- [Announcer] Production of "Applause" on Ideastream.

Public Media is made possible by funding by Cuyahoga County residents through Cuyahoga Arts & Culture.

(bright classical music) - [Kabir] Coming up: We go behind the scenes with a Northeast Ohio dance company creating new choreography.

Explore the soaring work of a modern day Audubon.

And the Cleveland Orchestra delights us with a romantic symphony.

(bright classic music) (funky music) Hey, gang, you're just in time.

We're serving up another helping of "Applause."

Thanks for joining us.

I'm Ideastream Public Media's Kabir Bhatia.

Let's start on Cleveland's near West Side, where a dance company celebrates the culture and traditions of West Africa.

The Djapo Cultural Arts Institute was founded in 2009 by artistic director Talise Campbell.

Along with her husband and music director Weedie Braimah, Campbell recently created a new work.

This story is part of our special series: "Behind the Scenes: Art across Ohio."

(lively drum music) - We are here at the Pivot Center for Art, Music, Dance, and Expression.

Tonight, we are starting a premier piece called "Sandia of the Blood."

Company members know nothing about this piece.

Some of them may know a little bit if they've done some of our international travel voyages to West Africa.

But tonight our dancers are gonna get the opportunity to experience the music and the history and the folklore of sandia before we start diving into some of the dance techniques.

(Weedie speaks in foreign language) (group speak in foreign language) (Weedie speaks in foreign language) - Our musical director Weedie Braimah has gone to Mali numerous times, and he's like an encyclopedia when it comes to music, when it comes to folklore.

So he's gonna be diving into the music.

(group speaking in foreign language and clapping) - The dancers have to learn the rhythms, the musicians have to learn the rhythms.

Everybody learns the songs.

(group speaking in foreign language) - And notice.

(Weedie singing in foreign language) One two, three.

(group singing in foreign language) - My main job is to focus on how this music elevates them as artists and also how, the way that it elevates the audience.

We're preparing for a new piece.

It's a traditional folklore piece that comes from Mali by way of the ethnic group of the Manding called sandia.

The word sandia means new year, but it's done in honor of griots, which are the oral historians.

The word for griot in the Manding language is djeli.

That's spelled D-J-E-L--I.

(Weedie singing in foreign language) They're the ones to maintain the history, to maintain the knowledge, maintain the culture, maintain the preservation of narratives that's created within certain villages and certain areas.

(Weedie singing in foreign language) - Sometimes once a week or once a month, specifically in Mali, in West Africa, and people will go and the griots will show up and they will sing the praises of your family.

(group singing in foreign language) - [Talise] It's a communal event, so it's very lively.

(group singing in foreign language) - My main goal is for them to at least understand the timing of the music and how it goes, the way the songs fits into the music and how they're understanding the groove of the music.

Four times.

- I remember that.

- You remember this?

- Yeah.

- One, two, there.

(group singing in foreign language) (Weedie speaking in foreign language) - They're gonna get the history, they're gonna get the folklore, they're gonna get the musical foundations of sandia.

They're gonna learn the rhythms because that enhances their ability to dance it with happiness, with Jubilee.

You see the difference?

The word djapo itself means together.

And that's part of our mission, bringing individuals together to learn about the art, music, dance, history, and folklore of Africa and throughout the diaspora.

(lively percussion music) If you want to learn about a people, if you want to learn about a culture, dive into the art.

(lively percussion music) It's almost there, I promise yo.

If y'all can touch the floor just that one time on that first one.

(upbeat drum music) Oh, my goodness, we've made so much progress.

Our musical director has actually completed the orchestration of the music.

(upbeat drum music continues) So I have actually created the village.

You know, as we talked about before, sandia is an event with families and people who live, you know, in a compound or within the same area.

So what I'm doing now is creating that celebratory village, I'm recreating that space.

(upbeat drum music) We're still kind of working through it in placement.

I haven't really placed individuals yet.

I'm just still in that place where I'm seeing where people, how they feel with the movements that's been given to them so that we... We have all the choreography that's set, so now it's just kind of like moving through space to see where those final moments will be.

My philosophy is no paper and pencil.

I want you to feel the music, I want you to feel the song, understand the context and the foundational elements of the song and capture that.

And through practice, it just happens and we get it.

(upbeat drum music) I have to perform this for Dance Africa in Chicago.

I don't feel under the gun at all.

It's looking good.

It's just being able to bring the energy and to be able to show that for audiences, because that's my goal, is to make audiences feel something.

(group singing in foreign language) (lively percussion music) We are complete.

It is a finished piece.

I'm so excited.

Like, it's really finished.

(lively percussion music) - The music has its voice.

The dancers understand and has implemented what they've learned into their body.

And the song is now understood.

And the intent of what the song and the dance represents, the music represents, is now connected.

(group singing in foreign language) - What I want people to take away from this and the audience to take away from this is the beauty of longevity, tradition, and speech, because the job of griot is to be able to speak and maintain.

(performer singing in foreign language) - I want them to take away a piece of history, a piece of Africa.

We've lost so much.

So if you can get a piece of happiness, a piece of history, a piece of folklore, then we've done our jobs.

(group singing in foreign language) (upbeat percussion music) (audience cheering and applauding) (performers singing in foreign language) (performer singing in foreign language) (audience cheering and applauding) (performer singing in foreign language) - [Kabir] Djapo Cultural Arts Institute presents "Sandia of the Blood" at the Cleveland Public Theater for Kwanzaa holiday, December 19th through the 22nd.

Let's take flight to Tampa to meet printmaker John Costin, whose passion for birding is captured in his life-size artworks.

Costin's meticulous process creates prints that harken back to the days of Audubon.

(lively music) - One question I get a lot from people when they see my work, they look at it and say, "Why do you do etchings?

Why not do a painting and do reproductions?

Why not do that?"

And I tell 'em they're not the same.

There's certain visual qualities that etchings have that these other processes don't have.

- Most people do not know what etchings are and what is involved.

So I just say, "Well, he's kind of like a modern-day Audubon.

What Audubon did with plates, with birds, John makes his birds life size.

They're all hand painted.

They're extremely, extremely detailed because he goes out in the field and he studies feather patterns, leg patterns.

Like, for example, the sandhill crane that he just did, he spent 40 hours drawing those legs.

So I would tell people, if you want something very detailed and bright and beautiful, that you need to go see my husband's work.

(laughs) - My favorite thing about the work that John does is being able to just see him create it.

It is incredible to me to watch something start as an idea and just watch that idea come to life.

It is watching something magnificent unfold.

It's like this magical side of art that I get to bear witness to.

(gentle music) - We're in Ybor City.

This is sort of the outskirts of Ybor.

This building was constructed probably about 1904, 1905.

And this building was a dry goods store.

In the late '70s, I was an electrician.

And I had a great career there if I wanted to go that direction.

But I always had an interest in art and went to school at USF.

And while I was there, one of the classes I'd taken was printmaking.

(gentle music) - I met John 24 years ago, and it still blows me away the things that this man can do that I've never seen anybody else do.

And when other printmakers see his work, they are overwhelmed that he's using, you know, large plates, making birds life size, multiple plates, and hand coloring them as well, so...

I'm his biggest fan, I believe.

(laughs) - I like large-scale etchings.

I like the intensity of 'em.

Something you rarely see.

Most artists that do etchings, they're this scale, small, small scale because they're so intense two work on.

All the technical things that you have to do to do a plate that size, to work large is much more challenging.

- One of the most interesting things that I have learned working here and being a watercolor artist and assistant is color theory.

The way that John knows color so intricately blows me away, just on top of all of his other skills.

The colors that he uses, down to the shades of black, are so specific so that they really create a depth, a dimension to these birds that brings them to life, that really makes them pop off of the paper.

(lively music) - I look at a lot of these pieces as a scientific experiment, where you have the series of variables and they all have to be completed just right to get the right result.

So I document everything.

That way somebody can come behind me, that I've worked with and trained, and can achieve the same results as long as they adhere to my notes that I take.

(bright music) - With every bird that we work on, John and Janet share their knowledge and interesting things about them.

Most of them are life size.

So I get to see these birds up close in his etchings.

So my knowledge of birds has really grown.

- My interest in birds started when I was young.

Our family lived in Blue Ridge, Georgia.

We had a farm there.

Because of that, I was exposed to a lot of different birds in the area, and that piqued my interest.

When we moved to Florida, I had the chance to see a lot of these larger species of birds.

That created an even stronger interest in birds, seeing these upfront, close and personal.

- It's kind of weird to be emotional about birds because before I met John, you know, I didn't know, I did not know much about birds.

- I feel that when you look at a piece with just one subject like that, you empathize with it more so.

You're not just a distant observer, you're there in that bird's space.

It takes on a character, a personality.

One of my goals is for the viewer to connect with that subject matter, and that's one of the reasons why I just use one bird.

I'm hoping that maybe indirectly from them connecting with that bird, they might have more of a care about the environment they live in.

(gentle music) - It amazes me.

Some people will say, "Oh, well, is it just a print?"

'cause they see that it's signed and numbered.

No, (laughs) it's a handmade piece of art.

There's nothing done with a camera or a computer.

It's all handmade.

It's fine art and it's amazing.

(bright music) - In addition to my own work, I've been collecting antique prints for 30 years.

I have an interest in how other naturalists approach that.

You know, how did they, why did they do it?

How did they do it?

And I feel that I want to add to that with my work.

That's one of my goals, knowing all these things that happened before me and then adding my own thumbprint on there, a contemporary view.

(gentle music) - [Kabir] Now back home to Ohio and the Columbus headquarters of the beloved kids' magazine "Highlights."

Since its founding in 1946, "Highlights" has committed its colorful pages to helping children learn and grow.

The editors and writers create engaging stories, puzzles, and more for their young readers.

(Josie laughs) - [Andy] That infectious laugh belongs to Josie Bailey.

She's a rambunctious four-year-old who loves playing with her younger brother in her backyard just outside of Columbus.

It's sometimes a challenge, though, to get Josie to slow down and take a break.

(Josie laughs) But one thing that manages to capture her attention is a magazine.

- It is so pretty.

- [Andy] It's called "High Five" and it's the younger sister publication to the long-running "Highlights" magazine.

- Josie will look at the same magazine every day and find new stuff.

She gets really excited just recognizing different animals in the magazine.

- Mouses and foxes and bunnies and birdies.

- Josie really loves taking a marker or pen and she likes to draw her own illustrations.

- [Josie] He has two eyeballs in there.

- [Andy] Something that the Bailey's love is that they also read "Highlights" growing up.

- I think the coolest thing about "Highlights" magazine is it still looks the same, it still feels the same.

So, whereas a lot of other things have kind of changed over time, I feel like they're enjoying the same magazine that we enjoyed as kids.

- And hopefully they'll turn out as great as us.

(Andy laughs) - I'm so sorry.

(laughs) - [Andy] That same look and feel Mallory describes isn't an accident.

- There are certain things that appear in every issue of "Highlights."

We call those our legacy features and they're non-negotiable, they're in each issue.

So, for example, we always have a hidden picture in every issue of "Highlights."

In fact, there's been a hidden picture in every issue of "Highlights" since June 1946, the very first one.

- You heard it right, June 1946, nearly 75 years ago, "Highlights" debuted its first magazine and its longest running feature Hidden Pictures, the visual puzzle that pushes kids to focus and find small pictures inside a larger scene.

And that's not the only feature to stay consistent for generations.

Still in every issue is "The Timbertoes," a simple illustrated story centered around a wood carved family, which debuted in "Highlights" in '51.

And of course the wholesome "Goofus and Gallant," a comic featuring two contrasting characters: Goofus modeling bad behavior and Gallant modeling good.

They first appeared in the pages of "Highlights" in 1948 and are still a legacy feature today.

"Goofus and Gallant" in 1951, "Goofus and Gallant" in 2019.

There's an evolution in animation and everything, but there's still a very common theme between the two of them.

- Part of its appeal to young children is it's lack of ambiguity.

I mean, it's a little black and white.

It's practice for the big, harder moral decisions that are gonna come later.

Yeah, I love that Kids still love it today.

- We're always aspiring to be a Gallant, but also if I do something that's a little Goofus, how do I make up for it?

How do I apologize?

How do I make things right?

- [Andy] Highlights CEO Kent Johnson knows a thing or two about "Goofus and Gallant."

His great-grandfather Dr. Garry Cleveland Myers created the comic and founded "Highlights" magazine with his wife Caroline just after World War II.

- I like to say I did everything I could in my life to not join the family business and I failed at it.

- [Andy] According to Johnson, the mission of the business he runs today, headquartered in Columbus, has essentially stayed the same.

- We have to be dynamic.

We have to adapt to what's going on in the world, and yet the foundational values and principles, our commitment to children remains the same as it was at day one.

- [Andy] Something else that hasn't changed according to Johnson: kids.

- I think adults believe that everything's changed for kids, you know, the world's changed so quickly, like, being a child now has gotta be so different.

You know, we've got devices and it's busy and all of these things.

But what we know is kids still, still have some of the same issues they've had since 1946: "How do I get along with my siblings?

What happens when I have a falling out with my best friend?"

Those things are universal.

Those things aren't changing.

- And French Cully says Highlights knows kids well, not through consultants or focus groups, but by communicating directly with them the old fashioned way.

How do you find out what kids want to see?

- One of the things we do that I think is the best way to keep our fingers on the pulse of our readers is that we answer every letter and email we get from children, and we've done that for years.

You might be surprised to see the kinds of letters we get from kids.

They write to us about their deeply held hopes and dreams and fears.

It's as if we are their really very best friends.

We learn a lot about kids from what kids tell us.

I think we really are the publisher with the most authentic dialogue with kids.

- Rather than take their word for it, we decided to visit our own panel of experts.

We're talking about "Highlights" magazines.

Has anybody seen "Highlights" magazine before?

Yeah?

Well, we have a bunch of "Highlights" magazines for you to read today.

And then after a little bit, we're gonna talk to you a little bit more.

Does that sound good to you?

- Yeah.

- Okay, cool.

Ms. Burkhalter's third grade class at Evening Street Elementary School, not too far from Highlights headquarters had a lot to say about the magazine.

(child gasps) - Look at it.

- I learned about the the sea slug 'cause I didn't know about this yet.

- I liked how it has, like, articles.

And then it also has, like, stuff that you can like make.

And it has, like, little word searches.

- I like "Goofus and Gallant" because Goofus shows you him misbehaving and Gallant is showing you how to behave.

- They always have a couple silly things in there.

There's also some serious things.

Like, I don't know, this is funny.

- [Andy] But they were pretty unanimous about what they liked best.

- I like the Hidden Pictures.

- There's the butterfly back there.

Well, I like 'em because you have to, like, focus, like, on the little things instead of just the big things around.

For the Hidden Pictures, it's not easy.

Like, it's not in like a corner, like a corner.

It's like in people or, like, on people.

- [Child] It's challenging and it's fun.

- [Andy] Hidden Pictures, the longest running feature in the magazine, was also the most popular among this crowd.

Ms. Burkhalter's class was no stranger to the magazine.

In fact, it's been a familiar site in classrooms and in doctors' offices, by design, since the 1950s.

- So the dentist's office, the school program, those were ways to reach kids where they are.

- [Andy] But being where the kids are in an increasingly digital world means expanding beyond the physical pages of a magazine.

- We get to play games the majority of our day, so can't complain about that.

(laughs) In terms of digital, we definitely bring the same experience that the magazine brings to life in a digital format.

We are creating those deeply engaging, fun, enriching experiences; it just happens to be in a different medium.

- [Andy] Highlights has two websites, a podcast, a handful of apps, and is further expanding its digital presence.

One feature that's translated seamlessly to digital media- - [Kerstin] See how bad I am at it?

(laughs) - That's right, Hidden pictures.

We've seen through a lot of companies who find success in evolving and growing, but there's also this push-pull of not straying too far from your original message, not straying too far.

So how do you deal with that push-pull?

- So I often say inside the company, I say, "We're not a magazine company, and in fact we never were."

People look at me and they say, "What are you talking about?

You started as a magazine."

And I think the founders were about the impact they wanted to have on children.

So if we keep in mind that we're not committed to magazines, we're not committed to a particular channel, we're not committed to a certain product type or technology, what we're committed to is making a positive impact on children, that frees us up to think, "What has to stay the same?"

Certain values, certain beliefs about children stay the same, everything else can change.

(class chattering) - Oh, I like this.

(class chattering) - [Kabir] Let's map out the next round of "Applause" with an artist who's mapping the world with her colorful quilts.

We meet Deb Berkebile who went back to school to learn a new approach for an ancient art form.

Plus Cleveland painter Mark Howard explains why he made his artistic transition to abstraction.

And then hip hop artists Muamin Collective wrap things up with an in-studio performance.

All that and more on the next round of "Applause."

♪ 500 yards ♪ ♪ Uniform, mirror ♪ - [Kabir] I'm Ideastream Public Media's Kabir Bhatia thanking you for joining in on this round of "Applause."

As we say goodbye, the Cleveland Orchestra's Franz Welser-Most shares music by fellow Austrian Anton Bruckner.

This comes to us via the Orchestra's Adella app and features the first movement of Bruckner's Symphony No.

4 "Romantic."

(sweeping classical music) (bright classical music) (bright classical music continues) (lively classical music) (gentle music) - [Announcer] Production of "Applause" on Ideastream Public Media is made possible by funding by Cuyahoga County residents through Cuyahoga Arts & Culture.