Transitions, thresholds, nostalgia, liminal spaces define Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company’s upcoming spring concert Bloom

To close its 55th season, the Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company’s upcoming Bloom concert will offer two world premieres and a performance of a 2011 work from its repertoire – astutely timed for this particular phase of the spring season. Each work explores the themes of transitions and nostalgia as rites of passage leading to a blossoming … Read more

Historic, contemporary expressions of the community of dance set for Repertory Dance Theatre’s season closing concert Voices

Voices, perhaps the most apt conclusion to Repertory Dance Theatre’s (RDT) superlative Manifest Diversity season, will be a celebration of community as represented by the synthesizing of each individual’s movement to transform the body (or company) of dancers metaphorically into a creative organism attuned emotionally to support each other through the unique strengths of their … Read more

Utah Film Center’s 8th Peek Award honors exceptional Intelligent Lives documentary

Within the first three minutes of the exceptional documentary Intelligent Lives, the viewer is introduced to the film’s two most important themes. The first dismantles the narrow yet long accepted perceptions of measuring intelligence that have done more damage than good in gauging a person’s meaning or value to their community. The second strikes down … Read more

Plan-B Theatre to close out 28th season with Of Color, a potent creative statement of diversity and inclusion

In the heart of one of the country’s reddest states, it might surprise more than a few that some of the Utah Enlightenment’s finest arts organizations are putting substance behind the talk about diversity and inclusion. Women have pioneered two of the nation’s longest running contemporary dance institutions. The state’s arts and museums division was … Read more

Repertory Dance Theatre to present Danielle Agami’s solo work Framed in special performance

Among the healthiest and most encouraging developments in the performing arts world is how artists consciously draw themselves closer to their audiences. It’s a development that emancipates the artist from the cult of perfectionism and mysticism, where candid expressions about doubts and uncertainties in taking creative risks are welcomed. Likewise, audiences begin to see the … Read more

Cédric Pescia, 2002 Bachauer gold medalist, to perform all-Bach recital March 8

In 2002, Cédric Pescia was 26 when he won the gold medal in the international competition of The Gina Bachauer International Piano Foundation. It was the first and only competition Pescia, a dual citizen of France and Switzerland, in which he participated. He had shied away from the competitive performance arena, assuming that everyone else … Read more

Utah Film Center set to present 8th Tumbleweeds Film Festival for Children and Youth March 1-3

The eighth presentation of the Utah Film Center’s Tumbleweeds Film Festival for Children and Youth from March 1-3 brings in a slate of Utah premieres including films from Swaziland, Kenya, two from Iran and another from the Ladakh region of India. Twelve of the 13 feature-length films are exclusively from outside the U.S. while the … Read more

Live from Salt Lake City! Plan-B Theatre’s newest production An Evening with Two Awful Men promises a one-of-a-kind Presidents’ Day, Black History Month observance

An Evening with Two Awful Men, the newest Plan-B Theatre production which opens Feb. 21, promises to be quite the reality show: a mix of CNN, C-SPAN, Jerry Springer, TLC, Judge Judy, History Channel, American Idol. Written by Elaine Jarvik, a former journalist with several Plan-B productions to her credit, her latest play captures the … Read more

NOVA Chamber Music Series’ Reflections concert to feature three Andrew Norman works

Composer Andrew Norman’s fascination with architecture arises from his admiration for the fearlessness exhibited in some of the most innovative examples from the field. There are, of course, the creations of architecture’s two ‘Franks’ who have been represented in his music: Frank Gehry, now in his late 80s and Norman has had discussions with him, … Read more

Challenges of communication, stress, creative possibilities set for four choreographers in Regalia competition, Repertory Dance Theatre’s annual fundraiser

Two-way communication, adrenaline-fueled stress and an assortment of different creative possibilities are just a few of the essentials for the four choreographers who will participate in the competition part of Repertory Dance Theatre’s Regalia (RDT), the company’s largest annual fundraiser. It is not a setting that is comfortable or typical for any professional choreographer, who normally … Read more