SOUL NITE 2!
Co-presented with Project Row Houses
With Curator Peter Lucas in attendance
Friday, February 4 & Saturday, February 5, 7PM
Location: Eldorado Ballroom, 2310 Elgin Ave.
$10 Non-Members, Aurora Members Free with RSVP
The weather may stop the dancing on Friday, but we are still planning for a strong shot of Soul on screen on Saturday at the historic Eldorado Ballroom. This special event will raise money for scholarships for the youth programs of Aurora Picture Show and Project Row Houses. Please consider making a donation online or at the event.
Guest curator Peter Lucas presents classic and rare performance footage on the big screen and cranked up loud! This one night will feature an all-star selection of 1960s performances featuring Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, James Brown, Aretha Franklin and many others. Then, the fun continues with an entirely different selection of performance footage following Soul music into the early 70s. Things get funky as performers including Stevie Wonder, Curtis Mayfield, Sly & The Family Stone, and Ike & Tina Turner heat up the screen. Dancing in the aisles is encouraged.
ABOUT PETER LUCAS
Houston native Peter Lucas is the Education Associate with the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston. Peter has been Associate Program Director at Northwest Film Forum and Film Programmer for the Seattle International Film Festival. He has developed and curated music-related film programs for Experience Music Project, Earshot Jazz Festival, Sound Unseen Music & Film Festival, Alamo Drafthouse Cinema and other venues and organizations.
ABOUT THE ELDORADO BALLROOM
The Eldorado Ballroom at Elgin and Dowling Streets was built in 1939 by renowned Houston architect Lenard Gabert, who designed many of the citys large art deco structures. The owner was African-American businesswoman Anna Dupree (1892-1977), who wanted to establish a community entertainment venue for black social clubs and other groups in the Third Ward. The ballroom, which occupies the second floor of the massive Eldorado Building at 2310 Elgin, was the visual and spiritual symbol of the community. Until it closed in the early 1970s, the Eldorado hosted countless blues and jazz performances, weekly talent shows and sock-hops. Houston-born musicians such as Sam Lightning Hopkins and Johnny Guitar Watson honed their skills at the Eldorado and went on to bigger fame. Many internationally known jazz and bluesmen, including B.B. King and Count Basie, also made regular appearances.
ABOUT PROJECT ROW HOUSES
Project Row Houses (PRH) is a neighborhood-based nonprofit art and cultural organization in Houstons Northern Third Ward, one of the citys oldest African-American communities. PRH began in 1993 as a result of discussions among African-American artists who wanted to establish a positive, creative presence in their own community.Since our inception, PRHs campus has grown from the original block and a half to six blocks, and from 22 houses to 40 properties; including twelve artist exhibition and/or residency spaces, seven houses for young mothers, artist residencies, office spaces, a community gallery, a park, low-income residential and commercial spaces. PRH is founded on the principle that art-and the community it creates-can be the foundation for revitalizing depressed inner-city neighborhoods.
Special thanks to Whole Foods Market, Saint Arnold Brewery, and Graham's Texas Tea for their support of this program.
