Event

Utah Symphony’s percussionists and concertmaster Madeline Adkins among featured musicians for NOVA Chamber Music Series’ American Gamelan concert on May 4

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Percussionists have become a staple in recent NOVA Chamber Music Series seasons and the forthcoming American Gamelan season closer will illuminate the fact that while percussion orchestras might not be commonly found in Western music it is the quintessential practice in many world music cultures.  Two works will drive home the point. One is Lou … Read more

Two exhibitions at Utah Museum of Contemporary Art with strong sociological themes: Amanda Smith’s Trust Issues, Holly Rios’ I’d Like to Return This Body

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Two  current exhibitions at the Utah Museum of Contemporary Art (UMOCA) point to substantial sociocultural epiphanies:  Amanda Smith: Trust Issues (through May 3) and Holly Rios: I’d Like to Return this Body (through May 31). Visitors also are encouraged to visit the galleries for three shows featuring ceramic artists from the recent the National Council … Read more

Repertory Dance Theatre’s Deux puts the exclamation point on two dance masterpieces

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Closing out its 59th season with DEUX, Repertory Dance Theatre (RDT)  brought out two crown jewels from its extraordinary catalog with performances that once again put the exclamation point on why the company is heralded as one of modern dance’s most distinguished institutions.  Conditioned with stamina, grace and agility that would be the pride of … Read more

Plenty of exceptionally moving masterpiece moments in Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company’s season closing Re-Act

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At 2024 Sundance, two documentaries about artificial intelligence premiered that raised tantalizing questions about whether in some way or another, could we really live forever. In Love Machina, director Peter Sillen highlighted a head-and-shoulders robotic bust which unquestionably does not resemble the flesh-and-blood version of the individual upon which it was modeled but it also … Read more

Warhorses by Limón, Gotheiner set for DEUX, Repertory Dance Theatre’s 59th season closer

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Two warhorses from Repertory Dance Theatre (RDT)’s choreographic catalogue will highlight DEUX, the company’s closing production for its 59th season. In advance of RDT’s 60th anniversary season coming this fall, the company has presented works of landmark importance during the 2024-25 season. The two choreographers represented in DEUX are among the most significant in RDT’s … Read more

Escapist entertainment of the first order: Salt Lake Acting Company’s Bat Boy: The Musical is fiercely satisfying

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Remember when fake news was simply freakish entertainment? When the Weekly World News had run dry on its long streak of ‘Elvis Is Alive’ stories, editorial staff member Dick Kulpa came up with ‘Bat Child Found in West Virginia Cave.’ When the story ran in June, 1992, Weekly World News sold 975,000 copies.  Other ‘Bat … Read more

Westminster Concert Series closes season with fabulous A’lante Flamenco performance

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A novel but apt choice to close out a memorable season for Westminster Performing Arts’ Concert Series, the Austin-based A’lante Flamenco Ensemble gave the audience an enthralling tour of the world of flamenco music and dance. With the broad theme of love as its anchor, the concert made the case for how the seven ensemble members … Read more

Samba Fogo’s Dancestral sets new heights in group’s trend of cultural, artistic excellence

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Every spring, Samba Fogo’s show is galvanizing in entertainment excellence and respectful cultural education but its most recent Dancestral production is certainly the best of the series to date. It was a tight and exhilarating show that highlighted many roots of Brazil’s uniquely multifarious language of music and dance. This show stood out in representing … Read more

Superb Punto de Inflexión’s From the Borderlands to the Roots, part of Corriente Alterna festival, suspends us between struggle and celebration

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EDITOR’S NOTE: The Utah Review is grateful to playwright Matthew Ivan Bennett for reviewing From the Borderlands to the Roots, presented by Punto de Inflexión as part of the ten-day Corriente Alterna festival, with PROArtes México. In the opening of From the Borderlands to the Roots—an ambitious, cohesive, and moving fusion of dance and visual … Read more

Two world premieres set to make Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company’s Re-Act a landmark event in the company’s history

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With two world premieres, Re-Act, Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company’s closing production for its 61st season, will be a landmark event. It marks the final show for Daniel Charon as artistic director, who is stepping down after 12 seasons. Also, there is the world premiere of A Mischief Sublime by Annalee Traylor, the company’s inaugural Choreographic Canvas … Read more