Two musical works inspired by autobiographical transitions – one the news of an impending birth of a child and the other relocating from the Midwest to Salt Lake City – and a new dance composition about conformity and the age of social media mark this year’s newest Utah Arts Festival commissions for music and dance. … Read more
One of the festival’s most anticipated offerings, Cimarrón, a Grammy-nominated ensemble from Colombia, will perform Joropo and Llanera music (June 26, 8:15 p.m., Festival Stage) as well as Zapateado (Stomp Llanero dance), accompanied by percussive strings and maracas, dynamic vocals and bracing pace. The group also will offer music and dance workshops, including basic techniques … Read more
As a Ball State University student in Muncie, Matt Hart, then the frontman for a punk band, decided to take a poetry workshop, as he describes it, “on a lark.” The experience changed his life. “Up until then, my only experience with poetry was negative. I always had thought of poetry with its gaudy, flowery … Read more
This year’s Literary Arts venue at the 40th annual Utah Arts Festival brings numerous literary figures from the country in a series of performances slated for The Big Mouth Stage. The Utah Review had the gracious honor of interviewing several who will be appearing as part of the largest program offering ever at the festival’s … Read more
The art of poetry slams has enjoyed a solid base of popularity at the Utah Arts Festival and its strength has followed the growth of the literary art form. Many of the individuals who will be competing in the qualifying individual rounds (June 23) and then in the finals (June 26) epitomize the growth of … Read more
The conclusion of Autumn Testament, Pablo Neruda (as translated by Alastair Reid) from Extravagaria (1957-58): From having been born so often I have salty experience like creatures of the sea with a passion for stars and an earthly destination. And so I move without knowing to which world I’ll be returning or if I’ll go … Read more
For the 14th annual Fear No Film portion of the Utah Arts Festival, curator Topher Horman has crafted seven sequences of presentations in the most intriguing interpretations of the various sources and origins of transitions that drive the making of and response to each film. Each program is described below. PERSONAL TRANSITIONS (June 23, 2 … Read more
The Utah Short Film of the Year competition at the Utah Arts Festival has become one of the most anticipated and closely watched events and the City Library auditorium is packed every time. It has become one of the most coveted honors in the independent film making community, which, in Utah, is quite large relative … Read more
Amour Café opened this week just to the south of Liberty Park, brought to you by the creators of Amour Spreads, John and Casee Francis. Together with magical pastry chef and gelato goddess Amber Billingsley, the trio has built a neighborhood respite dishing up sweet and savory toast, salad, pastries, coffee and gelato treats. In … Read more
Each year, the Utah Arts Festival is the most effective barometer of the strength, impact and potential of arts in the state. At 40, the festival is really a cosmopolitan miniature city in which more than 80,000 people will sample from the largest slate of programming, artists and performers ever presented at one time in … Read more