THE BLACK PANTHER SUITE:
All Power to the People!
A Multimedia/Music/Live Video/Martial Arts
Revolutionary Vision Quest
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Credits:
Music and Concept by Fred Ho
Directed by Jose Figueora
Light by Jason Wells
Video by Paul Chan
Live Video Mix by Peter Shapiro
Photo Gallery
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Statement by Composer Fred Ho, 1998
Founded in the wake of the assassination of Malcolm X, the Black Panther Party came to symbolize the apotheosis of the explosive late-1960s in American society. Everything about the Panthers was provocative: their Mao-ist inspired political slogans, their ubiquitous black berets and leather jackets, their clenched fist Black Power salute, their big Afro-hairstyles, their practice of openly bearing firearms, and their disciplined militancy and revolutionary political vision. The Black Panthers not only fired the imagination of their generation but also shifted the strategy of the African American struggle and all movements for justice and social change in the United States by seeking solutions rooted in a basic redistribution of power.
A composer/musician and Asian American, I came of age as a teenager in the late-1960s and early-1970s. The energy of this movement and the music of that time set the direction for both my life and my music. I even joined an Asian American counterpart to the Black Panthers (c.f., Legacy to Liberation: Politics and Culture of Revolutionary Asian Pacific America, AK Press). I believe that the same issues of 30 years ago continue today with even more urgency and intensity. That is why I envision ALL POWERTO THE PEOPLE! THE BLACK PANTHER MUSIC/VIDEO AND MARTIAL ARTS BALLET SUITE not as a docu-drama looking back to the late-1960s/early-1970s, but as an occasion to continue the energy, spirit and vision of that period and link it to today. This, I feel, would be the real and sincere way to commemorate and celebrate the Panthers.
Combining live music performed by the Afro Asian Music Ensemble with electric guitar and African percussion (eight musicians), live interactive digital video mixing and martial arts ballet choreography, the interactivity and dynamism of this one hour performance work creates a revolutionary VISION QUEST. The video component collages newspaper images, posters, flyers, video clips and text in a gigantic scenescape to serve as the only scenic design and narrative element for the music and martial arts ballet.
The martial arts ballet is based upon Chinese kung fu and wushu, to evoke and pay homage to the inspiration of the Chinese revolution and Mao Zedong upon the Black Panthers.
Press Quotes:
"Nine years in the making, initially conceived as a type of ballet, the Black Panther Suite: All Power to the People is a revolution in its fusion of historical artistry. In its unique treatment of one of the most controversial, dangerously challenging political movements in American history, the work represented here will undoubtedly age as a premiere document in understanding our legacy of racial turbulence.
The combination of Chinese-American composer Fred Ho's music and the stunning video artistry of Paul Chan make for a historical anecdote that is both soulful and revelatory. Without literally preaching the cause of Black Power salutes or reminding the viewer in tired prose of its subject, the broad imaginative gesture of hundreds of years of oppression sink in slowly, more emotionally than cerebrally. The percussion heavy score, teetering between traditional Chinese and jazz is uncompromising and the wildly accomplished Ho's brilliant intensity cuts through on The Black Panther Suite from open to close. His Afro-Asian Music Ensemble is a dynamic force, a powder keg of moving incendiary fury. For both culturists and free-form jazz fans, this is a must have." Erick Mertz, www.cosmik.com
"Whether you're looking to fight the power and shout down The Man, or simply take in a mind-blowing fusion of music, video, and martial arts, you'll find it at the world premiere of 'The Black Panther Suite: ALL POWER TO THE PEOPLE!…' Ho and the Afro Asian Ensemble connect yesterdays Movement to today's struggles against corporate globalization, political imprisonment, and racism and brutality by police, reminding us that there are bigger injustices in the world than that time last week when the campus police officer stole your beer." Weekly Dog, Northeastern Univ. campus newspaper, Boston, MA
PERFORMANCE POSSIBILITIES:
Music Only: 8 musicians
Music with Live Digital Interactive Video: 8 musicians with two video artists
Full Vision Quest Performance with Music/Video/Martial Arts Ballet: 8 musicians, two video artists, 5 martial arts, stage manager.
