News Roundup, March 11, 2021
For many, many years, folk dance practitioners and their audiences have been gathering in San Antonio in March to watch folk dance ensembles and dance themselves during the San Antonio Folk Dance Festival. Dancing groups from San Antonio, New Orleans, Houston and other cities performed folkloric dances of many cultures, from European traditions, to Near Eastern and Asian.
But not this year. Instead, the San Antonio organizers teamed up with California-based Laguna International Dancers to produce one, virtual festival, renamed Laguna-San Antonio Spring Festival, which will take place this weekend, March 12-14. Theatrical ensemble performances have been replaced by sessions with known folk dance teachers who specialize in certain type of dances, from Irish and Serbian to Scandinavian and Gypsy. Many are masters of more than one genre, but the Balkan countries seem to very well represented.
The evenings are for partying, each participant/dancer dancing with a crowd on Zoom. Everything is free, but if you donate $25, you’ll receive the teaching material you selected – video, music and dance notes. You can also donate more and get multiple packages from several teachers. To register go to https://springfestival.us.
The folk-dance community in San Antonio owes a great deal to the late Nelda Drury who was a life-long dancer and beloved dance teacher. The founder of the dance department at San Antonio College, she produced the first San Antonio Dance Festival in 1958. She was known for her love of folk dances from all over the world and danced herself until she died at age of 101. At the time, her former student and friend, Monalisa Montgomery, said this:” Nelda believed that dancing each other’s dances could break barriers and connect people of different cultures.” How true!
The Tobin Center is getting livelier and livelier thanks to its strict sanitary measures and the sheer space it has for social distancing. But its current show, The Office! A Murder Mystery Parody: Who is the Scranton Strangler? takes place in an even larger environment: the outdoors. Groups of up to 35 people will move through five walkable locations “meeting some of your favorite characters (from the sitcom) along the way, including Jim, Pam, Dwight and others.” You are supposed to use your detective skills to find clues, catch red herrings, plant evidence and get the Scranton Strangler. The named characters are played by San Antonio actors. (Runs through Sunday, March 28. Start times are staggered at 30-minute intervals, rain or shine. Tuesday-Thursday shows depart every 30 minutes 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Fridays 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturday-Sunday 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., and 5:30 to 8 p.m.; tickets $39.50 – $44.50; tickets@tobincenter.com, 210-223-8624)
Something very different will be presented this Sunday. Dana Perino, the popular Fox News commentator and former presidential press secretary, will appear at 2 p.m. to talk about her book, Everything Will Be OK – Life lessons for Young Women (from a Former Young Woman). Perino enjoys mentoring young women. In this book “I provide all my best tips and advice for the workplace and at home, in one place, with an emphasis on finding serenity and joy” says the author. (Tickets $29.50 to $95.50; contact information as above.)
The SOLI Chamber Ensemble postponed its March 4 concert, Electrified Air, to the 17. The ensemble is known for playing music by contemporary composers, many of them still living. For this concert, they will be joined by Grammy Award-winning electric guitarist D.J. Sparr. Together, they will be fusing the sounds of rock, jazz and funk with contemporary “classical harmonies.” The digital concert will feature the world premieres of three works: Hammer and Nail by Anthony Joseph Lanman; A Singing Planet by Olivia Kieffer, and the SOLI commissioned piece, A Bell Outside a Bell Inside by D.J. Sparr. It’s a free event: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLpBÂÂÂ_riU947pszl-FIB6iag.
Country music fans know where to go to hear both top bands and the emerging ones, and that’s the John T. Floore Country Store in Helotes. This Saturday, they have a chance to hear one of the best at the moment – the Eli Young Band, that has been nominated for both the Grammy and the CMA awards.There will be two shows, one at 6 p.m. and the other at 9:30. ($20-$100; table seating; 210-695-8827; www.liveatfloores.com)
San Antonio’s only independent literature and art magazine, VOICES DE LA LUNA is celebrating its 50th issue with a big virtual gala on March 21. The program is literally packed with talent and well-known San Antonio names, such as Naomi Shihab Nye, Carmen Tafolla, Cary Clack, Wendy Barker, and the honoree, Ellen Riojas Clark, Ph.D. (A little secret: the editor of ARTS ALIVE SAN ANTONIO will also appear.) Poetry readings, interviews, videos and music are all included.
And in connection with the event, the hard-working volunteers associated with the VOICES nonprofit organization have put together an online auction to raise much needed funds for the support of the magazine and for community outreach. The auction will be online to view, from March 14 to the 21.
If you have always hoped to own an original artwork, this auction is a good place to start. A number of talented artists have donated their work, including Sylvia Benitez, Roberta Buckles, Michael Brosher, Sonya Gonzalez, Carolyn Royall, Robin Gara, Maria Oddo and others. To see all offerings, go to www.32auctions.com/voicesgala, but remember, it opens Sunday.
The City of San Antonio is inviting artists to apply for individual project grants through its Department of Arts & Culture. The grants want to encourage the development of new works, which must be publicly displayed/performed in San Antonio during the contract period. To get an overview of the program and how to apply you can watch a video at https://youtu.be/GHOmtsB7VXO.
Every Saturday in March, The Magik Theatre is going to have a special treat for very young kids at the San Antonio Botanical Garden, starting at 9:30 a.m. The production is called Everything is Round and it “explores shapes and their place in the world around us,” says the announcement. Performances take place in the Betty Kelso Center. After the show, families can explore the garden where the Origami in the Garden exhibit is on display. Lots of shapes there! ($15, includes show and Botanical Garden exploration; free for children 2 and under.)
The Magik has something for the older crowd, as well, namely streaming productions of its shows, such as Snow White (not the usual fairy tale); Dragons Love Tacos, Senora Tortuga, Jack and the Beanstalk, and more. Visit the company’s website for more information: www.magiktheatre.org, 210-227-2751.
Please remember that March is Contemporary Art Month and explore the offerings. The CAM perennial exhibit will open Saturday at 7 p.m. at Cherrity Bar. Curated by Mexico City-based Doreen A. Rios, it will be a series of video performances, called Here, the rivers run both ways. To find out more about this event and others go to https://www.contemporaryartmonth.org