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Cayenne
Entertainment
Using Art To Empower
By Junious Ricardo Stanton In 2002 four friends got together to form a
group to empower, uplift and encourage young people to actualize
their God-given potential. The young ladies knew each other from
college and shared a passion for the arts as trained dancers,
choreographers, singers and actors. Sonni Giddiens, Bianca
Harris, Jamie Smith and Khalilah Ali-El formed Cayenne
Entertainment as a vehicle to share their skills, promote art,
grace, self-assurance and life skills for young women of color.
Currently the company is engrossed in an
ambitious project Weekend, a two-act dansical (a theatric
dance and music production) set to premier May 23-25 at the
Painted Bride Theater. Weekend is a semi autobiographical
piece about four friends and their activities during one weekend
of their lives. "We all went to school together and we
performed together so we decided since we're running around
performing together we'd start out own music entertainment
company," stated Khalilah Ali-El.
"We did the Dawn Staley Foundation Day
In the Park, The Black Women's Sports Foundations, The d'Zert
Club graduation. Bianca's church had a street fair and we did
that and we've done shows and weddings and a lot of church
events. Some of the things we do we do for free just to get our
name out there," added Jamie Smith.
Talking about their upcoming show they say,
"The show is called Weekend. It's about us during
the course of a weekend but it spans a lifetime. It has truth in
there but a lot of it is fiction." This quartet has totally
immersed themselves in the production project. "We have to
do everything," stated Ali-El.
"We wrote the script ourselves, did the
choreography ourselves. We selected the music. Sonni's been
cutting music at home. We're looking at nineteen dancers,
extras, drummers and we're bring in a choir for one scene. We're
looking at a cast of over thirty people," shared Jamie
Smith. "We're still working on it, we're designing the
costumes. We don't do the sewing but we do have a seamstress.
The things we can buy we buy the things that have to be made we
get the seamstress to make them. The Painted Bride is working
with us on the sets, lighting and things like that."
When asked if there were any males in the
production they fell out laughing. "It's because it’s
about four women but there is a club scene in it in the middle
and there will be guys in that and there will be some guy extras
but basically this is about four women. The story shows who they
are how they grew up and what they want to be in life."
The young ladies are learning as they go,
applying the skills they learned at Freedom Theater, as dancers
with the New Jersey Nets and Philadelphia 76ers and dealing with
a variety of personalities in their cast of dancers and actors.
"We've learned a whole lot, how to
juggle our time, the public relations aspect of this, the
financial piece and working with the cast. Actually it's not
that bad, some of them aren't that young and we're not old and
we're here for them for other reasons. We are mentors and big
sisters for a lot of them and a lot of them have gone through
Freedom Theater so they're disciplined and they share our vision
about dance and the arts," shared Bianca Harris.
Putting the show together takes much of their
time and it is progressing on target, however once this project
is completed they have other goals. Long term, they plan to
start a foundation and a performing arts school. "Our goal
is to start a dance school, find a spot for a dance studio and
continue to do shows, start a non-profit company working with
young women of color," stated Sonni Giddiens.
The ladies already work with many of the
younger children in the production on Saturdays in their dance
program and working with girls of various ages. They see
themselves as role models and mentors who can help encourage
them to pursue their dreams beyond dance or performing because
they know what it is to strive to actualize a goal.
Jamie is studying to be an ophthalmologist;
Khalilah is studying for the LSAT to get into law school; Bianca
wants to be a choreographer (she recently earned a Master's
Degree in Dance Education); and Sonni aspires to be a
professional singer. They hope to pass on to the young ladies
they teach the importance of discipline, perseverance and being
focused on one’s personal goals. So they mentor and work
within their program and this production.
"Cayenne is for young people. We're
trying to reach them through the arts but we're not just out
there teaching the performing arts, we're trying to positively
impact the lives of young people," stated Bianca.
They promise Weekend will be an
enjoyable show that has something for everyone. "We have a
little bit of everything: we have acting; we have monologues;
singing but the majority of it is dance. I would say it is for
people who are into performing arts," stated Sonni Giddiens.
They plan to market the show to the whole community, church
groups, colleges the performing arts community and schools.
For more information about Cayenne
Entertainment call (215) 843-8488 |
