I have known Bob Klein the Advertising executive for decades now but Bob Klein the award winning photographer for much less time, less than five years. But I have one of his pictures hanging in my office next to a Duke Ellington poster Helen got me, and when it comes to Klein he is all about shadows and shadings, colors played with like a painter dipping his brush.
That is highly apparent from this startling photograph taken at a dress rehearsal for the DanceAfrica Band at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. According to the Brooklyn Academy of Music website:
“DanceAfrica 2013
Artistic Director Chuck Davis
Friends of BAM at the Sponsor level ($150) and above are invited with a guest to the dress rehearsal of DanceAfrica 2013. BAM and DanceAfrica Artistic Director Chuck Davis welcome the Umkhathi Theatre Works from Zimbabwe, plus Brooklyn’s own BAM/Restoration DanceAfrica Ensemble and many more for an exhilarating celebration of culture from Africa and its diaspora. Join us for this exclusive sneak peek before the show opens.
Umkhathi Theatre Works (Zimbabwe)
Giwayen Mata (Atlanta, GA)
Harambee Dance Company (Bronx, NY)
BAM/Restoration DanceAfrica Ensemble”
Sounds like fun, right: “After more than 30 years, DanceAfrica is BAM’s longest running program and one of America’s largest and most vibrant celebrations of African and African-American dance, music, and culture. Created in 1977 to heighten awareness of African culture, the festival has evolved into a high-spirited celebration that brings the entire community together. Under the artistic direction of Founding Elder Chuck Davis, DanceAfrica features performances by traditional and contemporary dance companies from Africa and its diaspora at the BAM Howard Gilman Opera House. This week-long annual spring festival offers a range of dance and music performances, master classes, and the one-and-only DanceAfrica outdoor bazaar, a global marketplace for African, African-American, and Caribbean arts, crafts, and food featuring over 200 vendors and attracting up to 30,000 visitors per year. Students of BAM/Restoration DanceAfrica Ensemble also perform”
Unfortunately it was May 2013 so we are all a little late.
Klein’s picture of the band ensemble is a mix of a cola ad, Taylor Swift, and a silhouette dream of sound.
Plus, here is another Klein picture, and I am wondering whether we should change the rock nyc banner to it. Or is to too dark? Any thoughts, folks?
