Tag Archives: UA Little Rock

UALR Dance presents “Body Works” April 19-21

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20130418-21-UALR-body-works-800x1236UALR’s Department of Theatre Arts and Dance will present “Body Works,” the Spring Dance Concert, at 8 p.m. Thursday, April 19 through Saturday, April 21, and at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, April 22, in University Theatre in the UALR Center for Performing Arts.

Tickets are $7 for general admission and $5 for students and seniors. “Body Works” is an eclectic dance concert that will present works based in the human experience and the human body. An array of different choreographic ideas and styles will be showcased.

On Saturday, April 20, UALR will present its Spring Dance Workshop for dance students.  Registration is required.  This year’s festival gives dancers from across the region the opportunity to network and dance side-by-side with other dancers as they participate in MASTER CLASSES taught by UALR dance faculty.

After a full afternoon of classes in ballet, modern, and jazz, participants will enjoy an evening performance of UALR Body Works, featuring original works choreographed by senior UALR dance majors.

The cost for participation is just $10 at the door (as space allows). This includes three (3) master classes and one ticket to the Saturday evening performance of the UALR Dance concert.

UALR dance faculty include Stephanie Thibeault (head of dance for the department), Rhythm McCarthy and Stephen Stone.

Artspree closes 2012-13 with Triple Play

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tp-without tastyUALR’s Artspree series concludes the 2012-2013 season today with a performance at UALR at 3pm.

Triple Play is the name given to three outstanding and versatile musicians, Peter Madcat Ruth (on harmonica, guitar, jaw harp, percussion & vocals), Joel Brown, (folk and classical acoustic guitar and vocals) and Chris Brubeck (electric bass, bass trombone, piano & vocals).

Collectively they bring a rare level of joy, virtuosity, and American spirit to the folk, blues, jazz and classical music they perform. Triple Play’s musical roots go way back (nearly 40 years!) in each member’s history. Chris and Madcat have toured and recorded together in different settings since 1969, first as young rock musicians in the group “New Heavenly Blue” (with albums on RCA and Atlantic Records), “Sky King”(on Columbia), and then as jazz musicians touring the world with Dave Brubeck

With an ever-expanding repertoire, the Trio continues to play in concert halls, clubs and festivals all over the country, including performing many of Chris’ symphonic arrangements with orchestras across the U.S. Recently they played a set at the Monterey Jazz Festival and later that evening were featured in the premiere of Dave Brubeck’s Cannery Row Suite.

Paul deBarros, writer for the Seattle Times and Downbeat, commented: “Triple Play is what jazz always was and always should be about: good-time rhythm, unbridled joy and the sweet release but bittersweet aftertaste of the blues. If there’s a better old-time blues and jazz harmonica player out there than Madcat Ruth, I’d sure love to know where he lives.”

UALR Helping Students Brush Up Their Shakespeare

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william-shakespeareUALR’s Department of English and Department of Theatre Arts and Dance is presenting the 2013 Shakespeare Scene Festival today from 9:30 a.m. to noon, in the University Theatre of the Center for Performing Arts.  The event started yesterday.

The Shakespeare Scene Festival, first held in 1998, brings together students from a variety of Central Arkansas schools to perform scenes from Shakespeare’s plays. A performance of a Shakespearean scene integrates several elements of literacy and literacy education including: intensive study of the English language, cooperative learning, process-based theatre as well as the discipline, creativity, and organization required to rehearse and perform a scene.

“The Shakespeare Scene Festival provides an exciting opportunity for middle and high school students in central Arkansas to come together with the UALR community in celebration of the works of Shakespeare,” says Dr. Kris McAbee, the festival’s director. “The student performers are rewarded for their hard work of grappling with these difficult and profound texts by getting to perform them in University Theatre in front of a large audience of their peers and community members. The festival also reminds us of the universality and timelessness of Shakespeare’s works. They are able to speak to the feelings, experiences, and concerns of Arkansas teenagers some 400 years after they were written.”

Classes from five different area schools are participating in the festival. Over 500 students are expected to attend and participate in 11 different performances. The works presented will include scenes from Macbeth, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Taming of the Shrew, and Richard III, as well as creative adaptations like The Suessification of Romeo and Juliet.  Among the schools participating are Little Rock Central, Little Rock J. A. Fair, Little Rock Dunbar Middle School, Joseph T. Robinson Middle School and North Little Rock High School West.

Admission is free and open to the public. Each performance will last approximately 25 minutes.

For more information, visit ualr.edu/shakespeare or contact Dr. Kris McAbee, assistant professor of English, at kxmcabee@ualr.edu.

Science After Dark: The Science of Africa

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science_after_darkThe Museum of Discovery, the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service, UALR and the Little Rock Zoo are partnering to present “The Science of Africa” from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, February 27, the latest in the Museum of Discovery’s monthly Science After Dark series.

The museum’s Great Hall will come alive with interactive, science-based experiences highlighting the physical and earth sciences of Africa. Dr. Warigia Bowman, assistant professor at the Clinton School, and Joel Gordon, visitor experience director at the Museum of Discovery, have collaborated to plan and execute an engaging series of interactive experiences

Other presenters will include Dr. Amin Akhnoukh of UALR, representatives of the Reptile Rescue Center, members of the education staffs of the Little Rock Zoo and the Museum of Discovery as well as Hamadi Njoroge, owner/operator of African Wildcats Adventure Safaris.

Those attending the 21-and-over-only event full of Africa science-based experiences will get the chance to:

  • Meet some African animals and learn more about many of the continent’s best-known inhabitants.
  • Examine some of the more exotic skeletons of African animals, pulled from the Museum of Discovery’s collection, as well as skulls, hides and other animal artifacts from the Little Rock Zoo.
  • Learn about the science and scientists of Africa, including troubling phenomena like the melting of the snow cap on Mount Kilimanjaro.
  • Explore “The Development of Construction from the Age of the Pharaoh to Modern Egypt,” as Dr. Akhnoukh talks about pyramids, pharaoh temples and newer projects such as the high dam in Aswan, Cairo Tower, the famous Alexandria Library, and the Egyptian Museum.
  • Enjoy African roots-based music.
  • And learn why deep down in our DNA, we are all African.

Dr. Bowman is an expert in the science of Africa. She earned her doctorate degree from Harvard University, where her Ph.D. research centered on the effect of technology in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda. She has consulted for many African organizations, including the Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis, the African Technology Policy Studies Network and the New Economic Partnership for African Development.

Dr. Akhnoukh, a native of Egypt, is an assistant professor of construction engineering at UALR. He has his Ph.D. in construction engineering from the University of Nebraska in Lincoln and his masters in civil engineering from Kansas State University. He research focuses on ultra-high strength concrete mixes. Dr. Akhnoukh is a registered professional engineer in Arkansas and Cairo. His board affiliations include serving on the board of the Arkansas chapter of the American Concrete Institute.

Hamadi is an expert on Kenyan animals, including many of the country’s 1,000 bird species as well as wild cats, including lions and leopards, and other important large game species including rhinos, elephants, giraffes and the numerous antelopes that make their home in the vast grasslands of East Africa.

Admission to Science After Dark is $5, free for Museum of Discovery members, and is payable at the door. Bosco’s will provide a cash bar, and visitors will have full access to the 85 interactive exhibits featured in the museum’s three galleries. For more information, visit www.museumofdiscovery.org and “like” Science After Dark on Facebook.

UALR Songs from the Heart tomorrow

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The UALR Opera Theatre will host “Songs From the Heart,” a gala in support of the university’s vocal arts program, at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 5, at the Governor’s Mansion at 1800 Center Street in Little Rock.

Guests will be treated to live performances by UALR students over the course of a formal dinner. Tickets are $75 per person.

The vocal arts program includes opera and choral activities.

“Bring your favorite valentine and spend an evening of food, drink, and song as presented by the UALR Opera Theatre Who knows, maybe your favorite aria will be sung just for you,” said Don Bernardini, director of opera.

To order tickets or for more information, contact the Department of Music at 501-569-3294.

Ridge Piano Trio at Artspree

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Ridge Piano TrioUALR’s Artspree series kicks off the 2013 calendar year with the Ridge Piano Trio.  They will play at UALR’s Stella Boyle Smith Concert Hall this afternoon at 3pm.

The group consists of pianist Chiharu Iinuma, violinist David Gillham and cellist Tom Landschoot. They play the works of Mozart, Piazzolla and Brahms.

Much in demand as a chamber musician, Chiharu Iinuma has regularly performed across three continents. A founding member of the Ridge Trio, the Chamber Ensemble Bloomington and the Gillham-Iinuma Duo, for many years she was the studio pianist for Joseph Gingold, Janos Starker, Franco Gulli, Neli Shkolnikova, Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi, Miriam Fried, Yuval Yaron at Indiana University’s Jacobs School. In 1993, she was invited to participate in the inaugural Isaac Stern Chamber Music Workshop at Carnegie Hall in New York.From 2001 to 2004, Ms. Iinuma was the Director of Accompanying at the University of Central Arkansas, Conway, Arkansas.

Canadian violinist David Gillham has been described as a “violinist with a lean tone, a supple technique, and an amazing talent for sustaining a long line” (All Music Guide Magazine). Formerly on the faculties of Memorial University and the University of Central Arkansas, David was appointed Assistant Professor at the University of British Columbia in July 2011 and is a member of the Arianna String Quartet, in residence at the University of Missouri – St. Louis. He is on the faculty of the FEMUSC Festival in Brazil, the Madeline Island Music Festival, the Illinois Chamber Music Festival and the Britt Festival String Quartet Academy.

Praised for his expressive and poetic music making, cellist Tom Landschoot enjoys an international career as a concert and recording artist and pedagogue. He has toured North America, Europe and Asia and has appeared on National Radio and Television worldwide. His solo career started after taking a top prize at the International Cello Competition ‘Jeunesse Musicales’ in 1995 in Bucharest, Romania. He recently performed with the National Orchestra of Belgium, the Frankfurt Chamber Orchestra, Prima la Musica (Belgium), Shieh Chien Symphony Orchestra (Taiwan), Tempe Symphony and the Orchestra of the United States Army Band and has appeared at the Park City, Santa Barbara, Mammoth Lakes, Utah, Red Rock, Waterloo, Killington and Texas Music Festivals.

Ballet Arkansas Master Class Tomorrow

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FBLOGOBallet Arkansas presents the fourth in a series of open master classes tomorrow.  Guest artist Darrell Grand Moultrie is will be teaching a class on Saturday, February 2, from 10:30 to noon at the UALR Dance Studios.

Mr. Moultrie is choreographing a new work for Ballet Arkansas’ spring concert, Spring into Motion, which premieres at the Arkansas Repertory Theatre April 5-7, 2013.

The class fees are: $25 to participate, $10 for UALR students (with ID) and $15 to observe.  Reservations are required. Space is limited. Reserve your spot now by emailing info@balletarkansas.org

DarrellHS-bioDarrell Grand Moultrie has quickly emerged as one of America’s most sought after choreographers and master teachers. Not one to be pigeonholed into any particular genre, Moultrie has carved out an impressive career that seamlessly weaves his distinctive and highly praised ballet and modern dance choreography, to on-stage Broadway performer (most recently seen in Billy Elliot), and to television work where he has choreographed national commercials for Mastercard, Mod’s hair products, Schick Quattro 4razor, and has worked on the Dave Chappelle Show.

His work is often marked by sharp contrasts and bold patterns with an eye for form, a strong theatrical sensibility, and a knack for showcasing the great athleticism of his dancers.

A proud recipient of the 2007 Princess Grace Choreography Fellowship Award, Darrell’s work has been performed by Ailey 2, North Carolina Dance Theatre, Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble, Colorado Ballet, Cincinnati Ballet, The Juilliard School, BalletMet Columbus, Milwaukee Ballet, Atlanta Ballet, Rasta Thomas and his Bad Boys of Dance, Dance Theatre of Harlem, Tulsa Ballet, and Ballet X. In 2010 he participated in Sacramento Ballet’s Capital Choreography Competition where his work “Moved” won both the judges and the audience awards.