From the Utah Film Center, the 2023 offerings at the Damn These Heels Queer Film Festival represent five local filmmakers, 17 female directors, 10 directors identifying as a person of color, and 14 countries represented. A large majority of the films are receiving Utah premieres and at least one is being screened for the first time … Read more
The 20th anniversary of the Utah Film Center’s Damn These Heels Queer Film Festival also marks the return of the center’s Artist Foundry program through two workshops for independent, do-it-yourself filmmakers and a conversation about queering the filmmaking process. Festivals such as Damn These Heels often inspire aspiring filmmakers to make their debuts with their … Read more
Just as essential as a choreographer’s skills in setting the most impactful movement upon a dance company in the studio is their capacity to trust the dancers as collaborators in rendering themes they envision, particularly when the work is steeped in the choreographer’s autobiographical experiences. In an interview with The Utah Review, choreographer Natosha Washington … Read more
PIONEER THEATRE COMPANY: MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express has remained resilient. It is surprising for a 1934 novel that more often than not has been denigrated by contemporary scholars of literature as lowbrow along with what they perceived as insensitive portrayals of cultural and ethnic stereotypes they contend … Read more
Within the last year, a spate of celebrities have publicly announced themselves as gender fluid. One might be tempted to assess this as a new phenomenon about new experiences, especially as there are now available a wide-ranging set of vocabulary terms for one to express their identity. But, for those individuals who came of age … Read more
At 21, in 2017, Aristo Sham was thinking about ways he could do multiple things. A decade earlier, just as he was entering his adolescent years, he already had won first prize in the Ettlingen International Piano Competition in Germany in 2006, and then the top prize in Salt Lake City at the Gina Bachauer … Read more
In South America, a good-sized portion of the Orinoco River basin is in Colombia that is identified by expanses of llanos and the east facing slope of the Eastern Cordillera in the country, which is part of the great Andean range. The region is marked by a diverse spectrum of Indigenous families and languages, including the … Read more
Coming off a previous season that produced several momentous takeaways highlighting Salt Lake City’s enviable status as an important and discerning cultural destination, Pioneer Theatre Company (PTC) is offering seven productions for its 62nd season which not only celebrate canonical contemporary classics but also inflect them with just enough twists to stimulate fresh perspectives for … Read more
In tandem with The Utah Review’s accompanying historical feature about the Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company’s 60 years on the international performing and education dance scenes, Groundworks promises to be the perfect opener. The production will pay tribute to the cofounders Shirley Ririe and Joan Woodbury, both of whom are now in their nineties, as well as … Read more
EDITOR’S NOTE: Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company is celebrating its 60th anniversary during the 2023-24 season. This is a two-part feature, highlighting the legacy and impact of its two founders: Shirley Ririe and Joan Woodbury. For information about the opening Groundworks production and for a summary of the forthcoming anniversary season, click this link. There are many … Read more