- Hi, I'm Satori Shakoor, and here's what's coming up on "One Detroit Arts and Culture".

An inclusive center to learn new art forms.

A dance company pays tribute to a Motown great.

A Ukrainian band with a Detroit connection, and a performance by a drummer and her collaborators.

It's all this week on "One Detroit Arts and Culture".

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Masco, serving Michigan communities since 1929.

Support for this program is provided by the Cynthia and Edsel Ford Fund for Journalism at Detroit Public TV, the Kresge Foundation.

- [Announcer] The DTE Foundation is a proud sponsor of Detroit Public TV, among the state's largest foundations committed to Michigan-focused giving.

We support organizations that are doing exceptional work in our state.

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(soft upbeat music) - Hi, and welcome to "One Detroit Arts and Culture".

I'm your host, Satori Shakoor.

Thanks for joining me here, at the Metropolitan Museum of Design Detroit, which is in the same building as Collected Detroit on Fourth Street, just off the Fisher Service Drive.

the museum provides educational enrichment and experiential opportunities to diverse communities, as it relates to the design industry.

Coming up on the show, the Dance Theater of Harlem takes on the Motown sound and rehearses at Hitsville USA.

And we reach out to Ukrainian band DakhaBrakha during this traumatic time.

But first, the Center for Performing Arts and Learning encourages people of all ages and abilities to take classes in the arts of diverse cultures.

We went to Cen4Pal to peek in on all they have to offer.

(soft gentle music) - Nothing holds me back, if I can dance, I'll do it.

This is the Center for Performance Arts and Learning.

This is where culture and diversity comes together.

This is where six to 600 is our new hashtag.

Age is not a limit, your ethnicity is not a limit.

Your gender is not gonna hold you back.

Your beliefs don't hold you back.

- We strive to bring an all-inclusive and safe environment for any walk of life.

Any human being that wants to be an artist can come here and be welcome here, and be a part of what feels like a family.

- Nandita has a great heart for people and she pushes.

We want everybody to be comfortable and we want everybody to try something they've never tried before.

So this is a very unique place.

- [Nandita] We are actually right at the border of Novi, which we were looking for something which was easily accessible.

But I think when we walked in, sounds cliche, but the space just seemed right.

This is basically a springboard for young instructors, for young artists, for people who want to learn, and they're in a very safe space.

- It is so important for people to learn about other art forms, because it's the same way about learning history, or learning math, or learning reading.

It creates a holistic view of the world.

- In the dance world or in the music world, a lot of what is competitive leads to broken self-esteem, leads to, you know, broken dreams.

So we're trying in our own little way, trying to build people back up, I guess.

- [Collin] I think what really causes confidence to grow here is that nurturing environment.

So you see people walking in who have never taken this class before, grow from complete beginner to very, very fluent in the motions.

And it's so cool to see that really positive, really nurturing environment, really helping inspire people to succeed.

- We have four basic areas, dance, music, art, along with creative expression.

Creative expression includes languages, speech classes, communication classes.

Music of course covers, you know, your drums and guitar.

That was the four basic areas we started work with, drum, guitar, voice, and keyboard.

Now we've expanded into viola, violin, flute.

We are talking to a cello instructor as well.

- I teach voice, and I'm gonna be the one directing the community choir.

That's going to be an incredibly wide age range, which I find to be very unique.

You don't really see a lot of community choirs anywhere that have age ranges from early high school or even middle school to middle age.

It really doesn't matter what age you are.

- We do have a student who has actually been invited to sing for the Pistons.

He's gonna be singing the National Anthem for the Pistons in March.

- [Collin] It makes me proud to see them thriving.

- [Nandita] Dance classes cover your ballet, tap, jazz, international dance styles, classical dance styles, aerial arts, we just introduced a mixed aerial arts class, and then fitness.

- [Collin] Some of the really unique ones that we have are the aerial silks classes or the lyra classes.

- Our aerial program has grown over the last year a lot, because of the commitment that I've made for it, and what the vision that I've wanted for it, and Nandita has backed me up all the way, which is great.

We went from having two straight fabrics to now all these other apparatuses, and all these different things that these students can learn.

I like the fact that it takes a lot of strength and it's a very difficult discipline.

I want the students to leave every week, how I felt when I first started, which was when I got in my car, I didn't wanna leave.

I wanted to go back in and just keep playing.

It's a great stress reliever.

It's a workout, I mean if you're on that apparatus for 45 minutes to an hour, even if you're on and off of it, you're burning calories, you're building muscle, you're building confidence.

- [Collin] There's a lot of Bollywood-style dance classes that we have that you really can't find at a lot of places nearby.

- One, two.

I teach Bollywood classes.

I teach both classical semi classical, and you know, your contemporary Bollywood music-based classes.

- [Gary] If an instructor has a passion for it, we can tell.

- Our biggest strength is our instructors.

They're all qualified, they're all passionate teachers.

That is what makes them so unique.

- I just love it because she's seen what I can do, and we get along really well and can communicate just fine.

And she kinda just has thrown the ball in my court.

Allows me to create my own syllabus, allows me to just be creative with the students, set goals with them.

- This is the most comfortable way to step outta your comfort zone.

There are things you can do here that you never thought you would do, but it's the most comfortable way to do it.

- If you are sitting there watching this, just do it.

There is nothing holding you back.

We are here and we want to have you here.

We want to help you succeed here.

- When we started about two years ago, we just started with this one building, pure dance classes.

Today we are sitting at two different studios with about 23 different classes we offer.

The goal is still to work with as many people as possible.

It's very satisfying.

It makes us happy to see that we are able to do what we are able to do.

- I want to bring love to the community, a smile at the very least, and something that they fall in love with at the most, Because at the end of the day, I truly feel like art is what makes us human.

And when we love art, we're able to love people.

So I want to kind of share that with the world.

I wanna share that with every person that walks in these doors.

(soft gentle music) - Next up, the Dance Theater of Harlem performed a tribute to Motown great Stevie Wonder at the Michigan Opera Theater earlier this year.

The dance troupe also had the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to rehearse where all those Motown hits were created, Hitsville USA.

"One Detroit's" AJ Walker caught up with the company during their rehearsal.

- [Robert] One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight and one.

- [Satori] The Dance Theater of Harlem combined movement, melody and history at the Motown museum when they previewed some of the dance moves for their upcoming show at the Michigan Opera Theater.

- All right, good, good, good, good.

All right, let's go now with just me not shouting.

The premiere is a ballet to the music of Stevie Wonder.

The title of it is "Higher Ground", named after that great, great song by Stevie Wonder.

And here we are in studio A, where Stevie Wonder got his start.

It is really quite remarkable to be in this space.

I can smell the artistic intention and the artistic energy of the past years flooding forward and moving us forward into the future.

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, and one.

- [Satori] Robert Garland, resident choreographer of the troupe, said they chose the music of Stevie Wonder because his music has a message.

- Now we need his music more than ever.

It is very rare you hear artists now that address in full frontal fashion the things that are going on at the time.

And I felt that Stevie Wonder's music was appropriate for this moment.

- I mean, you listen to "Higher Ground" and you watch their performance, and it's moving, because so much of it is still so relevant.

- The music that was created during the '70s post Civil Rights was music that was ready to address absolutely everything about what wasn't happening, after the great work of Dr. King and his assassination.

- [Satori] The song "Higher Ground" was written in 1973, just a few years after the Civil Rights movement.

it was on Stevie Wonder's "Inner Visions" album, which featured tracks that addressed social injustice.

- I think we're in that moment right now too, with the Black Lives Matter movement.

It is exactly the same tone, exactly same politic, just 50 years later.

- [Satori] Lindsey Donnell, senior company member with the Dance Theater of Harlem, says the recent social justice protests had an impact on her passion for dance, especially this upcoming performance.

- Living through the pandemic and the Black Lives matter movement, I think it's changed the way all of us approach the piece, and feel about the significance of the work, and that it's so meaningful.

And like to represent a time and bring that forward into today, Kind of with the same message, I think is really special for our company.

- [Satori] Their trip to the Motor City has been several years in the making.

It was pushed back indefinitely due to the pandemic.

- I'm happy to return to Detroit in 2021, because actually this ballet was to have premiered in 2020 in March, but we had to go back to New York City and wait until this moment due to the pandemic.

- [Satori] But now that they're here, they say the weight built up anticipation, And the history in this building filled them with inspiration and purpose.

- Just being here in Detroit, coming to the Motown Museum I think is really going to continue to inform our performance in January.

- It's good to see the dancers get an opportunity to interact with their history.

We can't lift the museum up and take it to New York.

So he brought the dancers to Detroit.

- [Satori] Robin Terry, CEO of the Motown Museum, says their presence, coupled with the legacy of legendary Motown artists was momentous.

- Having Robert Garland and these really talented dancers from the Dance Theater of Harlem right here in Detroit, in the belly of Motown at Hitsville USA, to not only be inspired, but to give inspiration, I mean, their dance was absolutely stunning.

And for these young people to have an opportunity to be here in Detroit at the place where Stevie Wonder got his start, where he was inspired to greatness, for them to have that opportunity as they prepare to do their performance to "Higher Ground" was just something extra special.

- [Satori] After their performance preview, the dance troupe took a tour of the museum.

- [Robin] You are so empowering in your own right, and through your dance and just your mere existence.

I just want you to know the power you have.

- [Robert] You do this, and then you do that.

- [Satori] While this performance is a chance to prepare to dazzle the crowd during the show to come.

- Of course, practice makes perfect.

- Our preparation with Mr. Garland, you know, we learned the steps and then we continue to practice it, continue to fine tune all the details.

- [Satori] They say dancing in the Motown Museum dazzled them as well, and will be an inspiration when they take the stage.

- The more that we learn about the history of Stevie Wonder himself, and the Motown legacy, I think has just been really wonderful to like, continue to add that and to make it more special, more personally meaningful, which I think will come out in our performances in January.

♪ Til I reach the higher ground ♪ ♪ No, no one's gonna be around ♪ - The war in Ukraine connects to us in Detroit in so many ways.

Ukrainians and Ukrainian Americans number in the tens of thousands here, and around the state.

Their culture touches all of us, including music.

One of Ukraine's leading bands has found its way to Detroit, as part of the Concert of Colors series in recent years, seen on Detroit Public TV.

The group is called DakhaBrakha.

Concert of Colors founder Ismael Ahmed checked in with them in their homeland.

"One Detroit's" Bill Kubota has the story.

- [Bill] DakhaBrakha, likened to Russia's Pussy Riot, persecuted for their fight against political oppression.

But DakhaBrakha, they're Ukrainian, with a Detroit connection.

- The music is out there.

It has a Ukrainian traditional base, but goes every which way.

♪ Oom ah ♪ ♪ Oom ah ♪ They're big into jazz, they're big into rock.

They even do a little bit of Ukrainian rap, but it also has a very classical sound.

It's really hard to pinpoint the style, because it's their own style.

(singer singing in foreign language) - [Bill] DakhaBrakha's made appearances in the local Concert of Colors music series, seen here on Detroit Public TV, thanks to Ismael Ahmed.

Ahmed created the series.

He got to know the band through his Public Radio program.

- Given that I, you know, work at WDET and do "This Island Earth", which is I guess a world music show, but a show that is allowed to go everywhere, and that's unusual for radio.

It's a good fit, and so I play that quite a bit.

(lively energetic music) (singer singing in foreign language) - [Bill] Performances like these perhaps at risk, part of the culture many Ukrainians believe the Russians would like to do away with.

Ahmed's talking with the band's artistic director, on the line from Ukraine.

- Yes, have you been affected by the bombing?

- [Iryna] We can hear it all the time.

Sometimes it's closer sometimes it's far, but my house is still safe.

- I was talking to Iryna Gorban.

She's very much part of the band, she travels with them.

She faces everything they face.

- [Iryna] We sleep in the bathroom or in the basement, because we have these air alarms all the time.

- [Bill] DakhaBrakha has been protesting war and the Putin regime during their shows for years.

The band members are hunkered down in undisclosed locations.

They're okay for now.

(soft driving music) - [Ismael] It's a mainly women's group, and so I don't think men could make that kind of music.

(woman rapping in foreign language) They conquer their audiences over and over, and the word spreads.

They're now a major world performing group.

(woman rapping in foreign language) Turns out that their agent, Bill Smith, is an old friend of mine, and he is a, I don't know, a discoverer.

He finds some of the best music on the planet, and not your normal music.

So he's the one that turned me onto them.

(band singing in foreign language) - [Bill] DakhaBrakha first toured North America in 2013, returning often until COVID hit.

There were plans to come to the US again in late March, but then came war.

- They are literally shelling right now.

And one of the things I was warned is that they might have to duck for cover in the middle of the interview, or maybe it wouldn't come off.

The Russian authorities are trying to take down internet and all possibility of communications.

So this was done under duress, but they are brave and Iryna is brave.

And so you know, they want the world to know what's going on.

- [Iryna] I don't know how to explain this, but people get used to it.

So now we are all in this kind of stress, then we try to be united, try to be calm, try to help each other.

We really believe that as long as we can stay here, we will stay here.

I tell this now, because now I'm like calm and confident but in several hours, I don't know what will be.

So maybe I change my mind in several hours, and left city this night or tomorrow, so nobody knows.

(singer singing in foreign language) - Whether it's Concert of Colors or "This Island Earth" on WDET, we're living in a world where this music is being made, where horrible things are going on, and people are struggling, but they're also struggling to tell us, and they do that through their music.

Music is a powerful force.

I'm happy that I'm able to help get out the word through these musicians.

We have to understand what kind of world we live in, and we can't stay numb to things like starvation, and refugees, and immigration problems and war.

I mean, literally there is war happening all over the planet.

Some smaller wars, some huge wars like this one.

We've got to be involved, and the music helps us to do that.

(band singing in foreign language) Do you think that you will ever be playing music again?

- [Iryna] For sure, and no any doubts.

And I think we will do it even sooner than it's expected, because I'm sure now the world needs Ukrainian culture to understand the difference between Ukrainian and Russian people, and to see the details of Ukraine and Ukrainian culture.

(singer singing in foreign language) - They are a direct target, and they've been told that.

They are one of the most powerful voices in Ukraine against what is happening, both culturally and politically.

And so they do these interviews at a great, great risk.

(singer singing in foreign language) Well, we'd love to have you back in Detroit.

- Thank you, thank you.

We're really also just, we are missing US so much because of these two years of break in touring, yes?

it's really very moving and very, very great to hear this.

(energetic disjointed music) (crowd cheering) - For more information on DakhaBrakha and all of our arts and culture stories, go to our website at onedetroitpbs.org.

That's gonna do it for tonight.

Thank you for joining me, and thank you to the Metropolitan Museum of Design Detroit for having us out at their gallery.

I'm going to leave you with a performance by Aisha Ellis from "Detroit Performs Live from Marygrove".

Enjoy, and I'll see you next Monday.

(mellow jazzy music) (mellow jazzy music continues) (mellow jazzy music continues) - [Announcer] From Delta Faucets to Behr Paint, Masco Corporation is proud to deliver products that enhance the way consumers all over the world experience and enjoy their living spaces.

Masco, serving Michigan communities since 1929.

Support for this program is provided by the Cynthia and Edsel Ford Fund for Journalism at Detroit Public TV, the Kresge Foundation.

- [Announcer] The DTE Foundation is a proud sponsor of Detroit Public TV, among the state's largest foundations committed to Michigan-focused giving.

We support organizations that are doing exceptional work in our state.

Visit DTEfoundation.com to learn more.

- [Announcer] Nissan Foundation, and viewers like you.

(mellow jazzy music) (bright piano music)