Arts Alive San Antonio

Ballet San Antonio is closing its season with a new production of “dizzyingly beautiful” Alice in Wonderland. You are familiar with the old tale but rendered through ballet, it’s bound to be beautiful, though, hopefully, not “dizzyingly.” The new BSA version is a collaboration between choreographer Brian Enos and visual artist Luis Grane, whose surrealistic projections, costumes and set design combine with Enos’ choreography, which is a hybrid of classical and contemporary movement.

Artistic director Sofiane Sylve promises that “the combined expertise and creative direction of Brian and Luis will lead audiences on an immersive experience alongside Alice, as she returns to the magical world from her childhood…” The cast includes 26 professional ballet dancers. (March 3 – 5; Friday March 3 at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday March 4 at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.; Sunday March 5 at 2p.m.; Tobin Center for the Performing Arts, 100 Auditorium Circle; tickets $25-$117, discounts for seniors, military and large groups, available online at www.tobincenter.org, by phone at 210-223-8624 or in person at the Tobin’s box office.)

Music is always alive and well in San Antonio and there’s a lot going on in the upcoming days.
Camerata San Antonio is presenting TANGO AMOUR, a title that conveys romance and passion. On the program are five works that “explore the melodic and percussive panoply of dance-made music.”

They are: Osvaldo Golijov’s  Omaramor for solo cello; Kurt Schwertsik’s Adieu Satie for bandoneon & string quartet; d’Rivera’s Wapango for string quartet, and, of course, Astor Piazzola’s tangos. There can’t be a tango program without him. In addition to Camerata’s regular, the performing ensemble will include violinist Laura Scalzo and Evan Orman, a bandoneon player. (Three performances at three places: March 2 at 4 p.m. at the First Presbyterian Church, 800 Jefferson At., Kerrville; March 4 at 3 p.m. at the Episcopal Church of the Holy Spirit, 11093 Bandera Rd., San Antonio, and March 5 at 3 p.m. at the University of the Incarmate word’s Bennack Concert Hall, 4301 Broadway, San Antonio. Tickets $20 and can be reserved online at www.cameratasa.org or by calling 210-492-9519; also available at the door.

Musical Bridges Around the World, the presenting organization that recently marked its 25^th anniversary, is again inviting you to an interesting concert, the premiere of Requim, for the Victims of a Pandemicby MBAW Alumna Yvonne Freckmann. The piece will be performed by the combined choirs of Trinity University and the University of the Incarnate Word, accompanied by the Trinity University Symphony Orchestra. The concert will also feature music by Ralph Vaughan Williams, San Antonio composer Brian Bondari, and Arvo Part. (March 4 at 3 p.m.; Laurie Auditorium, Trinity U.; free, no registration required.)

Film music is popping up at live stage concerts lately. This Sunday, the Alamo City Arts Heart of Texas Concert Band is inviting you to enjoy “A Night at the Movies” with the music of the prolific film composer John Williams. (March 5 at 3 p.m.; Jefferson High School, 723 Donaldson Ave., 78201; free, no tickets required.

The San Antonio Mastersingers will be joined by the San Antonio Philharmonic to perform “Lux Aeterna” by Morton Lauridsen. The work often references Gregorian chants plus Medieval and Renaissance procedures while blending them within a freshly contemporary lush sound. (March 5 at 3 p.m.; Edgewood Theater of Performing Arts, 402 Lance St., free. The concert will be conducted by Yoojin Muhn, Ph.D.; www.samastersingers.org.

The San Antonio Choral Society is also presenting a concert, Marching to Freedom, a celebration of Black History Month, which juxtaposes readings and stories with music by Black composers. The program includes music by Margaret Bond, arrangements of spirituals by Jester Hairston, Harry Burleigh and Moses Hogan; Robert Ray’s Gospel Magnificat, and – surprise! – film music from Harriet and Selma. The Choral Society is an 80+ mixed-voice performing ensemble open to all talented men and women.(March 5 at 3 p.m.; St. John’s Lutheran Church, 502 E. Nueva St.; tickets $5-$18 at
https://sachoralsociety.ticketbud.com/marching-to-greedom)

The Agarita Chamber Players will offer two “Humble Hall” concerts Saturday. These are free concerts in various neighborhoods, with musicians playing from an extended platform of a truck. People gather around and enjoy the music. The two locations are Eisenhower Park, at 1 p.m., and Jefferson Bodega, 1005 Donaldson Ave., at 4 p.m.

And there’s great music on theatrical stages, too!

The Wonder Theater (still housed in the Woodlawn Theater) is opening Ragtime, the TONY Award-winning musical based on E.L. Doctorow’s novel that captures the American experience at the turn of the 20^th century. The story follows three families in pursuit of the American Dream. The ragtime music is a big part of it. The show is directed by Chris Rodriguez and choreographed by Rebekah Williams, with music direction by Josh Pepper. The statement on the Wonder’s website warns theatergoers about language that some may find offensive and about scenes of violence. (Opens Friday, March 3; shows Fridays-Saturdays at 7:30 p.m., Sundays at 3 P.m.; Woodlawn Theater, 1920 Fredericksburg Rd., tickets $18-$32; 210-267-8388, www.woodlawntheatre.org)

A show with very different music is playing at the Public Theater. Titled Fabulous Monsters, it focuses on two young women who were right in the middle of the punk rock scene in LA years ago. Years later, they reunite and try to sort out old disagreements and rock as hard as they did in the past. The music for this show was composed by the San Antonio punk rock group Fea. (Through March 19, Public Theater of San Antonio/Cellar Theater, 800 W. Ashby; tickets $30-$45, youth $15; 210-733-7258m www.thepublicsa.org)

And again, for something different: Legally Blonde the Musical, will be at the Tobin for one night only, March 6.  This is about a blonde who proves that she is also the “smartest person in the room.”
“The nonstop sugar rush of a show!” is how the New York Times reviewer described it. (March 6 at 7:30 p.m.; Tobin Center, 100 Auditorium Circle; tickets start at $37.20; tickets@tobincenter.org or call 210–223-8624).

A big musical event is planned by the The Espee, a boutique amphitheater located in the historic St. Paul Square downtown. The new entity is part of the Ambassador Theatre Group (ATG) which also operates the Majestic and Empire Theaters. The Espee is the company’s first outdoor performance venue. A good time to visit would be Saturday during the All Aboard daylong festival featuring a diverse line-up of live musical entertainment. (Doors open at 2:30 p.m. and performances start at 3 p.m. Among the performers are: The Head and the Heart  from Seattle; Danielle Ponder, American soul singer; GRAMMY-winners Grupo Fantasma,  and Mike and the Moonpies, a Country and Americana band.
(March 4, St.Pauk Square at 3 p.m.; tickets start at $75, www.theespee.com)

On the same day, Nina Diaz, an alternative pop singer, and former member of the band Girl in a Coma, will be singing her heart out at the Carver Community Cultural Center’s Little Carver. (March 4 at 8 p.m.; Carver Community Cultural Center, 226 N. Hackberry, 78202; tickets $22 – $25; kids $13, at 800-745-3000; in person at the box office or online www.ticketmaster.com)

New visual art exhibits are opening or have just opened around town. Last week we told you about Roman Landscapes – Visions of Nature and Myth from Rome and Pompei which opened at the San Antonio Museum of Art. Now, there’s a new show at the McNay, too.  The two exhibits could not be more different! At SAMA you’ll be looking at art that unnamed ancient artists painted on walls and wondering about the implausible circumstances that brought their handiwork to where you can have a connection with it, now in the 21^st century.

The McNay exhibition, on the other hand, features the work of contemporary women artists, including several from San Antonio, whom we actually know and have spoken to. No faded old images of Odysseus and the Sirens or scratched temple drawings which might have been buried under volcanic ashes for centuries. This is art that fits the show’s title: Womanish: Audacious, Courageous, Willful Art

We would recommend you see both exhibits and see how you respond to them. (The McNay show, will be on view through July 2; McNay Art Museum, 6000 N. New Braunfels, 78209; 210-824-5368, www.mcnayart.org)

March is also Contemporary Art Month, a month-long celebration of local artists  and contemporary art, which will officially be launched tomorrow with a kick-off party just outside the Contemporary at Blue Star in the Blue Star complex. The event will feature special announcements, including the names of the next four artists to take part in the 2023-24 Berlin Residency Program. An outdoor screening of CAM’s High School Film Festival curated by Sarah Lasley, will be projected on the art center’s façade.

Inside the Contemporary at Blue Star’s building, several new shows are ready to open. (More about those later) At this point it’s not clear if anyone has compiled a calendar of CAM exhibits throughout the city.

Centro Cultural Aztlan has just opened its 14^th annual Mujeres de Aztlan Exhibition featuring women’s art. Titled Mujeres de Aztlan: Rise, Speak, Act, the center aims to raise the visibility of women artists working to develop their careers and expand their artistic expressions. Participating artists include: Sarah Shore, who is referred to as “Lead Artist,” and the following: Santa Barazza, Kim Bishop, Anel Flores, Angelika Gomez Mayorga, Norma Jean Moore, Denise Perez, Savannah Rust and others. It’s a long list. In conjunction with the show, there will be an Evening of Poetry and Song on March 8. (Centro Aztlan, 1800 Fredericksburg Rd., suite 103 March 8 at 6-8 p.m.; the exhibit will be on view through March 30; 210-432-1896, www.centroaztlan.org)

Art Gallery Prudencia is opening another exhibit by photographer/artist Susan Riley, who has developed her own art form. She transforms old photos of movie stars and other luminaries by adding color to black-and-white photos and using sparkling beads and other decorative elements. She researches the stories of these women and creates newly engaging portraits. “Dimmed by memory, reimagined by me,” she says. The glamorous ladies from the past in this show are: Greta Garbo, Lina Cavalieri, Martha Graham, Marion Davis, Barbara Stanwyck, Anna May Wong, and a few gentlemen – Rudolph Valentino and Vaslav Nijinsky.(Opening March 4, 2-4 p.m.; artist talk at 3 p.m.; on view through April. 8; Art Gallery Prudencia, 2518 N. Main, 210-422-8681, www.prudenciagallery.com)