Ardea Arts to Present BOUNCE The Basketball Opera at Paerdegat Park, 6/25-27

Ardea Arts announces BOUNCE The Basketball Opera, their latest project in development. Showcase performances will take place at Paerdegat Park in East Flatbush, Brooklyn Saturday-Monday June 25-27, 2016 at 6pm. For more information, visit http://www.ardeaarts.com/bounce/.

BOUNCE is grounded in pressing issues facing today's youth. Based on the Greek myth The Flight of Icarus, BOUNCE tells the story of Ike "The Flight" Harris, a high school basketball star bound for stardom. Audiences will see if "Flight" can rebound from the emotional and physical pain of gun violence as the story plays out on local basketball courts across the country.

Pairing diverse casting with a fresh approach to arts engagement, local high school students working along side seasoned professionals are integrated into the production using the powerful medium of basketball. They become the basketball players, the cheerleaders and Flight's classmates and teammates. Local and national community leaders also play a number of the adult roles.

Basketball is a simple game - get the ball in the basket. But this 'simple' game becomes complex when outside forces like money and fame challenge team ethics. Isaac "Flight" Harris, a gifted and ambitious young player is on a fast track to stardom until his wings are clipped by the actions of a jealous teammate. We experience Flight's descent, then the powerful epiphany that changes his world forever. Synthesizing the grandeur of operatic singing with the grittiness of street rhythms, electronic dance music and urban hip-hop vocal stylings, BOUNCE asks: how does one rise up after being knocked down? The answer is in the game of basketball itself.

The creative team includes: Grethe Barrett Holby (Opera Director/Creative Producer), Glen Roven (Lead Composer/Music Supervisor) and Charles R. Smith, Jr. (Story and Libretto), with additional music by Tomás Doncker, (Global Soul Composer) and Ansolo (EDM tracks). The Production staff includes Dr. Everett McCorvey (lead Music Director), Gloria Parker (Producing Director), Chidi Ozieh (Managing & Media Director) and Clarence Tennell (Basketball Coach). The cast includes professional singers, actors, a hip-hop artist and high school students from GMACC, Inc. (Gangsta's Making Astronomical Community Changes) in East Flatbush, The EBC High School for Public Service in Bushwick, and the Business of Sports School (BOSS) in Manhattan. The production is 90 minutes in length with no intermission.

Ardea Arts has been developing BOUNCE in partnership with The University of Kentucky Opera Theatre. BOUNCE partners and advocates include prominent local council members, community leaders, and basketball industry advocates. This project is made possible in part by the support of The Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund, The John and Jody Arnhold Foundation, with in-kind contributions from BOYLAN Bottling Company, Newman's Own, Inc. and Marquee Screen Printing.

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