Contact:
Luke Patterson
(213) 250-8800

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Breathe, Laugh, Share, Buy…at Great Leap’s Courtyard FUN-raiser 2004!


LOS ANGELES, Calif.—Great Leap, a community-based performing arts organization dedicated to cross-cultural understanding, will hold its 3rd Annual Art Auction on Saturday, Oct. 2. Actor/writer Amy Hill and Mathew St Patrick, who plays Officer Keith Charles on the groundbreaking HBO series “Six Feet Under” will co-chair the fundraiser.

The event will take place at the Senshin Buddhist Temple, 1311 W. 37th St., Los Angeles, from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Tickets are $50.

Throughout the afternoon, Great Leap performers will share poetry, songs, dances and performances from the ensemble’s most recent program, “To All Relations, Sacred Moon Songs.” Provocative works to be presented include an excerpt from “Repatriated Dreams” by Jo Anna Mixpe Ley, which deals with the migrations and manipulation of Mexican Americans, and Nader Elmakawi’s “The Race Track,” which depicts his fear of Muslims being sent to internment camps.

Also at the event, actor Barry Shabaka Henley and gourd artist Howard Swerdloff will emcee a live auction featuring unique pieces from area artists including Patricia Boyd, Charles Dickson, Raoul De la Sota, Howard Swerdloff, Peter Dudar and Sally Marr. Additionally, a silent auction area will feature a variety of items for the mind, body and soul, including yoga classes, massage sessions, jewelry and more.

Artistic Director Nobuko Miyamoto founded Great Leap in 1978 as an Asian American dance company. Today it is a nationally recognized organization bringing theater, dance and music to diverse communities all over the country. Great Leap’s touring production, “A Slice of Rice, Frijoles and Greens” brings the multicultural experience to college audiences across the country and to more than 180,000 children in Southern California schools since 1995. Great Leap’s residency workshops in communities across the country from Detroit to Watts and Boyle Heights have brought together diverse constituencies through theater, performance and storytelling to promote a better understanding of how we can nurture a sense of appreciation for our unique diversity.

For more info about Great Leap’s Courtyard Fun~raiser 2004, auction items or to RSVP, please email luke@greatleap.org, call Luke Patterson at (213) 250-8800, or...