In addition to the premiere of a dance composition by Ballet West’s Adrian Fry and performances by Christopher Ruud’s Stars of Ballet West (watch for a preview next week), three historically significant Utah dance companies will present performances to help commemorate the festival’s 40th anniversary. Many of the works were given either world or Utah … Read more
For this week’s spring program, the Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company will offer three dance compositions – including two world premieres with original soundscapes in music – that imbue the simple Black Box Theatre venue in the Rose Wagner Center for Performing Arts with fresh cultural and emotional energy. For both performers and audience members, the works … Read more
It has been more than a decade since Utah Opera has staged the operatic blockbuster Aida by Giuseppi Verdi, and the energy at the Janet Quinney Lawson Capitol Theatre on opening night was palpable. The production, which runs through March 20, is strong, ambitious, and exciting, but not without a few missteps. Aida is the … Read more
There was a lot to celebrate in 2015 with the Utah Enlightenment, a creative movement where courage defines some of the state’s most interesting and independent artists. Indeed, the Enlightenment disturbs and disrupts the peculiar Utah penchant to be civil and docile or to be content with platitudes and pleasantries. Artists are reclaiming Utah’s unique … Read more
In addition to the premieres of two new dance works by Ballet West’s Christopher Ruud, four local pillars of Utah’s expansive dance community will present a variety of works encompassing the breadth and depth of dance movement vocabularies at this year’s Utah Arts Festival. Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company, June 26, 6 p.m., Festival Stage For the … Read more
The artistic promise of Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company’s upcoming concert evokes every imaginable aspect of spring. There is the uplifting, rejuvenating force of Netta Yerushalmy’s new choreographed composition that vividly uses the extensive movement vocabulary of dance along with costume changes and fast-shifting designs of stage lighting to deconstruct metaphorically traditional narratives. It is the dancers’ … Read more
For six enterprising small performing arts companies, the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center in downtown Salt Lake City is more than a residence for their creative work. It is the home for experimentation in humanity. It is the place for creating and performing new works of art. As Daniel Siepmann wrote recently at NewMusicBox, “Newness … Read more
Salt Lake City’s professional dance scene is extensive and nationally respected, a significant accomplishment in a city of this size. In additional to Christopher Ruud’s works premiere commission which will be performed by members of Ballet West, four dance companies are performing at this year’s Utah Arts Festival. Ririe Woodbury, June 27, 6 p.m., Festival … Read more