It’s easy to walk into Lincoln Center and hear the world’s finest classical or jazz musicians perform. But what about the rest of New York? What kinds of music and dances also matter in the City of Immigrants? What might you hear walking down a street or entering a living room in Queens or the Bronx? Well, you might hear the musical historians of West Africa who educate, entertain, and make peace through music in their community in Fordham Heights. Or, you might have the luck of attending a lecture by Sachiyo Ito, one of the US’s leading Japanese classical dance artists, in Manhattan. In New York, seemingly every corner and home not only looks, but also sounds different. Join us for an exclusive opportunity to learn more about the sounds of immigrant New York with Andrew Colwell, PhD, project director at the Center for Traditional Music and Dance.

Malang Jobarteh and Salieu Suso convey the contemporary importance of the jali from Malang’s living room in Fordham Heights., Image Courtesy of the Center for Traditional Music and Dance

During this live virtual event, Colwell will share samples of CTMD’s diverse and engaging performances from the Center’s new online series Beat of the Boroughs. This series highlights musicians and dancers from all over New York City who present their stories and art. A new video is posted on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at 5pm. In this Untapped introduction to the program with Colwell, you will get to see clips of a classical Japanese dance performed by Sachiyo Ito, and a traditional African musical performance by Malang Jobarteh and Salieu Suso. After the presentation, guests will have the opportunity to ask questions.

CTMD is a non-profit that has worked for over fifty years in partnership with immigrant artists and communities to help them pass on traditions to the next generation in New York. During the pandemic, CTMD is premiering Beat of the Boroughs: NYC Online, a program highlighting the important musical and dance traditions, as well as perspectives, of immigrant artists.

This live virtual event on Wednesday, December 2nd at 12:00pm ET is organized for Untapped New York Insiders. Not an Insider yet? Become a member today and get two months with code JOINUS. A video of the tour will also be made available to all our Insiders afterward in the Video Archive section of our website. 

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Next, check out 18 Ethnic Micro Neighborhoods in the 5 Boroughs of NYC