Great Performances @ Vanderbilt University

RED BARAAT (redbaraat.com), the 2012 season closer returns to Music city with a party not to be missed

oits — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 19:33:35 +0000

RED BARAAT (redbaraat.com), the 2012 season closer returns to Music city with a party not to be missed, February 28th, 2013 as ;

“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

Great Performances continues to be a world music trendsetter (remember 2008 with latin psychedelic rock *Grupo Fantasma* returning to Nashville following a GPAV stellar concert?) Support World Music and visit www.redbaraat.com,

READ Arts Nash review of the RUDE MECHS Amazing Work of Art

oits — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 20:45:28 +0000

READ theatre rebels, RUDE MECHS Visit Music City in TENNESSEAN

oits — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 19:39:51 +0000

La Excelencia: The Seatless Friday Eve

cecilia.w.norris@Vanderbilt.Edu — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 15:04:10 +0000

Melodies of heavy percussion and lyrics of political commentary swooped up the soul’s of La Excelencia‘s audience on October 12, 2012. The socially conscious salsa-dura band lured people out of their seats, song after song. Hips were swaying, feet were salsa-ing, and ambient lighting struck the stage of the approachable band members (who couldn’t stand still either). The 11-piece orchestra reverberated from wall to wall of Ingram Hall. The formal setting of the theater dissipated as salsa dura became contagious making each audience member the next dance partner. Strangers became friends, spanish lyrics became social unity, and before the night was over, a new community formed. La Excelencia took music to an inspired level, consolidating the masses to stand for ethics of love, freedom and unity.

Read about socially conscious salsa LA EXCELENCIA; at GPAV October 12

oits — Tue, 02 Oct 2012 18:06:25 +0000

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Great Performances continues its 38^th year with La Excelencia on Friday, October 12 at 8:00 PM in Ingram Hall. Known for bringing contemporary vivacity and collective awareness to the salsa genre, La Excelencia thrills and dares its audience with a combination of heavy, soul-enriching percussion. Known as the new generation of salsa dura with an 11-piece orchestra, La Excelencia swathes its audience with melodies full of compelling arrangements, free flowing brass and hard-driving drums.

Founded in 2005, La Excelencia has electrified the international stage and kept salseros’ feet spinning. La Excelencia has released three albums, Salsa Con Conciencia, MI Tumbao Social and most recently, Ecos Del Barrio. The band has been featured on BBC, full features in The New York Times, ‘So You Think You Can Dance’, ‘Zumba Fitness’, and on countless salsa/world music compilations among others.

Known as having “created a revolutionary movement of salsa”, La Excelencia surges from continent to continent captivating audiences into their own melodious expedition. With auditorial commentary on immigration, discrimination and poverty, La Excelencia traditionalizes salsa music while modernizing the form’s context.

The orchestra’s tough sound and socially conscious lyrics are regarded as outside the salsa mainstream…and the real deal. –The New York Times

A community Salsa Class will be offered prior to the Vanderbilt Great Performances show, free to all ticket holders at 6:30p.m taught by Nashville’s Global Education Center resident teaching artist, Steven Damo of Sentir El Ritmo, please call 615.322.2471 to reserve a space.

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Great Performances is Vanderbilt University’s international presenting performing arts series. Recognized as a National Dance Project Hub-Site by the New England Foundation for the Arts, Great Performances is dedicated to promoting artistic expression that engages, enriches and transforms with world music, dance, and theater.

Single Tickets for the Great Performances series are on sale at Sarratt Student Center andhttp://greatperformances.benchmarkmails26.com/c/l?u=19B9D17&e=20BCFA&c=3039C&t=0&l=4269A09&email=j8cdSeY2wA0%2Fx4C14HJfgAif8GG0Zxj9. Single Tickets are $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 tickets and visit ticketmaster.com.

READ Nashville SCENE Coverage here: Four on the Floor…makes an impact

oits — Fri, 21 Sep 2012 12:32:17 +0000

Anticipation & Preparation: Awaiting Kyle Abraham/Abraham.In.Motion to Take the Stage

cecilia.w.norris@Vanderbilt.Edu — Thu, 20 Sep 2012 18:30:56 +0000

Kyle Abraham & the dancers of Abraham.In.Motion have officially touched down in Music City! While we all await the big performance of “Live the Realest MC!”, Great Performances committee members are working hard to spread the Abraham word around campus and around Nashville. Posters adorn campus trees, flyers confetti shop bulletins, and video trailers blast the promenades of Vanderbilt University’s Sarratt Center. Luckily, Abraham aficionados can get a taste of what it’s like to work with Abraham before he graces the stage tomorrow night. This evening (Thursday, September 20, 2012), Kyle Abraham and the Abraham.In.Motion dancers are teaching a Master Class at Vanderbilt’s Memorial Gym in Studio C at 5:30pm. This is an extraordinary chance to learn from the virtuosic dancer as well as embody his innovative phrase work. The class is currently on a first-come, first-serve basis but should not be missed!

And for those who prefer observation, there is still time to purchase tickets to Kyle Abraham/Abraham.In.Motion’s “Live the Realest MC!”. Do not miss the chance to be moved, amazed, and inspired by this incredible choreographer!

“It’s smart and self-aware, and luscious too: the complete package.” -The New York Times

Student tickets are $5.
Single tickets range from $30 to $40
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.

Read here: Great Performances Mirrors National Trend w/New Approaches in 38th Year

oits — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 13:40:04 +0000

Check out FRIST Carrie Mae Weems Retrospective w/Kyle Abraham & VU Collaborations

oits — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 14:41:38 +0000

Read about; Kyle Abraham/Abraham.In.Motion LIVE! The Realest MC September 21 Ingram Hall A physical and hip hop commentary

oits — Sat, 08 Sep 2012 00:28:00 +0000

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Kyle Abraham/Abraham.In.Motion launches Great Performances 38^th season with Live! The Realest MC on September 21, 2012. Considered an “emotional chameleon” and as New York’s greatest talent in the Obama age, Abraham presents a unique visual and auditorial aesthetic examining social roles through robust phrase work. An extension of the childhood story Pinocchio, Live! The Realest MC follows a boy’s pursuit for “realness” set in industrial dystopia. Also a rework of Abraham’s piece Inventing Pookie Jenkins, this work evaluates individual responsibility in relation to the dichotomy of social invisibility and community acceptance.

Abraham discovered his love of performance at the Civic Light Opera Academy in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He received his BFA from Suny Purchase and MFA from New York University Tisch School of the Arts. He has collaborated with David Dorfman Dance, Mimi Garrard Dance Theater, Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company, and is currently choreographing for Alvin Ailey.

Most recently, Abraham received the 2012 Jacob’s Pillow Dance Award honoring his commitment to contemporary dance and to his radical vision. Having been called “equal parts power and grace,” Abraham shatters the energy around him, reworking a new perspective for his enlightened audience. Live! The Realest MC is a soul-stirring, spellbinding spectacle, which evaluates the world of hip hop celebrity and a robotic public drenched in fear.

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Great Performances is Vanderbilt University’s professional performing arts series anchored from the Vanderbilt Programming Board. Recognized as a National Dance Project Hub-Site by the New England Foundation for the Arts, Great Performances is dedicated to promoting artistic expression and to providing students and the Nashville community with stimulating spectacles that engage, enrich and transform. Great Performances’ series features world music, dance, and theater. Subscription packages for the series are on sale at Sarratt Student Center, www.vanderbilt.edu/greatperformances.

Prices range from $136 to $120 with recommended purchase date before Sept. 7. Single tickets go on sale Sept. 7 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:

Kyle Abraham/Abraham.In.Motion
Live the Realest MC
7:30 p.m. Friday, September 21
Ingram Hall

“It’s smart and self-aware, and luscious too: the complete package.” -The New York Times