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The Montreal International Jazz Festival canceled a controversial show, SLAV, featuring African-American slave songs played by a largely white cast dressed as cotton pickers and field workers [19659002]inclusion and reconciliation between communities is essential, "said the festival in a statement Wednesday." We made the decision with the artist Betty Bonifassi to cancel all performances of the show at the festival. "
SLAV – produced by veteran stage and director Robert Lepage and sung by Bonifassi and six other artists – was previously touted as a" theatrical odyssey based on slave songs. "Bonifassi, a Montreal singer, is best known for her Oscar-nominated work on the Belleville Triplets soundtrack, which included a performance at the 2004 Oscars.
The world premiere of SLAV on June 26th at the Theater The New World Movement in Montreal was overshadowed by a street protest during a presentation on slave songs performed by an essentially white cast. American singer-songwriter Moses Sumney canceled Tuesday his own performance at the prestigious Montreal Jazz Festival about the SLAV controversy
"There's nothing wrong with whites wanting to work on slavery., is appropriative, hegemonic and neo-imperialist (tickets at $ 60 – $ 90 … I would have preferred to see real black Americans sing their own slaves songs.), wrote Sumney on his Tumblr page
Montreal's annual Jazz Festival is a 10-day affair that offers both free outdoor shows and indoor ticketing events that feature rock, blues and This year's event features Seal shows, Bobby McFerrin, Leslie Odom Jr., Charlotte Gainsbourg and Ziggy Marley.
The Montreal festival said that it was "shaken and strongly affected by all comm received "and promised repayments to
This article originally appeared in THR.com.
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