Earthdance, The Global Dance Festival For Peace, has been called the Dance Aid for the new millenium. This summer Earthdance takes its message of “Give Peace a Dance” on the road with its first annual tour, “United Beats Of Peace” (UBoP).
The 20 date North American tour, represented by the The Agency Group, launches August 20 in San Francisco with stops in Seattle, Denver, Chicago, Detroit, Philadephia, New York, Washington, New Orleans and Los Angeles, among others, leading up to the 8th annual Earthdance global gathering on September 18.
UBoP’s diverse line up includes electronica/trance pioneer and leading edge musician and composer BT, whose latest releases include the CD/DVD Music From And Inspired By The Film MONSTER. For the first time in over 4 years, BT will perform with a full band and will be playing music from his most recent studio album Emotional Technology, which featured the hit single Simply Being Loved. Co-headliners will include the ground breaking “funktronic” band Particle, whose debut album Launchpad, was released earlier this year, with an upcoming release of the Launchpad track, remixed by Groove Armada’s Tom Findlay. Also headlining will be groundbreaking Gorillaz co-founder and superstar producer/DJ Dan “The Automator” Nakamura, who will preview his long awaited second, Handsome Boy Modeling School album, due for release in the fall on Atlantic records. Also featured on the tour is Earthdance’s own Afro hip-hop collective Chris Berry & Panjea from New York and producer/remixer DJ Peas.
“In these times of global unrest, it’s more important than ever that artists consciously join together,” says Earthdance founder Chris Deckker. “This tour will be a powerful way to spread the message of peace and global sustainability.”
Integral to the tour is an awareness raising component, featuring speakers, voter registration, “green edge” companies, and local non-profits in each city, with the intention to inspire people to become pro-active in their own communities. UBoP’s “conscious peace caravan” will be charted in an online road diary at www.earthdance.org for the worldwide Earthdance community to join the tour, and to connect with artists backstage and on the bus.
The tour will conclude in Los Angeles on Friday September 17th, the day before the 8th annual EarthDance global event on Saturday, September 18th. The 24-hour international celebration is the world’s largest synchronized music and dance event, bringing together people in more than 120 cities and 50 countries. The defining moment of Earthdance is a synchronized link-up when The Prayer for Peace music track is played at the same moment at each event around the world. This profound shared experience captures the essence of Earthdance and creates a moment of deep peace, unity, and sense of global community.
Since Earthdance’s 1997 launch, this grass roots-fueled juggernaut has generated financial support for non-profits worldwide with the proceeds from local events. The specific types of charities that Earthdance supports are the environment, indigenous peoples and the well being of children and urban issues.
Other current Earthdance initiatives include: the co-production of SHOW: The Renewable Hydrogen Roadshow, conceived by alternative energy pioneer Stuart Energy; and the release on September 14 of the DVD Dancing The Dream Awake on Sanctuary Records, the first volume of the VJ Remix Series that combines live Earthdance footage with world-class 3D animation.
Information is available at the Earthdance site.
