Category Archives: Dance

CCM Mainstage Presents Arpino’s BIRTHDAY VARIATIONS

CCM_Birthday Variations promoCCM Dance celebrates the art of motion with a mixed-repertoire dance performance on Dec. 6-9, 2018

CINCINNATI, OH—The University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) presents a mixed-repertoire dance production culminating with Birthday Variations, choreographed by Gerald Arpino, co-founder of the Joffrey Ballet, and restaged by Nicole Duffy Robertson of the New York Dance Project. Directed by CCM Dance Professor Deirdre Carberry, the performance runs Dec. 6-9, 2018 in Patricia Corbett Theater.

Arpino’s BIRTHDAY VARIATIONS features music by Giuseppe Verdi and was restaged for CCM by Duffy, a répétiteur for the Gerald Arpino Foundation. This ballet premiered in 1986, just two years before Arpino took over the Joffrey Ballet as artistic director upon Robert Joffrey’s death. Anna Kisselgoff of the New York Times describes the work as “a sparkling showpiece of classical dancing” that is “set to some of Verdi’s infectious opera-ballet music.”

The mixed-repertoire performance also showcases “Kitri’s Wedding” from Act III of Ludwig Minkus’ Don Quixote, which premiered at Moscow’s Bolshoi Theatre in 1869, with choreography by Marius Petipa and restaged by Carberry.

“This work is one of the most famous, enduring and exciting ballet adaptations in the classical repertoire,” says Jiang Qi, chair of CCM’s Dance Department, in his program notes for the production.

Three short pieces originally choreographed by CCM Dance will also take place during this program. The first is Bridges, a work by CCM Dance Professor Michael Tevlin, with music by Benjamin Britten. This piece describes seven types of bridge, from truss to arch to suspension, through dance.

After Bridges is senior CCM Dance student Hope Friedman’s Volume IV, which features original choreography to contemporary music like Marian Hill’s Down and Wax Tailor’s Que Sera. It is an “exploration of what it means to be ‘normal’ and our connections with those around us,” Qi says.

Then CCM Dance presents Apertures and Vistas, choreographed by Judith Mikita, visiting assistant professor of dance. Mikita has worked with CCM Percussion Professor and Percussion Group Cincinnati member James Culley to develop a landscape of inventive movement with improvised accompaniment by four CCM percussion students.

This scintillating production is on stage Dec. 6-9, 2018 in Patricia Corbett Theater. Tickets are on sale now through the CCM Box Office; student discounts are available. BIRTHDAY VARIATIONS will last one hour and 45 minutes, including a 15-minute intermission.

Performance Times

  • 8 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 6
  • 8 p.m. Friday, Dec. 7
  • 8 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 8
  • 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 9

Location
Patricia Corbett Theater, CCM Village University of Cincinnati

Purchasing Tickets
Ticket prices start at $28. Discounts are available for UC and non-UC students. Service charges may apply for online orders.

Single tickets are on sale now! Tickets can be purchased in person at the CCM Box Office, over the telephone at 513-556-4183 or online through our e-Box Office!
Visit ccm.uc.edu/boxoffice for CCM Box Office hours and location.

Parking and Directions
Parking is available in the CCM Garage (located at the base of Corry Boulevard off Jefferson Avenue) and additional garages throughout the campus of the University of Cincinnati. Please visit uc.edu/parking for more information on parking rates.

For detailed maps and directions, please visit uc.edu/visitors. Additional parking is available off-campus at the U Square complex on Calhoun Street and other neighboring lots.

For directions to CCM Village, visit ccm.uc.edu/about/directions.

Mainstage Season Production Sponsor: Macy’s

Dance Department Supporter: The Corbett Endowment at CCM

The performance of BIRTHDAY VARIATIONS, an Arpino ballet, is presented with the permission of the Gerald Arpino Foundation and has been produced in accordance with the Foundation service standards established and provided by the Foundation.

A preeminent institution for the performing and media arts, the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) is the largest single source of performing arts presentations in the state of Ohio. All event dates and programs are subject to change. For a complete calendar of events, please visit us online at http://ccm.uc.edu.

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Auditions Announced for label•less at Lachey Arts

LA_logolabel•less is a musical journey to acceptance.  Focusing on the issues that affect our society.  Racism.  Sexism.  Sexuality, Classism, Bigotry, Depression.  Lending a voice to the youth who are inheriting a world they didn’t create and giving us all permission to live, love and truly be “label•less”.

Looking for Singers ad Dancers ages 15-24.  

Auditions will be held for all casting on July 20th at Planet Dance Cincinnati. The address is 2230 Gilbert Avenue Cincinnati, Ohio 45206.

You can sign up for audition times on our website Lacheyarts.com. Audition times are from 4pm-10pm that day. Please come in appropriate audition attire and warmed up and ready to go.   You will be asked to sing 32 bars of a song of your choice and you will also receive audition materials once you are signed up online.

Callbacks are scheduled for the following day July 21st at Planet Dance Cincinnati from 4-6pm.  You will be dancing this day so please wear clothes that you can move in. Girls please bring heels.

Headshot and resume are not mandatory but appreciated.

Rehearsals begin 8/27 and will be in the evenings and on some weekends leading up to the show on 9/28.   Once casting is completed we will have a more detailed rehearsal schedule.

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Dance Theatre of Harlem | May 11-12 | Aronoff Center

CAA_Dance Theatre of Harlem logo

CINCINNATI, OH – The Cincinnati Arts Association is proud to present New York City’s acclaimed Dance Theatre of Harlem for two performances only on Friday, May 11 and Saturday, May 12 at 8:00 PM at the Aronoff Center’s Procter & Gamble Hall. The show is part of Cincinnati Arts Association’s 2017-18 Presenting Season.

Tickets are on sale now at www.CincinnatiArts.org, (513) 621-ARTS [2787], and the Aronoff Center Ticket Office. Group discount tickets for ten or more are available by calling (513) 977-4157.

Now a singular presence in the ballet world, the Dance Theatre of Harlem (DTH) presents a powerful vision for ballet in the 21st century. The sixteen-member, multi-ethnic company performs a forward-thinking repertoire that includes treasured classics, neoclassical works by George Balanchine and resident choreographer Robert Garland, as well as innovative contemporary works that use the language of ballet to celebrate African American culture. Through performances, community engagement, and arts education, the Company carries forward Dance Theatre of Harlem’s message of empowerment through the arts for all.

Forty-nine years ago, Arthur Mitchell and his mentor Karel Shook founded DTH as a beacon of hope for the youth in the underprivileged neighborhood where Mitchell grew up. An acclaimed principal dancer with George Balanchine’s New York City Ballet, Mitchell took the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as a call to action. Drawing on his expertise and his prominence as the first African American to be a permanent member of a major U.S. ballet company, Mitchell’s ground-breaking idea was to transform the lives of young people in Harlem by providing training in classical ballet. In a few short years, his response to tragedy became a leading dance institution of unparalleled global acclaim.

Now, the organization’s three-part mission is served through the Dance Theatre of Harlem Company, which tours nationally and internationally with an eclectic ballet repertoire; the Dance Theatre of Harlem School, which trains more than five-hundred students per year in ballet and other dance disciplines during winter and summer sessions; and Dancing Through Barriers, an arts education and community engagement program that uses the arts to inspire and transform lives. Through these activities, DTH has reached millions and is dedicated to reaching new audiences with a powerful message of self-reliance, artistic relevance, and individual responsibility, all hallmarks of an organization that plays a key role in the national cultural dialogue.

As Dance Theatre of Harlem approaches its 50th anniversary, it remains committed to the excellence that has sustained the Company over the years.

For more information, visit www.dancetheatreofharlem.org.

CINCINNATI ARTS ASSOCIATION SPONSORS

SEASON SPONSORS:  AMERITAS (Founding Season Sponsor), FIFTH THIRD BANK (Lifetime Endowment Partner), FURNITURE FAIRLOCAL12 WKRC, The P&G FUND of The Greater Cincinnati Foundation

DANCE THEATRE OF HARLEM PRESENTING SPONSORS:  Macy’s, TriHealth, and Ultimate Air Shuttle

SEASON PRESENTING SPONSORS:  21C Museum Hotel, Cincinnati Herald, CityBeat, Heidelberg Distributing, Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza, Pepsi, Prosource, Skyline Chili, Wells Fargo Insurance Services USA, Inc.

Founded in 1992, the Cincinnati Arts Association (CAA) is a not-for-profit organization that oversees the programming and management of the Tri-state’s finest performing arts venues – the Aronoff Center for the Arts and Music Hall – and is dedicated to supporting performing and visual arts. Each year, CAA presents a diverse schedule of events; serves upwards of 600,000 people in its venues; features the work of talented local, regional, and national artists in the Weston Art Gallery (located in the Aronoff Center); and supports the work of more than one dozen resident companies. Since the inception of its acclaimed arts education programs in 1995, CAA has reached more than 1.6 million students. For more information, visit www.CincinnatiArts.org.

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CCM Mainstage Dance Presents THE ART OF MOTION

The mixed-repertoire Mainstage production features The Little Mermaid, Paquita and John Adams’ Shaker Loops

CCM_logoThe University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music’s fall Mainstage Series comes to a stunning conclusion with THE ART OF MOTION, a concert of mixed repertoire presented by the Dance Department. Co-directed by Dance Department Chair Jiang Qi and Associate Professor of Dance Deirdre Carberry, the production runs from Thursday, Nov. 30, 2017, through Sunday, Dec. 3, 2017, in CCM’s Patricia Corbett Theater.

The program begins with featured work The Little Mermaid, which is choreographed by guest artist Adam Sage with music by Léo Delibes and Antonín Dvořák. This classic fairytale, written by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen, is about the lengths in which a young mermaid will go for love.

The concert also showcases Paquita with music by Ludwig Minkus, restaged by Deirdre Carberry to choreography by Marius Petipa. Set in Spain during the occupation by Napoleon’s army, the ballet follows the story of a young gypsy girl who saves the life of a French officer and falls in love with him.

The performance concludes with Shaker Loops by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer John Adams, featuring choreography by CCM Dance Professor André Megerdichian. CCM’s Café MoMus Ensemble performs the beloved work under the direction of CCM student Alexandria Black. Shaker Loops includes an illuminated collaboration with UC DAAP faculty member Henry Hildebrandt, the Associate Director of Undergraduate Programs in the School of Architecture and Interior Design.

Experience “The Art of Motion” at CCM, which runs Nov. 30-Dec. 3 in Patricia Corbett Theater. Tickets can be purchased in person at the CCM Box Office, over the telephone 513-556-4183 or online at ccm.uc.edu/boxoffice/mainstage/art-of-motion.
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Performance Times

  • 8 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 30
  • 8 p.m. Friday Dec. 1
  • 8 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 2
  • 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 3

Location
Patricia Corbett Theater, CCM Village
University of Cincinnati

Purchasing Tickets
Tickets to THE ART OF MOTION are $27-31 for adults, $17-20 for non-UC students and $15-18 for UC students with a valid ID.

Student rush tickets will be sold one hour before each performance to non-UC students for $12 or $15, based on availability. UC students can receive one free student rush ticket with a valid ID, based on availability.

Customizable subscription packages are also available for CCM’s 2017-18 Mainstage
Series.

Tickets can be purchased in person at the CCM Box Office, over the telephone at 513-556-4183 or online at ccm.uc.edu/boxoffice/mainstage/art-of-motion.

Parking and Directions
Parking is available in the CCM Garage (located at the base of Corry Boulevard off Jefferson Avenue) and additional garages throughout the UC campus. Please visit uc.edu/parking for more information on parking rates.

For detailed maps and directions, please visit uc.edu/visitors. Additional parking is available off-campus at the U Square complex on Calhoun Street and other neighboring lots.

For directions to CCM Village, visit ccm.uc.edu/about/directions.

CCM Season Presenting Sponsor: The Otto M. Budig Family Foundation
Mainstage Season Production Sponsor: Macy’s
Dance Department Supporter: The Corbett Endowment at CCM
Dance Performance Sponsor: Teri Jory & Seth Geiger

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Cincinnati Ballet and Contemporary Dance Theater Partner to Present COLLIDE!

CB_Collide

The unique collaboration celebrates the BLINK Festival through contemporary dance

 CINCINNATI. – In partnership with Contemporary Dance Theater (CDT), and with support from the Cincinnati Arts Association and ArtsWave, Cincinnati Ballet is pleased to announce Collide!with three performances on October 13 and 14, at the Aronoff Center’s Jarson-Kaplan Theater. The Collide! performance series is a unique collaboration in celebration of the BLINK Festival taking place the same weekend, and offers an exciting opportunity to experience contemporary dance along the BLINK route.

 Collectively curated by Cincinnati Ballet Artistic Director Victoria Morgan and CDT Artistic Director, Jefferson JamesCollide! features three brand new contemporary works from choreographers Debbie Blunden-Diggs, James Cunningham, and André Megerdichian, danced by the Cincinnati Ballet Second Company. The collaboration honors Richard J. Collins, late artistic director of the Cincinnati Ballet Company, 1990-1991.

 Debbie Blunden-Diggs is in her 11th season as Artistic Director of the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company (DCDC), and performed with the Company for more than 20 years. She is also an accomplished choreographer, creating works for the company that have become part of their artistic blue print. Her notable works include Configurations, Kaleidoscope, Fragments, In My Father’s House and Traffic. Blunden-Diggs has also served as the company’s Associate Artistic Director and Deputy Director for Arts and Operations.  In addition to her role as Artistic Director of DCDC, she is an adjunct professor at the University of Dayton Theatre, Dance & Performance Technology department. She has assisted Central State University with their theatre and musical productions, and served as a co-director for a production of Crowns for The Human Race Theatre. Blunden-Diggs is on the board of directors for the International Association of Blacks in Dance (IABD).

 James Cunningham is a Soloist with Cincinnati Ballet and began choreographing at the University of Cincinnati’s College Conservatory of Music (CCM), through composition courses and yearly student choreographed showcases. Since joining the Cincinnati Ballet in 2008, he has been commissioned to create site-specific works for chamber orchestra group Concert:Nova and the Constella Music Festival. He continued to refine his craft and find his personal style through two Cincinnati Ballet Choreographic Workshop creations, Seven and Ancora, danced by the Cincinnati Ballet Second Company. His version of Peter and the Wolf has been presented as part of Cincinnati Ballet’s Ballet Toybox production and also through education and outreach performances.

 In the spring of 2016, BalletMet dancers and producers of The Benefit, a charity event for children with hemophilia, invited Cunningham to create Meandering Heartbeat in collaboration with the local rock group The Wind and The Sea and Columbus Symphony musicians. Later that year, Cunningham choreographed a brand new work for the students at CCM and his piece, Prohibition Condition was featured in Cincinnati Ballet’s main stage production of Director’s Cut. Steve Sucato from ArtsAir said, “Cunningham’s well-crafted choreography balanced clever movement with bravura ballet fireworks.” In January 2017, he choreographed a world premiere pas de deux for Cincinnati Ballet dancers, entitled Garcia Counterpoint, with music by Bryce Dessner, as part of the MusicNow Festival.

 André Megerdichian is an Assitant Professor of Dance at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM). Born in New York City and raised in Beirut, Athens, and Geneva. He has performed for over a decade with esteemed companies and choreographers including the Jose Limon Dance Company, Janis Brenner and Dancers, the Mary Anthony Dance Theatre, Soundance Repertory Company, Reidel Dance Theatre, Daniel Charon and Sean Curran. He was a principal dancer with Dance Kaleidoscope, under the artistic direction of David Hochoy (former rehearsal director of the Martha Graham Dance Company) for seven seasons. During his time in Indiana, Megerdichian was awarded the 2003 Creative Renewal Arts Fellowship by the Indianapolis Arts Council, for his sustained artistic contributions to the community.

 In 1995 Megerdichian was invited to create his first evening-length work titled Moving Light, performed in the Statkino Theatre in Salzeburg, Austria, by the Painted Lights Dance Project. Since then, his choreography has been produced by the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, the Sharon Disney Lund School of Dance at the California Institute of the Arts, the Deadulus Project, Dance Kaleidoscope, the Anderson Young Ballet Theatre, Ball State University and the University of Indianapolis.

 The Cincinnati Ballet Second Company is a group of up-and-coming professional dancers who come from around the world to study at Cincinnati Ballet and perform alongside Cincinnati Ballet’s Company dancers. Second Company dancers rehearse with the company on a full time basis, 9 am-6 pm every weekday, as well as serve as education outreach ambassadors for the organization. With a focus on engaging audiences of all ages, Second Company dancers bring the joy of dance to thousands of students and community members each year through schools, community centers, churches, nursing homes and more.

PERFORMANCE DATES AND INFORMATION

WHO:

Cincinnati Ballet Second Company
World Premiere: “Disconnected Fragments”
Choreography: James Cunningham

World Premiere: “Where Water Meets the Sky”
Choreography: André Megerdichian

World Premiere: “The Human Condition”
Choreography: Debbie Blunden-Diggs

WHAT: COLLIDE!

WHEN:

  • October 13 – 8:00 pm
  • October 14 – 2:00 pm & 8:00 pm

WHERE:

Aronoff Center for the Arts
Jarson-Kaplan Theater
650 Walnut Street
Cincinnati, Ohio  45202

HOW:

Call 513.621.5282, visit cballet.org or visit the Cincinnati Ballet Box Office at 1555 Central Parkway, Cincinnati, OH 45212

Tickets are $25

About Cincinnati Ballet
Since 1963, Cincinnati Ballet has been the cornerstone professional ballet company of the region, presenting a bold and adventurous array of classical, full-length ballets and contemporary works, regularly with live orchestral accompaniment. Under the artistic direction of Victoria Morgan, Cincinnati Ballet has become a creative force within the larger dance community, commissioning world premiere works and exploring unique collaborations with artists as diverse as Grammy winning guitarist Peter Frampton and popular, Ohio-based band Over the Rhine. With a mission to inspire hope and joy in our community and beyond through the power and passion of dance, Cincinnati Ballet reaches beyond the stage in programs that allow every person in the region to be part of the continued evolution of dance. To that end, Cincinnati Ballet presents exhilarating performances, extensive education outreach programs and offers top level professional ballet training at Cincinnati Ballet Otto M. Budig Academy.

CONNECT: READ / WATCH / LISTEN / LEARN / ENJOY at cballet.org 

Cincinnati Ballet 2017-2018 Season Sponsors: ArtsWave, Mercy Health, Louise Dieterle Nippert Musical Arts Fund, PNC Bank, Austin E. Knowlton Foundation, Ohio Arts Council, Frisch’s Big Boy, Rhonda & Larry Sheakley

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