Yesterday’s Architeaser was a gas lamp on the Capital Hotel property. Though there are still a few gaslights still in use, they are certainly rarer than they once were.
Today’s Architeaser is below.
Category Archives: Dance
Art in Motion at Arkansas Arts Center TONIGHT
The Arkansas Arts Center will host a special arts program titled Art in Motion: An Evening of Inspirational Dance on Wednesday, May 2, 2012, at 6:30 p.m.
The evening will feature choreographed works inspired by artwork in the Arkansas Arts Center’s permanent collection. Students from UALR’s Department of Theatre Arts and Dance will present short studies based on works in the current exhibition Building the Collection: Art Acquired in the 1990s.
Working with AAC Curator of Education Louise Palermo, Associate Professor Stephanie Thibeault incorporated the project into this semester’s Choreography II course. Guests will enjoy an exciting evening of art in its many forms. Admission is free.
For more information, call 501-372-4000 or visit http://www.arkarts.com.
Happy 100 to WR
One hundred years ago today, Winthrop Rockefeller was born in New York. After moving to Arkansas in the early 1950s, he would establish himself as a positive force for the development of the state.
Perhaps his most obvious impact was helping to transform the provincial Little Rock Museum of Fine Arts into the first rate Arkansas Arts Center. He and his family were generous donors of money and art to this effort.
Through the effort of the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation, many cultural institutions have received funds for programming which has reached into every county and every corner of this state. For instance, one of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra’s string quartets is the Rockefeller Quartet.
Mr. Rockefeller at the groundbreaking for the Arkansas Arts Center
It is hard to quantify what impact his efforts had on cultural institutions which did not even exist in his lifetime. Without the elevation of the arts and the understanding of their impact, it is doubtful that endeavors such as the Arkansas Repertory Theatre, Arkansas Opera Theatre (now Wildwood Park for the Arts) and Ballet Arkansas would have had success with donors in their nascent days.
In 2012, a year-long Celebration is planned to highlight the legacy of Winthrop Rockefeller in the state 40 years after he left office as the state’s 37th governor. His leadership in political, economic, and cultural arenas as well as in his philanthropic endeavors had a significant impact on the development of Arkansas. This celebration is intended to promote an understanding of these accomplishments to an audience that may know little of his deeds as an historical figure or his contributions to the evolution of the state.
Over the next year, the Winthrop Rockefeller Institute, the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation, Winrock International, the Winthrop Rockefeller Charitable Trust, the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, the Central Arkansas Library System, and the Arkansas Arts Center will celebrate the 100th anniversary of Winthrop Rockefeller’s birth by reaching out from Petit Jean Mountain, the home he created in his adopted state, to the rest of Arkansas and the United States.
This Centennial Celebration will offer a variety of programs that will honor his legacy, bringing it alive to a new generation. These programs will convene some of the nation’s leading thinkers and innovators to explore his contributions and take a contemporary look at the issues about which he cared so deeply. Alongside celebratory events, the Celebration will include an assortment of academic conferences, public forums, art exhibits, and educational programs.
UALR to Honor Sotomoras at FINALE
UALR will honor Eileen and Dr. Ricardo Sotomora at the seventh annual Finale at 6:30 p.m., Saturday, April 28 at the Stella Boyle Smith Concert Hall in the UALR Fine Arts Building.
Reservations to the black-tie optional event are $150 with $110 being deductible.
Finale celebrates the arts in Central Arkansas and is the premier fundraising event for UALR’s fine arts programs. The dinner gala features performances and artwork by students.
Dr. Sotomora is the only pediatric cardiologist in private practice in Arkansas. He is the exclusive provider of cardiology services for children at Baptist Health Medical Center and St. Vincent Infirmary Medical Center, in Little Rock, and Baptist Health Medical Center in North Little Rock. His cardiology practice is managed by Eileen.
The Sotomoras were instrumental in founding the American Heart Association’s annual “Heart Ball,” in Arkansas, a debutante ball that not only raises proceeds for the organization but strives to teach girls about volunteerism and health. In 2006, Dr. Sotomora received the “Worthen Cornett Award,” the highest honor given to a person for work on behalf of the American Heart Association in Central Arkansas.
In 2008, they chaired the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra’s Opus XXIV. Currently, Dr. Sotomora is a trustee of the Arkansas Arts Center Board and a member of the development committee. Both of the Sotomoras are members of the Director’s Circle. The Sotomoras are supporters of the Venezuelan “El Sistemia,” a government-funded program that currently assists nearly one million Venezuelan children in learning classical music.
“Eileen and Ricardo are amazing leaders in the Central Arkansas community,” said Deborah Baldwin, dean of the UALR College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences. “We are honored that they would assist us in raising awareness about how arts programs enrich the communities in which we live.”
Finale 2012’s performance will feature UALR music students performing scenes from the Broadway musical, “Into the Woods,” with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine. Craig O’Neill of Today’s THV will serve as master of ceremonies. This is his fourth year to host the event.
In the live auction, Finale will feature a designer jewelry piece created by Sissy’s Log Cabin.
Presenting sponsors of the 2012 event are Glazer’s Distributors of Arkansas and Sissy’s Log Cabin. Premier sponsors include Pediatrix, Terri and Chuck Erwin, and Chip and Cindy Murphy. Sustaining sponsors are Simmons First National Bank, Blue Cross Blue Shield, East-Harding, Inc., Entergy, US Bank, and HBO/Time Warner.
Arts organizations from around the region lend their support to Finale each year. This year’s participating arts partners are Accademia dell’Arte, Arkansas Arts Center, Arkansas Repertory Theatre, and the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra.
Reservations to Finale are $150 each. Call Rivka Kuperman at (501) 765-9636 or at rekuperman@ualr.edu for more information.
Architeaser – April 22
Yesterday’s Architeaser featured one of the two-headed griffins which stand guard outside of the Albert Pike Masonic Temple.
Today’s Architeaser shows that shingles can be used for artistic expression.
UALR Springs into Dance and Dances into Spring
Photo on poster by Benjamin Krain
UALR’s Department of Theatre Arts and Dance will present “Body Works,” the Spring Dance Concert. It started on Thursday and continues tonight at at 8 p.m. and Sunday, April 22, at 3 p.m. in University Theatre in the UALR Center for Performing Arts.
Tickets are $7 for general admission and $5 for students and seniors. For more information, contact 501-569-3456.
“Body Works”’ is an eclectic dance concert that will present works based in the human experience and the human body. It features an array of different choreographic ideas and styles will be showcased including homage to modern dance icons, an experimental work based upon dancers being physically connected with fabric, as well as an Asian-influenced contemporary fan piece, a neoclassical ballet, and a rousing disco piece reminiscent of Studio 54. The dance faculty includes Stephanie Thibeault, Rhythm McCarthy and Stephen K. Stone.
Also on Saturday, UALR is hosting the Spring Dance Festival for dance students aged 14 and older.
Architeaser – April 16
Yesterday’s Architeaser featured Byrne Hall on the St. John’s campus in the Heights. The building currently houses the offices of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra. Yesterday the ASO concluded the 2011-2012 MasterWorks series. This evening at the Clinton Presidential Center, this year’s final River Rhapsodies Chamber Concert will be held at 7pm.
This week we will look at some of the animals in Little Rock which are not at the Little Rock Zoo.
Little Rock Culture Vulture 