Theatre
& MusicFebruary
2010
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Theatre
& Music |
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February
2010
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LINKS Performing
Arts Magic
Circle Performing
Arts Instruction |
Central Oregon Dance Showcase Features Internationally Acclaimed Classical South Indian Dancer Bali Ram
The showcase has become a popular event with performers and the community, and this year will feature Bali Ram, internationally acclaimed Classical South Indian dancer. Bali Ram has toured the world several times as a famed South Indian Classical dancer. In addition, he has studied with the Russian Bolshoi Ballet and with Martha Graham in New York City. Bali Ram, who was born in Nepal, has crossed paths with the most influential leaders of the 20th century. At the age of 7, he met Gandhi. He has danced for and worked with Mother Theresa in Calcutta and marched in the Freedom March to Selma Alabama with Martin Luther King Jr. As part of his world tours, Bali Ram has performed at the United Nations twice, the White House, and for kings and dignitaries across the globe. This year, Bali Ram will be sharing the stage with Smita Menon, a Classical South Indian teacher in Bend. Smita is from Mumbai and has recently moved with her family to Bend from Pittsburg where she owned a dance studio featuring South Indian Bollywood style dance. In addition to Bali Ram and the Terpsichorean Dance Company, 25 Central Oregon dance studios and ensembles have been invited to participate. These include An Daire School of Irish Dance, Gypsy Fire Tribal Belly Dance, Jazz Dance Collective, Gotta Dance!, Dancing Granny, Belly Dance with Sahara, The Vibe Dance Center, Dance Arts Unlimited of Madras, Bijou Project, Academie de Ballet Classique, Jazzercise, Tai Chi for Health, High Desert Dance Arts of Prineville, Fish Hawk Wing Modern Dance Company, Vertigo, Ubiquitous Dance Company, Dance Velocity, Zumba, and Silat, an Indonesian martial art form. Any local dance group is eligible to participate as long as their enrollment is open to everyone. “Our hope is that these annual performances will continue to form a unifying bond between local performing groups and give them the exposure that they deserve,” says Carolyn Brant, Terpsichorean Dance Studio Director. Cascade Horizon Band to Perform at Educators Convention The Cascade Horizon Band of Bend has been honored with an invitation to perform for the Oregon Music Educators Association Convention to be held in Eugene on Friday and Saturday, January 15-16, 2010. According to Roscoe Creed the band is the first senior band to receive such an invitation. Doubling the honor, the band will participate in a workshop conducted by Roy Ernst. Ernst originated the Horizon Band concept in 1999 when he was active at the Eastman School of Music. The concept has resulted in an international organization consisting of 150 bands in the United States and Canada. The Cascade Horizon Band was formed in 2003 with 12 members and now lists 70 members on its roster. It was the 74th band formed under the Horizon banner. While its first numbers were Mary Had a Little Lamb and Happy Birthday, its current repertoire ranges from Sousa marches to selections by George Gershwin and Leroy Anderson, as well as tributes to Louie Armstrong and medleys of Broadway show tunes. Horizon Band members are 50 years old and up who play brass, woodwind and percussion instruments, and may be at all stages of development from beginners (private lessons required) to professionals. Players under 50 may be invited if they play specialty instruments needed for a particular purpose. The Cascade Horizon Band is scheduled to perform in two upcoming local concerts. The band’s Christmas concert will be given at 2pm December 13 at Mountain View High School and will feature variations on traditional Christmas music, plus Leroy Anderson’s Sleigh Ride, A show Stoppin’ Christmas and White Christmas. The band’s winter concert is slated for 2pm January 31 at Sisters High School, and will play a medley from Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess plus selections from Chicago, Tuba Tiger Rag, Sousa’s Triumphal march and other marches. Both concerts are free to the public, but donations will be appreciated to help defray the cost of the OMEA trip to Eugene, the cost of which is borne entirely by the Band. Information: cascadehorizonband.org or 541-382-2712. Sweet Harlots at the Annex The Sweet Harlots, an acoustic trio from Bend, will perform at The Annex w/the band Church on December 4, 8pm. Though they have a penchant for flirting with varied genres, their sound is best described as gothic/folk/earth/pop and features singer/songwriter Laurel Brauns on guitar and vocals, Amy Mitchell on cello and Molly Grove on mandolin. Collectively the group has toured all over the U.S., played hundreds of colleges and shared the stage with the likes of Matt Costa, Yo La Tengo and Matt Pond P.A. Currently, Brauns is working on songs for her fourth album, some of which will be performed during this show. The Harlots are hosting the band Church, their new favorite avant-pop group from Portland. www.sweetharlots.com, 541-604-0246 Cascade Winds Symphonic Band in Concert The Cascade Winds Symphonic Band will open their 2009-2010 season, under the baton of music director Dan Judd, December 6, 2pm at Summit High School auditorium. This concert is free of charge, although donations are gratefully accepted. The Cascade Winds season includes a variety of band standards, show tunes, orchestra transcriptions and marches that demonstrate the excitement and richness of great wind band literature. The December program opens with Jack Stamp’s very energetic Gavorkna Fanfare. Gordon Jacob’s epic transcription of William Byrd Suite will follow. This band standard is based upon compositions Byrd penned nearly 400 years ago, but they remain fresh and interesting to this day. Merry Music for Wind Band will provide a complete change of pace. This effervescing frolic features alto sax and baritone horn solos of a burlesque nature. The first half of the concert will conclude with selections from West Side Story, Leonard Bernstein’s landmark musical. Highlights include Maria, I Feel Pretty, Tonight and America. Bernstein’s Overture To Candide will open the second half of the concert. Then Malcolm Arnold’s Four Scottish Dances will transport the concert audience to the misty land of the highlands. This classic work features beautiful melodies, especially for oboe and harp. Castanets, tambourines, maracas and other percussive fireworks will next highlight the Spanish El Relicario. The concert will conclude with Ron Nelson’s lively Rocky Point Holiday, and features virtuosic playing by the entire band. The Cascade Winds Symphonic Band is comprised of gifted musicians from many walks of life. Their common thread is a love of wind band music and the desire to perform it at the highest possible level. All players volunteer their time and talent, and pay tuition to play. Their efforts to present band concerts of quality are a true treasure to our community. These concerts are free, open to the public and suitable for all ages. Information: www.cascadewinds.org or Jan Tuckerman at 541/593-1635. On Guitarist Hunter Beck A interesting newcomer to the arts and entertainment scene in Central Oregon is classical guitarist Hunter Beck, who moved to Bend from Santa Fe, New Mexico in October. Beck, with bachelor’s and masters degrees in classical guitar, has performed across the U.S. as a soloist and with small combos, and has been teaching for thirty years in various formats. He has been a mainstay in the music scene and art galleries in Santa Fe since 1987. His Oregon debut performance was the November First Friday Gallery Walk at Douglas Fine Jewelry and Design. Beck will offer fingerstyle guitar classes at Cascade Community School of Music in January. Beck has an extensive background in integrative-centering systems including Alexander Technique, Feldenkrais Method, Yoga and Tai Chi, enabling a unique and effective, holistic approach to teaching. “I love showing folks how to get the most from their ‘chops,’ whichever style of guitar,” says Beck. Information: 541-318-3341. The Burma Deception by PETER WALL THOMAS
A & E Feature Writer Set in Thailand, the basic storyline is tried and true: well intended people being in the wrong place at the wrong time. In March of this year Cullis decided that he needed a fresh perspective to complete the story and traveled to Thailand where he lived on a Thai junk boat called the Siam Junk. This experience would prove crucial to the screenplay’s story line, and allow him to bring a realism to his story that otherwise would have been unattainable. The story largely takes place in and around Phuket, Thailand. Upon his return Cullis fashioned another revision of his story but realized he needed help if the story was ever going to reach its’ full potential. To that end, Cullis enlisted the help of local published author Suzanne Burns in July of this year. Barns and Cullis had met in 2006 while attending a writing class at Central Oregon Community College taught by co-author of the sci-fi classic Logan’s Run, William F. Nolan. “I thought Suzanne stood out (in class) with a bizarre sense of humor, and thought that she would be really good at helping me with character development and dialogue,” explains Cullis. The story, which revolves around murder, deceit, and the lucrative Thai sex trade, was not the type of project Burns would typically gravitate towards. “I said yes to the project, and once I read the script, I really liked it,” says Burns. “He really has the action part down, so I focused on aspects in the story women would appreciate, like relationships,” explains Burns. Their partnership seems to have paid off. In fact, both agree their collaboration “was almost effortless,” according to Cullis. As they went through the process there was a lot of bartering on what would ultimately stay and what would be cut, and they even added a completely new plot point towards the end of the story. Cullis, a stickler of structure, and Burns, found that utilizing each others strong points would result in the strongest possible end product. Now, after months of working together, both are satisfied their best effort has been put forth. By having a finished screenplay completed in time for BendFilm, Cullis is hoping to have the opportunity to make the right contacts to facilitate his efforts to shop the screenplay. His goal is to sell the product while maintaining some creative control if and when it actually gets produced. To that end his strategy is to cultivate Northwest contacts first and see if he can get some bites. There are no guarantees in the film industry, but one thing is certain, Cullis and Burns have created a story they believe in, and would be more then willing to collaborate again in the future. |
EVENTS CALENDAR Tower
Theatre 317-0700 2nd
Street Theater in Bend 312-9626 Cascade
Theatrical Company 2nd Street Theater Couple Dating, a new comedy by Cricket Daniel, directed by Susan Benson. April 2-April 24. 2ndstreetheater.com or 541/312-9626 Cascades Theatrical Company One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Dale Wasserman, adapted from the novel by Ken Kesey February 11 – 28 389-0803 541/389-0803 or www.cascadestheatrical.org |
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Saturday,
February 13 will mark the 8th annual Central Oregon Dance Showcase sponsored
by the Terpsichorean Dance Studio’s Performing Company. The performing
company is a group of advanced dancers who desire more performance opportunities.
Traditionally, they perform a number of times each year for local groups
needing entertainment, attend conferences and competitions around the
state, and produce one annual company show.