Nazareth College Arts Center Re-opens with a Season of Excellence

Nazareth College Arts Center has always offered a stellar lineup of talent during its season, so its recent renovation will not change the quality of performance you will see there.  What the renovation will do, however, is open doors for a broader range of top talent and assure that performing companies have state-of-the-art technology to achieve staging effects never before possible.  As testament to the success of the renovation, Nazareth College Arts Center was recently named the #6 college performance venue in the country by the Princeton Review.  It is Rochester’s great fortune to have an arts center of this caliber supporting and drawing exceptional local, regional, national and international talent to the region.

Virsky Ukranian National Dance Company

During the 2009/2010, Nazareth College Arts Center welcomes:

• Nov. 13 at 8 PM – Virsky Ukrainian National Dance Company – Enjoy the spirit and anthleticism of traditional Ukrainian Folk Dancing and music at its finest and most joyful. Tickets $30-$60.
• Dec. 2 at 7:30 PM; Dec.3-4 at 8 PM; Dec. 5 at 2PM & 8 PM; Dec. 6 at 2 PM& 7:30 PM – Garth Fagan Dance – Garth Fagan Dance returns home, after a much-acclaimed season at the Joyce in New York City, to treat audiences here to its rich and ripe reportoire, plus a newly-commissioned work performed with the Ying Quartet.   Don’t miss the company that is this year’s talk of the New York Dance World!  Tickets $30-$55.
• Dec. 31 at 6:30 PM & 10 PM – The Capital Steps - Back by popular demand with a new show called “Obama Mia,”  this group thrills audiences with the hilarity of their non-partisan musical political satire. Ring in your New Year with champagne, noisemakers,  music and a laughter-filled evening.  Tickets $45-$75.

Band of the Irish Guards

• Jan. 29 at 8 PM – Band of the Irish Guards/Royal Regiment of Scotland - You’ll love the majesty of this spectacular group of performers with their outstanding music from Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales.  You’ll enjoy the best of pipes, drums and highland dancers. Tickets $40-$70.

Thomas/Ortiz Dance

• Feb. 13 at 8 PM – Thomas/Ortiz Dance – This culturally diverse contemporary company combines liquid latin sensuality and über-urban athleticism to take a fresh look at thought-provoking themes. Tickets $30-$60.
• Mar. 6 at 8 PM – Natalie MacMaster and Donnell Leahy in Masters of the Fiddle - Join two of the world’s most renowned fiddlers for a lively feast of Celtic fiddle music, Irish song and world-class step-dancing. $35 – $65.
• Mar. 26  at 8 PM – Moscow Festival Ballet in The Sleeping Beauty - Tchaikovsky’s beautiful full-length ballet Sleeping Beauty comes to life through the artistry of this Russian ballet company.  Tickets $45-$75.
• Mar. 27 at 8 PM – Ed Asner as FDR – It takes a masterful actor to carry off a one-man show, and Ed Asner as Franklin Delano Roosevelt delivers a magnificent performance as FDR in his presidential years. Tickets $35-$65.
• May 14  & 15 at 7:30 PM,May 16 at 2:00 PM – Rochester City Ballet Featuring Balanchine’s Serenade and Other Works - Their presentation of the 1934 Seranade by Balanchine and works by other famed choreographers showcase the diversity and virtuosity of this young Rochester-based ballet company. Tickets $35-$65.

Nazareth College Arts Center is located at 4245 East Avenue Rochester, NY.  All performances take place in the newly-renovated Callahan Theater. 

Season and individual tickets may be ordered online or by contacting or stopping by the Box Office, located in the upper lobby of the Arts Center.  Box Office hours of operation: Mon.- Fri. 11 AM– 5 PM, Day of Performance: 11 AM – Curtain.  Visa, MasterCard and Discover cards are accepted.
(585) 389-2170
Box Office Manager – Cathy Whalen
cwhalen1@naz.edu

Tickets may also be ordered by mail or fax, by downloading the form on the Nazareth College Arts Center website.

 

Special Children’s Pricing for the RPO’s and Rochester City Ballet’s Nutcracker, 11/27-11/29

When I was 16, I saw my first ballet.  I’d joined a community chorus and the group made a pilgrimage to the Saratoga Performing Arts Center during its summer season to see Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker. 

Enjoy the magical holiday tale of the Nutcracker who comes to life!

The performance entranced me.  I remember where I was sitting and what I wore.  I recall holding my breath during some of the more spectacular dance scenes and the exhileration I felt when the music swelled from one movement to the next, taking me on an epic journey.  No matter how often I see The Nutcracker, the magic never wears off.

In prior years, our family has always been away for the Friday through Sunday following Thanksgiving, the weekend when The Nutcracker is traditionally performed by the award-winning Rochester Philharmonic Orchester (directed by Michael Butterman) and the renowned  Rochester City Ballet (under the artistic direction of Jamey Leverett). This year’s performance will also feature the Bach Children’s Chorus (in residence at Nazareth College, directed by Karla Krogstad) and will include performances by guest artists from some of the top ballet companies in the U.S. and by over 150 community children.

I was delighted to see that, in a year that has put pressure on many family’s budgets, the RPO and Rochester City Ballet have joined forces to make this delightful tale of the Nutcracker who comes to life more accessible to families by offering special children’s pricing.  Children’s tickets start as low as $10!  And anyone who is already an RPO member is entitled to special discounted “add-on pricing” to their normal subscription season, with tickets starting at $15.

The Nutcracker will be performed Friday through Sunday, November 27 through 29 at 2 PM and 7  PM at the Easman Theater located at 25 Gibbs Street Rochester, NY.

To purchase your tickets to the Nutcracker, CLICK HERE or visit any Wegmans “That’s T.H.E. Ticket” office.

P.S. By the way, if you and your little ones would like to “Get Ready for the Nutcracker,” join the Rochester City Ballet at Strong National Museum of Play on Wednesday, November 11 from 12PM-4PM for an afternoon of music, storytelling and dance, included with Strong National Museum of Play Admission.

Photos courtesy of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and the Rochester City Ballet.

 If you’ve enjoyed this post, you may also want to read Strong National Museum of Play – Rochester, NY