Female Dancers in Oakland Strut, Waack and Flex Their Way Into a Male-Dominated Scene
"Turfin," short for "Taking Up Room On The Floor," is a brash form of hip-hop inspired dance born in Oakland. But like so much of street-dance culture, turfin' is dominated by men. At least, it is has been. But as Andrew Stelzer tells us, there's a growing contingent of Turfin' women making a name for themselves in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Traditional Mexican Music Gets a Jolt of Electricity
This story traces its inspiration to a kind of music made popular by the 1958 Ritchie Valens song, "La Bamba." But what you might not know is that this song comes from a very old Mexican musical genre, the Son Jarocho. But now, it's being transformed, inspired in part by a new generation of California musicians. KALW's Julie Caine visited one of them at his San Francisco studio.
Bay Area Zydeco Master Spreads Love of Creole Music
Zydeco music came from the south -- Cajun Country in Louisiana to be exact. But it turns out Northern California has its own Zydeco music scene. It dates back to WWII and the Creole migrants who came to work in the shipyards and to find other economic opportunities. Reporter Rachel Dornhelm met up with a Bay Area musician who's one of the few Zydeco ambassadors outside Louisiana at the top of the art form.
My Spot: Flamenco Arts Dance Studio in Santa Rosa
Our occasional series called "My Spot" celebrates your personal experiences with parts of our diverse state -- places that mean something special to you. Today, we meet a waitress/caregiver who takes us to the studio where she dances flamenco!
Getting Classical in the Playa: Burning Man Diversifies its Musical Offerings
Each Labor Day weekend, 60,000 or so people gather in the Black Rock Desert of Nevada for Burning Man. Many are there mostly for the amazing artwork burners bring -- but there's plenty of good music, too. And this year, for the first time, there was a performance by a full string orchestra. One of the violinists was The California Report's own April Dembosky who brings us this story.