Taylor Ho Bynum

*Photo by Peter Gannushkin

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ABT Diaries 2

Day 4 – 9/13: 0 miles, Springfield MA
No biking today, in tech rehearsals all day for Teatro V!da’s Rumors of a New Day,which was a rousing success. I called my friend Magdelena Gomez six months ago to see if she would be interested in helping put together some kind of show for the bike tour in Springfield. (I think I imagined poetry, cornet, and perhaps a conga player in an art gallery or something.) But she took the instigation and more than ran with it. Magdelena got inspired to put together this interdiscipinary extravaganza, with a cast of talented young performers between the ages of 13 and 22; an original score by Heshima Moja; traditional drumming and dance from both Senegal and Puerto Rico; video and projections; and my little pocket cornet; all bringing to life an impressionistic story of the creative rebirth of a city. She told me this was the first-ever Latino produced show at City Stage, Springfield’s main downtown theater venue, and the place was packed and loudly appreciative. Many kudos to all the performers, especially the extraordinary young actor/dancers from Teatro V!da, and of course, the playwright/conceptualist Magdelena. I did this bike tour to challenge myself to try something different and take a risk, and am humbled and thrilled it served as a pebble to launch a Springfield artistic avalanche.

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