theater and dance
Samba Fogo presents: Pegando Fogo 05.03 @ Rose Wagner
Pegando Fogo, a Portuguese phrase that means “catching fire,” offered a scintillating fusion of capoeira (an afro-brazilian martial art), fire dancing, carnival samba and Brazilian Orixa dance accompanied by Brazilian and Afro-Brazilian music. All of these genres, presented by the local Samba Fogo Music and Dance Company, were brilliantly assembled on a stage lit with dramatic colors, often reminiscent of the changing sky. … read more
Ririe-Woodbury’s Iridescence @ Jeanne Wagner Theater 04.26
The Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company opened its final show of the evening, Iridescence, on April 26, in the Jeanne Wagner Theater at the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center. Though there was not a capacity crowd, the event was certainly well attended, and by an unusually vocal group of fans. … read more
Three Modalities of Enchantment: Ballet West Presents Emeralds
Utah’s Ballet West opened the run of its final show of the regular 2011/2012 season on Friday night, April 13, at the Capitol Theater. The show took its name, Emeralds, from the centerpiece of the evening’s performance, the first ballet of George Balanchine’s Jewels trilogy. Though the house was not entirely full, the audience was indeed large and energetic. … read more
NOVA Chamber Series: Schubert @ Libby Gardner 03.11
Sunday’s second annual Franz Schubert concert presented a few of the later compositions of this romantic giant. Today, his many works of chamber music, and music for solo piano or piano with four hands are constant staples of the concert hall (and of my iPod). He was a big deal to his friends, but only after he was dead did his work become the universally acknowledged treasure it is. … read more
Kevin Smith: Live From Behind 02.02.12
It takes a clever mind to sell something to the public that they can already get for free, and as much as many would like to deny him the credit, Kevin Smith is pretty damn clever. Rather than tour the country again, Smith set up a one-night live event from Toronto, where he recorded a podcast and a Q&A session broadcast live to movie theatres across America. … read more
Hazards of Bodily Intrigue – The Stephen Brown Dance Company...
While most of Utah was honking about Sundance and parking, the real event in Salt Lake this weekend debuted not on any screen but instead on the stage of the Leona Wagner Black Box Theatre of the Rose Wagner Center for The Performing Arts. For three days (January 27 – 29), The Stephen Brown Dance Company presented The Beast of SB Dance. … read more
SB Dance Sugar Show
On January 21, the Steven Brown Dance Company presented The Sugar Show at the Rose Wagner Blackbox Theater. This was the latest in a series of annual exhibits of local talent. The show took the form of a competition between choreographers, each responding to the same prompt. This year’s prompt was ‘story and narrative,’ and the show featured five different dances meant to exemplify and explore that theme. … read more
Freedom from Spirit: Repertory Dance Theater presents Vanguard
On Oct. 6-8, Repertory Dance Theater commenced its 2011-2012 season by presenting Vanguard. The program, a showcase of key works by groundbreaking choreographers, featured the work of Merce Cunningham and Yvonne Rainer. … read more
Ririe-Woodbury: Polychromatic
This weekend marked the beginning of Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company’s 2011-12 season. Last year’s final show was so colorful and imaginative it seemed reasonable to ask how the company could possibly supersede that prior spectacle. The company’s artistic director, Charlotte Boye-Christensen, was wise enough not to attempt such a feat. Rather, she courageously took the company in the opposite direction. While last night’s show bore the title Polychromatic, the set of pieces performed seemed considerably subdued compared to work produced by Ririe-Woodbury in recent seasons. … read more
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Mary Poppins @ Capitol Theatre 09.02
I was a big fan of Disney as a child and have great recall of the film as an adult, and even have fond memories of the message it conveys. … read more