Maya's soaring and sensual performance is featured on producer/songwriter (and son of the legendary Bob), Stephen Marley's track, "Let Her Dance," from his latest Grammy winning Universal/Tuff Gong release "Mind Control." An upcoming single with popular dance producer Bob Sinclair promises radio play. Upcoming recording collaborations with HipHop artists in the underground scene include Immortal Technique, Cheeks (Lost Boys), Dres (Black Sheep), Hasan Salaam, Doujah Raze, and more. Maya recently had the Number 3 spot on BILLBOARD'S Hot Club Dance chart with the single, "Make It Happen" on Kult Records. Her recent Jason Fisher-directed video, "Set you Free," is on rotation at BET-J. Her voice may even have grabbed your attention through the national NAIR commercials in "The Less You Wear" and "Short Shorts" campaigns plus others like Gillette, Johnson & Johnson, Icy Hot, Macy's INC, Mike's Hard Lemonade, and Longhorn Steakhouse. Her focus, however, lies with her own band that has built an avid following throughout the world wherever they've traveled. Her sound has been compared to Roberta Flack, Chaka Kahn, Lauryn Hill and Jill Scott. What lies in common between all the comparisons is the high energy, excellent live show and huge range. mayaazucena.com
VANESSA HIDARY grew up on Manhattan's culturally diverse Upper West Side, graduating from LaGuardia High School of the Arts and Hunter College. Her experiences as a Sephardic Jew with close friends from different ethnic and religious backgrounds inspired her to write Culture Bandit, a solo show that chronicles Vanessa's coming of age during the golden age of Hip-Hop and her dedication to fostering understanding and friendship between all people. Culture Bandit, was originally produced by LAByrinth Theatre Company (Artistic directors; Phillip Seymour Hoffman and John Ortiz). It has since played as part of The Roar Theatre Festival at Nuyorican Poets Café, as part of The Downtown Urban Theater Festival, The Los Angeles Women's Theater Festival, the 3rd Annual Hip Hop Theatre Festival in Washington, D.C, The Revolutions Theatre Festival in Albuquerque, New Mexico, The Philadelphia Fringe Festival, and Makor Arts Center in the Hip-hop without Borders, festival and Most recently The Comedy Central Stage in Los Angeles. , where Vanessa attended as the Representative. She has aired three times on the "Russell Simmon's Def Poetry Jam" on HBO, and is featured in the film "The Tribe" which was selected for the 2006 Sundance Film Festival, 2006 Tribeca Film Festival in NYC., and for the 2007 Jewish Motifs International Film Festival in Warsaw, Poland, where Vanessa attended as the film's representative (www.tribethefilm.com). She has been featured in The New York Post, Time Out New York, The Jewish Week, Spitkickers.com, The Forward, URB magazine, BUST Magazine, The Los Angeles Times, Time Out NY, The Albuquerque Journal, and Lilith Magazine. Vanessa is also a member of the troupe "Nice Jewish Girls Gone Bad" , which has been featured at various NYC venues including Joe's Pub and Fez Café, and is currently touring the U.S. and Canada. hebrewmamita.com
DJ POPCORN Also known as Ron Garcia, DJ Popcorn has driven the steel wheels in Los Angeles, New York City, and everywhere in between. Spinning a range from punk/funk to progressive house, Popcorn is best known to New York audiences for his 2006 stint as promoter and DJ for dancelikeforever (www.dancelikeforever.com) a monthly dance party that lasted for a year at Center Stage, NY. Also an actor, Mr. Garcia is a member of terraNOVA Collective and the Los Angeles based theatre company Buffalo Knights.
terraNOVA Collective is a vibrant playground for artists devoted to innovative new and original theatrical works. Its multi-layered development process, solo arts festivals, and productions serve to nurture and liberate our community.
"...brings back the art of storytelling." - Backstage
www.TerraNovaCollective.org
