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Tag: Bob Hope Theatre

Meadow’s 2016 Spring Dance Concert showcases another world premiere

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Spring-DanceThe Meadows Dance Ensemble in SMU’s Meadows School of the Arts presents its 2016 Spring Dance Concert March 31-April 3 in the Bob Hope Theatre, Owen Arts Center. The ensemble will perform one world premiere and two enchanting ballets, creating an awe-inspiring evening for the audience.

The concert’s highlights will include the world premiere of a newly envisioned version of Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite (1945), choreographed by Claudia Lavista and Victor Manuel Ruiz, artistic directors of the acclaimed Delfos Danza Contemporanea in Mazatlán, Mexico.

The program also showcases the Martha Graham masterpiece Appalachian Spring (1944), set to Aaron Copland‘s original score. The ensemble will also perform Tchaikovsky’s Pas de Deux by George Balanchine, an eight-minute display of ballet bravura and technique set to music the composer belatedly created for Act III of Swan Lake.

Meadows dancers will present encores of Firebird Suite and Appalachian Spring, accompanied by the Meadows Symphony Orchestra, at the Meadows at the Winspear annual gala concert on May 11.

Performances will take place at 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday and at 2 p.m. on Sunday. Tickets are $7 for students, faculty and staff and can be purchased online. For more information, call 214-768-2787 (214-SMU-ARTS).

Two world premieres are highlights of Meadows’ 2015 Spring Dance Concert, March 25-29

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Photographs from the 2015 Spring Dance Concert Rehearsal, taken by Kim Leeson.
Photographs from the 2015 Spring Dance Concert Rehearsal, taken by Kim Leeson.

The Meadows Dance Ensemble in SMU’s Meadows School of the Arts presents its 2015 Spring Dance Concert, March 25-29, in the Bob Hope Theatre, Owen Arts Center. 

This year’s concert features two world premieres by noted guest choreographers, as well as the revival of an acclaimed work by jazz dance artist and faculty member Danny Buraczeski.

The program opens with the premiere of Darkside by Artist-in-Residence John Selya. Based on the Tom Stoppard BBC radio play with music from Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon album, Selya’s Darkside brings a visual element to what has been a solely auditory work. In addition to teaching and choreographing at universities and dance companies across the nation, Selya is a Tony-nominated dancer and Broadway veteran.

The second performance features faculty member Danny Buraczeski‘s in the revival of his acclaimed 1999 piece Ezekiel’s Wheel. Inspired by the life and work of author and civil rights activist James Baldwin, Ezekiel’s Wheel is set to a percussive musical score interspersed with passages of Baldwin’s writings.

The program concludes with the premiere of The Hi Betty Cha-Cha by alumnus and founder and director of Dark Circles Contemporary Dance, Joshua Peugh (’06). Featuring five contrasting sections, the work is set to music by Dean Martin, as well as Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass.

Performance take place at 8 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday and 2 p.m. on Sunday. Available for purchase online, tickets are $7 for SMU faculty, students and staff. For more information, contact the Meadows Ticket Office.

Calendar Highlights: Mar. 5, 2013

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Coolidge: Author and Director of the George W. Bush Institute’s 4% Growth Project Amity Shlaes will be on the Hilltop Wednesday, Mar. 6 to give a lecture entitled The President Who Said No: Debt, Temperament, and Calvin Coolidge’s Lessons for Today. The lecture will focus on Coolidge’s legacy as a president who is remembered for encouraging business growth, supporting technological innovation and helping the nation successfully confront difficult fiscal problems. Shlaes’ book, Coolidge, will be available for purchase and signing at the lecture. Shlaes is an adjunct professor of economic history in the Stern School of Business at NYU. The event is free and open to the public, but attendees must register. It starts at 6 p.m. in McCord Auditorium, 306 Dallas Hall.

Martin Rico’s work at Meadows: At 6 p.m. Thursday, March 7,  Javier Barón Thaidigsmann will host an evening lecture on the new exhibit of Martin Rico’s work at the Meadows Museum. Thaidigsmann is chief curator of 19th-Century Painting at the Museo Nacional del Prado, and he will speak on the 19th century vistas by one of Spain’s beloved painters, who played a role in the introduction of the realist landscape. The exhibit opens to the public on Sunday, March 10 and will feature more than 100 works. Thursday’s lecture is free and open to the public, with priority seating for Museum members until 5:40 p.m.

Damaged Goods: SMU Meadows SYZYGY gives its first concert of the Spring 2013 season on Thursday, March 7. The performance takes the title Damaged Goods from a piece by Roshanne Etezday, which she composed as an expression of her less-than-successful relationships of the past. The ensemble make the piece their own with unique takes on lyricism, rhythmic drive and emotional yearning. The performance begins at 8 p.m. in Caruth Auditorium, Owen Arts Center, and tickets are $7 for faculty, staff and students.

The hills are alive: Meadows Opera pays tribute to American composer Richard Rodgers on Friday, Mar. 8 with performances of scenes from his best known works, as well as songs from Mary Rodgers, his daughter, and Adam Guettel, his grandson. Rodgers’ partnerships with Moss Hart and Oscar Hammerstein II produced more than 900 songs and 43 Broadway musicals. The performance starts at 1 p.m. in the Bob Hope Theatre, Owen Arts Center.

Happy Spring Break! 

Meadows Opera Theatre performs Albert Herring Feb. 7-10, 2013

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It is time for the annual May Day Festival, but what happens when none of the girls are pure enough to be May Queen?

In conjunction with the 100th anniversary of the birth of composer Benjamin Britten, the Meadows Opera Theatre and Meadows Symphony Orchestra will perform Britten’s comic opera Albert Herring. The production runs Feb. 7-10, 2013 in the Bob Hope Theatre, Owen Arts Center.

Albert Herring is set in 1947, just two years after the end of World War II, in a time when youth were trying to pull away from traditions and live life in their own terms. This theme is explored through the title character, who is named May King after being lauded as the only virgin in town. Albert is embarrassed by his new title and seeks adventure and independence from his mother after unknowingly drinking rum-spiked lemonade at the May Day Festival. The opera is a story of triumph and having the right to be who we really are regardless of what others think and accept.

The opera was first performed in 1947, with a libretto by Eric Crozier. Meadows Opera Theatre Director Hank Hammett had the privilege of studying with Crozier in his younger years, and they became good friends. “Eric and Nancy (Eric’s wife) fell in love during the writing of the opera,” Hammett says, “and that love is very much reflected in the music that Britten wrote for Nancy’s character. Nancy is one of the individuals who spikes the lemonade.”

Meadows student Julie Dieltz, playing Lady Billows, says, “Performing in an opera is one of the most exciting and terrifying experiences I’ve had. One must rely on specific personal experiences in order to develop a character. Through research into one’s life, the life of the character, and into history, the character comes alive.”

A unique element of Meadows Opera Theatre productions is that they are each fully designed by third-year M.F.A. students from the Division of Theatre. All sets, costumes and lighting are specially created by Meadows production, something that sets Meadows apart from other universities.

“This year’s production has surpassed them all. We are so fortunate to be surrounded by this kind of collaborative, interdisciplinary talent,” Hammett says.

First-time opera performer Daniel Bouchard, playing Mr. Gedge, also noted the collaborative nature of Meadows. “The true beauty of opera is that it is a collaborative art, bringing extremely talented musicians together on stage and in the pit to tell a story. Cooperation between these talented artists can be difficult sometimes, but we have worked so hard together that this interaction is almost second nature now.”

The Meadows Symphony Orchestra will be in the pit under the direction of Professor of Music and Director of Orchestral Activities Paul Phillips. The opera will be sung in English, with projected English text above the stage as well.

Tickets are $7 for SMU faculty, staff and students. The show begins at 8 p.m. Feb. 7-9 and 2 p.m. Feb. 10. For more information, contact the Meadows Ticket Office, 214-768-2787 (214-SMU-ARTS).

(All images by Brian Hwu c/o Meadows School of the Arts)

Find a complete cast list below the cut.

Continue reading “Meadows Opera Theatre performs Albert Herring Feb. 7-10, 2013″

Two world premieres highlight 2012 Fall Dance Concert Nov. 7-11

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The dancers of SMU’s Meadows School of the Arts have worked an entire semester to bring the community the 2012 Meadows Fall Dance Concert, Nov. 7-11. This year’s show features two world premieres as well as a restaged work.

Choreographer Bruce Wood working with a student at rehearsal (photo by Brian Hwu)

The premiere of Le Coeur de Ballet was choreographed by Mel Tomlinson. Described as a “romantic celebration of the feminine,” this homage to ballet blanc features 12 dancers in white tutus and is set to Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5  and his “Polonaise” from Eugene Onegin. Tomlinson is a former soloist with the New York City Ballet and is an award-winning dancer and choreographer.

The second premiere of the night is Zing a Little Zong, a new work set to classic American songs choreographed by Bruce Wood. The piece is a mixture of ballet and contemporary dance and will feature live music by Gary Floyd and Denise Lee. Wood lives in Dallas and is the artistic director and choreographer of the Bruce Wood Dance Project.

The Meadows troupe will also perform a restaging of Getting There, choreographed by Billy Siegenfeld, in which the dancers depict an evolution from isolation to a sense of community set to music by Thelonious Monk and Count Basie. Siegenfeld is the founder and artistic director of Chicago’s Jump Rhythm Jazz Project.

“Once you get on the stage you feel the success and joy of working so hard throughout the semester,” says Meadows dancer Aubry Neal. Performances will be held in the Bob Hope Theatre of the Owen Arts Center and take place at 8 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday and 2 p.m. on Sunday. Tickets are $7 each for faculty, staff and students.

Meadows Dancers working with Choreographer Billy Siegenfeld 

(All photos and videos courtesy of the SMU Meadows Facebook page)

Calendar Highlights: Oct. 1, 2012

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Brown Bag Returns: The highly anticipated Brown Bag Dance Series returns on Monday, Oct. 1. The Meadows School of Art Division of Dance will perform at lunchtime daily through Friday, Oct. 5. The performances include 10-15 of original ballet, modern and jazz works; giving the SMU community a taste of the different dance styles. Performances are free and in the Bob Hope Theatre Lobby of the Owen Arts Center. Students, Faculty and Staff are encouraged to enjoy their lunch while watching the talented dancers perform.

PwC: The PwC SMU Athletic Forum produces four annual luncheons every year that honor sports legends. On Tuesday, Oct. 2, 2012, Super Bowl champion and football head coach, Sean Payton will be the featured speaker for the Red Mountain Resources Luncheon. The forum is in its 23rd season of bringing these high achieving individuals to Dallas and forum proceeds are used to support SMU athletic scholarships and operating initiatives. The luncheon will be held at the Hilton Anatole Hotel and begins at noon. Please contact Jeff Lockhart for more information.

McFarlin Auditorium: Every year McFarlin Auditorium hosts several special events. Here’s a look at the month of October:

  • October 3, 2012: The Carrington Endowed Lecture Series presents “India Now” featuring The Honorable S.M. Krishna ’59, Minister of External Affairs for India. The lecture begins at 6 p.m. and registration is free.
  • October 7, 2012: David Byrne and St. Vincent concert at 8 p.m.
  • October 9, 2012: Tate Lecture Series featuring Regis Philbin at 8 p.m.
  • October 17, 2012: Tower Center Medal of Freedom Reception 4:30 p.m.
  • October 22, 2012: Norah Jones Concert at 8 p.m.
  • October 26, 2012: Pigskin Revue performance at 8:15 p.m.
  • October 27, 2012: NPHC Stepshow at 7 p.m.

Basketball in the Big East: SMU Basketball Coach Larry Brown is speaking on SMU Basketball in the New Era, Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2012. Brown boasts an impressive resume; he is the only head coach to win championships in both the NBA and NCAA. Coach Brown will speak on his plans for SMU Basketball in their 2013 season and debut in the Big East Conference. The luncheon is in the Ernst & Young Gallery in the Fincher Building and will begin at noon. Tickets are $12.00 for Faculty Club Members and $15.00 for non-members, and you must RSVP by Sept. 30, 2012.

Presidential Election 2012: SMU is hosting a Presidential Debate Series for SMU and the Dallas Community. The series will feature a viewing of the televised presidential debates, for the fall election, in the O’Donnell Auditorium with a public debate and ballot opportunity afterwards. The SMU debate program will moderate the event. The viewing will start at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 3. 2012. The other dates in the series are, Oct. 11, 16, and 22.

(All images courtesy of SMU)