Bronitsky and Associates Blog

It’s been quite a week!  I’ve been watching the news about the volcano eruption with almost religious intensity.  Finally, we realized that Magne Ove Varsi would simply be unable to get out of Sweden in time, and decided to cancel this tour.  Now I’m working hard to reschedule it for February.

Over the last 15 years,  I’ve had to worry about funding deadlines, airplane schedules, venue suitability, the ability of performers to travel, budgets, and so much more–but worrying about a volcano?  This was a first!

Magne Ove Varsi and the Icelandic Volcano–it sounds like an ancient saga, doesn’t it?  But in this case, it’s real and it’s now.  I’m gearing up for Sami rights pioneer Magne Ove Varsi’s US tour, which is supposed to begin in Austin, Texas on Monday as he is supposed to speak at the University of Texas at Austin.  But a volcano in Iceland has erupted, and the resulting cloud of ash has led to cancellation of all flights in and out of Scandinavia and the United Kingdom.  So when he will get here is still up in the air, so to speak.  Stay tuned!

Seems like I’ve barely had the chance to catch my breath since the last entry.  To bring you up-to-date–I’m not going with Mariachi Imperial de America to Albania and Macedonia, due to lack of sufficient funds, but audiences there are in for a real treat.  I still remember their tour of Armenia as an 8-day musical party.  What a pleasure!

And I just purchased the airplane tickets for Sami rights pioneer Magne Ove Varsi’s US tour–Texas, Arizona, Hawaii and Minnesota.  It’s going to be quite an experience, as he’ll be speaking at a human rights center, tribal colleges, and public universities too.  Still trying to figure out what to pack–Minnesota AND Hawaii in April?  Maybe fur-lined sandals?!

The highlight since my last post, of course, was the trip to Israel.  Ten very full days–sightseeing, friends, and family.  My new grandniece really is incredibly cute!  And two days packed with meetings with museums, embassy staffs, venues and organizations to share with them the power and diversity of Indigenous performing and visual artists from around the world, from Tibetan singers to Hopi reggae to Mexican son jarocho and so much more.  I really believe that much will come from these meetings–a museum is seriously considering an American Indian singer-songwriter, a puppet festival asked for materials from an Indigenous puppet theater, and an embassy is looking at materials that could lead to a veritable mini-festival.  Stay tuned!

Sometimes it does seem as if I’m in the midst of almost too many things.  Right now, I’m waiting to find out if I’m accompanying Mariachi Imperial de America to Albania and Macedonia in March.  Will the Alianait Festival in Nunavut obtain funding from the US embassy in Canada to bring the Chinle Valley Singers and myself to Iqaluit in May?

I’m also in the midst of finalizing the US tour for Sami rights pioneer Magne Ove Varsi in April.  That’s going to be quite a trip.  You can visit the tour schedule elsewhere on the website, and I hope you can join us.  But what to pack?  April in Honolulu and April in Cloquet, Minnesota are going to be VERY different!

And Wednesday, off I go to Israel to see my new grandniece, Lihi–my sister’s first grandchild.  I am so ready!  I’m also using this as an opportunity to introduce venues, organizations, potential audiences and the staffs of several embassies about the power and diversity of Indigenous performing and visual artists from around the world–stay tuned!

The end of the old year, the start of the new year, both approaching fast! 2009 was quite a year. I initiated and produced an international Indigenous theater festival in London in May–ORIGINS™ (www.originsfestival.com), something I’ve been dreaming about since 1998. What an incredible experience! And I toured Sami playwright Harriet Nordlund from Sweden to the US and Apache playwright David Velarde from New Mexico to Sweden.

2010 promises to be even larger, bolder, and more exciting:

• touring Mariachi Imperial de America to Albania and Macedonia under the auspices of the US embassies there, and meeting with Albanians about coproducing an Albanian performing arts festival to bring the best Albanian performers to the world
• touring Sami rights pioneer Magne Ove Varsi from Norway to the US in April–including Hawaii! University of Minnesota is also one of the stops, so it will be interesting figuring out what to pack for tropical Hawaii and, shall I say, less than tropical Minneapolis
• speaking of cold weather, the Chinle Valley Singers have been invited to perform in Iqaluit, Nunavut, Canada in May, pending funding, and I’ll be accompanying them to speak to people there about creating a Nunavut performing arts event. I’ll definitely have to take a sweater!
• funding permitting, though, I’ll be able to warm up in June, going with the Chinle Valley Singers to the San Juan Fiesta in Lima, Peru, and meeting with Ashaninka and Yanesha performers and artists
• there may even be another tropical jaunt, with Mariachi Imperial de America in July to the Dominican Republic, as they’ve been invited to perform at a formal reception at the home of the US ambassador there
• maybe I’ll even produce an event in Santa Fe, as Bruce Bernstein, the director of the Southwestern Association for Indian Arts (SWAIA), has invited me to produce a throatsinging concert in Santa Fe during Indian market with Lois Suluk and Maria Illungiayok from Nunavut and a throatsinger from Mongolia. I’ve toured Lois and Maria to Ireland and Mexico and enjoyed working with them–but I haven’t met them yet. This could be my big chance!

There will be more coming in the year ahead, but that should give some idea of what’s going on.

And now that I’ve turned 60 and been doing this for 15 years, I’ve been thinking about where I want to go next–not geographically, but professionally. But you’ll have to wait til my next blog entry!