I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank everyone in Adelaide who attended “The Music of Stevie Wonder” tribute concert last Sunday night @ The Gov. Thanks for being there & making it a huge success!! It was the first gig with my new band The Funk Soul Brothers which was expanded to an 11-piece for this show which made the night even more dynamic! And, of course, performing the music of one of the greatest living artists of our time, Stevie Wonder, was a great way to kick it off!

If you missed out on the show, don’t worry, other dates will be announced in the next couple of weeks. In the meantime, you’re welcome to check out some of the pics which were taken on the night & uploaded onto my Facebook page.

Funk on my friends!
Dino :)

One of the things that I absolutely love about this era we’re living in right now is the amazing opportunities we have to connect with each other. I like to remind myself every now and then of how truly spectacular this privilege of access to just about anyone & anything truly is and how it enables us to connect, learn & inspire each other in unprecedented ways. Chances are, we wouldn’t even know each other if it wasn’t for the web, anyway…

I was recently introduced to @BarryckR (Barryck R) who lives over in Djibouti (east Africa) via some twitter exchange. He was very supportive of my release “Calling All The Saints” for the people of Haiti and was actively tweeting about it to others. We became Twitter friends & I then discovered a little more about his quest. As it turns out, Barryck R is an incredibly gifted dancer and choreographer who also heads the Tanmanssi Dance Company – a collective of highly motivated creative individuals who are providing young people in Djibouti with a much-needed opportunity to express themselves through dance, music & theatre. He told me about their vision to establish the first contemporary arts institution in Djibouti so young people over there could receive formal validated training, the kind of training & certification that would open up career opportunities for them anywhere in the world. Basically, they want to have access to the sorts of facilities and training opportunities that most of us take for granted in our parts of the world.

I was inspired by his vision and so naturally I was delighted to be invited to be honorary president of the Tanmanssi Dance Company. I fully support their mission and look forward to bringing further attention to their quest for greater creative expression & opportunity for the youth of Djibouti, east Africa and beyond!

You can find out more about the Tanmanssi Dance Company here www.tanmanssi.com . Feel free to send them a message of support & encouragement… & tell them I sent you. :)

Tune in if you can :)

Cheers!
Dino :)