The Real NY Part 9 - DANCEAFRICA
Every year on Memorial Day weekend the Fort Greene section of Brooklyn hosts a festival of African and African American culture - DanceAfrica. Starting as a 1 day festival in 1977, today DanceAfrica is a 3 day festival of dance, film and music with a wonderful market place. DanceAfrica takes place at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM). BAM was founded in 1861 about a mile away in the Brooklyn Heights neighborhood. It was Brooklyn's home to classical performances until 1903 when it burned down. In 1908 BAM reopened at it's current location, next to the Atlantic Ave. LIRR station on Lafayette Ave in Fort Greene. And it is a cultural icon in NYC. One thing that BAM prides itself on is its presentation of performances by a wide range of cultural performers. The offerings tend to go to the avantgarde. I saw a production of Hamlet staged by Ingmar Bergman in Swedish. It was amazing. BAM is home to operas that the MET won't touch, theater that would never make...