Carnival comes to Peters

This article is from today's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:
Thursday, April 07, 2011
By Dave Zuchowski

Dancer/ethnologist Tracie Yorke takes her audience on an interactive journey through the histories of Carnival in Trinidad, Brazil and New Orleans.If you missed out on the excitement of Mardi Gras on March 8, you have another chance.

The "Spirit of Carnival" will envelop the Peters Township Library from 1 to 2:30 p.m. this Sunday, April 10, when professional dancer and ethnologist Tracie Yorke uses carnival props, video projections and music to take patrons on an interactive journey through the histories of Carnival in Trinidad, Brazil and New Orleans.

"The props I'll bring along such as Carnival masks and costumes are personal mementos of my own Carnival experiences over the years," Ms. Yorke said.

"I'll start the program with recorded Samba music from Brazil that the audience will help reproduce with their voices," she said. "I'll then segue into the music of Trinidad which will focus on the traditions of Calypso, a way during Carnival for people to openly express their opinions on the government without the fear of sanctions or punishment. My program will end with Mardi Gras in New Orleans where I hope to capture the feel of a French Quarter street party by giving my audience a chance to get up and dance around freely and openly."

Ms. Yorke's presentation will be a mix of performance and discussion of the music, performance elements and dance traditions and what these traditions mean symbolically from an ethnographic point of view. The presentation, which is free and open to the public as part of the Commonwealth Speakers Series of the Pennsylvania Humanities Council, will end with a parade of champions drawn from the audience.

"In my presentation, I'll try to explain what these dances say politically, spiritually and socially," said Ms. Yorke.

To enhance the experience, the library lobby will be decorated Carnival style, and children in attendance will make additional Carnival props and masks. Refreshments like traditional King Cake will also be served.

Emilie Haertsch, program associate for the Pennsylvania Humanities Council said that Ms. Yorke is one of 83 speakers selected by the council's panel of peers in the humanities for 2011. After they're selected, the speakers travel around the state conducting presentations that are free and open to the public.

In 2010, the speakers series featured over 100 presentations at sites owned or operated by non-profit organizations, which have to apply for a speaker. The applications are available online at www.pahumanities.org. The website also lists each speaker and information about their presentations.

"We're very proud of the work Tracie Yorke does to engage with the community and support the humanities in the state," said Ms. Haertsch.

A specialist in Carnival, Ms. Yorke has an extensive background in the dance traditions of Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean and Brazil. Following her graduation from Amherst College, she received a fellowship two years in a row to travel to Guinea and Cuba to study the dance traditions of those countries.

While living in New York from 1998 to 2003, she studied at the Djoniba Dance and Drum Center, where she sat in on master workshops and performances of international dance companies from countries like Brazil, Senegal and Guinea. Two years ago, she started to explore the traditions of Salvador, an ex-slave port city in the northeast region of Brazil that has retained a lot of its African influences.

After earning a master's degree in educational technology at Carnegie Mellon University 2003, she worked for "Mr. Rogers Neighborhood" for nearly four years as the new media coordinator, giving her experience in early childhood development and its relationship to the arts and learning

In the past several years, she's given performances and art and education residences in the Pittsburgh area and has served as the artistic director of the Tracie Yorke Dance Studio in Lawrenceville. In 2008, she performed twice during the Carnival exhibition at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History showcasing dance from Trinidad and Brazil.

"I like to bring different events to the public, which includes speakers that introduce our audiences to an array of cultures," said Pier Lee, library director. "Tracie Yorke engages so well with younger audiences."

To register: 724-941-9430 or email programs@ptlibrary.org.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11097/1137491-55.stm#ixzz1Ir4X6vzK