Cultural Events
Ilkhom Theater Presented Festival of African American Culture (02/26/2009)
The Ilkhom Theater, in conjunction with the U.S. Embassy in Tashkent, hosted a series of concerts and dramatic performances in celebration of U.S. Black History Month.
“The Days of African-American Culture” festival ran from Feb. 27 to March 4 at the Ilkhom, which was founded in 1976 as one of the few independent theaters in the former Soviet Union. The festival has become the latest collaboration between the theater and the U.S. Embassy in Uzbekistan.
“The Days of African-American Culture” opened Feb. 27 with an ethno-jazz concert by singer Aisel Balich, accompanied by American Tyler Polumsky. Jazz has deep roots in African-American history, while influencing all aspects of popular American culture.
On March 1, the theater troupe performed a scenic improvisation of African-American playwright Imam Amiri Baraka’s one-act play “Dutchman.” The play won the Obie Award for Best Off-Broadway production when it premiered in 1964. Its theme of violent interaction between white and black Americans was highly controversial and thrust Baraka, an emerging voice of the Black Nationalist movement, into the public spotlight.
A second scenic improvisation played on March 3, when the Ilkhom presented “Beer, Poets, and Talk” based on writings of American poet and playwright Charles Bukowski. Bukowski’s writings are often associated with the “beat poet” movement that was highly influenced by jazz and the rapidly changing society after World War II.
The festival wraped up March 4 with the State Choral Group of Uzbekistan performing “Spiritual Night,” a program of the spiritual music that is an important part of African-American history and culture.
An exhibition of jazz posters also was on display during the arts festival.
“Each year the U.S. Embassy in Tashkent commemorates Black History Month. In recent years, these events have included an art exhibit and a video conference focusing on issues facing African-American women,” said Stephanie Fitzmaurice, the Cultural Affairs Officer at the U.S. Embassy. “Highlighting the history of African Americans is a good way to share with others the process that the United States has gone through as it works toward equal rights for all its citizens,” she said.
“It is widely known that in the U.S. race relations have been a serious issue. It is our belief that the best way to address such issues is to bring them into the open and discuss them. Black History Month is one way the U.S. Government focuses on this issue. This year, Black History Month has taken on special significance with our recent election of the first African-American President,” Fitzmaurice said.
This year, the Embassy’s weekly Chai Chat Conversation Club also marked Black History Month with an interactive concert on jazz and the screening of a documentary film “Citizen King” about the civil rights work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.