“And Ya Don’t Stop” Friday, February 24, 2012, 6–11 pm. Warehoues 508 First Street NW, Albuquerque, NM 87102 (505) 296-2738 $3 cover at the door

“And Ya Don’t Stop” is a musical journey through Hip Hop and its continuing influence on popular culture. On February 24th, 2012, DJ Flo Fader and Khalil begin the show with the roots of Hip Hop, including Jazz, Blues, R&B, and Rock. Next, the duo break down the core elements of Hip Hop with live examples of DJ-ing and Turntablism, rapping and emceeing, break-dancing, graffiti art and writing, beat boxing, and producing. The show continues with an audio/visual timeline of hip hop music and culture, beginning with Kool Herc and the Sugar Hill Gang (1973–1982), proceeding with the Golden Age part I and the rise of Def Jam Records (1983–1989) and the Golden Age part II which was hip hop’s most expansive creative curve (1990–2000), and concluding with the Modern Movement and hip hop’s integration into mainstream society (2000–today). Where does it go from here? Last but not least is The After Party dance, where DJ Flo spins all the music and artists that were presented during the show. All attendees also get a special mix tape by Flo Fader. “And Ya Don’t Stop” is presented and produced by:

Khalil Ekulona, a producer, emcee, songwriter, and educator from the suburbs of Baltimore, Maryland. Khalil was the front man for Fresh Air, a hip hop group that played at some of L.A.’s most popular music venues and also performed and competed in Billboard magazine’s Independent Music World Series. Since arriving back in Albuquerque two years ago, Khalil has been spreading the lessons of the art of hip hop to the youth at Warehouse 508, BCJDC, and Amy Biehl High School.

Grab your most comfortable sweat shirt and pants and meet us on the lower level of the West Complex of the Albuquerque Convention Center for the 1st Annual Workitout Day. This day is about fun and taking our personal responsibility for health. The day will start at 9:00 for registration and check-in and will end at 2:00pm with a light lunch served. Participants of all ages – literally from 1 – 92 will have an opportunity to learn how to get up and get moving for healthy living; how to prepare tasty and healthy foods for the family or individual on a budget. There will be free massage and free screenings, but most of all this will be an opportunity to take a good look at our health and wellness at the beginning of 2012 and take on the It’s Up To Me Challenge for the rest of the year and for the rest of our lives. This event is free and open to the public. Sponsored in part by the generous contributions of the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Dr. Gail Feldman and Judy DePhillipis

For a complete schedule of the day’s activities, click here.

Tony Victory, a Los Angeles based personal fitness trainer will be in Albuquerque for WorkItOut Day to introduce us to Stomperobics--an explosive, dance workout program, based on the African American, Greek Letters organizations', dance tradition called a Step Show.

For nearly a century now, fraternities and sororities like Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc, Zeta Phi Beta, Kappa Alpha Psi, Alpha Phi Alpha, Delta Sigma Theta, Phi Beta Sigma, Sigma Gamma Rho, Omega Psi Phi and more recently Iota Phi Theta have been ripping up the Step Show arenas throughout America.
Stomperobics is a high calorie burning dance form called Stomping or Stepping, incorporates using the body as a source of creating rhythms and beats. Tony Victory has combined Stomping with all original musical soundtracks that are missing one instrumental element... YOU! You and the rhythms you create while Stomping become the missing ingredient... the missing instrument in the composition! The result is an exciting, dance aerobic workout that will leave you up to 900 calories thinner in less than one hour. www.tonyvictory.com/

Rujeko Dumbutshena is an experienced university, college and high school dance instructor. Rujeko is currently on faculty at Sarah Lawrence College teaching the fundamental aesthetics of neo traditional African movement. As a Zimbabwean artist living in America, Rujeko Dumbutshena has strived to bridge diversely different cultures and has successfully been a part of innovative works, taught workshops, and directed conferences to bring together students and audiences as witnesses and participants in the profundity of African art today. Her Broadway experience as an original ensemble dancer in the hit musical FELA! perfectly arm her to represent African art in an even more impactful way. She aspires for the highest western institutional accolades, while standing rooted in the antiquity of her people.

Participants will get to dance to the legendary music of the likes of Miriam Makeba, Fela Kuti and Brenda Fassie as well as rising contemporary southern African musicians who have each had a profound impact on their culture, their politics and people by inspiring change for the future. The movements learned are inspired by Rujeko’s dance experience in FELA! the musical , the rhythmic intricacies from her Zimbabwean dance tradtions, the lineal symmetry of Guinea dance and the centering required for the dancers of the Congo. www.Rujeko.org

In case you thought you were too old to think about fitness meet Ernestine Shepherd – the world’s oldest body building champion at 75!

Ernestine Shepherd STARTED working out at 56. She is here to show us that we can be fit at any age. It’s never too late. Ernestine will talk to us and then she’ll lead a group workout that is suitable for people of all fitness levels. And don’t worry, Ernestine isn’t saying that all of us need to become body building champions—she is saying that all of us – no matter what age or fitness level can get up and get moving.
Ernestine Shepherd is a fitness guru in her own right whose mantra for the past 18 years has been “Determined, Dedicated, Disciplined – To be fit for life.” She believes that it is never too late to become physically fit. At the age of 56, she began working out at Coppin State College with her sister. The story goes that she and her sister were displeased with how they looked in swim suits and decided to do something about it. They began to train vigorously but unfortunately, her sister succumbed to a brain aneurysm. However, Ernestine Shepherd decided to work even harder and vowed to carry on in her sister’s memory. Ernestine Shepherd has been married for 53 years and is the mother of a 52-year-old son, and has a 13-year-old-grandson. Ernestine Shepherd is truly an inspiration to all who meet her. Her fashion is above reproach. She is easily recognized by her gray, pushed-back hair, with a long braid extending down her back, not to mention her colorful outfits embossed with her mantra, and decorative high heel tennis shoes. Two of her favorite songs are, “Here I Am Lord,” and “This Little Light of Mine.” Her “little light” is her energy and eagerness to take time out from her busy schedule to hold classes for seniors at her church, various community organizations, and particularly at the Energy Wellness and Fitness Center. Her favorite Bible verses are 1 Corinthians, Chapter 13 and the 23rd Psalm. Ernestine Shepherd strongly believes that it is extremely important that Christians actively live out their faith. When life is good, human faith is up. When life is gloomy, human faith disappears. Faith endures all trials and tribulations, and there is no other choice but to succeed. Overall, her most inspirational song is “One Moment in Time,” by Whitney Houston. To paraphrase the song, Mrs. Shepherd says, “Life is a race against destiny, but we are all given that one moment in time to be the best that we can be.”

And finally, if you were wondering where the body meets soul connection comes in, come out and listen to Reverend Michael O. Minor who has developed a national platform for preaching about the spiritual benefits of a healthy diet.

Dr. Michael O. Minor is a local, regional, and national champion of faith-based health and wellness mobilization. He is best known as the “Southern pastor who banned fried chicken in his church.” As a community organizer for nearly 20 years, Dr. Minor has worked on community empowerment, non-profit business development, and faith-based initiatives issues. He currently serves as the undershepherd of the Oak Hill Baptist Church in Hernando, Mississippi, and directs the H.O.P.E. Health Initiative for the Congress of Christian Education of the National Baptist Convention, USA, Incorporated – the nation’s largest African American religious denomination. He also provides advisory services for several local and regional faith-based health and wellness initiatives. Becoming known as a national voice for the promotion of faith and health, Dr. Minor has generated extensive international multi-media coverage including the New York Times, Reuters News Service, Chicago Tribune, Buenos Aires Herald, Memphis Commercial Appeal, NPR’s Talk of the Nation and Tell Me More, Mississippi Public Broadcasting Southern Remedy TV Broadcast, ABC-TV , Fox News, Action News 5 (Memphis), and WREG News (Memphis). Since his first local convening of the Mid-South faith community in 1992, Dr. Minor has continued to champion similar efforts. In 1999, over 600 people participated in the first faith-based conference co-organized by Dr. Minor in Memphis. Building on this success, Dr. Minor and others hosted conferences in subsequent years including the first regional healthy congregations conference the following year with over 300 attendees. After a period of grassroots mobilization, Dr. Minor chaired a regional campaign “Healthy Congregations – Northwest Mississippi” beginning in 2008. This effort resulted in conferences in 2009 and 2010, which averaged nearly 400 attendees. Due to massive requests to expand its service area, Dr. Minor led a transformation of this effort into a state-wide network – The Mississippi Faith-Based Health and Wellness Network, in 2011. Validation of the success of his mobilization efforts came in February 2010 when Dr. Minor received an invitation from the White House to attend First Lady Michelle Obama’s Mississippi visit to promote her Let’s Move initiative. Dr. Minor recently attended the first year celebration of Let’s Move at the White House in December 2011. Dr. Minor has honed his efforts through his nearly 15 years’ as the director of education and training for the Rising Sun Usher Federation (Northwest Mississippi). He has edited a comprehensive congregational usher and health and wellness ministry guide for 11 years. Additionally, in his local and state denominational leadership positions, he has championed the initiation of health and wellness ministries in houses of worship at the local, state, regional, and, now, national levels. After receiving his undergraduate degree in economics from Harvard University, Dr. Minor earned a doctorate degree in higher and adult education with a special emphasis on adult learners and masters’ degrees in business administration and real estate development from the University of Memphis. Committed to staying current in the field of faith-based health and wellness mobilization, Dr. Minor is active in professional and personal development. He teaches health and nutrition courses at the University of Phoenix – Memphis Campus and serves on several local, regional, and national committees/boards focused on health and wellness. He continues to conduct primary research on the effectiveness and efficiency of learning programs for adult learners currently serving as a national reviewer for the Adult Higher Education Alliance.

IT’S UP TO ME CHALLENGE led by Albuquerque’s own Jonathan Rockwell, https://www.facebook.com/#!/TrainerJR

Sunday, February 26
CLICK HERE
TO REGISTER
for New Mexico's Best
Gospel Competition
Registration entry dealine is
February 15, 2012 at Midnight
African American Performing Arts Center@Expo New Mexico
310 San Pedro NE
Albuquerque, NM 87106
FREE TO ENTER
Entries must be on CD or MP3

We’re looking for the best Gospel artists in New Mexico. If you’re out there, send us an .mp3 of two of your best songs, fill out our registration form and we’ll contact you about being in the New Mexico’s Gospel Best Competition--the last event of the New Mexico Black History Month Festival. It will be held at the African American Performing Arts Center on Sunday, February 26, 2012 at 3:00pm. This event is curated by Albuquerque’s own gospel recording artist Evangelist Rosalind Sanders Jones, first lady of the Metropolitan Church of God in Christ. This event is free and open to the public and is free for groups or individuals to enter win a grand prize package of $1,000 cash, a professional photo shoot and more. Second and third place winners will receive a trophy and a guarantee of inclusion in the 2013 New Mexico’s Best Competition. There will be special guest performances and celebrity judges on hand to make the final decisions. We couldn’t think of a better way to end the festival than with this high energy gospel celebration. Enter to be a part of the contest and bring out your fans to help you with the audience reaction portion of the judging or just show up to enjoy a soul-filled afternoon on unbelievable gospel music.