Encuentros
An All Star show featuring original music by JD steele with gypsy virtuoso Pedro Cortés, Jr. Directed by Susana di Palma with JD Steele.

The fiery soul of Flamenco collides with the roof-raising gospel music of Twin Cities' favorite J.D. Steele. Celebrating the triumph of the human spirit and the artist's courage to speak, Encounter/Encuentros imagines meetings between the Spanish poet Frederico Garcia Lorca and the first African-American superstar Paul Robeson. Lorca visited New York in 1929 and witnessed the chaos of the Stock Market crash as well as the "Harlem Renaissance". Robeson went to Spain in the late 30s to support troops fighting the Franco fascists in the Spanish Civil War.

Both men returned to their own countries decrying social injustice and inequity, leaving an important mark on their political systems. Both men also had their voices silenced - one assasinated, one exiled. What might have happened had these two artists met? What is lost when artists' voices are silenced in difficult times?