I'd like to meet:
2008 Performance Schedule. We look foward to seeing you all there.
February 13: Riverbank State Park Cultural Center - New York, NY
February 27: Cathedral of St. John the Divine - New York, NY
February 29: Nassau County Community College - Long Island, NY
March 1: Jacob Javits Convention Center - New York, NY
March 2: Jacob Javits Convention Center - New York, NY
March 20: Oakland Arts Center - Oakland, CA
March 21: Oakland Arts Center - Oakland, CA
March 22: Oakland Arts Center - Oakland, CA
April 17: PS/IS 72 - Brooklyn, NY
May 3: Jersey Gardens Mall - Elizabeth, NJ
May 10: Walt Whitman Hall - Brooklyn, NY
May 11: Walt Whitman Hall - Brooklyn, NY
May 13: Brooklyn College - Brooklyn, NY
May 24: San Francisco Carnival - San Francisco, CA
June 2: World Yacht Marina - New York, NY
June 4: Community Works: Riverbank State Park Cultural Center - New York, NY
June 11: Grady High School - Brooklyn, NY
June 21: Something Positive Presents "TRIBUTE" Celebrating the legacy of Cheryl Byron. For tickets and information, contact Something Positive at 718-252-4692 or e-mail [email protected].
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture - Harlem, NY
June 22: Kings Plaza Mall - Brooklyn, NY
Heroes:
Something Positive has been influenced by a number of individuals. Pearl Primus, Katherine Dunham, Martha Graham, Eugene Joseph, Alvin Ailey, Tina Turner, Mas Designer Peter Minshall, Josephine Baker and Jessye Norman are just a few. The aforementioned indivduals used their talents, energy and incredible determination to change the world view of African Culture.
As important as the above mentioned individuals are to African Culture and general pop-culture, the person who was,is and will always be the greatest heroine of Something Positive, Inc. is Our Mother... Our Founder... The late Cheryl Byron...
Cheryl Byron, Founder - Started her life as a visual artist in her native land, Trinidad & Tobago. There, she also studied dance with Neville Shepard and acted with the Caribbean Theatre Guild. While on tour in New York, her artwork won her a scholarship to the New School, where she studied fine art. She then obtained B.A. and M.A. degrees in English from City College of the City University of New York while maintaining her professional life, including being the first artist to perform her own original brand of poetry in a calypso tent in Trinidad.
Ms. Byron is a pioneer of the genres “Rapso†and “Dub Poetry.†She Studied dance with Pearl Reynolds, and became a member of the Primus Board “ Earth Theater.†She then became Dr. Pearl Primus’s special assistant, accompanying her on her numerous teaching and choreography assignments, including Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre.
Cheryl Byron performed on numerous International stages. Her talent took her to such places as Canada, Guyana, Barbados, Jamaica, London, Kenya and Nigeria. She was an ordained Reverend Mother in the Spiritual Baptist Faith and a Professor at Medgar Evers College and the College of New Rochelle in New York. She also taught at City College and New York City Technical College.
Ms. Byron was working on the completion of her Dissertation at New York University for a Ph.D. in Performance Studies with a Certificate in Museum Studies. She played one of the lead roles in the film “Homecoming,†aired on P.B.S., was a published poet in a anthology of poetry “Woman Rise,†and was featured on the album of dub poetry- “Womantalk,†Heartbeat Records. Cheryl Byron thanked God and the Orishas, Saints, Deities, Ancestors and the Something Positive Family and extended family and friends for their constant love and support. Throughout her life, Cheryl Byron was especially dedicated to children and believed that the youth are our best investment.
Cheryl Byron passed into
the land of the Ancestors on June 17, 2003
"Iba aye Iba aye Iba aye tonu"
