Press Releases

Mid Atlantic Tours Announces Artists Roster for 2008-2009

Baltimore, MD - Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation will provide support for the presentation of Inbal Pinto Dance Company, Cephas & Wiggins, Simon Shaheen, Christian McBride Band, and The Acting Company, during the 2008-2009 season through the Mid Atlantic Tours program. Mid Atlantic Tours allows the Foundation to select tours that are targeted for special purposes, such as reaching presenters addressing communities that are underserved by the arts, focusing on specific art forms, and supporting international cultural exchange. Funding for these tours is made possible with support from the National Endowment for the Arts Regional Touring Program.

These artists in the following performing arts disciplines are available for booking between July 1, 2008 and June 30, 2009:

Dance: Inbal Pinto Dance Company
Inbal Pinto Dance Company, the celebrated Israeli contemporary dance company, was founded in 1992 by choreographer and designer Inbal Pinto and actor-director Avshalom Pollak.  Together, they have built an international reputation for creating unique, highly accessible and entertaining dance theatre works. The 12-member company of dancers and actors has toured extensively around the world.  Inbal has received numerous dance awards including Israel’s Ministry of Culture Award for Dance (2000) and a New York Dance and Performance “Bessie” Award for her creation “Wrapped." 
http://www.inbalpinto.com/  

Blues: Cephas & Wiggins
John Cephas and Phil Wiggins are leading exponents of the Piedmont Blues – specifically its distinctive guitar style.  The two musicians joined forces in 1977, championing the East Coast style first popularized by artists like Blind Boy Fuller, Rev. Gary Davis, Blind Willie McTell and Blind Blake.  Cephas & Wiggins were awarded the “W.C. Handy Blues Entertainers of the Year” in 1987 and “Best Traditional Album of the Year.” Cephas is a 1989 NEA National Heritage Award Fellow.
http://www.cephasandwiggins.net/

World Music: Simon Shaheen
Palestinian oud/violin maestro and master educator Simon Shaheen, a 1994 NEA National Heritage Award winner, is one of the most significant Arab musicians, performers and composers of his generation. Known for dazzling his listeners as he deftly leaps from traditional Arabic sounds to jazz and Western classical styles, Shaheen’s soaring technique and melodic ingenuity have earned him international acclaim as a virtuoso on his instruments. His work incorporates and reflects a legacy of Arabic music, while it forges new frontiers, embracing many different styles in the process. In 2008-2009 he will be touring with his world-class ensemble.
http://www.simonshaheen.com/
 
Jazz: Christian McBride Band 
Christian McBride is THE bassist-in-demand. Over the course of three albums as a leader and over a hundred as a sideman, Christian McBride has arguably become the most acclaimed acoustic and electric bassist to emerge from the jazz world in the 1990's. He has performed with an impressive array of artists from McCoy Tyner and Sting to Kathleen Battle and Diana Krall. His own recordings encompass a diverse canon of original compositions and imaginatively arranged covers. McBride currently leads a quartet featuring saxophonist Ron Blake, keyboardist Geoffrey Keezer and drummer Terreon Gully.
http://www.christianmcbride.com/

Theater: The Acting Company
The Acting Company, America’s only nationally-touring classical repertory theater, was founded in 1972 out of the first graduating class of the Juilliard School’s Drama Division.  Established to tour smaller cities, towns and communities and make the language of theater accessible in performance, classes and educational outreach activities, the Company’s alumni include the likes of Frances Conroy, Kevin Kline, Patti LuPone and David Ogden Stiers. For the 2008-2009 season, The Acting Company joins forces with the Tony-Award winning Guthrie Theater to tour a new co-production of Shakespeare’s Henry V and a new adaptation of The Spy by James Fenimore Cooper. 
http://www.theactingcompany.org/

Presenters in the Mid Atlantic region (DC, DE, MD, NJ, NY, PA, USVI, VI, and WV) are eligible to receive support toward artist fees, although not all the roster artists are eligible for support in all the states and jurisdictions. Supported engagements must include at least one complementary activity that builds appreciation for and a greater understanding of the performance or the art form.

Presenters interested in booking any of the 2008-2009 Mid Atlantic Tour artists and receiving fee support should contact the groups’ agents directly. While there is no application process for Mid Atlantic Tours, funds are limited. Presenters are encouraged to pursue this opportunity and secure artist engagements as soon as possible to increase their chance of receiving support. 

Agent Contact Information

Dance:
Inbal Pinto Dance Company
Rena Shagan, Rena Shagan Associates
Phone: 212-873-9700             
E-mail: rena@shaganarts.com

Blues:
Cephas & Wiggins
Tina Terry, Piedmont Talent
Phone: 252-257-3538             
Email: wheremusicmatters@gmail.com

World:
Simon Shaheen
Jeff Laramie, SRO Artists, Inc
Phone: 608-664-8160
E-mail: jlaramie@sroartists.com

Jazz:
Christian McBride Band
Laurel Wicks or Jamie Ziefert, Ted Kurland Associates
Phone: 617-254-0007 
E-mail: laurel@tedkurland.com or james@tedkurland.com
 
Theater:
The Acting Company
Elaine Lipcan, Opus 3 Artists (formerly ICM Artists)
Phone: 212-584-7522 
E-mail: ELipcan@opus3artists.com

Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation supports the richness and diversity of the region’s arts resources and promotes wider access to the art and artists of the region, nation and world.