Created by acclaimed composer/violinist Daniel Bernard Roumain (DBR), Symphony for the Dance Floor is an ecstatic fusion of music, art and movement. Known for bringing audiences to their feet with sonic collages of classical, pop and hip-hop sounds, DBR ushers the concert hall and dance club into the theater with Symphony for the Dance Floor. In an attempt to homogenize all art forms on one stage, it combines exhilarating music, soulful dance, and photographic artistry, all within a theatrical setting, most notably, in the use of on-stage seating. “Symphony for the Dance Floor speaks to an equality between concert hall and dance club traditions,” explains DBR. “Growing up in South Florida, I went to school, I played in the orchestra, I danced in clubs. It was part of the culture and of the times. So to me, they’re all equal.”

Centered around the shrieking, singing, and seduction of DBR’s violin playing, the production is augmented with masterful collaborations including: choreography by Millicent Johnnie (former resident choreographer of Urban Bush Women); ebullient live dancing; bombastic laptop/turntable soundscapes; raw, uncompromising photography and video by Jonathan Mannion (best known for his soul bearing portraits of hip-hop icons Jay-Z, Lauryn Hill, Mos Def and Eminem); and emceeing by actor/rapper Lord Jamar (member of hip-hop group Brand Nubian and former star of HBO’s Oz), all under the direction of D.J. Mendel. “We've created a lovely environment for the music, dancing, and audience to all coexist in,” explains DBR. “A composer, a DJ and dancers can have a conversation all under the watchful eye of a photographer. In my world, the last bastion of democracy just might be the concert stage.”

Symphony for the Dance Floor premiered earlier this year at Arizona State University’s Gammage Auditorium.  According to the Phoenix New-Times, “it took on the feel of a dance club as a multitude of colored lights started flashing; the DJ provided a grandiose hip-hop tune.”

Tickets: $20 General Admission
Tickets are available online at miamilightproject.com

   

About Daniel Bernard Roumain (DBR)                                                                                                           

Having carved a reputation for himself as an innovative composer, performer, violinist, and band leader, Haitian-American artist Daniel Bernard Roumain (DBR) melds his classical music roots with his own cultural references and vibrant musical imagination. Proving that he’s "about as omnivorous as a contemporary artist gets" (New York Times), DBR is perhaps the only composer who has collaborated and performed with Philip Glass, Cassandra Wilson, Bill T. Jones, and Lady Gaga. He has received commissions from Carnegie Hall, the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), the Library of Congress, and the sports channel ESPN. He has appeared on American Idol (FOX), America’s Assignment (CBS Evening News), E:60 (ESPN) and was voted one of the "Top 100 New Yorkers" (New York Resident), "Top 40 Under 40 Business People" (Crain’s New York Business), "Top 5 Tomorrow’s Newsmakers" (1010 WINS Radio), and spotlighted as a "New Face of  Classical Music" (Esquire Magazine). Most recently, DBR composed music for the Atlanta Ballet, Home in 7, with the choreographer Amy Seiwert and the poet Marc Bamuthi Joseph. www.dbrmusic.com

 

About Miami Light Project

Founded in 1989, Miami Light Project is a not-for-profit cultural organization which presents live performances by innovative dance, music and theater artists from around the world; supports the development of new work by Miami-based artists; and offers educational for students of every age. Since our inception, we have reached a diverse cross-section of communities throughout Miami-Dade County with an extensive outreach effort that includes partnerships with other arts organizations, universities and social service agencies. Miami Light Project is a cultural forum to explore some of the issues that define contemporary society. http://www.miamilightproject.com/

 

Miami Light Project receives operating support and funding for our 2011 season from The Ford Foundation; the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation's Knight Arts Challenge;  the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council, the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissioners; the Mid-Size Presenting Organization Initiative, implemented by the Nonprofit Finance Fun and funded by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation; the City of Miami Beach, Cultural Affairs Program, Cultural Arts Council; the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture; the National Endowment for the Arts; The National Performance Network Creation Fund which is supported by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, Ford Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts; Funding Arts Network; and Citizens Interested in Art.