SHAKERS AND MOVERS is another great email events list...

INCLUDED BELOW:

GILBERTO GIL, TOUMANI DIABATE, BUENA VISTA SOCIAL CLUB, SHAZIA MIRZA, MUGENKYO TAIKO DRUMMERS, ZAKIR HUSSAIN, ALBERT NYATHI & IMBONGI, FLYING DRAGON CIRCUS

Fri 28 March: Newcastle Carling Academy, 7pm GOGOL BORDELLO. The kings of Gypsy Punk bring their exhilarating, inventive and completely bonkers live show back to the UK. 

Fri 28 & Sat 29 March, 7.30pm: SAKOBA DANCE present Bode Lawal's new show Okan' Nijo (One) at the Gala Theatre, Durham; £8-£10. 0191 332 4141.

Sat 29 March, 7.30pm: GILBERTO GIL, one of the great multicultural icons of our time. This concert reflects the recording 'Gil Luminoso', with songs that stretch back over twenty five years of a fascinating career. In the 1960s, Gil was at the heart of Tropicalia, the most important creative movement in Brazil since bossa nova – politically charged & controversial. Gil's role in today's Brazil is pivotal - a hugely popular performer, but also crucially active as Minister for Culture. The Sage Gateshead, 0191 443 4661, £7 - £23.50

Sat 29 March, 10.30pm Gateshead International Jazz Festival. Brazilian Late Night Dance Party with MONICA VASCONCELOS and band and DJ Patrick Forge. Based in London, but steeped in the music of her native Brazil, Monica Vasconcelos performs an intimate late night set, the ideal context for her interpretations of Brazilian classics. DJ Patrick Forge spent much of the late 80s and 90s DJing alongside Gilles Peterson at the famous Dingwalls club in Camden.. The Sage Gateshead, 0191 4434661 Tickets £7

Sun 30 March, 12-4pm. BANGLADESH HERITAGE DAY. Music, dance, food. Ocean Rd,  South Shields. Free. Tel Lalon Amin, 07749553839, or Forhad Ali 07831794637  for more info.

Wed 2 April to Sat 5 April: SHARP PRACTICE An original play revealing the heritage of slavery in the North East and the role of the Durham abolitionists. In 'Sharp Practice' Jackass Youth Theatre and Jack Drum Arts explore an aspect of slavery that time has forgotten, showing how the people of the North East led the way in the fight for abolition.
Wed April 2nd, 7.30pm, Durham VI Centre. Tickets £5 & £2.50 (concessions) Tel: 01388 730574;          Thurs April 3rd, 7.30pm The Witham Hall, Barnard Castle. Tickets: £5/ £2.50 (concessions)  01833 631107 Friday April 4th, 7.30pm Stanhope Town Hall. Tickets:  £5 & £2.50 (concessions) Tel: 01388 730574 Saturday April 5th, 1.30pm The Arc, Stockton on Tees. Tickets:  £7.50 & £5 (concessions) Tel:  01642 525180

Wed 2 April – 5 May: LAST OF THE DICTIONARY MEN: An exhibition about the first Muslims in Britain opens at the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art - Last of the Dictionary Men: Stories from the South Shields Yemeni Community. Featuring photographs of first-generation settlers by artist Youssef Nabil and a series of video portraits by Tina Gharavi, the exhibition offers a unique insight into the complexities of modern British immigrant history. The exhibition is accompanied by The King of South Shields, a documentary by Tina Gharavi on boxer Muhammad Ali's visit & extraordinary wedding in the South Shields town mosque.

Thurs 3 April, 9.15pm & Fri 4 April, 11am: NEIGHBOURS –THE GALILEE MULTICULTURAL THEATRE. Alnwick Playhouse, tel 01665 510785. £7.50, £6.50. Neighbours is a meeting of worlds, and a meeting of friends. Wassim Bishara, an Arab musician, and Pablo Ariel, a Jewish actor, come together in a unique exploration of their differences and human similarities. They talk, they play, and tell each other stories in different languages - without words. Pablo is a world renowned creator of 'object theatre', and Wassim is a virtuoso musician on Oud and Violin - in their own artistic languages, from their own cultural backgrounds, these two artists, friends, and neighbours, meet, explore and enjoy their common humanity.

Fri 4^th – Sun 6^th April: CHINESE CONNECTIONS. The festival celebrates Chinese music of every kind - contemporary with strings and beats; classical, including world class recitals by Jian Wang and Xuefei Yang; traditional, with ancient instruments and modern counterparts, opera from three Chinese traditions; plus The Long Walk, a moving musical journey to a place we call home featuring over 120 musicians and singers plus The Full Circle - Alistair Anderson and an ensemble from the Singapore Chinese Orchestra celebrating musical links across the globe. Children's activities and performances, free Concourse performances, workshops and even some Chinese cooking complete the festival atmosphere. The Sage Gateshead 0191 4434661.  www.thesagegateshead.org for more details.

Until 6 April, 10am-4pm:  CHINOISERIE. Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle. A display of ceramics celebrating the influence of Chinese design, including the famous 'willow pattern', to acknowledge the year of the Beijing Olympics. The word Chinoiserie was used to describe a particular style of gardening, wallpaper, embroideries and textiles, ceramics, furniture, architecture, and all manner of fantasies and dreams inspired by the East.

Fri 11 April: THEATRE UNDER FIRE from Leeds present "Cry My Zimbabwe" The story they tell is of their decision to leave Africa and start new lives. It takes us to the Yarlswood Detention Centre in England where Zimbabweans seeking asylum meet. Their experiences in Yarlswood and in Africa bring them together despite tribal conflicts. That led to the formation of the United Network of Detained Zimbabweans and they plan strategies to stop deportation and raise awareness of their situation in the outside world. For the whole play you are not just audience, but Spect-Actors as you become part of the piece. Star and Shadow Cinema, Battlefield, Newcastle (corner of Stepney Bank and Crawhall Rd, opposite The Tanners pub). 0191 261 0066 Suggested donation of £5 or £3.50

Wed 16 Apr -7.30pm - Running in conjunction with Films Without Borders, ACTORS FOR REFUGEES present ASYLUM MONOLOGUES (scripted by Sonja Linden), an account of the UK's asylum system, told first hand by the people who have experienced it. Exploring the testimonies of three asylum seekers, the play reveals what it really means to be displaced in the UK today. Asylum Monologues will be followed by several short films looking at issues surrounding migration and the evening will conclude with live music in the bar. Star and Shadow Cinema (see above) The event is free but non members will need to pay a £1 membership fee.

Wed 16 April, 7pm: PEOPLE TO PEOPLE NORTH EAST South Tyneside Event at South Shields Town Hall. Light refreshments, followed by a programme of performers. Tel Sylvia Harding, 0191 495 2151, to attend.

Fri 25 April & Sat 26th, from 6.30pm (with meal): SHAZIA MIRZA, top Asian comedienne, at The Hyena Café, Newcastle, tel 0191 232 6030. £12.

Sun 27 April, 7.30pm: EDUARDO NIEBLA - Flamenco Jazz. One of the world's great flamenco guitarists at the Gala Theatre, Durham. £11 - £12; 0191 332 4141.

Mon 28 April, Born in 1929 in Mississippi. GEORGE "MOJO" BUFORD, harmonica player from the greatest ever blues band The Muddy Waters Band makes his Newcastle debut. The Cluny, Newcastle. £10. 0191 2304474

Friday, 2 May UNDER AFRICAN SKIES - An evening of storytelling and music; from 6:30pm Buddle Arts Centre, Wallsend, £6, tel 0191 200 7026 / 0191 200 7132

Sat 3 May, 8pm SHADOW FIRE, a dance production, based on the universal theme of bullying. It fuses Bharat Natyam (Indian Classical dance), Contemporary and Hip-hop styles of dance. It follows the journey of a young girl Shivani, who is lonely, isolated and excluded by her peers. Painting is the medium in this production in which she expresses her innermost feelings. Shadow Fire will combine dance, film & spoken word along with newly composed music. £10/8/5 Arc Stockton, 01642 525199

Sat 3rd May - 2nd June – DESTINATION TYNE AND WEAR, Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens. Exploring the stories of migrant communities in Tyne & Wear and how they have helped to shape the identity and culture of the region.

Sunday 4 May, 8pm: TOUMANI DIABATE, the master of the West African harp, the kora. But his appeal reaches far beyond Mali: whilst being the guardian of a classical music that dates back centuries, he is also known for his genre-bending collaborations, with artists including Taj Mahal, Damon Albarn and Björk, and he's won mainstream recognition, including a GRAMMY. BBC Radio 3 has described him as "on a par with Glenn Gould or Rostropovich – the sort of musician you only encounter once or twice in a lifetime" and his influences extend from his ancestors to Miles Davis and Jimi Hendrix. The Sage Gateshead, tel 0191 4434661.Tickets £19.50-£7.

Wed 7 May, 8pm THE LADY OF BURMA (see below) Darlington Arts Centre. £10 ( 01325) 486555

Thurs 8 –Sat 10 May, 7.30pm: MOLORA. Northern Stage. Oxford Playhouse presents a Farber Foundry Production. In a South African hall, gathered to testify at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Klytemnestra and Elektra, mother and daughter, perpetrator and victim, face one another in an attempt to come to terms with their violent past. South African director Yael Farber explores the experience of apartheid and its legacy through the Greek tragedy of the Oresteia, with haunting live singing from the chorus of Xhosa tribeswomen. Tickets £5-£18, 0191 230 5151

Sun 11 May, 7.30pm, BUENA VISTA SOCIAL CLUB presents Guajiro Mirabal, Cachaito Lopez, Manuel Galban, Aguaje Ramos – an extraordinary line-up of Buena Vista Social Club™ stalwarts, together in a 12 piece band direct from Havana, comes to City Hall to present some of the finest Cuban music ever made. This unique concert will take audiences on a musical excursion from the original 1996 Buena Vista Social Club™ recordings, which sold over 7 million copies, up to the present day, and transport you to the heat of Cuba's clubs and dancehalls. Newcastle City Hall,  £20-£27.50. Tel 0191261 2606

Sun 11 May, 8pm: Poetry from SUJATI BHATT and SELIMA HILL. Live Theatre, Newcastle. Sujata Bhatt was born in Ahmedabad, India, in 1956 and lives in Germany. Carcanet have published six collections of her poetry and her selected poems, Point No Point (1997). Sujata has won the Alice Hunt Barlett prize, the Commonwealth Poetry Prize. She will be reading from her new collection, Pure Lizard. 'One of the finest poets alive,' – Adrian Mitchell, the New Statesman. Selima Hill has established both a loyal fan base and critical acclaim for her wildly inventive poetry. She has won the Whitbread Poetry Award and has been shortlisted for the Forward Prize and the T.S. Eliot Prize. £7

Tues 13 May, 7.30pm. THE LADY OF BURMA. James Seabright and Louise Chantal in association with the Burma Campaign UK present the Red Fighting Peacock production. The inspirational true story of Burmese leader Aung San Suu Kyi is told in this compelling solo performance about the life of the Nobel Peace Prize winner. Despite being the democratically elected leader of the country, Burma's military junta has kept Suu Kyi under house arrest for over a decade. Queens Hall, Hexham, tel 01434 652477; £8/£10

Thurs 15th May 7.30pm MUGENKYO TAIKO DRUMMERS The thundering rhythms on huge

taiko drums interweave with delicate bamboo flute and layers of subtle percussive soundscapes in a spellbinding display of fluid grace, precise choreography and sheer athleticism. Hartlepool Town Hall, tel 01429 890000; £14/£12

Fri 16 May, 7.30pm: EDUARDO NIEBLA – Flamenco Jazz. One of the world's great flamenco guitarists at Alnwick Playhouse. Tel 01665 510785; £9, £8

Wed 21 May – Sun 25 May: THE HEXHAM GATHERING brings top folk and traditional performers together with some of the brightest rising stars in today's  new generation of folk musicians The Hexham Gathering is the country's leading festival aimed at providing performance opportunities through concerts, ceilidhs and improvisation for a host of hugely talented young singers, dancers and instrumentalists. Hundreds of performers converge on Hexham each year providing a kaleidoscope of music & spectacle Tel 01434 652477

Tues 3 – Sat 7 June, 7.30pm: RUNNING THE SILK ROAD , at Northern Stage, Newcastle. A production by Yellow Earth, directed by David Tse ka-shing. A group of friends set themselves an epic challenge: to run the ancient trading route to China for the opening of the Beijing Olympics. Spectacularly performed by artists of the BEIJING OPERA COMPANY £7/£5, tel 191 230 5151

Sat 7 June, 7.30pm THE SOUTHBANK GAMELAN PLAYERS From exuberant folk traditions to the refinement of the Javanese royal courts: Ni Madé Pujawati and Southbank Gamelan Players, Ensemble in Residence at Southbank Centre, and Europe's foremost gamelan group, present a rich and varied programme of music and dance from Central Java. Working with dancers, puppeteers and composers from Indonesia, Europe and the USA, the group has established an international reputation for playing both traditional Javanese and contemporary gamelan music. Gala Theatre, Durham, tel 0191 332 4141; £12 (£8 conc), £5 students, £1 Under 18s

Thurs19 June: THE DYING SONG. Featuring legendary singer Bireshwar Gautam as the androgynous courtesan Surayia, who performs at the borders of time, tradition and gender definition. The production is inspired by a Marathi novella, translated & directed by Sangeeta Dutta, and features superb live musicians and a short film on the history of the courtesan tradition in India. The Sage Gateshead; 0191 4434661; £13.50/£7

Wed 25 June, 8pm Percussion legend ZAKIR HUSSAIN. This concert offers the audience an opportunity to experience both the melodic (raga) and rhythmic (tala) styles of Indian percussion, as well as the chance to witness the dazzling and athletic dancing drummers of Manipur – the Meitei Pung Cholom Performing Troupe. The Sage Gateshead, 0191 4434661; £13.50/£7

Fri 27 June, 8pm ALBERT NYATHI & IMBONGI, featuring South African prince of Maskanda guitar Maqhinga Radebe (Ladysmith Black Mambazo). Red hot African hi-life and Township Jive, from Harare and Durban. Caedmon Hall, Central Library, Prince Consort Rd, Gateshead. Eight multi-talented singers musicians and dancers collaborate with keyboards, guitars and drums and the poignant poetry of Nyathi to provide highly charged performance of African music at its finest. Tickets £10/£7; 0191 433 8420