Tonya Leslie
Hayden M. Greene
Hayden M. Greene
Hayden M. Greene is a spoken word poet who has been featured repeatedly on CBS. A veteran of the poetry slam circuit under the stage name The Blue Lion, Hayden’s work tackles the irony and uses vibrant imagery to draw attention to the sublime. He has hosted his own poetry house, Muses and is a frequent stand-in host for the Nuyorican Poet’s Café Open Slam. He can also be heard on his weekly podcast, The Greene House Effect.
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Flora Luyando
Flora Luyando
Dr. Flora Luyando, DACM, DiplOM, MSTOM, LAc, LMT, is a traditional Chinese Medicine practitioner who is a New York State and a Maryland State Licensed Acupuncturist, Herbalist and Massage Therapist. Dr. Flora is bilingual in English and Spanish, and her mission is to provide Eastern and Western treatments to all who seek to live a healthy and balanced lifestyle. Dr. Flora also works outside of U.S. She is the founder of a relief fund, in which she is very passionate about, “Healing Puerto Rico by Dr. Flora”, and a Co-Founder of Safari Tourism in Tanzania, Africa, dedicated to cultural & environmental habitats in East Africa.
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Baron A. Carr
Baron A. Carr
Baron A. Carr is an entrepreneur who develops and produces documentaries, feature films, podcasts, branded content, events and retreats highlighting inspirational BIPOC stories. He is also a member of The Harlem Chamber of Commerce and Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity. Outside of storytelling, Baron is a wellness advocate, certified RYT – 500 yoga instructor, practices Vipassana meditation daily, hosts an annual wellness retreat, enjoys coaching and teaching others how to live healthy lifestyles through meditation and yoga.
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Roopa Mahadevan
Roopa Mahadevan
Roopa Mahadevan is an NYC based, classical vocalist, crossover artist and dancer. She is grounded in the South Indian classical (Carnatic) tradition and also performs from a mix of genres. She is one of the leading American-born South Asian performers of Carnatic music in the diaspora – having performed in numerous venues which include: Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Hollywood Bowl and the UN. Her group, Roopa In Flux, is an ensemble, which plays improvised music: Jazz/R&B Soul. Roopa also directs the versatile Carnatic choir, Navatman Music Collective; and performs with the Brooklyn Raga Massive and Women’s Raga Massive. She is also a soloist on several albums, including “Calling All Dawns” which won the 2011 Grammy for Best Crossover Classical Album. Mahadevan most recent release is a Carnatic album called, ‘Roopa in Six Yards’.
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Bear Fox
Bear Fox
Bear Fox is a Mohawk woman of the wolf clan in Ahkwesasne. She is an accomplished singer, songwriter, and storyteller, who has produced more than half a dozen CDs of traditional songs, and collaborations she has developed with her singing group, The Ahkwesahsne Women Singers. After a tragic fire burned down her home, the family could barely make ends meet. It was through the Mohawk songs Bear Fox translated into English that she was able to help her family recover and survive. She is now a multiple Native American Music Award winner; with several albums which include: “Life Blanket,” “Gifts,” “Rich Girl,” & “Diamond”. She lives on the Ahkwesahsne Reserve, which spans the border between Northern New York State and Canada.
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Famoro Dioubate
Famoro Dioubate
Famoro Dioubate was born in Guinea, West Africa, and is the heir of Africa’s legendary bala master, the late El Hadj Djeli Sory Kouyate. Famoro is a grand Djeli, a living library of West African music and culture, and the one bala player who carries Sory Kouyate’s legacy. Famoro is widely sought after as a composer and arranger for countless West African and world music artists because of his extensive knowledge and talent in composition and arrangement, as well as immense archives of traditional, classical music of West Africa. No one stands more central as “keeper of the torch” for Djeliya than Famoro Dioubate. Famoro lives in New York and travels and performs internationally.
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Kevin Nathaniel
Kevin Nathaniel
Kevin Nathaniel Hylton, a Yale University graduate, as a Scholar in Fine Arts, is an artist, performer and multi-percussionist, who specializes in the ancient African mbira. He spent 16 years mastering the mbira as an apprentice to Zimbabwe’s mbira master, the late Ephrat Mujuru. Today Kevin has been dubbed, “The Johnny Appleseed of the Mbira” because he has taught tens of thousands of people around the world the art of mbira making and playing. He has composed music for Alice Walker for the film Beloved; and has performed at several institutions which include: Lincoln Center, Juilliard and Carnegie Hall; as well as working with renowned artists such as Oprah Winfrey, Jonathan Demme, Thomas Mapfumo, Miriam Makeba, Bobby McFerrin and Madonna. Kevin has also helped to create the “CAP” program of African Music for NYC schools at Symphony Space. He is also a founding member of several touring musical groups which include: Spirit Ensemble, Heritage O P, Forestdance, Kaleidhaphonic, Africa Meets India and Harmony Mbira. Kevin lives in NYC, his music can be found on Spotify, iTunes and other outlets.
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Tomas Rodriguez
Tomas Rodriguez
Tomas Rodriguez is a classical guitarist who has developed a unique repertoire for solo guitar performance that is rooted in his Spanish (Spain) ancestry. He has been guided by diverse styles of music that have inspired him, which include the folk music of Galicia, Spain; arrangements of the works of Venezuelan harp masters; Brazilian choros; Venezuelan waltzes; and contemporary flamenco. Tomas’s compositions include original works and have formed and performed in the trio called AFARA with Kevin Nathaniel and Hasan Bakr; AFARA has recorded six original songs to be released in 2021
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Leonard George
Leonard George
Leonard George, PhD, is a Canadian psychologist, writer, educator and broadcaster. He
is a life-long student of esotericism. He spent two years as a Research Fellow at the Institute for Parapsychology in Durham, North Carolina. After earning his doctorate at the University of Western Ontario, he worked for 19 years in a variety of clinical settings, specializing in the treatment of psychotic disorders, seizure disorders, pain management and traumas such as severe burns. He then worked in academia for 15 years as a member of the Department of Psychology and the Department of Music Therapy and served as the Chair of the School of Social Sciences at Capilano University in North Vancouver. Author of two books, Crimes of Perception: An Encyclopedia of Heresies and Heretics and Alternative Realities: The Paranormal, the Mystic and the Transcendent in Human Experience and dozens of chapters and article son a range of topics, he has for many years served as an advisor to the series of Esoteric Quests produced by The Open Center. (Photo by Abigail Saxton)
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