This performance celebrates women's contributions to the classic Caribbean art form of Calypso - a musical world traditionally dominated by men. Three prominent women of the genre, Singing Saundra, Queen Fayola and Princess Kizzie will perform their celebrated form with a unique twist. All three have won hosts of awards and regularly place in the finals of Calypso competitions during Carnival and year-round. Women of Calypso will be an evening of music, theater, social commentary and autobiographical musings with humor and razor-sharp "extempo," which is an improvisational singing style made famous in Calypso. Women of Calypso was born out of a multi-year exchange through the Performing Americas Program of the National Performance Network, which has explored international collaborations with the various facets of Calypso and its culture, and showcases music and song from the English speaking Caribbean.

Free Panel & Workshop:
History of Women in Calypso
Thursday, March 31, 2011 at 8pm

The female calypsonians will each deliver a short lecture and engage in conversation with the audience members. DVDs will be shown and CDs also utilized to show examples of women calypsonians past and present.

Performing Americas Program is a partnership between the National Performance Network (NPN) and the Network of Cultural Promoters of Latin America and the Caribbean (La RED) designed to increase artistic exchange in the Western Hemisphere. Performing Americas program is supported by NPNB with funding provided by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and the Robert Sterling Clark Foundation. For further information, visit the NPN website at www.npnweb.org.