Thank you to the choreographers, dancers and tech staff who made “Zata” such an amazing show!  We had a great turnout for all 3 performances.  A special “thank you” to Artistic Director, Lisa Welsh, for coordinating “Zata”!

Thank you to the bands, sponsors, 2200 Arch, board members and staff for their assistance with the Midnight Masquerade!  We had a great time!  IPDC knows how to throw a party!  We hope to see you at the Ball next year!

Be looking for more information coming soon on our next fundraiser, “Bowling for Dance.”

Don’t forget, you can still purchase tickets for our Haiti Relief Raffle.  We have 2 tickets to Momix, and an overnight in the Omni Hotel, with breakfast the next day!  Raffle tickets are $25.  Purchase with your “Donate Now” of $25 or more on the Home page.  Or mail a check to Indigenous Pitch Dance Collective, Inc. 10 E. Athens Ave. Suite 204 Ardmore, PA 19003.

City Paper is running a great preview of our upcoming Zata performances!  Here’s how it starts:

Picture this: Frenetic, sweaty, lonely-hears swarm a dance floor, propelled by steely club music.  A woman considers the risks and rewards of having an FDA-approved memory chip implanted into her already-surgically-enhanced body.

Read the whole thing at http://citypaper.net/articles/2010/02/18/fever-pitch!

Plus, just this week we have been in the Weekend Arts and Culture Calendar of the Philadelphia Inquirer, St. Edmonds Bank newsletter for all patrons, the J. Taylor Consulting Newsletter for small business owners and managers, Eastern University Alumni Newsletter, AND we were Main Line Today’s highlighted event of the week!

Make sure you have your tickets for this great weekend of dance.  All proceeds will support IPDC outreach programs in New Orleans, North Philadelphia and Haiti.

And you thought it was just a show, and just a ball:

1. All the proceeds go to support the arts education outreach of Indigenous Pitch Dance Collective in New Orleans, Philadelphia and Haiti!  IPDC has been invited to the devastated island nation of Haiti for the first week of July 2010.

2. “Zata” isn’t just dance!  This program features theater, video and original musical compositions, juxtaposed with great modern, ballet, and acrobatic dance.

3. For the first time, IPDC is presenting an “emerging choreographer” in the performance evening.  This support of new artists is now a core part of the work of IPDC.

4. The Midnight Masquerade- open bar of white wine, red wine and “Voodoo Punch”.

5. Also at the Midnight Masquerade, 3 musical acts of 3 totally different styles:

1. 1. The Ringers- Blues/Folk
   2. Jam Band- Jazz Improv
   3. The Piano Stylings of Mike Margarite- sing along to your requests

6. Silent Auction and Raffles!- We have some AMAZING gifts for you to win!

1. 1. 2 Hour Design Consultation from Stuart Naiberg Residential Design ($400 value)
   2. 4-pack of tickets for the Philadelphia 76ers! ($180 value)
   3. Butler Bag ($70 value)
   4. Pilates Mat and Tower Classes at Pilates for Movement ($50 value)
   5. Gift Certificates to multiple restaurants in Center City and on the Main Line
   6. And many, many more!

7. Oh, yeah.  Did we mention- All the proceeds go to support the arts education outreach of Indigenous Pitch Dance Collective in New Orleans, Philadelphia and Haiti! IPDC has been invited to the devastated island nation of Haiti for the first week of July 2010.

Reserve your tickets now!

“Zata”-Where: Painted Bride Art Center, 230 Vine Street, Philadelphia, PA

When: February 19 8:00 pm and February 20 2:00 pm & 8:00 pm

Admission: $20 or $10 with student ID/dance pass.  Buy online at www.danceboxoffice.com or through Info below.

Midnight Masquerade- Where: 2200 Arch St., Philadelphia, PA

When: February 20, following the 8pm performance of “Zata”

Admission: $75 ticket includes 1 ticket to the 8pm performance of “Zata” as well as Ball entrance.  Order through Info below.

For Info: 610-642-4630 or info@indigenouspitch.org . If you are ordering to support a certain dancer, please be sure to include that info in your message.

Big Announcement!  Check out our great list of musical entertainment for the Midnight Masquerade:

The Ringers: In the New Orleans’ style, some of Philly’s best blues and folk musicians together for one night only!                                                                                                                                                        

• Jim Fogarty on Guitar- Jim is the founder of the blues band the ToneBenders.  He is seen regularly with swing band Beats Walkin’ and blues band Melissa Martin and the Mighty Rhythm Kings.
• Danny Gold on Bass- Danny owns Danny’s Guitar Shop in Narberth and appears regularly on The Morning Show, The Blues Show and Kids’ Corner on XPN.
• Chuck Lindsay on Drums- Chuck appears regularly with Beats Walkin’, Melissa Martin and the Mighty Rhythm Kings, Jim Fogarty and Wanamaker Lewis.
• Rich Myers on Mandolin- Rich is the President of Range Records, a recording studio in Ardmore.  He appears regularly with Living Proof.

Jam Band: Doing jazz, funk, electronica, and whatever else they come up with:

• John Glaubitz on Guitar and Electronics- an IPDC regular as a composer for Stephen Welsh/SWERVE, John is seen around Philly as singer, guitarist, songwriter for Vagrant, guitarist and producer for Bunjii, guitarist and producer for Olurotimi Hundeyin & D Afrophonik Rythms Crew and guitarist for Aly Cat.
• Jim Crompton on Keys and Saxophone- Jim’s claim to fame is that he played on the Mummers song with the Bacon Brothers!
• Ross Fry on Trumpet- Ross is also an up-and-coming songwriter
• John McNally on Drums- John can be seen at jazz clubs around Philly with Agent Moosehead.

Mike Margarite: Playing everything from old standards, to jazz improv to your requests.  

• Mike Margarite- Philly’s “Piano Man”, Mike appeared regularly at Jolly’s in the Latham Hotel.  He also owned “The Piano Bar” at 20th and Arch in Center City Philadelphia.  Make a request and sing along!

With this great line-up, there is something for every musical taste- from old standards to great new grooves. Come party with 3 of the best musical acts in Philly at the Indigenous Pitch Dance Collective Midnight Masquerade!

If you are snowed in (and if you are in Philly with us, you are!), I have something productive for you to do:
riceworks., a Canadian company that makes healthy snacks is sponsoring “Share the Goodness”, a contest of inspiring stories of non-profits. Now, I think the work IPDC does in New Orleans and Philly is pretty amazing. What is even more amazing to me, is that we have already been invited to Haiti! That is great stuff! So, if you have 5 minutes, tell riceworks. about us. We could win $1000 to $20,000 dollars.
Things you need to know:
The website: http://www.riceworks.ca/SUYG_Home.html
If you are reading this, you know our website is indigenouspitch.org . Our city is Ardmore. For the category, it’s a toss-up between Arts & Culture and Children. Pick whichever relates to your story the best. For “What Your Charity Does”, I just copied and pasted the Mission Statement from the home page of this site. Then in 200 words or less, tell a story. Mine is below to get you started. Just don’t copy and paste this. Tell your story of Indigenous Pitch Dance Collective.

Indigenous Pitch Dance Collective is a coalition of Philadelphia-based dance companies that create and perform regularly across the region and around the world. This professional experience allows the team to provide dance, visual and literary arts to children in desperate need of engagement, inspiration and play. 2010 will be the 4th year of free arts education in New Orleans, LA and Philadelphia, PA by Indigenous Pitch Dance Collective. IPDC will provide 6 camps in the New Orleans area during the summer months. They will provide 3 camps in Philadelphia over school breaks. The organization is also expanding to Camden, NJ, Chester, PA, and internationally, to Haiti. IPDC has been invited to the devastated island nation for the first week of July by the Universite Chrientienne Du Nord d’Haiti.
These funds will support outreach programs to traumatized children around the world. Indigenous Pitch Dance Collective brings a proven, unique, and multi-disciplined program that transforms children. These arts camps inspire creativity, self-confidence and self-expression.

From Nicole:

Please read our press release detailing our new toolbar! This is very exciting for IPDC, as we were 1 of only 100 organizations worldwide chosen for this program! It comes at a critical time- as we are traveling to Haiti in July, to bring our proven, transformational program to that devastated island nation. Please help us earn up to $300,000 with just a click!  Spread the word- email, Facebook, Twitter, word-of-mouth- the more we click, the more we earn!

From the Press Release:

Indigenous Pitch Dance Collective is pleased to announce the launch of the Community Toolbar, provided by Conduit, through the “Conduit Gives” program. Conduit, the company enabling web publishers to distribute their offerings directly and through its global network of publishers, created “Conduit Gives,” to help non-profits of all sizes ignite their fundraising campaigns.

The downloadable toolbar is available at www.indigenouspitch.org. This custom channel features the latest blog posts by Indigenous Pitch Dance Collective and a video trailer for their upcoming documentary. The toolbar also includes a “Click to Give” button. Each time the button is clicked, Conduit will make a donation to Indigenous Pitch Dance Collective. Users can press the button once a day, every day, for the rest of 2010. According to Conduit, “Just by being involved and thinking about their organization each day, every person can make a big difference without writing a check. In total, the “Conduit Gives” program will give non-profit organizations the opportunity to earn over $300,000 a month and $3.5 million of new funds total in 2010.”

Nicole LaBonde, Executive Director of Indigenous Pitch Dance Collective said, “We are thrilled to be chosen for this program. The additional exposure has come at a critical time for IPDC.” Indigenous Pitch Dance Collective will be traveling to Haiti in July of 2010 to provide their unique, transformational, free arts camps to children of the devastated island nation. IPDC has provided free arts camps to children in New Orleans, Louisiana, as well as Philadelphia for the past three years, inspiring creativity, self-expression and self-confidence.

Additionally, the organization’s Winter Performance Season is February 19^th and 20^th at the Painted Bride in Philadelphia. States LaBonde, “We believe the “Conduit Gives” toolbar will bring more awareness and support of our mission and our work as educators and artists. We are asking everyone to spread the word- email, Facebook, Twitter, word of mouth. Indigenous Pitch Dance Collective is healing children.”

If you love our work then tell the world! You have an exciting opportunity to help Indigenous Pitch Dance Collective make even more of a difference in our community. GreatNonprofits – a site like Yelp – is launching a campaign to find the top-rated nonprofits enriching our community through the arts.

Won’t you help us participate in the campaign by posting a review of your experience with us? All reviews will be visible to potential donors and volunteers. It’s easy and only takes 3 minutes! Go to:

http://greatnonprofits.org/reviews/profile2/indigenous-pitch-dance-collective-inc

Be sure to choose “Arts Appreciation Campaign” from the drop-down list of campaigns when posting your review.

With your help, we can gain greater visibility in the community.

Thank you,

Nicole LaBonde

Executive Director

A big “Congratulations!”, “Way to go!” and “YAAAAAAAAAAAAY!” to the New Orleans Saints and the city of New Orleans.  We at IPDC consider New Orleans our “home away from home” are we are celebrating tonight!  It is great to see the Super Dome as symbol of victory.  We know that great things are happening in New Orleans, and we are thrilled to be a part of the renewal of that community.

And of course, this segues nicely into a plug for the Midnight Masquerade!  2/20/2010, 10PM-2AM.  Come for just an hour, or stay all night.  Party with New Orleans-style food and music; plus an open bar, silent auction, and a great view of our real home, Philadelphia!  Tickets are just $75, and include a ticket to our winter season, “Zata” at the Painted Bride.  RSVP by 2/13.  Proceeds from the ball and performance support Indigenous Pitch Dance Collective programs in Philadelphia, New Orleans, and in 2010, Haiti!

Way to go Saints!  See you soon!

Nicole

Art and learing- It’s what we’ve always aimed to do with Indigenous Pitch Dance Collective. It is because we are professional dancers and choreographers that we bring such passion and skill to dance genres we teach. This is shown, almost perfectly, in a lecture/demonstration setting.

IPDC has been providing lec/dems to public and private schools (elementary through high school), as well as colleges, since our inception. Today was our 1st lec/dem of 2010, for the middle school students at Agnes Irwin. (A big thanks to Genevieve Adams, a dancer with one of our core companies, Shift, for arranging this!)

Students saw an excerpt of “Human Candles” from the upcoming “Zata”. They learned a 16-count hip-hop routine from Kelly Snell, then watched Kelly perform an amazing solo. The hour ended with a talk-back regarding the genres demonstrated and the work of Indigenous Pitch Dance Collective. The girls shared great insights on the meaning of the pieces, and asked great questions regarding dancing training.

Our lec/dems in schools focus on the importance of education and passion. We discuss the creation of Indigenous Pitch Dance Collective as both an arts and outreach organization. We show the students that it is possible to make a difference by following your passion. The staff and members of IPDC have all followed different educational paths, while maintaining their love of dance. Those choices have created an organization comprised of dedicated and professional members. Using the examples of Alex’s Lemonade Stand and PhilAbundance, we tell them that adults are not the only people that can change the world. We advise students to start with an idea they believe in, and then learn as much about it as possible. We encourage students to join us as apprentices, or volunteer in other organizations that fit their concerns. When process follows passion, an idea becomes more powerful. From our past lec/dems, we have had over 50 students volunteer to work in our camps, usher at our shows and support us through their senior and/or bar/bat mitzvah projects.

Look for us next Friday, 2/12 and Benjamin Rush Arts Academy, a new charter school in Northeast Philadelphia. This lec/dem will focus on the different educational paths of members of IPDC.

Friday, 2/19 we will be presenting a full run-through of our show to students at Girls’ High in West Philadelphia.
-Nicole