Preview

Backstage at The Utah Arts Festival 2017: Friday’s blockbuster headlining slate includes new jazz and dance commissions, Brazilian culture, and plenty of blues, soul, funk, R&B

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Friday’s headliners for the Utah Arts Festival comprise a blockbuster lineup on the main stages with world premieres in two programs (click on previews for each program): the jazz commission concert with the Salt Lake City Jazz Orchestra featuring Alex Heitlinger, Andrea Miller and Chuck Findley (7:45 p.m., Festival Stage) and the dance commission concert … Read more

Backstage at The Utah Arts Festival 2017: Spy Hop’s workshops geared toward onsite creative outputs in beatmaking, Claymation videos, filmmaking

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Spy Hop Productions’ partnership with the Utah Arts Festival has evolved through the years, mainly because of the national youth media group’s penchant for adventurous projects that push the creative boundaries of festival visitors much in the same way the organization’s mentors encourage their students to be as bold as possible. This year, Spy Hop … Read more

Backstage at The Utah Arts Festival 2017: Samba Fogo calls audiences to the fire; spiritual heat of Samba

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This flame that burns in my heart. Calls me to the heat of Samba. It is the glow that illuminates the darkness The light that clarifies my path. It is culture, art, and expression. It is magic brought from Aruanda. From black and white ashes From so much suffering of yore A phoenix was born … Read more

Backstage at The Utah Arts Festival 2017: Opening day headliners highlight national, local musicians with enduring legacies

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Opening day headliners for June 22 on the main stages of the 41st annual Utah Arts Festival feature musicians with enduring legacies, both national and international. Shooter Jennings and Waymore’s Outlaws – 9:45 p.m., Amphitheater Stage The son of Waylon Jennings and Jessi Colter, two of country’s music biggest legends, Shooter Jennings has carved out … Read more

Backstage at The Utah Arts Festival 2017: Literary Arts venue highlights exhilarating changes in the landscape of letters

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The ways we read, hear, absorb and consume literature continue to morph through a messy yet exhilarating chaos. The prior autocratic tendencies of the literary world are giving way to a formidable enlightenment in which new voices and forms have reinvigorated the essence and urgency of memorable story telling. This year’s Literary Arts program, the … Read more

Backstage at The Utah Arts Festival 2017: Vogue Robinson’s poetry, advocacy for the literary arts are ebullient, generous

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There is a wonderful buoyancy in the work of poet Vogue Robinson that translates to her generous commitment to promoting the literary arts, especially in her new role as poet laureate for Clark County in Las Vegas. Indeed, the role has become an enviable case study in artistic entrepreneurship. Robinson’s appointment, a two-year term, follows … Read more

Backstage at The Utah Arts Festival 2017: Jeremy Lee Sanchez finds deaf culture’s artistic power in signed poetry

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In a video of just under a minute and 15 seconds, Jeremy Lee Sanchez performs a visual vernacular of his favorite film, The Matrix (1999). It is impressive in its compact richness of conveying the film’s story line as a signed literary work that combines many elements of body movements, iconic signs, gestures and facial … Read more

Backstage at The Utah Arts Festival 2017: Kids Art Yard a model of creative upcycling art, community partnerships

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Just Google the terms “upcycling and kid’s art,” and pages upon pages of ideas for do-it-yourself art projects will pop up that mostly ask for inexpensive items that most household family members often throw into the trash without a second thought. The term is more popular than ever. It was coined by Reiner Pilz who … Read more

Backstage at The Utah Arts Festival 2017: Emily Adams’ Laden premieres as new dance commission in concert featuring Ballet West artists

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Since being established in 2011, the Utah Arts Festival’s dance commission program has brought forward a tremendous partnership with Ballet West performers and adventurous original choreographed compositions. The legacy expands this year with Laden, a work created by Emily Adams, Ballet West principal, which will be the closing piece on a program of six works … Read more

Backstage at The Utah Arts Festival 2017: Jazz commission concert with Salt Lake City Jazz Orchestra to feature Utah composer Alex Heitlinger; standout sessions musicians Andrea Miller, Chuck Findley

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Jazz’s prominence at the Utah Arts Festival has been rising in recent years. Last year’s show featuring the Salt Lake City Jazz Orchestra was a scorcher, with trumpeter Kris Johnson’s tremendously well received festival commission piece A Shift West and a special appearance with Clarice Assad performing new arrangements of iconic Brazilian songs. This year’s … Read more