San Francisco Magazine Salutes "Oakland" in Style (June Issue)

On May 28th San Francisco Magazine celebrated the launch of their June issue which was completely 'dedicated to Oakland', at Encuentro Cafe & Wine Bar in Jack London Square.  Imagine that!  Why Oakland?  Because it's far past the city's time to be given the national and international recognition it deserves for being well beyond a trendsetter.  The June issue of San Francisco Magazine nails it when it comes to capturing the essence of Oakland from the Art scene to the politics of it all. 

Oakland is #1 when it comes to Innovation, Style and Diversity.  Many are behind the 8-ball in this discovery, but it's okay just don't sleep. My colleague Mashama Carter (510 Media), saw the writing on the wall more than 5 years ago during one of his many visits to the East Coast.  He came back to 'the town' and said that Oakland is going to be the next Brooklyn.  As his prediction would come true, the New York Times Magazine acknowledged the same in their recent article about Oakland as the Brooklyn By The Bay.

My favorite section in this issue is "The People - Neighboring Words of Wisdom // Lifestyles of the Important and Famous // Easter Sunday Fashion Show // East Oakland Hoop Dreamer // Artists Who Love Artists."  I would assume many that know me would see this as a 'no-brainer' in terms of why I gravitated to this section. I think you would like it as well so dive in and enjoy.  LOL. (Photo: SF Mag Cover)

As Oakland becomes, or is as many would say, the next best place to live, the city is certainly grabbing the attention of movers and shakers in various industries.  However, when film industry maverick Dexter Davis made the decision to move to 'the town' to take the reigns of innovating the movie-goer experience, it was simply brilliant.  Dexter Davis knew about the hidden treasures in Oakland when he expanded his company, D Street Media Group, headquartered in New York City, NY to opening an office in Oakland, CA.  Let's not stop there!  Mr. Davis took it a step further and made Oakland his home. Now while residing in the city, Dexter's plans for the film industry, from branded Apollo cinemas in South Africa to a 5-city tour of the Alice Walker documentary "Beauty in Truth", is a pure game changer and Oakland will absolutely never be the same.  Mr. Davis' travel to France for Festival de Cannes prevented him from attending the festivities yesterday, as it would have been an opportunity he certainly would not have missed.

The vibe, food and mixing was in high spirits yesterday at the SF Magazine celebration and these photos will tell that story.  This issue will become a 'hard find' so get to the newsstands now and purchase right away.  And go!

Oakland Media and Film Trailblazers Dexter Davis and Kalief Pleasant travel to France for Festival de Cannes

[May 12 – May 30, 2014] Follow Oakland’s own Media and Film trailblazers Dexter Davis, CEO and Kalief Pleasant, Asst. Producer of D Street Media Group, as they travel to France for Festival de Cannes. The Cannes International Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is one of the most prestigious and publicized film festivals in the world.  Dexter Davis has attended this festival for 12 consecutive years and the 13th proves to be yet another amazing experience,

D Street Media Group is headquatered in New York and the company also has a long standing international presence and now a West Coast influence with an office in Oakland, CA.  D Street is a privately backed media company and the holding company for D Street Releasing, D Street Pictures, D Street Records, D Street Medievertriebe, GmbH Germany and Americine, SRL Argentina. The company was founded in 2003 to address the growing need for a truly independent film production and distribution company – one that produces and releases art-house films successfully in the United States, and provides international producers a home for their films to take advantage of the most successful film market in the world. 

View the Journey - Dexter Davis and Kalief Pleasant

Contact Information:

Publicist for Dexter Davis

Y’Anad Burrell

Glass House Communications

Email: yanad@glasshousepr.com

Chinese Watercolors by Colleen Quen - June 12, 2014

Alonzo King LINES Ballet Opening Nite - May 21, 2014

With great anticipation and excitement, a packed house of supporters, donors and admirers were thrilled to experience yet another jaw dropping production and performance by renown dancers under the direction of visionary ALONZO KING.  This spring season's performance at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Theater in San Francisco, CA, which runs May 21st thru May 25th, is electrifying, thought provoking and exudes excellence in execution.

Throughout the performance, a running theme in my mind surrounded the concept of 'hurry hurry..calm down...hurry hurry..calm down'. This has a lot, or everything, to do with my own lifestyle, but I also found it to be relative to how we're living in this 21st century space.  To see that mindset danced out so beautifully on stage was definitely an 'aha' moment.

The finale performance 'Counting', a segment in Alonzo King's world premier of The Steady Heart, with music by Jean-Phillippe Rykiel & Lama Gyurme, was a 'sitting on the edge of your seat' captivating experience where you were as drawn to the music as you were to the entire company of performers dancing at perfection!  Every move of the dancers were in rymthic synch with the music and one could only guess what move or rhythm was next.  Now that was 'the best'!  An online standing ovation to Alonzo King for nailing it yet again!

After dancing with the company for the last 7 years Caroline Rocher (pic above) is moving on to new ventures in her life and this is her last season with Alonzo King LINES Ballet.  Caroline trained at the Conservatoire de Montpellier in the south of France and has been dancing for over 20 years.  Among Caroline's many accolates, she appears in the 2012 HBO movie Hemingway and Gellhorn, staring Nicole Kidman and Clive Owen.

Caroline has used her ballerina skills on the runway at fashion industry events and most recently at the 9th Annual Fashion On The Square, wearing couture designer Colleen Quen's design.

Alonzo King enjoys time with the supporters
 during the reception

About Alonzo King LINES Ballet
According to Alonzo King, the term LINES alludes to all that is visible in the phenomenal world.  There is nothing that is made or formed without a LINE.  Straight and circle encompass all that we see.  Whatever can be seen is formed by a LINE.  Alonzo King LINES Ballet is a celebrated contemporary ballet company that has been guided since 1982 by the unique artistic vision of Alonzo King collaborating with noted composers, musicians, and visual artists from around the world.

A few of the former dancers joined us at the reception and they were simply delightful!  For more about this season's performance and Alonzo King LINES Ballet's educational programs visit www.linesballet.org.  Purchase Tickets.

Art Market at Fort Mason - San Francisco - May 2014

Jenkins Johnson Gallery - San Francisco

Art Market San Francisco takes place at Fort Mason in San Francisco, May 15th - May 18th, 2014 and it brings together more than 100 art exhibitions under one roof.  The Opening Night Reception was no disappointment to the many attendees this year.  It's beyond an extraordinary experience to see Bay Area representation from the Jenkins-Johnson Gallery to artists from Toronto, Canada.  Catch the exhibit before it ends on May 18th.  Website: http://artmarketsf.com/.  Here are some of my favorites:

Model Call - 10th Annual Fashion On The Square WEEK

Model - Gift; Hair/Make-up - Sandreka; Designer
Christina Cree; Photographer - Kola

10^th Annual Fashion On The Square WEEK

July 19 – 27, 2014

Mode Call Auditions

Date: June 1^st and June 8^th

Time: 9 am – Noon

Location: Malonga Arts Center, 1428 Alice Street, Oakland

Donation: $5.00 (Cash Only) to benefit FOTS+TheArts

Requirements: No pre-registration required.  Ages 5+, girls, boys, men and women are welcome to audition.  All heights and sizes welcome.

You can arrive anytime between 9 am and Noon on either June 1^st or June 8th to audition for the 10^th Annual Fashion On The Square WEEK.  Bring a headshot with you (any size and either b/w or color that we will keep) The audition takes less than 5 minutes.  The large runway show dates are July 26^th & July 27^th and other events and smaller runway shows take place July 19^th, July 23^rd and July 25^th. 

For more information email info@fashiononthesquare.com.  Thank you for supporting Fashion On The Square and FOTS+TheArts.

Vator Splash Conference - Oakland, CA - May 2014

Y'Anad Burrell, Erik Moore and Kim Bardakian

Vator Splash is an international start-up competition and venture capital conference series, that brings together entrepreneurs, angel investors, VCs and high-tech influencers to discuss the current state of technology, innovation and investment. The 2-day event was held May 6th – 7th, 2014 in the historic Jack London Square, Oakland, Ca.  Splash is one of the signature start-up competitions and educational events, attracting thought leaders in the tech industry. Vator alumni have raised $150M+ in follow-on capital.  Some of the speakers included MC Hammer, Wayne Sutton (Founder, Pitch To), Erik Moore (Base VC), Cedric Brown (Kapor Center for Social Impact), Sarah Wagener (VP of Talent Acquisition, Pandora) and ashara Ekundayo (Chief Creative Officer, Impact Hub Oakland).

Website: http://vator.tv/events/splash-oak-may-2014