Category Archives: Dance

Dr. Clea Hupp to lead UALR History Department

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C-HuppDr. Clea Hupp has been named as the new Chair of the UALR History Department.

Clea E. Hupp is an Associate Professor of History. She joined the UALR History Department in 2006 and received her Ph.D. at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville in 2004.

Clea Hupp specializes in the history of the Modern Middle East and U.S. – Middle Eastern relations. Dr. Hupp received grants from numerous institutions including the John F. Kennedy Foundation, the Lyndon Johnson Foundation, the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations, and the American Center of Oriental Research. Her latest book was recently published from I. B. Tauris and is entitled “The United States and Jordan: Middle East Diplomacy during the Cold War.” She has traveled extensively in the Middle East and she speaks both Arabic and French.

She has made numerous presentations both in Arkansas and throughout the US on Middle East relations.  In addition to her book, her publications include:

“Strike at Samu: Covert Diplomacy and Shifting Alliances Prior to the Six Day War,” Diplomatic History January,2008.

“Supporting the Brave Young King: The Suez Crisis and Eisenhower’s New Approach to Jordan, 1953-1958” in Reassessing Suez 2008.

“Balancing Act: Jordan and the United States during the Johnson Administration,” Canadian Journal of History 2006.

Dr. Hupp serves on the Board of Directors of Ballet Arkansas. She is also an active supporter of many arts organizations in Little Rock.

See 5 Choreographers’ VISIONS tonight with Ballet Arkansas

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visions posterFive new ballet pieces will be premiered tonight in Little Rock as part of Ballet Arkansas’ second VISIONS choreographic competition.

VISIONS began as the vision of Ballet Arkansas’ Artistic Director, Michael Bearden, who wanted to create a event that would give choreographers an opportunity to have their works seen and appreciated by audiences and the dance community, as well as have the opportunity to receive a contract to have their choreography fully produced.

This season, Ballet Arkansas will present Visions Choreographic Competition at the UALR Center for Performing Arts on August 22, 2015 at 7:00 pm.

Thirty-one emerging choreographers from around the country competed for five spots in this year’s competition of which the winner will receive a commission to expand their new work for Ballet Arkansas’ company dancers for our spring mixed repertory show.

This year’s selected choreographers include Boston Ballet’s Boyko Dossev, former Houston Ballet’s Ilya Kozadayev, former Ballet West and Visceral Dance Chicago’s Tom Mattingly, former Pacific Northwest Ballet’s Barry Kerollis and Post: Ballet’s Aidan DeYoung.

A week before the VISIONS Competition, the choreographers drafted their cast of dancers and have a total of 11 rehearsal hours over 5 days to set their choreography on their cast. The night of the competition, the resulting works of choreography are performed for 4 judges, 3 of those judges are professionals in the local and national dance community, with the audience counting as the 4th judge.

The big finale of the competition is the announcement of the VISIONS Winner, who receives a contract with Ballet Arkansas to expand their choreography to have it fully produced for performance in Ballet Arkansas’ spring mixed repertory show, “Under the Lights”, to be held May 20-22 at the Arkansas Repertory Theatre.

Young Artists Showcase tonight at 7 at Arkansas Rep

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Rep smti showcaseArkansas Repertory Theatre’s Summer Musical Theatre Intensive training program will present its first Young Artists Showcase this summer with proceeds benefitting The Young Artist’s Scholarship Fund.  The Senior Showcase (ages 16 – 23) will take the stage on Monday, July 20.

The showcases will feature a variety of dance, vocal and performance pieces starring members of the SMTI casts. Admission is $5 at the door and reservations are not required. Performances will take place at The Rep, 601 Main St., Little Rock, with the Lobby and concessions open by 6:15 p.m.

“You’ll hear and see some of the most amazing young talent from all over Arkansas,” said Nicole Capri, The Rep’s Resident Director and Director of Education. “I’ve witnessed these young artists in auditions over the last 10 years and I’m excited for audience members to experience what we look for when seeking new talent. I can’t wait to see what our inaugural showcase will bring to the stage this summer.”

Summer Musical Theatre Intensive (SMTI) is The Rep’s annual training program for aspiring young artists in Arkansas.  Under the direction of Capri, SMTI is an intensive, audition-based theatre training program designed exclusively for motivated young artists who are serious about the arts and musical theatre.

The SMTI staff is comprised of professional directors, choreographers, musicians and designers. Daily rehearsals are structured similarly to a professional summer stock experience and include instruction in musical theatre techniques, multi-media, costume and stage make-up, dance and vocal coaching.

Each session – broken into Select (ages 10 – 12), Junior (ages 13-15) and Senior (ages 16-23) – involves intensive daily rehearsals culminating in a public workshop performance of a selected musical or musical revue.

 

More Recognition for Little Rock’s Creative Corridor

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PrintA plan to transform four neglected blocks of Main Street in downtown Little Rock into an arts district has earned yet more international recognition.  The University of Arkansas Community Design Center and Marlon Blackwell Architect’s plan The Creative Corridor: A Main Street Revitalization for Little Rock has won Honorable Mention in Urban Design (Concept) of the International Awards 2015 sponsored by Architecture Podium.

The Creative Corridor retrofits a four-block segment of downtown Main Street through economic development catalyzed by the cultural arts rather than Main Street’s traditional retail base.  The goal is to structure an identity for the Creative Corridor rooted in a mixed-use work-live environment but sensitive to the historical context. The incremental approach employs three developmental phases to transform the corridor space into a downtown node. Planning and design for the Creative Corridor was funded by a 2011 Our Town grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.

“This is yet another in a growing line of international, national and regional recognition for the Creative Corridor.  It is a testament to the outstanding design team at the UofA Community Design Center and Marlon Blackwell Architect. I am grateful for their efforts on this project,” said Mayor Mark Stodola.

“I am also appreciative of the outstanding local effort to take this plan and execute it,” Mayor Stodola continued.  “I look forward to seeing the excitement of the arts organizations up and down Main Street with their creative talent literally spilling out on to the sidewalks.”

The Creative Corridor features elements such as marquees, green and low impact development elements, and an art installation made from street lamps of different eras from city neighborhoods.

The Creative Corridor has also received other honors, including a 2014 Honor Award from the American Institute of Architects, 2013 American Architecture Award from The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies. It also won a Charter Award in the Neighborhood, District and Corridor category in the 2013 Charter Awards, sponsored by the Congress for the New Urbanism, and it was short-listed for the 2013 World Architecture Festival Awards in the Future Projects – Masterplanning category.

On September 14, at 3:00pm, a ribbon cutting will take place on the Creative Corridor.

Nutcracker and New Pieces are part of 2015-16 Ballet Arkansas season

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BA_Visions_PromoImageWhile it is only the start of July, cultural institutions are already focused on their 2015-2016 seasons.  This is especially true for Ballet Arkansas, which has its first event on August 22nd.

Ballet Arkansas starts off with the second annual Visions Choreographic Competition to be held in the Center for Performing Arts at UALR on August 22nd at 7:00pm. Thirty-one emerging choreographers from around the country competed for five spots in this competition of which the winner will receive a commission to create a complete new work on Ballet Arkansas’s company dancers for their 2016 spring show. Selected choreographers include Boston Ballet’s Boyko Dossev, former Houston Ballet’s and current University of Oklahoma dance faculty member Ilya Kozadayev, former Ballet West and Visceral Dance Chicago’s Tom Mattingly, former Pacific Northwest Ballet’s Barry Kerollis and Post: Ballet’s Aidan DeYoung.  The guest judge for Visions is Glenn Edgerton, Artistic Director for Hubbard Street Dance in Chicago. Tickets for Visions will go on sale July 1st on the Ballet Arkansas website.

BA_Nutcracker_PromoImage 2In December, Ballet Arkansas joins forces with the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra to present the  annual holiday ballet, Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker at the Maumelle Performing Arts Center.  With music provided by the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, a cast of 200+ youth and adult dancers from the central Arkansas area, professional guest artists and featuring Ballet Arkansas professional company members, The Nutcracker will continue its tradition as a holiday must-see. The Nutcracker performance week includes student matinees for statewide school groups on December 10 & 11, along with the four public performances on December 11, 12 and 13th.  Tickets for The Nutcracker will go on sale in early September on the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra’s website.

BA_UndertheLights_PromoImageOn May 20-22, 2016 Ballet Arkansas will present its annual spring mixed-repertory show,  Under the Lights at the Arkansas Repertory Theatre. This year’s show contains an eclectic group of works of various dance styles including Nashville Ballet dancer Chris Stuarts’ Under the Lights set to Johnny Cash songs including “Walk the Line” and “Jackson”.  This show also features a world premier of a Kiyon Gaines work and Group Therapy, a comedy ballet created for Hubbard Street Dance Chicago by Harrison McEldowney and the expanded Visions winning choreography. Ballet Arkansas is also delighted to announce that itwill again be performing a George Balanchine work, Glinka Pas de Trois. Tickets will go on sale in early fall on the Arkansas Repertory Theatre’s website.

Ballet Arkansas also announced that it has engaged Kiyon Gaines, recently retired Pacific Northwest Ballet soloist, to a 3-year Resident Choreographer Contract.  He choreographed Bolero for the 2013-2014 season.  In addition, Laura Hood Babcock has been named the new ballet mistress.  She worked with Ballet Arkansas last season on the Balanchine Who Cares?  Michael Bearden is the Artistic Director and Karen Bassett is the Executive Director.

Untapped salutes hoofers of the Silver Screen tonight

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10007062_622178127889071_3909342397882190187_nTonight at the Ron Robinson Theater at 7:15.  Untapped presents Legends of Rhythm.

Join Arkansas’ only professional tap company for a night of entertainment as they take you back in time, highlighting and profiling some of the biggest legends in tap dance history through reenactments and tributes to iconic routines from movies and television.

Audiences will experience the styles of Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, Shirley Temple, The Sandman, Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Vera Ellen, Gregory Hines, & more!

TICKETS SOLD AT: Footlights Dance Store, Shuffles & Ballet II, Rock City Dance Center, Dance Dynamics, and Studio One Dance.
*Or email untappedlittlerock@gmail.com to reserve tickets at will call.
Tickets are $20, open seating.

LR Look Back: The Rice Family and LR Auditorums

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1906 LR auditoriumOn June 7, 1920, the Little Rock City Council finally authorized the demolition of Little Rock’s 1906 temporary auditorium.  The structure had originally been built as a skating rink which, when chairs were added, could be used for public meetings.  Since the mid 1910’s, the City Council had discussed tearing it down over safety concerns.  But since Little Rock had no other structure as a substitute, the Council kept delaying the decision.

J Rice 1920In 1920, though there was not alternative space available, the Council decided that the structure had to come down.  So City Engineer James H. Rice was authorized to have the building removed.

JimRice RobinsonToday, Rice’s grandson, also known as Jim Rice is the COO of the Little Rock Convention & Visitors Bureau.  In that capacity he is overseeing the renovation of Little Rock’s 1940 municipal auditorium – Robinson Center Music Hall.