RezaRitesRi.com

Did you know that I’ve officially moved? That’s right! The new home for me, ‘Reza Rites,’ and RezaRitesRI is on IsisStorm.com.

The mission of ISIS STORM is to bring forth those voices that are being neglected; to be a vehicle to the generations of women who are fed up with seeing and accepting someone else’s definitions of who [we/they] are; and to give attention to the generations of women who are awakening to the realization that [we/they] are more than what [our/their] generation sees. It is our goal to bring the voices to the table that have long since been ignored, both ethnically and in gender. The way that we encourage these voices to be heard is through the power of art and writing.

Through various events, feature performances and workshops, folks are getting to know the refrain, “When I say Isis, you say…” But to be clear, Isis Storm is a collective of female poets, musicians, artists, writers, media producers and educators. It is also an emerging music label, publishing house, and media group where members of the collective can work to illuminate our causes and ideals.

As co-founder of Isis Storm (alongside hip hop artist Kalyana Champlain, aka 5th Elament), my motivations for moving RezaRitesRI are three-fold: a) to lead by example, b) to demonstrate my faith in the project, and c) to further the original RezaRitesRi.com aim of exposing my readers, friends, and family to “the voices of our ethnically, socially, and artistically diverse.”

I hope you’ll follow me and all the sisters of Isis Storm at IsisStorm.com, as well as my adventures in music at VenusSings.com and my work as health editor at UrbanHealthWatch.net and SheShines.org. You can also see current and archived work of mine at places like:

-> the John Hope Settlement Blog,

-> RIFuture.org, Rhode Island’s Progressive News, Opinion and Analysis blog,

-> WRIU and BSR, two student- and community-run radio stations in RI,

-> The new and old Rhode 2 Africa blogs, where I detail projects I’ve led or worked on dealing with the migration of Africans and African-Americans to RI,

-> Black Perspectives Now, an online project run by the producers of Basic Black on WGBH,

-> On the podcasts and photo pages of RezaRitesRi.com

Thanks for your support and hope we stay in touch!

- Reza Rites

You might like the video, but you’ll love them live! Catch me, Reza Rites, and the ladies of Isis Storm on Saturday, April 30 and Sunday, May 16.

PROVIDENCE, RI – Summer may have come in April earlier this week, but a Storm is rolling in. In fact, you better be ready for TWO big celebrations, because the thunder can’t help but be heard. Save the following dates, and be ready to join us:

Isis Storm Presents ‘On the Rise’…
And Celebrating National Poetry Month

Saturday, April 30, 2010
8:00 PM
Brooklyn Coffee Tea House
209 Douglas Avenue
Providence, RI 02908

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We Run This!
Women & Mothers in Hip Hop

Sunday, May 16, 2010, 8:00 PM

To get your regular forecast, visit www.IsisStorm.com, or email beginthestorm@gmail.com for more information. Female poets, musicians, and hip hop artists, community organizations, and women in the color are encouraged to inquire.

Isis Storm is back in 2010; you didn’t think we were going somewhere, did you?

TONIGHT Sunday, January 24, 5:30 PM:

Isis Storm Presents…2010: The Year of the Woman
A New Year’s Celebration Honoring Women

Sunday, January 24, 2010
The Mediator Fellowship Center
50 Rounds Ave., in Providence, RI

$5 dollar donations (more optional)

Are you needing your soul and spirit to be moved, awakened, altered for the new year? Then come to the Mediator Fellowship Center, 50 Rounds Ave, Providence RI. Doors open at 5:30 PM with music by Isis Storm Co-founder “DJ Reza Wreckage.” A potluck dinner starts at 6pm, followed by an open mic and feature performances by Monsurat Ottun, Natasha Clay, Michelle Cruz and other members of the Isis Storm collective. $5 dollar donations (more optional) will be collected at the door. To sign up for the open mic, or to coordinate bringing a dish, email beginthestorm@gmail.com or call 401-497-5246.

Venus Sings at Funda Fest
Catch me, Reza Rites aka Venus Sings On Friday, January 22 at Spoken Word and Love Stories, a Funda Fest 12 event.

PROVIDENCE, RI - In case you missed it, the 12th year of Funda Fest began this week with its workshops, story swaps, school shows, and special performances. The annual cultural festival is organized by the RI Black Storytellers, a non-profit organization “dedicated to promoting the awareness, appreciation, and application of Black Storytelling in Rhode Island through performance, educational, and cultural experiences.”

Well the event continues tomorrow, on Friday January 22, with “Spoken Word and Love Stories.” The event will be hosted by spoken word poet, Christopher Johnson and dj’d by ME, Venus Sings/DJ Reza Wreckage. The event starts at 10pm, admission is $5, and it will take place at Brooklyn Coffee & Tea House, 209 Douglas Avenue in Providence, RI.

Join Johnson, me, and a host of other performers including a special preview performance by the Funda Fest 12 headlining performer, Grammy-nominated Christon Bacon, aka Christylez (pronounced Chris- styles) a progressive hip-hop artist out of Washington, DC. He performs for the Funda Fest Storytelling Concert and Market Place on Saturday, January 23, at 8 PM at the Michael P Metcalf Auditorium at Rhode Island School of Design, 20 North Main St in Providence, RI. For more information about the show visit www.ribsfest.com. For more about Funda Fest, click here.

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Venus Sings Radio

You know the deal: women, music, community.

Venus Sings Radio
Saturday, January 23, 2010
9 - 11 AM (est)

Hear it: 90.3 FM or www.wriu.org
Contact: www.VenusSings.com;
studio lines: 401-792-9030 or 1-888-303-9748

WESTERLY, RI - Funda Fest 12, an annual cultural festival organized by the RI Black Storytellers, begins on Sunday, January 17 with “Tales from Black History,” a Family Storytelling Concert. It starts at 1 pm, admission is free, and it happens at a new location: The Westerly Armory, 8 Dixon St in Westerly, RI.

Funda Fest continues all week, bringing workshops, story swaps, school shows, and public performances of spoken word, love stories, folk tales, and true stories from Westerly to Woonsocket, Providence to Newport. Headlining this year’s invited national guests is Grammy-nominated Christon Bacon, aka Christylez (pronounced Chris- styles) a progressive hip-hop artist out of Washington, DC.

”We are so excited to have Christylez with us this year. Several of us had seen him at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in DC this past summer. He is a young guy with a lot of talent and a great mix of old traditions and new flavor. Christylez is a talented musician and a poet who understands the Black oral tradition,” says Valerie Tutson, FUNDA FEST Director. “We had invited him, and then found out he will be headed to LA right after he leaves Rhode Island.” Christylez has been nominated in the “Best Musical Album for Children” category for a collaboration done with Folk/Children Music Duo, Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer.

Other updates to the schedule include to the event on Friday, January 22: Spoken Word and Love Stories hosted by Christopher Johnson. The event starts at 10pm and will take place at Brooklyn Coffee & Tea House, 209 Douglas Avenue in Providence, RI. Admission is $5.

To read the full press release about Funda Fest 12, click here. For up-to-the-minute updates and info about the RI Black Storytellers, visit www.ribsfest.org.

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12th Annual FUNDA FEST: A Celebration of Black Storytelling
January 17-24 2010
For more information, contact Valerie Tutson at 401.439.7122

Providence, RI—Rhode Island Black Storytellers, otherwise known as RIBS, invite you to join them in FUNDA FEST 12: A Celebration of Black Storytelling, January 17-24, 2010. FUNDA means to teach and to learn in Zulu and KiSwahili. For an entire week, Rhode Island will experience some of the best cultural arts programming across the state for the 12th year in a row.

Headlining this year’s invited national guests is Grammy-nominated Christon Bacon, aka Christylez (pronounced Chris- styles) a progressive hip-hop artist out of Washington, DC.”We are so excited to have Christylez with us this year. Several of us had seen him at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in DC this past summer. He is a young guy with a lot of talent and a great mix of old traditions and new flavor. Christylez is a talented musician and a poet who understands the Black oral tradition,” says Valerie Tutson, FUNDA FEST Director. “We had invited him, and then found out he will be headed to LA right after he leaves Rhode Island.” Christylez has been nominated in the “Best Musical Album for Children” category for a collaboration done with Folk/Children Music Duo, Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer.

“In addition to Christylez, we have a wonderful woman, Deborah Asante, out of Indianapolis. She has a children’s theatre company, and has been telling stories all of her life. She will be doing the Intergenerational Storytelling Workshop at the Providence Public Library on Saturday, January 23rd, and sharing some of her Love Stories for grown ups on Friday night, the 22nd”

The FUNDA FEST performers include RIBS tellers Len Cabral, Rochel Coleman, Raffini, Ramona Kolobe, and Valerie Tutson. Festival favorite, Teju Ologboni returns from Milwaukee. Local artists include Christopher Johnson, who will perform as a solo artist, and with the spoken word trio Spittin Images. Drummer Abdul Mateen will add his talents to the mix.

“This year, RIBS and FUNDA are looking to expand our circle of family and friends, “ Tutson explains, “ For several years, RIBS has been a part of the Expansion Arts Program through the Rhode Island Foundation. We have had the opportunity to work with some very fine cultural arts groups in the State. Our program is coming to an end and we had talked about finding a way to showcase these groups; to bring our communities together. FUNDA seemed like the perfect opportunity.” As a result, the Saturday night concert at the Metcalf Auditorium at RISD will include a mix of voices and performances including young African drummers from OASIS International, Thawn Harris, a Native American storyteller from the Tomaquag Indian Memorial and Museum, ECAS Theatre and music and dance from The Hmong United Association of RI. All these groups and more will be a part of the Market Place in the lobby.

It’s a full week, from Sunday to Sunday, from Westerly to Woonsocket, Providence to Newport. See part of the schedule below, and full up-to-the-minute details at www.ribsfest.org.

Sunday, January 17, 2010:
Family Storytelling Concert
Woonsocket, RI
www.ribsfest.org for details and more info

Monday, January 18, 11:30 am, 1 and 2:30 pm:
MLK Amazing Grace featuring Rochel Coleman and Valerie Tutson
Providence Children’s Museum
100 South Street, Providence RI
Free with Museum Admission

January 19-22:
RIBS tellers and invited guests perform for Storytellers in the Schools
Statewide locations. For information, call Carolyn Martino: 401 351.8090

Thursday, January 21, 6-8 pm:
Family Storytelling Concert
YWCA Northern Rhode Island
514 Blackstone Street, Woonsocket, RI
Admission: $1/children .$50/adults

Friday, January 22:
Spoken Word and Love Stories
www.ribsfest.org for details and more info

Saturday, January 23, 12:30-5 pm:
Free Family FUN-Day
Providence Public Library
150 Empire Street, Providence
- 1:00-2:15 pm: Intergenerational Storytelling Workshop with Deborah Asante
- 2:30 pm: Family Storytelling Concert featuring RIBS and invited guests
- 4:00 pm: Story Swap: Tell your own story!

Saturday, January 23, Doors open at 7:30:
Storytelling Concert and Market Place (NEW VENUE)
Michael P Metcalf Auditorium at RISD
20 North Main St, Providence 8 pm
- 7:30 PM: Marketplace opens for Cultural gifts, tellers’ merchandise and more
- 8:00 PM: RIBS’ Featured tellers and Expansion Arts Partners take the stage
- Tickets: www.ArtTixRi.com; $10/advance, $15/door, RISD students free w/ID, RISD Museum members $10 w/ID at door

Sunday, January 24, 2010, 2:00 PM:
Family Storytelling Concert
Martin Luther King Center
20 Marcus Wheatland Blvd, Newport
Donations collected on-site

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FUNDA FEST is made possible with support from The Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, The Rhode Island Foundation, The Expansion Arts Program, Project Priscilla, and underwriting from the CITIZENS Bank Foundation.

Community Partners include The Providence Children’s Museum, Providence Public Library, The RISD Office of Minority Affairs, The Martin Luther King Center, Newport, The YWCA of Northern RI, The Westerly Public Library, ECAS Theatre, Tomaquag Indian Memorial Museum, OASIS International, The Hmong United Association of Rhode Island, and RezaRitesRi.com.

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Catch me, Venus Sings, spinning Thursday, Dec. 17 and Friday, Dec. 18 at 393 Broad Street in Providence. I’ll be part of “Introducing…the Power of Extraordinary Everyday People,” a Breaking the Chains Community Theater showcase. (flyer is courtesy of People’s School; photo by Nataly Garcia)

PROVIDENCE, RI - If you did not see the press release I posted a few days ago, Providence is about to be exposed to an organic arts movement designed to heal those who perform and participate: Breaking the Chains Community Theater (BTC), a project of People’s School. Tonight and tomorrow, from 7-10 PM, they will be previewing their groundbreaking work, and its endless possibilities, with a showcase called “Introducing…the Power of Extraordinary Everyday People.” It takes place at the historic Theater at the Annex Building of Trinity Methodist Church, 393 Broad Street in Providence, RI.

Some may remember - or be alumni - of the first round of work done by the People’s School, for instance the “Mindz Speaking” event held at the Providence Black Repertory Company in the fall of 2006. And while co-founder Deanna “Dee Dee” Brown remains at the helm - with the support of a variety of artists and community members that collaborated before - with a new home that also serves as a performance site, a fresh cadre of recently transformed artists, and a host of new partners (including me Venus Sings/DJ Reza Wreckage), expect the unexpected, prepare for empowerment, and be ready to open your hearts and minds to a program with incredible potential.

Or come out to support your newest, favorite DJ.

Read more about People’s School and their two-day showcase below, in the organization’s press release. To read about the former incarnation of People’s School, click here.

Originally sent in the December 8 RezaRitesRi newsletter.

Take 5 with Reza Rites:
Show Some Love with Venus Sings, Isis Storm, and UrbanHealthWatch.net

PROVIDENCE, RI - Sometimes when I speak to people, they are surprised to hear that I’m haunted with regular bouts of self-doubt and withdrawal. The websites, radio show, and, for instance, my position as Social Chair of the Rhode Island Young Professionals – they throw people off. And yes, it’s true that these and other projects show a side of me that is very public and proud, but they also in fact relay one of two techniques I use to address and cope with those shadows: Performance.

Just like at a job interview or on-stage mimicking a character, I create and accept the roles I’m playing when I’m at a certain place or setting. So if I am dj’ing and/or hosting a radio show, I am ready to play songs and talk topics that will catch you even as you go. And if I’m asked to speak at a meeting, I will prepare and organize my remarks to be logical and instructive because that’s the character I’ve agreed to play.

What is my second technique? Well that’s what this week’s Take 5 is about: Show Love. From the beginning, my freelance work and then website, RezaRitesRI, was about promoting “the voices of our ethnically, socially, and artistically diverse.” Since expanding, I cannot measure how much I have received back, personally, through using love as a lens for my work.

What I can do is inform you about funding opportunities for healthcare initiatives because you asked for it, and I appreciate you. I can post your health event because I am a testament to your work and success at bringing people and communities together. And I can post information about your upcoming show because with Isis Storm, we’ve started a cycle of women giving love to other women, and I intend to keep that cycle going. I also thank you for your part in showing and sharing love.

Sunshine and Laughter,
Reza Rites

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Take 5 with Reza Rites

1. Funding Opportunities and Links from UrbanHealthWatch.net and AHRQ,
2. Community Forum Highlights Healthcare, Human Rights, and more – Thu, Dec 10,
3. Bowling, Free Food, and Family Fun: PrYSM’s Rice Bowl Fundraiser – Dec. 12,
4. Men Who Cook Holiday Party and Launch of New Venue – Dec. 15,
5. Join a Team and Get Active: Registration Begins for Shape Up RI

Five More from IsisStorm.com and VenusSings.com

1. Words for Warriors featuring Kalyana Champlain and Jessica Simes – Thu., Dec. 10,
2. Venus Sings Radio this Saturday, December 12 on WRIU,
3. Singer-Songwriter Event at the Ruffstone features Michelle Cruz – Sat., Dec 12,
4. A Winter Concert by Woman Spirit Rising– Sunday, December 13
5. Nataly Garcia to Rip it in Worcester, MA on Monday Dec. 14

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
PEOPLE’S SCHOOL HOSTS PREMIERE
For more info, contact Deanna “DeeDee” Brown at (401) 230-0060 or by email: PeoplesSchool@gmail.com

Providence, RI – On Thursday, December 17, People’s School will host its premiere showcase, “Introducing…the Power of Extraordinary Everyday People” at 7pm. The performance will take place at the historic Theater at the Annex Building of Trinity Methodist Church, 393 Broad Street, Providence.

With this premiere performance, the People’s School announces it’s successful re-establishment, new direction and home at the Annex of the Trinity Methodist Church. This performance is a preview of Breaking the Chains Community Theater (BTC), which will be offered in Spring 2010 at People’s School.

People’s School is a resident-led organization that uses the arts to address community issues that plague Providence and it’s residents: unemployment, crime, poverty, drug abuse, poor mental health, racism and classism and the trauma that is linked to coping with these issues. The vision is to offer multiple arts workshops that reflect the culture of The Creative Capital’s inner-city. People’s School is providing the opportunity to transform adult residents, everyday people, into actors & artisans in the same space that is the birthplace of the award-winning Trinity Repertory Theater. We’re spotlighting the power of citizens - when they’re given the opportunity & accessibility to express their full, uninhibited selves. Simultaneously, Trinity Restoration, Inc. is working to revive this great, but underutilized, community asset.

People’s School is holding two Showcases on Thursday, December 17th and Friday, December 18th. Guests are invited to arrive early to support local artists and get holiday shopping done at the People’s Marketplace, starting at 7pm (and going throughout the night). Theater Doors open at 7:30pm, and the show begins at 8pm. The event costs $5 for adults, and $2 for children 12 & under. People’s School is located at the Annex Building at Trinity Methodist Church on 393 Broad Street, Providence, RI.

For more information, visit PeoplesSchool.wordpress.com or Deanna “DeeDee” Brown: (401) 230-0060, PeoplesSchool@gmail.com.