JIG SHOW!? Brown-Skinned Showgirls, One Legged Tappers, and a Lucumi Ritual Dance. Celebrating Black History Month.

New documentary film series shines a spotlight on Leon Claxton's Harlem in Havana and a little-known aspect of African American culture. Watch Part One in Celebration of Black History Month! 

DURHAM, N.C. - Feb. 22, 2021 - PRLog -- Step right up, folks! The last remaining great Black troupers are finally telling their stories about one of America's most successful traveling shows that broke carnival records from the U.S. to Western Canada, birthed music icons like Rufus Thomas, Fontella Bass and Mercedes Valdés, and significantly impacted Black and Latin entertainment during the Jim Crow era. Also unearthed is the legend of one of Tampa's most beloved showman, Leon Claxton Sr., a brave African-American impresario who left an extraordinary legacy despite the insurmountable odds against him and his dreams. 

"The idea of calling the film 'JIG SHOW' continues to make me uncomfortable, as I suspect it will make others uncomfortable as well," says Leslie. In part one of the film series, Leslie addresses her discomfort and deals with the racist slur head-on. Read more now.  

View the HARLEM IN HAVANA Collectors edition online!

Available in print and digital format 

(IPad, PDF or Web Viewer)

The Harlem in Havana Collector's Edition features 28 original pages taken directly from the show's annual program booklets in 1955, 1958 and 1959. Showcasing outstanding cast members, including Micki Lynn, The Five Pennies and the Cuban Dancing Dolls, some of the pages in this special edition include autographs from the entertainers themselves!  View now. 

Supporting SUSO-NC

We're donating $1 from every order online to SUSO!

Supporting Stand Up Speak Out - NC (SUSO) - SUSO aims to empower individuals they serve by providing advocacy and  therapeutic support through Art Therapy for children and teens who are victims or witnesses to domestic violence and sexual abuse. Read more now. 

Musician Jeremy Johnson signs on as Executive Producer

Musician and performing artist Jeremy J. Johnson of Applaud You Talent Group LLC, has officially signed on as an executive producer (EP) of the JIG SHOW documentary film. Jeremy is a seasoned musician, performing artist and entertainer who has performed internationally as a lead vocalist with popular R&B bands, including Heat, SolcetFre Project and Soul Brothers Band-the Ultimate James Brown Tribute Band.  

Learn more at jeremyjjohnson.com. 

New York School of Burlesque Book Club Show presents "Brown Skin Showgirls"

August 5, 6 pm-730 pm EST on Zoom/Facebook Live. 

Join the New York School of Burlesque Book club show for an hour of books and burlesque! Burlesque Historian Bebe Bardot will guest host, interviewing author/filmmaker Leslie Cunningham about her book Brown Skin Showgirls. 
Learn more now.

2019 Grant Recipient of "Filmed in NC"

Just announced! JIG SHOW | Leon Claxton's Harlem in Havana is a 2019 Grant Recipient of Filmed in NC. Durham-based documentary filmmaker Leslie Cunningham will join ten other filmmakers from North Carolina who will receive project funding in this year. 
Read more.

Don't wait for the film! See the BROWN SKIN Showgirls!

Order Now on Amazon! 

  

BROWN SKIN SHOWGIRLS is a black and white photographic collection of the Black and Cuban women who innovated dance on Leon Claxton's Harlem in Havana Revue in the 1930s through the 1960s. This book is guaranteed to expand your knowledge of Black and Cuban performers that shaped American popular culture. Learn more. 

2017 SDF Grant Recipient

Just announced! JIG SHOW | Leon Claxton's Harlem in Havana has been selected as an official 2017 Southern Documentary Fund Filmmaking Grant recipient. SDF supports documentary films made in and about the South. The grants are made possible thanks to the generous support from the Mark Duke Biddle Foundation. Visit southerndocumentaryfund.org.

JIG SHOW hits FRESH DOCS, Friday, September 22, Durham, NC!

The Center for Documentary Studies and the Southern Documentary Fund are pleased to present a free screening of JIG SHOW | Leon Claxton’s Harlem in Havana, a feature documentary film in progress by Leslie Cunningham who takes viewers on a tour of her grandfather’s Black and Cuban traveling show that endures racism, segregation and immigration laws to become popular in the 1940s through the 1960s. The film is presented as part of the Fresh Docs series featuring documentary works-in-progress. Following the screenings, a moderated conversation with the filmmaker will be held, during which the audience provides valuable feedback. Note: This screening is a Fresh Docs screenings are free, but attendees must RESERVE A TICKET via Eventbrite. Friday, September 22nd @ 7pm, Full Frame Theater, American Tobacco Campus, Blackwell St. Durham, North Carolina 27701

Work-in-Progress Screening in DC, Saturday, July 29th!

Capitol Dance & Cinema Festival's feature film series continues Saturday, July 29 @ Dance Exchange with a work-in-progress screening of the coming documentary film JIG SHOW | Leon Claxton's Harlem in Havana by filmmaker Leslie Cunningham.

• 7:00pm - 7:30pm Harlem in Havana Photo Exhibition and Event Seating 
• 7:30pm - 8:30pm Film Screening Q &A with filmmaker

The event is hosted by Jen Ray of Dancinema. 

Brown Skin Showgirls Books Available for Purchase! 

Free Admission! .

Dance Exchange

7117 Maple Avenue

Takoma Park, Maryland

https://www.facebook.com/events/1837789699828942/

JIG SHOW work-in-progress screening, April 4, Beyu Caffe, Durham, NC

Step Right Up, Fam, Friends and Supporters- You are invited to a work-in-progress screening of my coming doc film- JIG SHOW | Leon Claxton's Harlem in Havana - Durham, NC - Tuesday, April 4th @ 7:00pm at Beyu Caffe.

The Southern Documentary Fund presents Docs For Us / By Us: a new 3-part series in partnership with Beyu Caffe, Black documentary filmmakers from Durham present works-in-progress, reaching out for community support, resources and ideas as their stories take shape. This series takes place monthly on Tuesday evenings, 7:00 PM at Beyu Caffe, 341 W. Main St, Durham. Part of Beyu Caffe’s #BeConnected program. Learn more now.

Tampa Production Underway!

Doc Rivera Interview at the Showmen's Museum in Tampa, Florida - With Gazio Productions

Don't wait for the film...See the BROWN SKIN SHOWGIRLS now!

Support the film project and be one of the first to receive Brown Skin Showgirls: A black and white photographic collection of burlesque, exotic, shake, salsa, rumba and chorus line dancers, strippers and cross-dressers from Leon Claxton's Harlem in Havana Revue, 1936 to 1967. This book is guaranteed to expand your knowledge of Black and Cuban performers that shaped American popular culture. Get ready to be titillated! A portion of the proceeds will help to complete this film project. 


LOOK INSIDE THE BOOK
ORDER ON AMAZON

HARLEM IN HAVANA heads to Cucalorus Film Festival

JIG SHOW | Leon Claxton's Harlem in Havana, a compelling new documentary film by Leslie Cunningham, has recently been accepted into the Cucalorus Film Festival. Cucalorus is a non-competitive festival focused on supporting innovative artists and encouraging creative exchange. 

The festival is held each November in historic downtown Wilmington, North Carolina with screenings of 150 films from around the world. The Works-in-Progress program plays on the double meaning of the word “progress” by supporting films in-production by progressive filmmakers exploring social justice. 

The program showcases up to ten projects and provides direct financial support to at least 15 filmmakers through honorariums, travel stipends, lodging, airfare and rental fees with a special focus on supporting North Carolina filmmakers. The program includes community engagement events, public and private screenings, impact strategy sessions, and one-on-one consultations. Films in the 2014 program focused on the environment, sociopolitical action, race, and the South. 

The Works-in-Progress program is a partnership between Alternate ROOTS, Working Films, the Southern Documentary Fund and is funded in part by the North Carolina Arts Council and Alternate ROOTS. 

Visit Cucalorus Film Festival to learn more.

SDF, Official Sponsors!

JIG SHOW Selected for Fiscal Sponsorship by the Southern Documentary Fund

We are excited to have the Southern Documentary Fund (SDF) as our fiscal sponsor which will allow us to solicit funds from government, foundation, individual and other philanthropic sources that require IRS nonprofit status to provide donations to the project. These donations are then also tax-deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law. Visit http://southerndocumentaryfund.org/projects/jig-show/ to learn more.

JIG SHOW Selected for Development Funding

2013 Diversity Development Fund Recipient- 

The long awaited documentary film, JIG SHOW | Leon Claxton's Harlem in Havana has been selected as part of the ITVS 2013 Diversity Development Fund, a funding initiative that provides research and development funding to producers of color to develop single documentary programs for public television. Read more.

ABOUT ITVS  -  The Independent Television Service (ITVS) funds, presents, and promotes award-winning documentaries and dramas on public television and cable, innovative new media projects on the Web, and the Emmy Award-winning weekly series Independent Lens Monday nights at 10:00 PM on PBS. 
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