The Fine Arts Center

Choreography by Lin Hwai-min
Wednesday, September 23, 7:30 p.m., Fine Arts Center Concert Hall
General admission: $50, $45, $20; Five College, GCC and 17 & under: $15, $12, $10

Choreographer Lin Hwai-min is heralded as one of the original Dance multiculturalists drawing his inspiration from traditional Asian culture and aesthetics. With dancers trained in meditation, Qi Gong, martial arts, modern dance and ballet, his company transforms traditional Taiwanese dance vocabulary into thrilling modern celebrations of motion.  “Rice” was created to mark the troupe’s 40th anniversary and was inspired by the energy and resplendence of Chihshang in the East Rift Valley of Taiwan, home of “Emperor’s Rice.” Set to the music of Hakka folk songs – the oldest among the existing Chinese dialect, operatic arias and sounds from the fields, and against a video backdrop that depicts the life cycle of a rice paddy.

RICE
Chihshang was previously tainted by the use of chemical fertilizer; yet farming village has now regained its title as Land of Emperor Rice by adopting organic farming.

Awed by the immense waves of grain rolling across expansive fields of rice, and inspired by the environmentally-conscious farmers, Lin took the dancers to Chihshang, where they joined the farmers in harvesting the rice. Out of this experience in the field, Lin has created exuberant yet powerful movements woven through Soil, Sunlight, Wind, Water and Fire, telling the story of the land while contemplating the devastation of Earth.

A cinematographer spent two years on location capturing the cultivation of rice: flooding, sprouting, harvesting and burning. These video images – of clouds reflected in the water, rice swaying in the wind, and fire ravaging the fields – have become the essential visual elements of the production. Immersed in this landscape, the formidable Cloud Gate dancers, trained in Qi Gong and internal martial arts, enact a human drama parallel to the life cycle of rice. A work about death and rebirth, devastation and resurrection.

Rice is an international co-production by Sadler’s Wells Theatre London; HELLERAU European Center for the Arts Dresden, Germany; The National Theater & Concert Hall, the National Performing Arts Center, Taiwan, R.O.C.; NewVision Arts Festival, Hong Kong; and Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay, Singapore.

Audience members are invited to stay for a post-performance talk with the Company’s Artistic Director in Rand Theater immediately following the performance.

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Thursday, April 30 at 8pm in the Bezanson Recital Hall
General Admission: $12; Students: $7 

“Violinist-composer Jason Kao Hwang, has brought a vast array of sonic wonders to his latest genre-straddling work, Burning Bridge,” writes The Washington Post. “Hwang has his finger firmly on the racing pulse of the 21st century, where everything is interconnected and boundaries of time and geography seem hopelessly quaint. If there’s a war cry for music of the new millennium, it might well be: Burn the bridges – there’s no going back.”

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Jason Kao Hwang’s website 

With the Hogshead Horns and Creme Tangerine Strings
Saturday, April 25, 8 p.m., Fine Arts Center Concert Hall 
Performing “Abbey Road” and more!

$60, $55, $20; Five College, GCC and 17 & under $20, $15, $10
$75 non-disounted ticket includes premium seating and Meet & Greet Reception 

The Fab Faux have been spoken of as “the greatest Beatles cover band — without the wigs,” by Rolling Stone senior editor, David Fricke, who wrote, “the Faux invigorate the artistry of even the Beatles’ most intricate studio masterpieces with top chops and Beatlemaniac glee. Approaching the songs with the intent of playing them live as accurately in musical reading and in spirit as possible, they will perform Abbey Road in its entirety, The Faux’s breathtaking performances tend to dispel all concert-goers’ previous notions of a Beatles tribute act. All five principals contribute vocals, making the Faux’s soaring harmonies as resonant as their multi-instrumental chops that are further enhanced by the four-piece Hogshead Horns (with Blues Brothers, Blood, Sweat & Tears and SNL band alums) and the Creme Tangerine Strings.

Join us as we celebrate the close of this season and offer a preview of the next season @ the FAC! Enjoy a pre-show dessert party on the plaza with free desserts, live entertainment and a cash bar. Tent opens at 6:30 p.m. 

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Thursday, April 16, 7:30 p.m., Fine Arts Center Concert Hall
$42, $38, $15; Five College, GCC and 17 & under $15, $12, $10

Stephen Petronio’s Locomotor / Non Locomotor is an evening-length, full-company work in two parts featuring an original score by electronic hip-hop pioneer Clams Casino. Locomotor explores extreme locomotive states, casting Petronio’s virtuoso company in a careening mix of action forward and backward through time and space, while Non Locomotor begins from the spine and its ability to initiate torque and torsion, sending movement surging throughout the body. “There’s a visceral thrill to Stephen Petronio’s choreography that is unlike anything offered by other contemporary choreographers…” —The New York Times

Audience members are invited to a pre-show talk by Five College Dance professor Constance Valis Hill at the University Museum of Contemporary Art (lower level of FAC) at 6:30 p.m. and to stay for a post-performance talk with Stephen Petronio immediately following the performance. 

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Tuesday, April 7, 7:30 pm, Fine Arts Center Concert Hall
$25, $20, $15; Five College, GCC and 17 & under $10 

A new triumphal musical collaboration bringing together 15 musicians from 11 countries along the Nile river basin -Egypt to Sudan this concert is a unique phenomenon to be experienced aurally and visually.  Music so infectious, that it will get you jumping on your feet, clapping and dancing to the incredible rhythms.  Experience a powerful pan-Nile percussion section that drives this orchestra of Ethiopian masenko , saxophone, Egyptian ney, oud, violin, sisimiya and tanbur and Ugandan adungu , bass guitar and six vocalists singing in 11 different languages. Empowering this concert is the mission to inspire and educate Nile citizens to work and collaborate together to boost the sustainability of the ecosystem.
 
Funded through New England Foundation for the Arts Expeditions Fund

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Website: http://www.nileproject.org/ 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nileproject 
Twitter: https://twitter.com/nileproject

 

Thursday, April 2, 8 p.m., Bezanson Recital Hall
General Admission: $10; $5 students

“Woodwind/saxophone ace Ned Rothenberg has a formidable reputation as an innovator,” writes Tzadik Records. “Specifically, Rothenberg has been celebrated for his circular-breathing techniques, as well as his experiments with overtone manipulation and polyphony. He also shares the restless eclecticism of colleagues like John Zorn and Anthony Braxton. What renders Rothenberg more approachable and, in the end, more significant than many of his peers is the serenity at the heart of his fiercest playing.”

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Saturday, March 28, 8 p.m., Fine Arts Center Concert Hall, Chamber Seating
$40, $35, $15; Five College, GCC and 17 & under $15, $12, $10

His Bach performances are “a revealing journey into the soul,” states The Washington Post.  Jeremy Denk continues his exploration of Bach in a concert with the renowned Academy of St Martin in the Fields. Conducting from the keyboard, Denk presents Bach’s Second and Fourth concertos, and conducts serenades by Dvo?ák, and his greatest pupil (and son-in-law), Josef Suk.

Audience members are invited to a pre-performance talk by NEPR Classical Music host Walter Carroll at 7 p.m. at the University Museum of Contemporary Art (lower level of FAC).

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Thursday, March 12, 7:30 pm, Fine Arts Center Concert Hall, Chamber Seating 
With Saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa, Guitarist Rez Abbasi & Carnatic ensemble 
$35, $30, $20; Five College, GCC and 17 & under $10 

Guided by the rich poems of the Tamil Bhakti poet Andal, Song of the Jasmine embodies the spiritual and the sensual that are the lifeblood of the Indian psyche. Ragamala Dance collaborates with jazz saxophonist/composer Rudresh Mahanthappa as he heads a new ensemble for a live soundscape of jazz that features guitarist Rez Abbasi and the Carnatic ensemble.

Acclaimed as one of the Indian diaspora’s leading dance ensembles in the United States, Ragamala Dance seamlessly carries the South Indian classical dance form of Bharatanatyam into the 21st century. Informed by the echoing past and the fleeting present, the two artistic directors Ranee and Aparna Ramaswamy’s create evocative choreography that renews tradition. SONG OF THE JASMINE is a new work conceived by Aparna Ramaswamy and created in collaboration with renowned jazz saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa, two first-generation Indian-American artists whose bicultural identities have influenced their artistry in different ways. Their unique artistic perspectives converge on the common ground of creating art in which universal themes are intertwined with a transformative artistic vision, and in which innovation is rooted in a profound understanding and enduring respect for tradition.

 

Sunday, March 8, 7 p.m., Fine Arts Center Concert Hall
$60, $55, $20; Five College, GCC and 17 & under $20, $15, $10

Back by popular demand! Six-time Grammy winners, The Chieftains have uncovered the wealth of traditional Irish music that has accumulated over the centuries, making the music their own with a style that is as exhilarating as it is definitive. Never afraid to shock purists and push boundaries, The Chieftains have amassed a dizzyingly varied résumé. Their most recent album, “Voice of Ages,” found the band collaborating with some of modern music’s fastest-rising artists (Bon Iver, The Decemberists, The Punch Brothers and the Pistol Annies among them) to reinterpret traditional songs for old and new generations alike, proving what the music means today while hinting where it might lead tomorrow.

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Sunday, March 1, 2 p.m., Bowker Auditorium
General Admission: $15; Five College, GCC, Seniors and 17 & under $10

A Sea of Puppets is a traditional Taiwanese glove puppet show with live music performed on a beautifully carved wooden stage by a professional five-member ensemble from the Taiyuan Puppet Theatre Company. With amazing skills, the puppeteers bring the exquisite puppets with embroidered costumes to life. They perform not only delicate gestures, but also exciting fighting scenes and acrobatics.  The story is a romantic tale in which a young man saves a girl from the hands of a villain (clown character). Audiences will see all the characters of traditional Taiwanese puppet theatre: the young lady, the scholar, as well as the clowns and the villains.  The show has been performed in over 30 countries, and provides a fascinating glimpse of one of the most beautiful theatre performances in the world. Powered by the virtuosity of the Taiwanese puppet performers and accompanied by traditional music, the show uses no dialogue and is suitable for all ages.
 
Pre-concert talk will be given by Dr. Robin Erik Ruizendaal, Director of Lin Liu-Hsin Puppet Theatre Museum in Taipei, and Managing and Artistic Director of Taiyuan Puppet Theatre Company. 

Spotlight Taiwan events are funded in part by the Ministry of Culture, Republic of China (Taiwan) and Special patron Dr. Samuel Yin, with additional support from Five Colleges, Incorporated.

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