BALLET FLAMENCO ESPANOL
FOLKLORICO DANCE COMPANY
AT METROPOLITAN LIBRARIES

Photo courtesy of the Oklahoma Arts Council

 From the poster

The remaining two weekends of the Metropolitan Library's Celebration of National
Hispanic Heritage Month with Ballet Flamenco Espanol Folklorico Dance Company.

The free performances are "dedicated to the preservation and presentation of Spanish dance. The touring company recognizes the five provinces of Spain and all 33 states of Mexico. Look for brilliant dance and costumes, wooden shoes, castanets and swords!"

The performances are at Capitol Hill Library, 334 SW 26th, Saturday, September 21 at 2 pm, Belle Isle Library, 5501 N. Villa, Sunday, September 22 at 4 pm, and, next weekend, at Edmond Library, 10 S. Boulevard, Sunday, September 29 at 4 pm.

  

OKLAHOMA FESTIVAL BALLET
PRESENTS FALL PROGRAM
THIS WEEKEND AND NEXT

 

Photo courtesy of OU School of Dance

 

From the press release

The University of Oklahoma University Theatre and School of Dance presents the Oklahoma Festival Ballet in a mixed-repertoire production featuring exciting choreography by School of Dance faculty Clara Cravey Stanley, Mary Margaret Holt, Ilya Kozadayev and Jeremy Lindberg. Performances are at 8 p.m. Sept. 20-21, 26-28 and 3 p.m. on Sept. 22, 29, in the Rupel J. Jones Theatre, Fine Arts Center, 563 Elm Ave., Norman. Tickets are about $20 for adults.

 

Harmonic Inspirations, choreographed by new faculty member Ilya Kozadayev, is a work set to Vivaldi’s “Violin Concerto in A Minor," part of his L'Estro Armonico collection of violin concertos. The abstract ballet is set as an interpretation of the music by Kozadayev’s contemporary interpretation of Baroque style, with the movement inspired by the virtuosity of the dancers of Oklahoma Festival Ballet.

 

Le Mistral, choreographed by Mary Margaret Holt, premiered in 2012.  “That production had 'the elements' as its theme, and, having been fascinated by the Mistral winds that sweep through France and over Provence for some time, I decided to use the Mistral as the inspiration and theme for my ballet. The dancers, at times, represent the wild Mistral, and sometimes, those in its path who are moved and affected by the winds.  The composers range from the 12th to the 21st century, to indicate the timelessness of nature.  The ballet demands a great deal from the cast in terms of movement quality, stamina and dynamics,” remarked Holt.

 

La Chanteuse de Paris, also choreographed by Holt, unfolds as a series of poignant incidents in the life of famed French singer Edith Piaf as reflected in her songs and gives the company the opportunity to share their expressive as well as technical gifts. 

 

The Pas De Deux, from the full-length classical ballet Sylvia, is choreographed by Clara Cravey Stanley. Originally choreographed by Louis Mérante to music by Léo Delibes, Sylvia premièred at the Palais Garnier in 1876. The ballet’s origins are in Tasso’s 1573 poem “Aminta,” which provides the basic plot of Delibes’ work. The 1952 revival choreographed by Sir Frederick Ashton popularized the ballet.

 

The Lakmé Ballet Suite is an original work of theatrical ballet choreographed by Professor Jeremy Lindberg to an arrangement of the rich and lively music from the opera Lakmé by Léo Delibes. The ballet is set in the shadow of temple ruins and danced with an intricate blend of classical ballet steps and motifs of India. Twenty-four dancers from Oklahoma Festival Ballet animate the vibrant music with an antique yet passionate feeling of 1850s India. The ballet is colorfully displayed in traditional Indian style costumes, coordinated by OU costume designer Kasey Allee-Foreman, with stage lighting designed by OU student Adam Honoré.

PERPETUAL MOTION
HOLDS PM 2 AUDITIONS
SEPTEMBER 30

From the press release

Image provided

Calling All Teens!  

We are looking for dedicated dancers ages 13 and older to be a part of PM2, Perpetual Motion's Teen Company, for the 2013-2014 performance season. 

  

 PM2 Teen Company Auditions

September 30, 2013

6:00-7:30pm

PM2 Auditions will be held at:

Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center

3000 General Pershing Boulevard

Oklahoma City, OK  73107

PM2 is a Teen Dance Company created to provide aspiring young dancers with the opportunity to train and perform with Perpetual Motion Dance, Oklahoma's premiere modern and aerial dance company.

For more information contact amy nevius @ perpetual info.
 

THE FAIRY BALL ON PASEO
FOR CHILDREN OF ALL AGES
ON SEPTEMBER 21

From staff reports, and many good times at the ball
 

Dancing young Fairies encircle Casey Tisdale and KC Ortega of StarDanceSwan at the Fairy Ball.Image by Skip Largent 2012.

 

“How shall we beguile the lazy summer, if not with some delight?”  This timeless quote from Shakespeare is the inspiration for the 13^th annual free Fairy Ball on Paseo, the Historic Arts District in Oklahoma City.   Artists invite children to bring their own special kind of enchantment to Paseo where they can step through wonder on the last day of summer to awaken fall.  The imagination of those who are young at heart brings the Fairy Ball to life through visual delights, music and dance on Saturday September 21, from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m.

Children of all ages are encouraged to ‘open up the art of make-believe’ and create a costume to wear to the ball.  This is a dress up event; any whimsical character that is found in a fairy garden can be made at home and worn to the Ball.  Children can become bugs, blossoms, elves, fairies, wizards, and any other magical characters that they may envision. Parents are encouraged to participate in the fun and creativity by building a costume at home with their children, letting their imaginations be the guide.

“To build a fairy frock, rummage through vintage clothing stores and thrift shops. What goodies lie in your grandparent’s trunks?  Find forgotten treasures in the back of your mother and fathers closets.  Repurpose what you find, go for originality, and allow yourself to be surprised,” suggests Lorrie Keller, founder of the event. 

At 6:30pm, just before dusk, participants will gather outdoors on Paseo’s  ‘green space,’ a grassy lot at Dewey and NW 28, just west of Paseo Grill.  Interactive activities like flower-weaving, dancing, and storytelling take place until 7:45, when all participants are encouraged to dance to the music of Steve McLinn until 9:00 p.m. 

 The PAA is committed to keeping the Fairy Ball a free event for the public, although donations are accepted to help offset the costs of the event.   Children must be accompanied by an adult.   The Fairy Ball is a project of the Paseo Arts Association and Theatre Upon a StarDanceSwan, and is made possible through the support of the Oklahoma Arts Council.   For more information, please call Jennifer Baron at the Paseo Arts Association, 525-2688, or go to www.thepaseo.com.

  

BRIGHTMUSIC SEASON OPENER
"SOUVENIRS FOR AN ARCHDUKE"
SEPTEMBER 16-17

Guest pianist Gloria Chien. Image provided.

Brightmusic Chamber Ensemble will present the opening night concert of its 2013-14 Season on Monday and Tuesday evenings, September 16-17, with a glittering concert entitled “Souvenirs for an Archduke.”

The Monday evening, September 16 performance will be given at All Souls’ Episcopal Church at 63rd & Penn in northwest Oklahoma City.  The Tuesday evening, September 17 performance will be given at St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral at 7th & Robinson in downtown OKC.  Both performances will begin at 7:30 pm.  A reception with the musicians will follow Tuesday evening’s performance.

This concert will feature the return visit of concert pianist Gloria Chien, who last dazzled our audience with her performances at “German Romanticism” in March 2011.  The Brightmusic musicians who will join Gloria for this concert will be Gregory Lee and Katrin Stamatis (violin), Royce McLarry (viola), Jonathan Ruck (cello) and Amy I-Lin Cheng (piano).

“Souvenirs for an Archduke” will feature three works.  Gloria Chien and Brightmusic Co-Artistic Director Amy Cheng will begin the program with three selections from “Souvenirs: Suite for Piano Four Hands” by the 20th Century American composer Samuel Barber.  Ludwig van Beethoven’s famous “Archduke Trio” – Piano Trio in B-flat Major, op. 97 – will follow, featuring violinist Gregory Lee, cellist Jonathan Ruck and guest artist Gloria Chien.

Picked by the Boston Globe as one of the Superior Pianists of the year, “… who appears to excel in everything,” pianist Gloria Chien made her orchestral debut at the age of 16 with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. . An avid chamber musician, she has been the resident pianist with the Chameleon Arts Ensemble of Boston since 2000. She has recorded for Chandos Records, and recently released a CD with clarinetist Anthony McGill. In 2009 she launched String Theory, a chamber music series at the Hunter Museum of American Art in downtown Chattanooga, as its founder and artistic director and the following year was appointed Director of the Chamber Music Institute at the Music@Menlo festival. A native of Taiwan, Ms. Chien is a graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music, where she was a student of Russell Sherman and Wha-Kyung Byun. She is an Associate Professor at Lee University in Cleveland, TN, and is a member of Chamber Music Society Two. She is a Steinway Artist.

After intermission, the musicians will perform the Piano Quintet in E-flat Major, op. 15 by Austrian-American composer Erich Wolfgang Korngold.  Violinists Gregory Lee and Katrin Stamatis, violist Royce McLarry, cellist Jonathan Ruck and guest pianist Gloria Chien will perform this superb work.

Adult admission is $15 per person.  Students with ID are free of charge.  Season members should show their Season Membership cards for admission.

Season memberships are available for a contribution of $75/person by mail (send a check and mailing information to Brightmusic at P.O. Box 20254, OKC 73156) and online (click HERE or try the Brightmusic.org website and follow the instructions).  Contributions larger than the minimum amount will certainly be welcomed, and will be put to excellent use this season.

Season memberships will also be available at the door to both performances of Concert 1.

From staff reports

WICKED LOTTERY
FOR $25 ORCHESTRA
SEATING

Photo courtesy of WICKED and Celebrity Attractions

   A day-of-performance lottery for a limited number of orchestra seats will be held for WICKED, which is returning to the Civic Center Music Hall with performances now through September 22. Two and one-half hours prior to each performance, people who present themselves at the Civic Center Music Hall box office will have their names placed in a lottery drum; thirty minutes later, names will be drawn for a limited number of orchestra seats at $25 each, cash only.  This lottery is available only in-person at the box office, with a limit of two tickets per person.  Lottery participants must have a valid photo ID when submitting their entry form and, if chosen, when purchasing tickets. 

     WICKED, with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz (Pippin, Godspell, Disney’s Enchanted, Academy Award®  winner for Pocahontas and The Prince of Egypt) and book by Winnie Holzman (“My So Called Life,” “Once And Again” and “thirtysomething”), is based on the 1995 best-selling novel by Gregory Maguire.  The musical is directed by two-time Tony®  Award winner Joe Mantello (Take Me Out, Love! Valour! Compassion!, The Vagina Monologues) and features musical staging by Tony®  Award winner Wayne Cilento (Aida, The Who’s Tommy, How To Succeed…).  WICKED, the untold story of the witches of Oz, is produced by Marc Platt, Universal Pictures, The Araca Group, Jon B. Platt and David Stone. 

       Long before Dorothy drops in, two other girls meet in the land of Oz. One – born with emerald green skin – is smart, fiery and misunderstood.  The other is beautiful, ambitious and very popular.  WICKED tells the story of their remarkable odyssey, how these two unlikely friends grow to become the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good. 

WICKED features set design by Tony®  Award winner Eugene Lee (Ragtime, Show Boat, Candide, Sweeney Todd), costume design by Tony®  winner Susan Hilferty (Spring Awakening, Into the Woods, Assassins), lighting design by Tony®  winner Kenneth Posner (Tony®  Award winner for The Coast of Utopia, Hairspray) and sound design by Tony Meola (The Lion King).  Stephen Oremus is the show’s music director.  Orchestrations are by William David Brohn, with dance arrangements by James Lynn Abbott.

WICKED has “cast quite a spell” (Washington Post) throughout North America, breaking box office records in every city that it has played, including Toronto, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington, DC, Philadelphia and Boston to name a few.  There are currently 7 productions worldwide: New York, London, Holland, Japan, Australia/New Zealand, and two concurrent North American Tours.  Globally, WICKED has amassed over $3 billion in ticket sales and has been seen by 37 million people worldwide in its 9-year history.

WICKED is performing now at the Civic Center Music Hall for a limited engagement of three weeks only now through September 22^nd.  The performance schedule is Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday Evenings at 7:30 p.m., Friday Evenings at 8:00 p.m., Saturday and Sunday Matinees at 2:00 p.m. and Saturday Evenings at 8:00 p.m. There is also a Matinee performance on Thursday, September 5^th at 2:00 p.m.  Prices start at $35. Good seats are still available with best availability for the performances September 10 - September 22.

Tickets are on sale now and may be purchased via phone (800) 869-1451, (405) 297-2264, in person at the Civic Center Box Office, or online at CelebrityAttractions.com.  Orders for groups of 15 or more may be placed by calling (800) 869-1451 ext. 220 

Get social with Celebrity Attractions by becoming a fan on Facebook.com/BwayOKC.  Follow the Oklahoma City engagement of WICKED on Twitter.com/BwayOKC or join the conversation using hashtag #WickedOKC. 

WICKED is presented by the Celebrity Attractions’ 2013-2014 Broadway Season in Oklahoma City which also includes Irving Berlin’s WHITE CHRISTMAS, CHICAGO starring John O’Hurley, THE MUSIC OF ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER, SISTER ACT and the add-on production of Disney’s BEAUTY AND THE BEAST! Celebrity Attractions is proud to have American Airlines, Magic 104.1 FM and The Oklahoman as sponsors for this spectacular season.

SAVION GLOVER AT
UCO'S MITCHELL HALL
TONIGHT

By Nancy Condit
      and from staff reports

Broadway Tonight:
Savion Glover in Solo in Time at 7:30 pm, Sept. 6, 
in Mitchell Hall Theater at UCO.
The Tony Award-winning choreographer and dancer
pays tribute to the history and art of tap.
Tickets are still available: $45 for the floor, and 
$40 for the balcony. Reservations are recommended.
For tickets, go online or call (405) 974-3375.