Thurs. 30 Mar. Global Divas: A Celebration of
International Women and Song
Proceeds for St. Stephen's House.
Kool Haus -- 132 Queen's Quay East.
Doors @ 6:00pm. Concert @ 8:00pm.
Support the Venus Project & The Youth Arcade.
Line-Up - Jane Bunnett & The Spirits of Havana + 5 Global Divas
Tanya Tagaq Gillis,
Muna Mingole,
Amanda Martinez,
KellyLee Evans, and Zaki Ibrahim.
Sophie's Pix.
Jasmine's Pix.
2005 Globa Divas
Jasmine
Empowering. Women working together. A celebration of womanhood. Such sentiments were echoed at the fourth annual Global Divas Gala Concert, an international celebration of women and song at the Kool Haus Thursday March 30, 2006.
St. Stephen's House
The goal was to raise $75,000 with all proceeds going towards the St. Stephen's Youth Arcade. St. Stephen's House is a multi-service social agency that has been serving the needs of west downtown Toronto since 1962 with programs for newcomers to Canada, homeless men and women, youth-at-risk, families with young children, people and organizations in conflict, isolated and frail seniors, job seekers and expectant mothers.
The Arcade is a drop-in program designed to accommodate the needs of adolescents and teenagers from diverse backgrounds. Developed by and for youth living in Kensington and the surrounding neighbourhoods, the Youth Arcade serves over 1,700 youth annually. Programs offered include: Venus Media Arts Project, Reclaim and Replay II, Youth in Action, The Little Black Books, Unzipped, School Community Volunteer Hours, Moving On, the Community Service Order Program for Young Offenders, The Arcade Snack Program, Freestyle Fridays, Real Space, and tutoring.
What is Global Divas?
Global Divas came into fruition about five years ago when two galas and fundraising events that took place at St. Stephen's were merged. One was Global Village Feast, which focused on multicultural food and music. The other, Leading Ladies, focused on singing and Broadway stars. The result was one big event with multicultural foods, a silent auction and female musicians of diverse cultural backgrounds and various genres.
Global Divas has evolved from its early beginnings, yet it has remained true to its form. Those who purchase tickets for both the dinner and the show are treated to a scrumptious feast by various caterers and restaurants, including Dufflet Pastries. A sampling of the items from the silent auction included gift packages from OMNI Television, CTV and MAC Cosmetics.
The Night
Hosted by Garvia Bailey of CBC Radio One, the Spirits of Havana started the show with a performance by Jane Bunnett on the soprano saxophone. Bunnett and the Spirits of Havana provided backup to the divas that night and adapted fluidly to all genres of music which ranged from R&B, jazz, salsa, hip-hop, blues and more uniquely, throat singing.
Jane's performance paved the way for Kellylee Evans, who was the first diva to perform. Known as "a unique new voice in the jazz world", she sang three songs off of her new album 'Fight or Flight'. Her sound is a unique blend of jazz, soul, R&B and blues.
After Kellylee finished, it was Tanya Tagaq Gillis' turn onstage. Tanya's performance was truly unique as she introduced many of us to the concept of throat singing. "Conventionally, throat singing is done by pairs of women who stand face to face and create rhythms out of the sounds made with their breath and vocal chords. One leads and the other fills in the gaps in her rhythm until one gives in to laughter or exhaustion."
This was illustrated in the first part of Tanya's performance when she demonstrated this ancient Inuit vocal game with her cousin, Celina Kalluk. Put simply, they are "emulating each other's noises."
Tanya went on to perform a duet with Jane Bunnett on the flute and their distinct styles complemented each other perfectly. Jane summed it up best when she said it made her "proud to be Canadian and seeing our heritage represented."
This performance challenged the writer's perception of what singing really is. Due to the colonization of the Aboriginals or Native Indians by white men or Europeans, this aspect of their culture became largely neglected, and singing, as we know it, consisted of harmonizing and vocalizing.
Zaki Ibrahim, the third diva, performed after the first intermission. Since her style also incorporated a unique blend of jazz, R&B, and blues, it was befitting that she shared the stage with Kellylee Evans. However, Zaki's style also included hip-hop and this complemented Kellylee's style, which also included world music rhythms.
Amanda Martinez, the fourth diva, took her turn onstage and gave the audience a taste of Latin music infused with Jazz. A versatile performer by nature, her performance was an eclectic fusion of Afro-Cuban rhythms, Mexican folk music, and jazz. The mood during her performance was slow, sultry, sexy and sensual.
The final performer of the night was Muna Mingole, "The Blue Flame of Cameroon". Kellylee Evans and Zaki Ibrahim accompanied Muna. Muna's performance paid homage to her African roots as she pulsated and gyrated in ways that most people can only wish they could. Muna and Kellylee encouraged the audience to dance with them and many obliged.
This portion of the performance segued into the encore where all of the divas came back onstage to bond with each other and the audience. Music may be a universal language that transcends all boundaries, but the camaraderie onstage between the women was genuine and it was clear that they truly liked and appreciated each other as individuals. The encore was liberating both for the divas and the audience.
The Divas Speak
Throughout the night, I had the opportunity to speak with the women about how they got involved with Global Divas.
Amanda Martinez attended the very first Global Divas four years ago, and was so inspired, she had hoped to participate. When she was asked to perform by Derek Andrews, one of the producers of the event, she was honored. St. Stephen's House has always been part of her community neighborhood and she feels it is "a good cause."
Tanya Tagaq Gilles was asked to perform and happily obliged. According to her, "women are the most beautiful creatures on the planet and not just humans. Females carry life of the whole globe."
Kellylee Evans loved the idea of helping youth and supporting Global Arcade. As a mother of two kids, both of whom are under five, she feels that the Youth Arcade "fosters a creative outlet, legitimizes it and makes it a viable option."
Zaki Ibrahim was familiar with St. Stephen's House and was happy to be involved with Global Divas. She feels that "St. Stephen's house is a good cause and it is great to get together with women…very powerful to do things like this and to work with other musicians from different backgrounds."
Muna Mingole said it was "great to see women uniting as one." She goes on to say that, "Global Divas is a great example of what women can do when they work together." Currently, Muna is involved with a shelter that serves immigrant women and children from the ages of twelve to thirty-five. She feels it is important to give something back to the community as people have given her so much as a performer.
Global Divas & All Women
The writer agrees with many of the sentiments articulated by the divas. Moreover, she believes that it is truly empowering to attend an all women's gala as it gives female singers a chance to shine on their own merit and independently of their male counterparts. This sends the message that women, regardless of their circumstances, are capable of succeeding on their own terms and do not need to rely on men to get ahead in life. Global Divas allows women to live vicariously even if it is for just one night.
