with the original settlement of North America with the youngest piece written sometime in the early 19th century. It is important to note that this is the time where we transition from a dance being made for a song to the more modern method of a song being composed for a dance. This is especially present in bluegrass and modern country music with the line dance.
It’s interesting to me that this program was detailing the development of the fiddle to a violin but now it’s almost as if the violin is once again becoming the fiddle. In the Scottish selection from this part of the concert, like “John Come Kiss Me Now,” it is apparent that at this time they were significantly less interested in the art music aspects and almost solely interested in the music for the preservation of folk tradition in a new land. The group closed the concert with this hearty and fulfilling presentation of the roots of bluegrass and American folk music.
Overall, the concert was simple, concise and effective at displaying the diverse history of the Violin as an instrument in folk and art music. There were some interjections of history given to the audience but for the most part the history was laid out in the music and Ms. Benson often let the music tell it for her. The accompaniment for the group was extremely interesting as he used period accurate string instruments including the lute and early versions of the guitar. This effect was a great choice for the concert and created an atmosphere that truly felt like you had traveled back in time to come to this concert. Music City Baroque did an excellent job in selecting guest artists and developing a program like this. Education of music history are often lectures on what happened, but it was a nice breath of fresh air to listen to the music of the period live.
Nashville's 2024–2025 Dance Season:
Come Spin, Swerve, Swivel, and Squirm
In 2022-2023 I had a “Wait and See” attitude. From 2022–2023:
Before I returned home to Middle Tennessee, I binged ballet in New York and Houston, two American cities with world-class ballet companies. Having left decades ago when classical and modern dance were not even a twinkle in the toes of little would-be ballerinas in endless recitals, I must admit the binging represented a certain lack of faith that my dance options in Nashville would supply anything beyond the annual Nutcracker recurrence common in the most cities.
Over and over, since that “wait and see” attitude I had in 2023, Nashville has come through with dynamic performances from the Nashville Ballet (NB) and at OZ Arts, in particular. But this year’s 2024–2025 dance season rivals that of nearly any major city I’ve experienced. In addition to NB’s focus on classical and modern dance, and the OZ focus on the avant-garde, Tennessee Performing Arts Center (TPAC) has stepped up to the plate with an all-star lineup of iconic dance companies from the Americas. (click links for full seasons)
The fourteen events can be divided into traditional classical ballet, traditional modern dance, world dance, and avant-garde dance. Whether you’re new to dance and want a crash course or you’re an old hand with specialized tastes, there’ll be something for you in this power-packed season. First the crash course with some recommendations. If you want to get maximum coverage I’ll also recommend one event per month. Let me know in the comments if you would have chosen differently.
Traditional classical dance is what most people think of when they hear the word “ballet.” Evolving from 18th-century France, the standardized step vocabulary, like pirouette, tutus, and toe shoes, classical ballet typically focuses on fairytales, with Tchaikowsky as its most famous composer. Of course, if this is your dance love language, you’ve seen Nutcracker, which is a perennial favorite and perfect if you’re a dance newbie with children, but NB will also be offering another favorite with original 19th-century choreography by Marius Petipa, adapted by NB director-emeritus Paul Vasterling.
*Classical Dance Recommendation: Sleeping Beauty (NB)
Traditional modern dance is primarily an American art form. Choreographers like Martha Graham took the classical vocabulary and expanded it with experimentation into increased physicality, telling American tales and creating choreographies with no narrative structure. Much of this category, which includes music by Aaron Copland and George Balanchine’s “black and white” ballets to music by composers like J.S. Bach and Igor Stravinsky, was once avant-garde but is now part of the mainstream.
This year, TPAC’s Martha Graham program will include her iconic choreography of Copland’s Appalachian Spring. Founded in 1926, this company is a must-see for dance lovers and an excellent introduction to modern dance for the uninitiated. Based on the excellence of last year’s Attitude and Five Short Stories programs, often featuring NB dancers as choreographers, this year’s Attitude promises exciting new works. Those interested in encouraging the growth of today’s choreographers will enjoy the NB offerings.
*Modern Dance Recommendations: Martha Graham (TPAC), Attitude (NB)
World Dance typically falls into two categories: companies that elevate traditional folk dance and those, like American modern dance, that use traditional elements from their cultures, but expand them through influences from other parts of the globe and from the choreographers’ imaginations. Nashville is lucky to have sterling examples of both this season, though both are in March.
Ballet Folklórico de México, founded in 1952 by Amalia Hernández, has gone from eight to fifty dancers. They perform three times weekly at Mexico City’s Palacio de Bellas Artes [Palace of Fine Arts]. Dressed in traditional costuming from throughout Mexico and its indigenous peoples, this lively event will be a great event for families.
On the more modern side of world dance, Soon-ho Park & Bereishit Dance from Seoul, South Korea, will use onstage Korean drumming, while incorporating ethnic traditions and martial arts into their dance. This company is known for its physical precision. And, of course, live music always makes for a more stimulating dance performance.
*World Dance Recommendations: The Ballet Folklórico de México (TPAC), Soon-ho Park & Bereishit Dance (OZ)
Avant-garde dance pushes the envelope, often fusing extreme dance techniques with controversial topics, and other art forms, like video, and unusual effects in sound and lighting. Most of these events come from OZ. Last season’s marvelous TRIBE, directed by Shamel Pitts, is a case in point. This year, they are bringing in Emma Sandall, an Australian native with Nashville connections. This medalist in Rome’s International Choreography Competition will perform a dance/multimedia narrative to Sheila Heti’s acclaimed novel Motherhood. Given the widespread legislative challenges currently placed on motherhood, this work should be thought-provoking.
Even more innovative, Faye Driscoll’s Weathering will present a kinetic human sculpture or what she terms a “multi-sensory flesh sculpture” with writhing bodies atop and surrounding a large white block on stage. This Guggenheim Fellowship winner welcomes Nashville audiences to the edge.
*Avant-garde Dance Recommendations: An Ambivalent Woman of 37 (OZ), Weathering (OZ)
Here are my monthly recommendations with choreographer and composer listed (as possible):
November: Sandall, An Ambivalent Woman of 37 (OZ)
December: Vasterling/Tchaikowsky, Nutcracker (NB)
January: Graham/Copland, Appalachian Spring (TPAC)
February: Petipa-Vasterling/Tchaikovsky Sleeping Beauty (NB)
March: Ballet Folklórico de México (TPAC)
April: Driscoll, Weathering (OZ)
May: multiple, Attitude (NB)
At the Schermerhorn
Yankovskaya at the Nashville Symphony
Any time that it is a Music Director’s last season you must watch each guest conductor coming through with an eye towards the future. Who will take the helm after Giancarlo Guerrero? The search for a 21st century Music Director is a convoluted process with an ever-expanding list of job responsibilities. After all, what qualities does a modern Maestro possess? The musicians certainly want an affable musical partner who grows the talents of the orchestra; the audience wants someone entertaining and engaging; the marketing team must have someone to market; Metro Arts Nashville wants someone active in the community; and in Music City someone must keep the Grammys coming – just to name a few. The process is so involved, in fact, that the League of American Orchestras has published a 60 page “Music Director Search Handbook” to guide orchestras, boards, and patrons through the process. In these times, one tends to listen to visiting conductors intently, wondering if they might be a candidate.
This past weekend Lidiya Yankovskaya was the first of seven guest conductors that the Nashville Symphony is hosting for their Classical Series concerts this season. Yankovskaya is currently the Music Director of the Chicago Opera Theater, and an active symphonic guest conductor with orchestras from cities like New York, Los Angeles, Dallas, Chicago, and Atlanta on her resume. The first line of her website biography touts that she is a “fiercely committed advocate for Slavic masterpieces and contemporary works on the leading edge of classical music.” Sunday was an afternoon of interesting programming, beautiful music making, and perhaps a glimpse of what Nashville could see in the future.
The evening opened with Yankovskaya addressing the audience from the podium giving a short introduction to Missy Mazzoli’s Orpheus Undone. Yankovskaya explained that this is a piece that explored our interactions with death. I always enjoy when a conductor comes out and addresses the audience. It is a far more welcoming and contemporary approach from a conductor than simply mounting the podium and immediately putting their back towards the audience. The Orpheus myth is old and ubiquitous within the arts. The world’s first opera is about Orpheus, and many composers and artists since have retold the story in varying mediums. Orpheus Undone is Mazzoli’s longest symphonic piece, outside of opera, and opens with a woodblock tapping away a solid rhythm as the orchestra interjects punctuated chords. Eventually the pulse of the woodblock slows to a halt as the piece progresses, symbolizing the slowing heartbeat as death approaches. Cast in two large sections, the piece lasts around 15 minutes. To me the piece was largely unremarkable, but there were moments of real breathtaking orchestral textures. However, I never quite felt like it got anywhere new. It is full of very clever orchestrations, yet I was yearning for a melody to grasp onto. Perhaps like the mythical Orpheus it was not to be. The orchestra gave a faithful reading of the piece, but Orpheus Undone does not give the orchestra room to shine.
After Orpheus Undone Yankovskaya took up the microphone again to briefly talk about the next three pieces as the stage was being reset for Sergei Prokofiev’s first Violin Concerto with the fantastic Simone Porter on violin. Written during a tumultuous time in Russia, the 1917 concerto was the start of an immensely productive period for Prokofiev. This concerto has three movements and starts out timidly with a solo violin melody that is gradually taken up by the whole orchestra. Soloist Simone Porter exuded confidence and took charge throughout the performance. Her stage presence brought a new element to the work that enriched the live experience. The second movement is a firework of aggressive technicality and again Porter nailed it. The final “Moderato” movement is a great summation of the other movements, especially the first, and has the soloist serving as both accompanist and soloist at times. Porters’ tone quality throughout the piece was remarkable and credit goes to her for such an enchanting performance that afternoon. I wish her a speedy visit back to Nashville soon!
After the intermission the concert resumed with the Richard Wagner’s Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde. The Liebestod is the final eight minutes of the four-hour opera and is usually paired, on symphonic concerts, with the Prelude. This serves as a good bookend structure and is how Wagner himself premiered these excerpts back in 1862. I have never seen just the Liebestod presented without the Prelude, and it got me thinking about how frequently Wagner’s music is performed without the vocal parts. I remember quite a good performance of Guerrero leading Lorin Maazel’s arrangement of “The Ring Without Words” several years ago at the Schermerhorn. What is it about Wagner’s music that we feel it is ok to present it without one crucial element of his beloved Gesamtkunstwerk – the words? Even without the words Yankovskaya crafted an incredible journey throughout those eight minutes. It was appropriately rapturous when it needed to be, and the music seemed to be ever flowing out of the luscious Nashville string section. The performance was easily my favorite of the night. Somehow even without the words Wagner again draws us into his megalomaniacal musical vision – and it works.
The final piece on the concert was Antonín Dvořák’s 7th Symphony, written between the years of 1884 and 1885. This work is very traditional in its format with an allegro opening, adagio second movement, fast scherzo for the third, and a final allegro. Overshadowed by the 9th Symphony in terms of popularity, the 7th has found a comfortable place in the repertoire because of the formal and technical mastery that Dvořák shows. There are few examples of a symphony as well-crafted as this one. The tone of the work overall is darker than the 9th and has a gloomy mood throughout. I was most curious to see how Yankovskaya would sustain the musical line in this piece because of the larger structure and I was not disappointed. Her background in opera certainly played a role in preventing the tension of the piece from ever going slack. Each section of the orchestra blended terrifically, except for the overly strong brass in a few spots in the finale. The second movement was heartbreaking, and the third movement had tremendous lightness despite the forcefulness of the scherzo.
Overall, this concert was a intriguing mix that has me wanting more. I thought the programming was uneven in quality, but it reflected parts of Yankovskaya’s background and her versatility in the repertoire. I don’t think the Mazzoli was the best example of contemporary music, but that has more to do with the piece itself instead of the execution of it. The Nashville audience members are enthusiastic supporters of new music and will count on a steady diet of it. The Liebestod alone was an interesting change, but the playing in it was top notch. The conducting by Yankovskaya and the playing by the Nashville symphony was certainly fantastic and I hope that we get this pairing more in the future… If you would like to see the Nashville Symphony, they are back in action October 17th with Stravinsky’s The Firebird.
Moulin Rouge! The Musical Coming to TPAC
The winner of 10 Tony Awards (including Best Musical), Moulin Rouge! The Musical is coming to Nashville. A famous fin de siècle Parisian cabaret, Moulin Rouge was influential and is the birthplace of the scandalous can-can dance. Moulin Rouge! The Musical is a 2018 Broadway adaptation based on the 2001 hit film starring Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman. Set at this glamorous location, where bohemians and aristocrats rub elbows, we follow the love story of a young composer and cabaret performer as they attempt to avoid tragedy and celebrate truth, beauty, freedom and love. This jukebox musical sidesteps many pitfalls of the jukebox genre by choosing and adapting songs from varied artists and styles, including my personal favorite, “El Tango de Roxanne”. The Broadway adaptation includes pop songs that have come out since the release of the film, and the live theater setting of the production should amplify the spirit of the original film.
Moulin Rouge! The Musical will be at TPAC’s Jackson Theater October 8-20. For tickets and more information, see Moulin Rouge! | TPAC
Upcoming: The International Black Film Festival
The International Black Film Festival (IBFF) is proud to announce its 19th annual festival. This marks nearly two decades of providing access and opportunity to filmmakers from around the globe, amplifying unseen, underrepresented, and unheard voices.
IBFF stands as a powerful vehicle for truth-telling and preservation of our stories. This year’s theme, “Who’s Gonna Tell Them: Breaking Barriers Through Knowing Your Story”, underscores the essential need to look beyond behaviors and thinking that keep us confined in our own respective bubbles. IBFF continues to serve as a vehicle that encourages unfiltered storytelling that breaks through barriers, conveys essential truths and inspires change.
The 5-day festival takes place October 2-6, and will feature panels, masterclasses, studio and independent films, red carpets, high-profile guests, and more at several Nashville venues. For tickets and more information, see International Black Film Festival.
