The United States premiere of Australia’s BalletLab and a performance by the Kronos Quartet highlight the 33rd season of Great Performances at Vanderbilt, Nashville’s longest running and only international performing series. The season will also bring a residency at Vanderbilt by the José Limón Dance Company.
Subscription packages for the eight-event series are available at Sarratt Student Center on the Vanderbilt University campus or online at www.vanderbilt.edu/greatperformances. Call 615-322-2471 for information. Subscriptions with deep savings off the single ticket price and premium seating are available through Sept. 7. Tickets for single events will be available through Vanderbilt’s Sarratt Box Office and Ticketmaster starting on Sept. 8.
Audience talk-back sessions, master classes and free previews at community venues are open to the public. The community previews with selected artists are hosted at various Nashville venues, usually the day before the full performance, through the Performance on the Move (POM) series.
The performances:
BalletLab, Australia’s lead contemporary company led by Phillip Adams, formerly choreographer for Australian Ballet, Chunky Move, and the Rotterdam Danse Groep, perform the work Origami. Nashville is the United States premiere site for the company’s 2007-08 tour.
The performance begins at 8 p.m. Sept. 29 in Ingram Hall. A POM event is scheduled for the preceding evening and a master class for Sept 30.
Tiempo Libre, Miami’s twice Grammy-nominated Cuban timba band, kicks off Vanderbilt’s Homecoming festivities with a free Alumni Lawn POM event at noon on Oct. 10. The seven-member group produces an irresistible dance-inducing mix of Latin jazz and rhythms. The evening main-stage performance begins at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 10 in Ingram Hall. A preceding reception and panel discussion with the band will be facilitated by Vanderbilt’s Center for Latin American and Iberian Studies. A reception is scheduled for 6 p.m. followed by a panel discussion at 6:30 p.m.
José Limón Dance Company will perform several historical works, including Missa Brevis, which will feature nine Vanderbilt students as part of the university’s first dance residency. The José Limón Dance Company was founded in 1946 by José Limon and Doris Humphrey. Shows on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1 begin at 7:30 p.m. in Ingram Hall. A dance Master Class is planned for Oct. 27 and a screening for the award-winning picture, Limón: A Life Beyond Words, on Oct. 29. For a complete list of Limón residency activities, visit the Great Performances website.
The TEAM theatre troupe will perform Particularly in the Heartland. The TEAM has garnered Critics Choice awards from New York, Toronto, and London in addition to winning the 2006 Edinburgh Fringe Firs award. The play portrays a fantastical journey to Kansas and is about losing sight of America and trying to fall back in love with it. The TEAM performs at 8 p.m. Feb.1 in Ingram Hall. A POM event is scheduled for the preceding evening.
Wu Man & Chinese Shawm Band, who exposed the Western world to the pipa, a lute-like instrument with a history of more than 2000 years, perform at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 7 in Ingram Hall. Wu Man was schooled in the most classical style of Imperial China at the prestigious Pudong School. Her interpretations are sought out by Terry Riley, Philip Glass and others.
Kronos Quartet, the renowned contemporary string group, performs Sun Rings, a multimedia production created in 10 movements and commissioned for Kronos by NASA. The performance will feature a choir from Vanderbilt’s Blair School of Music and celestial sounds and images from space recorded by Donald Gurnett, the James A. Van Allen/Roy J. Carver Professor of Physics at the University of Iowa. Kronos performs at 8:00 p.m. March 14 in Ingram Hall. A POM event is scheduled for the preceding evening with the quartet and founder David Harrington at the Vanderbilt Dyer Observatory from 6 to 8 p.m.
Aquila Theatre Company will perform Joseph Heller’s stage adaptation of his classic novel, Catch 22. This is the first international professional tour of Heller’s own script. To date the play has only been produced once due to the popularity of Mike Nichols’ film version. The performance begins at 8 p.m. March 29 in Ingram Hall.
Black Grace Dance Company, an all male dance troupe from the mountains of New Zealand, marries the Pacific Island and Maori dancing heritage to modern forms. The performance begins at 7:30 p.m. April 9 in Ingram Hall. A Master Class is scheduled for April 8.
Single ticket prices for individual performances are $34, $30 and $26 and will go on sale Sept. 8. Great Performances subscription campaign runs July 20 through Sept. 7 with premium seating choices and a savings of more than 20 percent off single ticket prices. Vanderbilt student ticket prices are available for $5. Non-Vanderbilt students including all high school and college youth can attend with valid identification for $10. Vanderbilt University faculty and staff may purchase the entire series for $104 before Sept. 7. All Tennessee state higher education faculty and staff may purchase the full series before Sept. 7 for $104 with a valid identification and photocopy of drivers license and completed order form in Room 207 of Sarratt Student Center or via mail to 207 Sarratt Student Center, Nashville, TN, 37240. A limit of two series tickets may be purchased per faculty or staff member.
For more information about Great Performances and season details call 615.322.2471 or, visit the homepage at www.vanderbilt.edu/greatperformances.
Media Contact: Bridgette Kohnhorst,(615) 322-2471
bridgette.kohnhorst@vanderbilt.edu