The Gusto Blog

Aaron Water performs during "ALTFringement" tonight.    Harry Scull Jr./Buffalo News

If you missed this year’s mammoth Infringement Festival, which took over the streets of Allentown back in early August, fear not. For a cool $5, you can catch a healthy sample of some of the festival’s more curious and wonderfully strange acts in "ALTFringement," a variety show and fest fundraiser set for tonight (Dec. 17) in the Alt Theatre (255 Great Arrow Ave., third floor).

The vibe of this Infringement event (one of several held throughout the year) is decidedly dancey, with performances from the always-moving Aaron Water, the Miraculous Rhythms of Sankofa with bellydance troupe Euphraxia, the Mone Dance Project and music from the Noise Project, Poverty Hymns and DJ Soma. The evening also will feature performances from members of the newly formed Buffalo Burlesque Collective, a consortium of Buffalo’s various and innovative nouveau-burlesque troupes.

The party gets started at 8, with more information at www.infringebuffalo.org.

-- Colin Dabkowski

Erie County Executive-elect Mark Poloncarz delivers his victory speech at the Adam's Mark Hotel in Buffalo, Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2011. Photo by Derek Gee / Buffalo News

County Executive-elect Mark Poloncarz, the county comptroller who won a surprise victory over incumbent Chris Collins in November, is in the midst of setting his agenda for the next four years.

One of the most hotly contested issues in the campaign was funding for cultural organizations and libraries, which Collins substantially slashed from the 2011 and 2012 budgets. And though it's unclear exactly what role that issue played in Poloncarz' victory, it's plain to see that the incoming county executive sees county support for the arts far differently than his predecessor.

During his campaign, Poloncarz pledged to restore funding to organizations that were slashed by Collins. And on Tuesday, the Erie County Legislature helped him deliver on that promise by voting to give $931,841 in the 2012 budget to groups who lost out on funding this year.

This morning, I talked with Poloncarz about his plans concerning arts and culture in Erie County. Our conversation follows after the jump.

Continue reading "Under Poloncarz, what's next for the arts?" »

Today, the Greater Buffalo Cultural Alliance, a regional arts advocacy group formed last year in the wake of the county cultural funding crisis, released a statement reaffirming its mission to form a "united front" of regional arts groups. The statement follows (emphasis mine):

The Steering Committee members of the Greater Buffalo Cultural Alliance (GBCA) affirmed at a recent meeting that regardless of the upcoming County government election and its subsequent results the grassroots organization will continue its commitment to providing strong advocacy and support that focuses on bringing the arts and cultural communities of the Western New York region together as one united front. A significant part of these efforts will be to create a dedicated Erie County funding mechanism for the Arts.

GBCA spokesperson and Co-chair Randall Kramer stated, “This is not a political issue but speaks to how we envision our community in the future. The Arts need to team up with all sectors, government, business and public, to ensure the greatest possible results for our region.”

“We remain committed to have the entire cultural sector recognized for its importance to this region’s economy, quality of life, education and enjoyment; and we remain committed to securing proper investment for all the cultural organizations that make up this important sector,” Tod A.Kniazuk, the newly appointed executive director of the Arts Services Initiative of Western New York, added.

--Colin Dabkowski

As popular styles of dance go, there may be no more elemental form than flamenco.

The purity of that Gypsy song and dance style — with its rhythmic stomps and claps, its piercing vocals and intricate guitar work across ancient melancholy chords — got its hooks into the Spaniard Jose Porcel at the impressionable age of 13. Thus captivated and inspired, Porcel launched on a lifelong mission to master the form and introduce it to new audiences.

He’ll do just that, in his third trip to Western New York in six years, at 7:30 p. m. Tuesday in the University at Buffalo’s Center for the Arts, North Campus, Amherst. Porcel and his company will present a new program called "GYPSY FIRE," which is meant to adhere to the pure tradition of Andalusian flamenco that stretches back centuries.

As the Spanish poet Federico Garcia Lorca wrote, this style, known as the “cante jondo,” “approaches the rhythm of the birds and the natural music of the black poplar and the waves …It is also a rare example of primitive song, the oldest of all Europe, where the ruins of history, the lyrical fragment eaten by the sand, appear live like the first morning of its life.”

Tickets are $11.50 to $31.50. Call 645-2787 or visit www.ubcfa.org.

--Colin Dabkowski

This weekend, LehrerDance kicks off its home season with two performances in the University at Buffalo's Center for the Arts on at 8 p.m. Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday. The video above, shot by the company, exceprts the company's popular piece "A Ritual Dynamic." Look for a review of the concert on Monday.

--Colin Dabkowski

Here, just for fun, are two lovely shots by News photographer Harry Scull Jr. of a preformance by the African American Cultural Center's Dance and Drum troupe (led by artistic director Adama Seydi, center) Tuesday in Hamlin House:

--Colin Dabkowski

For the past week, a team of young staffers from the National Trust for Historic Preservation has been in town to collect interviews for "Buffalo Unscripted," a promotional project that will screen during the National Trust's conference here in October. The trio -- Leigh Ivey, Jason Clement and Julia Rocchi -- was nice enough to take a short break from interviewing folks at a West Side block party on Sunday afternoon and answer some of the same quesitons they've been posing to Buffalonians since they arrived here. Judging by what they had to say (not to mention the impressions they've left, nicely compiled here by the National Trust), it's clear their sojourn in Buffalo has been a fruitful one.

Here's a little coda to their trip. Note: The finally tally of people who participated in the "Buffalo Unscripted" filming was 516, far more than the number I cited in the video. (And please forgive the shaky video and low audio -- after I ask my first question, you'll want to crank up the volume):

--Colin Dabkowski

Charles Griffasi, the indefatigable arts advocate and community event organizer who has put his stamp dozens of cultural festivals and initiatives over the past half-century, is at it again.

His Cultural Walk of Fame, a sort of idiosyncratic tribute to some of Western New York's most interesting cultural exports, has been an curious fixture on a short stretch of Elmwood Avenue for the past several years. And last Friday, Griffasi and his organization, Cultural Concert International, added 10 new names to the sidewalk tribute.

They include the composer David Shire, Lucille Ball, dancer Tony DeMarco, actress Amanda Blake, television writer Tom Fontana, concert pianist Leonard Pennario, singer Rick James, philanthropist Seymour H. Knox, Jr.

I haven't been by yet to see if the suggestion I made last year -- for Griffasi to hire a copy editor to avoid the sorts of embarrassing mistakes that have appeared in past additions to the walk -- was taken to heart. But typos or no, the Cultural Walk is a welcome addition a busy pedestrian thoroughfare and a worthy tribute to the region's cultural heritage.

--Colin Dabkowski

Aimee Buyea sits on the steps of Sugar City, the alternative arts center she founded in 2009, shortly after its opening. Photo by Sharon Cantillon / The Buffalo News.

Almost a month ago, Sugar City co-founder Aimee Buyea suffered serious injuries after being struck by a vehicle while riding her bike. She's now on the mend, and to help her along, her friends and supporters are throwing Buyea a benefit at the arts venue she helped to found some two years ago. The benefit gets started at 4 p.m. Saturday and runs through 10 p.m., after which it'll move down the street to Nietzsche's.

The Sugar City portion of the evening, according to a release, features "a dinner prepared by a roster of Sugar City's resident chefs, a Chinese auction featuring contributions from many local artists and businesses, live music by Al Larsen, The Mordaunt Sisters, and The ________ Hotlights, a reading by Matthew Baker Thompson, and a film screening curated by Liz Flyntz."

Afterwards, at Nietzsche's, supporters of Buyea can drink and dance to the beats of DJs ABCDJ, Frankie Rainbows and MJB Corporation. Admission is a cool $10, which goes to help Buyea pay her bills while she's laid up.

Having met Aimee on a number of ocassions and interviewed her for these pages, I can tell you that she has been one of the leading forces in the latest evolution of Buffalo's vibrant alternative arts scene.

"The landscape of the Buffalo art scene would look very different today without Aimee's years of hard work and devotion," the release reads.

I couldn't agree more.

--Colin Dabkowski

I am psyched for the return of the UniverSoul Circus to Buffalo.

The first year it was here -- yikes, I just looked it up, and it was back in 2003! -- I went to it, with three friends, on the spur of the moment. It was a riot. All I could think was, it was like going back to vaudeville days, around 1910. The UniverSoul Circus operates the way I believe circuses did back then. They pull into town and they pitch a tent wherever they are able to pitch a tent. And the crowds come.

The circus has one ring and a lot of old-time vaudeville humor. There was a skit revolving around a mule that kicked anyone who tried to ride it. The elephants were so close you could smell them. There were tigers too! Above is a picture of the Tigers of Soul performing with the UniverSoul circus here at Martin Luther King Park in 2008. Our photographer Derek Gee took the picture. Hahaha... I love the look on the face of the tiger on the left.

I hope those bars on the cage are strong!

What I remember most were the gymnasts and tumblers and contortionists. They were wonderful. There was one couple who did a magnificent kind of dance while climbing up and down two ribbons. I remember just sitting there with my mouth open, looking up. There were times I could not believe what I was seeing. They were that good.

The ringmaster joked afterward: "Couples, lovers, don't try this at home. You will save your romantic moments for Home Depot."

I was in love with the show's atmosphere. The show that year was in Martin Luther King Park and here we were, this big crowd, all sitting there fascinated. Little kids, teenagers, old people. There were people going around hawking popcorn. The music, I guess they had some hip-hop, but it ended with an old-fashioned gospel show. It was a night that I have say I will always remember.

The year after that, the UniverSoul circus pitched the tent on the site of the old Sattler's, across the street from the Broadway Market.

This year they will be at UB's South Campus, from July 7 to July 10.

I can't wait!

-- Mary Kunz Goldman