Bridgefest 2017 to Show Off International Music & Dance With "A Bridge Together'

Name: Go Local Prov
Price range: $

Thursday, May 25, 2017

GoLocalProv Lifestyle Team

Riya and Sara Kapoor (Photo credit: Kristin Hoebermann); Rez Abbasi (Photo credit: John Rogers)

Bridgefest 2017 is set to present a special Free concert and Newport Jazz Festival “extra” titled “A Bridge Together.”

The concert will take place on Thursday, August 3 at 6:30 p.m. on the Quad Stage at Fort Adams State Park.

Bridgefest

GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST

The event will showcase "the multicultural connections of music between movement." The two-part concert features dance segments by 17-year old twins, Riya and Sara Kapoor, along with a jazz quartet led by award-winning guitarist Rez Abbasi.

"These young women are tremendous. The dances are very intricate and beautiful, but what I loved is how they brought jazz into these very traditional art forms. They've modernized the dances in a wonderful way while adding a delightfully different perspective to jazz music,” said George Wein, founder and CEO of Newport Festivals Foundation.

Part I of the show is an exploration of music from West Africa, India and the US. To begin, there is "The First Beat," blending Indian Classical and traditional West African genres with instruments such as the mridangam and tabla played interactively with the West African djembe. Western musical tradition gets a turn with familiar sounds from guitar and saxophone. The result is a harmonious, unexpected cohesion, which makes the point that together we can choose to thrive.

Part II of the show introduces the expressive, athletic Kapoor sisters, whose intense study of Bharatanatyam has continued for more than a decade in New York City.

The Indian-American sisters first appeared on stage at age 15 at their debut event at Jazz at Lincoln Center.

The 2017 Jazz Festival

The 2017 festival is set to take place from Friday, August 4 to Sunday, August 6.

The festival will show off over 50 individual jazz ensembles on four stages including performances at the International Tennis Hall of Fame and Fort Adams State Park.

Click here for more information.

SEE HIGHLIGHTS OF THE 2016 JAZZ FESTIVAL BELOW