Attucks Plans Day-Long Open House

     The Virginia Arts Festival, Sevenvenues, and the Crispus Attucks Cultural Center will present a day of performances and informational and educational events at the historic Attucks Theater in Norfolk on Saturday, Oct. 27, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. 
      Attucks Community Day is an “open house” for the community: a chance for area families to see first-hand the beautifully restored theater and to learn about it history as well as its coming attractions.  
      Norfolk’s own, famed former Dance Theater of Harlem star Lorraine Graves and former Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater principal dancer Elbert Watson will perform and offer a motivational presentation for young people.

Lorraine Graves

     Graves, a Norfolk native, will describe her early life in Norfolk and the ambition that took her to stages in New York and all over the world, as she pursued her dream of being a dancer.  
      Graves’ classical training began at the Academy of the Norfolk Ballet under the direction of the late Gene Hammett. She later was awarded full scholarships to the School of American Ballet and the American Ballet Center.  Completing a four-year program in three years at Indiana University at Bloomington, she earned a bachelor’s degree.

    
 
      Graves began her professional career with the Dance Theater of Harlem rising to the rank of Principal Dancer within one year. Three years later, she became ballet mistress in addition to her duties as a dancer.
      One of the Attucks Theaters “incubator” companies, SummerStage Youth Repertory Theater will perform an excerpt from “Rainbow Park,” the gritty, urban teen musical drama performed by a cast of young people ages 8 to 17.
     “Rainbow Park” will feature artistic direction by Kurtis Cameron and Ofosuwa Abiola-Tamba, a musical score and vocal arrangements by Jeanetta Twine, and choreography by Abiola-Tamba, who will tell the story of two brothers on opposite sides of an effort to revitalize a blighted urban community. 
      Others to perform include The Rhythm Project, an after school program of the Virginia Arts Festival, and the Virginia Young Adult Choir, composed of students from throughout the Hampton Roads area.
      Also, acclaimed storyteller Linda Goss will share personal stories of growing up in the rural South and traditional tales from African-American culture; the Hampton Roads Genealogy Society will offer information on tracing your roots; and Sean C. Bowers will present “The Blueprint for Success,” with segments for young people ages 8-12 and 13-17. 
      A state and national landmark, the Attucks Theater is the oldest remaining legitimate theater in the nation that was completely financed, designed, constructed and operated by African Americans.
      Named to honor the first African American who gave his life in the Revolutionary War, the theater opened in 1919. Today, the theater has been restored and is once again a center for the performing arts.

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