Photo Gallery below
There were
a lot of shaky hands and knocking knees as several young
Uruguayan performers sang for Cultural Ambassador Mary Wilson.
The performers, chosen to sing in a workshop
at the Alianza, were in the spotlight so that they could
glean advice from the famous singer and original member
of the popular 1960s group, The Supremes.
The master class was organized by the U.S.
Embassy, Montevideo, with CultureConnect, an initiative
of the U.S. Department of State to promote cultural understanding
worldwide. Ms. Wilson thanked Secretary of State Colin Powell
and Assistant Secretary of State Patricia Harrison for following
through on their vision of cultural ambassador program in
the State Department.
During the last day of her tour of Uruguay,
Ms. Wilson once again shared anecdotes of her humble beginnings
and rise to fame with the other Supremes (Diana Ross and
Florence Ballard) under the direction of Motown Records.
“I love performing but I have to struggle
every time I get before an audience. It’s scary every
time,” Ms. Wilson said. “It will always be scary
but you can’t be afraid to take this step.
Afterward, Ms. Wilson fielded questions from
the audience, from how to deal with studies while pursuing
fame, prejudice faced by African Americans in the U.S. in
the 1960s and why the songs of that era are still popular
today.
Ms. Wilson talked about Berry Gordy, who
was a songwriter who started his own record company, Motown,
to give all the young artists in the Detroit area a shot
at stardom. Later she encouraged some of the workshop participants
to get together and start their own “Motown,”
in Uruguay.
During the second part of the program, participants
sang and played the piano and Ms. Wilson offered advice
to improve their performances. She told the singers to be
more animated on stage, to project with their bodies as
well as their voices and to play to their strengths, whether
that be comedy, drama or music. She advised them to perfect
their English pronunciation if they want to sing in English
and to look for opportunities to perform in public.
The class was capped off by traditional
Uruguayan performances by Murga and Candombe groups.
To visit the CultureConnect website:
http://www.cultureconnect.state.gov
More stories on Mary Wilson’s
visit to Uruguay:
-- Press Release
-- Cultural Ambassador
Mary Wilson performs in concert, brings message of encouragement
to young Uruguayans
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| Alianza Director Maria Blanco (left)
listens while Assistant Public Affairs Officer Melissa
Martinez introduces Cultural Ambassador Mary Wilson.
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Ms. Wilson enchants the audience with
a song to open the workshop. |
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| Ms. Wilson gives advice to singer in
master class. |
Crowd gathers in the Alianza theatre
for advice on performing. |
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| Murga group performs at Alianza. |
Candombe group performs at Alianza.
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