Senator Myrie's Virtual Holiday Celebration

The Office of Senator Zellnor Y. Myrie (D-Central Brooklyn) wishes constituents across our district a happy, healthy and safe holiday season. This year, the office worked with local artists from every part of our district, showcasing our diverse neighborhoods and tremendous talents.

"This year has been difficult for all of us, but we still want to share some holiday joy with our community," said Senator Myrie. "I am so pleased to present this Virtual Holiday Celebration, in the hope that we can be together safely to celebrate next year."

"The pandemic has been especially hard on Brooklyn's incredible community of working artists and performers," continued Senator Myrie. "I'm extremely proud to showcase the talented musicians, dancers and singers in our virtual celebration, who represent the diversity of our district and the cultural strength that makes New York the greatest city in the world."

"I am also grateful to our Senate office staff, who work so hard on behalf of the community and its residents. On behalf of our entire team, I wish everyone in the 20th Senate District a wonderful holiday season and a happy, healthy and safe start to 2021."

Along with messages from the Senator and his staff, Senator Myrie's Virtual Holiday Celebration includes performances by:

Renegade Performance Group is a Brooklyn-based dance company creating innovative artistic work from Black and African Diaspora aesthetics and expressions through contemporary dance, site-specific performance and technology. Renegade Performance Group was founded in Brooklyn in 2007 to engage a new generation of audiences to performance, media, and culture. The company was formed as an artistic outlet to foster dialogue compelled by the human experience. Since the company's inception, RPG has performed throughout NYC, domestically, and internationally. RPG has received several residencies, awards and support for its ongoing work from institutions such as the Jerome Foundation, CUNY/Dance Initiative, the Brooklyn Arts Council, Harlem Stage, the Foundation for Contemporary Arts, the Brooklyn Museum, MoCADA, Danspace Project, The Studio Museum of Harlem, 3LD Art & Technology Center and The Kennedy Center. Additionally, the company supports and promotes our home borough's small-business owners, local artisans and local commerce.....Brooklyn based, Brooklyn strong.

The Chinese-American Planning Council (CPC)’s Brooklyn's Senior Dance Team was established in 2013. At the beginning there were 15 team members who were interested in dancing that participated, including two volunteer teachers, Ms. Wong and Ms. Zheng. The dance team specializes in traditional Chinese dances, as well as square dances and other national dances. From 2014 to 2020, the dance team actively rehearsed to participate in community and holiday event performances. It is worth mentioning that they won 4 times of championships, once second place, and once third place in the New York Immigration Day dance competition! The dance competition was hosted by Sing Tao Daily, Maimonides Medical Center and First Health Due to the epidemic, the dance team has suspended rehearsals! Currently the dance team rehearses and shares their routines through WeChat. In normal times, the dance group rehearses at CPC's Brooklyn Community Center.

The Ocean Hill Collegiate Band program is an immersive experience for all 7th and 8th graders in which students learn to play an instrument, read music, and perform songs from across the African diaspora. Through great effort by students, families, and teachers, OHC has continued instrumental instruction in the remote world – safely distributing instruments to 80 students (so far) and teaching group instrument lessons over Zoom. This fall the band learned the theme from the Spike Lee film “Mo’ Better Blues,” which stars Denzel Washington as a jazz trumpeter. Mr. Walton arranged this song for the band after noticing the way passersby in Fort Greene Park responded to his band playing it – the soothing melody and steady groove felt right for this moment. 

Grupo de Moras

Gerard Placide is an acclaimed singer, community leader, and veteran from Brooklyn, New York, originally hailing from Trinidad and Tobago. He served as a soldier in the United States Army 3rd Infantry Division at Ft. Stewart, Georgia. Mr. Placide has received numerous Awards, Proclamations and Commendations from world leaders not just for his singing but also for advocating cross-cultural integration and Immigration reform in the United States. In 2019, he was awarded the New York State Veteran's Hall fame by State Senator Zellnor Y. Myrie.