Dot429 Magazine! Image Guru Saves Under-Served Through Dance!

http://dot429.com/articles/2011/11/16/image-guru-saves-under-served-through-dance


Image Guru saves under-served through dance!

dot429 member and original Image Guru Montgomery Frazier partners with choreographer Edward Morgan to create Les Ballets Guru, a performance featuring under-served girls from the Bronx.

Montgomery Frazier, dot429 member and image guru extraordinaire, has dominated the fashion and lifestyle scene for decades and continues to contribute his expertise of cultivating new talent in unexpected places. His latest venture: creative director of famed choreographer Edward Morgan's new ballet company, and as a principal dancer in the production of Les Ballets Guru, alongside girls, age 12-18, from under-served communities from the Bronx,

Frazier began his career in the trendy Soho District of New York as the creative director for fashion boutique Parachute. There, he had the opportunity to dress the then up and coming pop icon Madonna, followed by superstars such as Cher, Peter Gabriel, and Duran Duran. He, and those he worked with, discovered his capacity for working with new talent. He gained the attention of the upstart MTV productions and became the new network's fashion director.

His most notable gig during this time was with Club MTV, where he worked with many stars, including Downtown Julie Brown. His eye for fashion and the "new" landed him a job as an on-air fashion commentator on the show, where he was among the first to introduce brands like Dolce & Gabbana and Emporio Armani. His career took off full swing from there, and it's been a dolce vita ever since.

His most recent project with Edward Morgan and the ballet came about when Morgan, a friend of Frazier's who worked with him as a choreographer on Club MTV, reached out to the image guru six months ago for advice on how to expand his Edward Morgan Ballet brand. Frazier was not prepared for where exactly this solicited advice would lead him.

The Manhattan Project, of which Frazier is the creative producer, offers free dance classes to children from under-served communities.

An anonymous donor to the project said, "I was astounded at the level of expression, technique, and pure love of dancing that the children exhibited. It's obvious that Mr. Morgan indeed has a rare gift."

Honing the gifts of the children and giving them a place to express themselves in the key to the project.

"Our goal is to fortify emotional, physical, psychosocial, and artistic growth and development through dance. We are committed to helping each program participant come into confident possession of their innate talent, and establish values that will allow them to grow into responsible adults, and act with compassion and humanity," the Manhattan Project Web site says.

The company is putting on a Supporters Showcase with Les Ballets Guru, and Frazier is one of its dancing stars. "Edward thought I was a natural born performer" Frazier said during an interview with dot429. He had never danced before, outside of his stints at the Boom Boom Room, but Frazier admits he's loving the role.

"Edward basically convinced me that my calling was missed when I was younger, and I'm quite enjoying it, it's like a dream come true for me, and it's a dream for these girls," says Frazier. "Edward is grooming them to do anything they want to do in life. It's more than dance — it's posture, it's self confidence, it's elocution — it's a lot of things. It's like a crash course in grooming and manners and education.

"I look at them as blossoming flowers with the potential to captivate and seize life. We're giving them this opportunity to blossom," he continues. And his motivation for pouring so much passion into the project is one which will surely resonate with many members of the LGBT community. "Everyone in life need support, they need to be nurtured and if you don't have that, it's easy to fall by the wayside. The girls are beautiful, they're very talented, and with Edward's mentorship, they'll know how to dance with feeling."

As the self-styled original image guru, Frazier has been nurturing talent from the start. He is still a highly sought after tastemaker and influencer in various industries, from fashion and music, to politics and literature. This next step, as an actual performer, is a fulfillment of a life long quest for some kind of satisfaction. "I think it's a natural evolution for me because I'm a frustrated performer. What I've been doing for other people, perhaps I should have been doing for myself."

His goal is to network the Edward Morgan Ballet and their initiative into the future, and take their ballet on the road. The supporter's showcase, the premier of the production, is meant as a preview to show potential investors and interested parties in the great potential of combining an incredible service (providing these dance lessons to underprivileged children, who wouldn't otherwise have the opportunity) with an incredible dance performance. As a prominent member of the LGBT community in his own right, Frazier says, "It's very important to me to reach out to the LGBTA community, because if it weren't for them, there would be no arts." He hopes this performance will inspire others as much as he himself has been inspired by the process and people involved.

For more information and to purchase your ticket if you're in the New York area, visit their website here.

Munaluchi Magazine Press Media Bridal Launch

http://munaluchibridal.com/cocktails-and-conversation-ny-a-munaluchi-bride-media-event/




Cocktails and Conversation-NY: A Munaluchi Bride Media Event

Posted Nov 17 2011 by munaluchi in Events, Top Stories with 5 Comments













Last week on Thursday, November 10th, we held an intimate cocktail event for our advertisers, some bloggers, and industry folks. This was just a way of allowing people we’ve done business with in the past and hope to do business with in the future meet the faces behind the brand and get to learn more about what Munaluchi Bride has to offer.

The event was extremely successful not only because of the great mix of supporters that attended, but because of the undying dedication of our sponsors and friends that helped put this spectacular event together. We have to first of need to thank Kay Lucas of MediaSense Solutions for breathing her breath of expertise into this event. Without her, it would have truly been a daunting task to put together. A huge thanks goes out to Dex of DEX New York for gracefully allowing us to host the event at his super posh Manhattan studio. Thanks to Diann Valentine for co-hosting the event with us. Everyone truly enjoyed your presence and loved learning about your new show “I Do Over“, which had rave reviews during it’s debut on weTV last weekend.

Throughout the event, guests enjoyed a fusion of light hors d’oeuvres, signature “Munaluchi Cocktails”, complimentary makeup sessions, and delectable desserts. We are so grateful to Panla and especially to Melba’s Restaurant for the appetizing finger foods. That macaroni and cheese was to-die-for, and the presentation unmatchable. We are also excited that the Food Network was present to tape the event for inclusion in Melba’s new television show. Look out for it early next year! Thanks to Ilene Miriam Pastry Studio for the charming dessert station that included mini-cupcakes, chocolate covered strawberries and cake pops. Thanks to Amber of SweetAmbs, for the custom “MBM” cookies. Not only were they aesthetically pleasing, but they were quite delicious as well! For our signature cocktails, we owe our thanks to Alex Trimper of Little Rascals Creative Concepts and St. Kitts Tourism for the Brinley Gold Rum they provided. Lastly, all of the radiant decor was provided by TiannaVivienne. We plan to organize another event like this in grander scale in the near future so we can include everyone. Stay tuned for that…Until then, enjoy the brilliant imagery captured by Parris Whittingham of Parris Whittingham Studio. Thanks Parris!

























I was giving a speech…





Diann Valentine telling the crowd about her new show I Do Over.











R-Munaluchi Creative Director Eronmwon Balogun and Lisa Barr of Yours in Bridal



I’ve never seen mac and cheese look this sumptuous…





The insanely dapper Montgomery Frazier – The Image Guru





Munaluchi Publisher Chike Nwobu and Len Burnett, co-founder of Uptown Magazine







Diann Valentine and her hubby











SPONSORS
PHOTO GALLERY


DEX New York (@DEXNewYork)

Melba’s Restaurant

Panla

Ilene Miriam (@IleneMiriam)

Sweet Ambs (@sweetambs)

St. Kitts Tourism {Brinley Gold Rum}

TiannaVivienne



























































































































































A MediaSense Solutions (@kaysmediatogo) Production

Photographed by Parris Whittingham Studio (@iamparris)













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Categories: Events, Top Stories


3 Comments
2 Trackback



Munaluchi Bridal Mag (@munaluchiBride)11-17-2011


Cocktails and Conversation-NY: A Munaluchi Bride Media Event http://t.co/Gn1k0mMf via @munaluchibride @dexnewyork @iamparris @kaysmediatogo

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Eronmwon Balogun (@Eronmwon_MBM)11-17-2011


Check out pics from Cocktails and Conversation-NY: A Munaluchi Bride Media Event http://t.co/k2CN33hA via @munaluchibride

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Amber11-17-2011


Gorgeous photos!!

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