“I am pleased that we are now in the room as one of the top 10 curators,” said Bridgette Kohnhorst, director of Great Performances at Vanderbilt. Kohnhorst will meet three times a year with other hub directors to review proposals, make funding recommendations and discuss program policy.

“We are impressed with your organization’s commitment to the creation and presentation of new dance work, the strength of your partnerships, your alliances and your continuing dedication to the art form, said Rebecca Blunk, executive director of the National Dance Project, in a Nov. 7 letter to Kohnhorst.  “More importantly, we recognize your capacity as an individual leader in the field, and value the knowledge and experience that you will contribute to the range of NDP efforts.”

Kohnhorst will serve on the hub committee from January 2009 to December 2011.

The National Dance Project is a grant program of the New England Foundation for the Arts, one of six regional arts agencies nationwide that funds and advocates the creation and distribution of a full range of artistic expression.

Current members of the hub committee include Kohnhorst’s peers at the University of Michigan, Arizona State University, Wesleyan University and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Arts in Washington.

Flamenco star José Porcel opens series Sept. 22

Great Performances at Vanderbilt launches its 37th season for 2011-12 with its most international season to date in a nine-event lineup including Spain’s flamenco superstar José Porcel, jazz pianistAlfredo Rodriguez and The Acting Company, which endures as the major touring classical theatre company in the United States. The season includes a U.S. tour premiere by Taiwanese dance troupe Cloud Gate 2 and the 22-member dance and drumming ensemble Spirit of Uganda, whose performers ages 8-18 are East Africa’s stewards from the professional training program, Empower African Children, representing 2.4 million orphans.

Other performances include Gallim Dance Company, influenced by Israel’s Batsheva contemporary dance troupe, and the world music ensemble, Red Baraat, the top pick from New York city’s globalFEST 2011 and founder of the genre dhol’n’brass marrying Indian Bhangra funk with New Orleans brass.

There will also be a smaller politically inspired theatre series, On the SIDE. Two performances include radical performance artist José Torres Tama, who probes the U.S. immigration issue in aSci-fi Latino Noir Solo and the New Zealand base Indian Ink Theatre Company in a comedy of timeless truths, Guru of Chai.

Subscription packages for the Great Performances series are on sale at Sarratt Student Center and theGreat Performances website. Prices range from $270 to $306 with recommended purchase date before Sept. 2. Single tickets go on sale Sept. 9 and range from $30 to $40. Vanderbilt students and staff receive discounted rates with deep subscription savings. Tickets for non-Vanderbilt students are $10 with identification at Ticketmaster outlets and at the box office. Call (615) 322-4230 for renewals and subscriptions and (615) 322-2471 for season details:

The complete list of 2011-12 Great Performances:

Compañia Flamenco José Porcel

Gypsy Fire
7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 22
Langford Auditorium

Spain’s flamenco superstar and former dancer with the National Ballet of Spain brings his celebrated troupe of dancers, singers, and musicians to showcase the art of flamenco.

“The public, on their feet, didn’t rip their shirts, but applauded to the point of exhaustion.”
—El Pais, Spain

On the Side series

José Torres Tama Performance Art

Aliens, Immigrants, & Other Evildoers – adult language
7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 5
Student Life Center

Not for the faint of heart, the series launches with the radical Latino performance artist and writer who lives by his doctrine – make art that matters.

“Torres Tama treads that dangerously vague turf of performance art gracefully … with dexterity and daring”
—The Village Voice

Alfredo Rodriguez with Trio

8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 14
Langford Auditorium

Schooled in the rigorous classical conservatories of Havana, this riveting pianist is informed by Bach and Stravinsky as much as his compatriot Chucho Valdés.

“Without a doubt one of the best young pianists I’ve ever seen”
—Quincy Jones

Gallim Dance

7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 28
Langford Auditorium

A New York dance company that exists at the edge of their physical limits.

“The name of the young troupe means ‘waves’ in Hebrew, and waves are what she’s making … in the dance scene.”
—Metro, New York

On the Side series

Indian Ink Theatre Co.

Guru of Chai
7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 2
Student Life Center

An intimate company from New Zealand that creates remarkable theatre that reminds us of simple truths.

“Comic genius. … It’s a tour de force from a master of multicultural mayhem.”
—The Age, Melbourne

Cloud Gate 2 – U.S. Tour Premiere

8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 4
Langford Auditorium

The United States tour premieres Taiwan’s pillar dance legacy in Nashville, which started with Cloud Gate Dance Theatre.

“A work of genius … to fall in love with.”
—Allgemeine Zeitung, Frankfurt

Spirit of Uganda

8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 25
Langford Auditorium

Standing drums, choreography, layered rhythms, and call-and-response vocals, the performers ages 8–18, share East Africa’s homeland and are ambassadors for 2.4 million orphans.

“The pounding feet and agile bodies, the drums and vibrant human voices all send a message – one of courage and hope.”
—The Village Voice

The Acting Company

Julius Caesar
Rob Melrose, artistic director
7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 29
Langford Auditorium

The struggle for power. The clash of arms. This classic story of pride and envy, arrogance and honor, opportunity and tragic errors is some of the finest rhetoric and verse in the Shakespearean canon.

“The Acting Company endures as the major touring classical theater in the United States.”
—The New York Times

Red Baraat

8:00 Friday, April 13
Student Life Center

The rapidly ascending Bhangra Funk band aka Dhol ‘n’ Brass brings their nine piece explosive group to Nashville including dhol, drum-set, percussion, sousaphone, and horns.

“An irresistible dhol ‘n’ brass nine-piece from New York City. He [Sunny Jain] invented ‘dhol ‘n’ brass’ – and … Red Baraat rules it.”
—The Philadelphia Inquirer

Led by drummer Sunny Jain, Red Baraat delivers a riveting new sound that is coupled with an explosive stage performance and presence. Comprised of dhol (double-sided, barrel-shaped North Indian drum slung over one shoulder), drumset, percussion, sousaphone, and five horns, Red Baraat melds the infectious North Indian rhythm Bhangra with a host of sounds—namely funk, go-go, Latin, and jazz. With the group’s performance in 2011 globalFEST, the New York City based band was the top pick and subsequently featured on PRI’s The World, NPR’s All Songs Considered, The New York Times, The Village Voice, and Mother Jones magazine.

“An irresistible dhol ’n’ brass nine-piece from New York City. He (Sunny Jain) invented ‘dhol ‘n’ brass-and… Red Baraat rules it.”  –The Philadelphia Inquirer

Julius Caesar is a classic story of pride and envy, arrogance and honor, opportunity and tragic strategic errors. Blending historical events of the reign of this iconic Roman emperor with tragic elements and compelling language, Julius Ceasar is one of Shakespeare’s greatest tragedies.

The rhetorical verse is some of the finest in the Shakespearean canon. Julius Caesar is seen by some as a highly ambitious political leader in Rome with dangerous aspirations — by others as a noble and worthy leader. He is warned that he must beware the Ides of March… the prophecy comes true in perhaps the most famous death scene ever written.

“The Acting Company endures as the major touring classical theatre in the US.” –The New York Times

With standing drums, dramatic choreography, layered rhythms, and gorgeous call-and-response vocals, Spirit of Uganda brings to life the sounds and movements of East Africa. Under the artistic direction of Peter Kasule, the company is Empower African Children’s professional training program. On tour, 22 performers, ages 8–18, share the histories, legends and beliefs of Uganda and represent 2.4 million orphans. As Africa’s next generation, the company promotes the awareness of Uganda’s dual crises of AIDS and civil war, and raises funds to support themselves and others in their homeland.

“The pounding feet and agile bodies, the drums and vibrant human voices all send a message — one of courage and hope.” –The Village Voice, New York

Spirit of Uganda supported in part by: The Bishop Joseph Johnson Black Cultural Center

Since the beginning of Cloud Gate Dance Theatre in 1970 with Artistic Director Lin Hwai-min, Cloud Gate 2 continues the legacy as Taiwan’s titan for contemporary dance. The company remains informed by a vocabulary of post-modern movement, ballet, and Chi Kung. Cloud Gate 2 now reaches tens of thousands annually with the company’s 13 dancers of physical depth and grace exhibiting the tireless curiosity of Hwai-min. It is no wonder the company has been recognized as cultural stewards with the Taiwanese government proclaiming, “Cloud Gate Day” and naming the street on which the company’s office lives “Cloud Gate Lane.”

“…a work of genius…to fall in love with.” –Allgemiene Zeitung, Frankfort

Master Dance Class
Saturday, February 4
www.vanderbilt.edu/dance