Koresh Dance Company

An Artistic Force

Creating Innovative & Emotional Dance Performances

This Friday, prepare to be amazed by the superb technique of the culturally-enriched dance company that keeps the artistic reputation of Philidelphia alive. Koresh Dance Company has been described as emotionally compelling and stunningly athletic, with 10 dancers that seamlessly shift from an explosive and passionate repertoire to moments of intimacy and restraint. Founded in 1991 by Israeli-born choreographer Ronen Koresh, this troupe has toured the world performing a fusion of choreographic styles including ballet, modern dance and jazz. Performing to a musical score of contrasts — Middle Eastern music juxtaposed with classical favorites — the dancers deliver an artistic experience that Northwest Arkansas won’t soon forget! If you like hard, fast, intense dancing, this is the show for you.

We love that these artists are committed to the creative economy of their hometown and really wanted to know more about the driving force behind that committment. Our 10x10 Arts Series focuses on creating a space for audience/artist interaction, giving us the opportunity to ask Koresh's artistic director and founder, Ronen Koresh a few questions to help us better understand what influences their artistry.

1)What are some of your favorite songs to jam to? 

No specific songs—I enjoy World music to jam to.  

2)What moves you to create a new dance number (e.g.: a musical piece, life experience or style of dance)?

What inspires me to create are the intricacies of life, the complexity of relationships, and the desire to add to the beauty of life.

3)Choose 5 words – that start with the letter D – to describe your company.

Daring, desirable, dynamic, dramatic, diverse 

4)What do you find most thrilling about exploring human emotions using just your body?

The body doesn’t lie. 

5)What types of the cultural spaces/places you draw inspiration from?

The street, the coffee shop, the bar—people-watching places.

6)Whom do you define as visionary?

My mom. She’s the one who made me follow my dream to dance, paid for it, sent me to America.

 7)How does your work connect to the larger world?

My work deals with humanity, human emotions and relationships, community, the individual vs. society—and most people connect to those themes. They can see themselves in it. My work is not commentary; it’s participation. A dance company doesn’t imitate life; it is life.

8)What is the best advice that you have been given?

Donald Byrd told me not to go searching for an audience—don’t try to satisfy them or be afraid that they won’t like your work. Let an audience find you. The people who like what you do will come.

9)What are some exciting things you see happening among dancers/studios today?

Dancers now are exposed to a much larger arena of dance, especially through YouTube—European, Asian, Israeli dance, etc., and as a result, their styles are becoming more diverse.

10) Why 10 dancers?

Because I can’t afford fifteen.

Still curious about this extraordinary and out-of-the-box dance company? Check out a few of their preformances here to better prepare youself for the artistic force coming to Walton Arts Center this Friday, March 6! Tickets are just $10, so buy yours today! To purchase tickets, click here.

The Hot Sardines

Reinventing Hot Jazz for the 21st Century

Don your best vintage rags and join us this Thursday for The Hot Sardines! Named one of the best jazz bands in New York by Forbes magazine, The Hot Sardines is born of a unique recipe: take hot jazz and sultry standards from the ‘20s, ‘30s and ‘40s, sprinkle in the rich Dixieland sounds of New Orleans, add a dash of wartime Paris flavor and stir in vibrant musical surprises that hold audiences captive. The band’s unforgettably wild live shows have a style and sound distinctly their own.

Did we mention there’s a tap dancer?

It’s hard to see photos of this band or hear their music without wanting to know more about what makes them tick. Luckily, our 10x10 Arts Series focuses on creating a space for audience/artist interaction, giving us the opportunity to ask the “Sardines” front-woman, “Miz Elizabeth” Bougero some questions to scratch that itch!

1.What’s the story behind the name of your band?

We needed a name to play at our first open mic. Jazz bands have been calling themselves "hot" forever -- think Louis Armstrong's Hot Fives, or Django Reinhardt's Hot Club of France -- so we wanted to pay homage to that. And then I saw a tin of sardines in hot pepper sauce at a supermarket and thought, that might work. 

2. What are your favorite artists and/or soundtracks to jam to?

Fats Waller, Louis Armstrong, Dinah Washington, Duke Ellington, James Brown... It's a long list.  

3. What’s it like to go from playing subway cards to clubs to large performance halls? 

Exhilarating! But ultimately we approach every venue like it's one of the underground soirees where we first started out: We're throwing a big, fat jazz party, and you're invited. 

 4. Pick 5 words that start with the letter ‘s’ to describe your music. 

• Spirit (it's what the joy in this music is all about)
• Soaring (how it feels when 8 people are making music together on stage)
• Shared (we create each show in tandem with each different audience--that's part of the fun)
• Sweaty (when you have a live tap dancer, sweaty is par for the course)
• Spent (how we hope you feel after the show) 

5. What aspects of the Roaring Twenties inspire you most? 

We cull our musical references from the entire first half of the last century, but there's something about the '20s that really resonates today: The world was a troubled and uncertain place then as it is now, and people sought out experiences that lifted the spirit. And nothing we've found lifts the spirit like live jazz.  

 6. What has been your most exciting performance to date? 

In May were invited to play with the Boston Pops, who arranged our tunes for the entire symphony orchestra. We're still waiting to wake up from *that* dream. 

7. Do you have a preference for writing your own tunes, or reworking classic standards?

Each is scary and fulfilling in its own way. The standards have endured for a reason -- they're magical! So we love the challenge of tackling a classic song. We have two originals on the new album, Wake Up in Paris and Let's Go, and the mission there was to pen something that can hold its own alongside the classics. 

8. If you could play any other instrument(s), which would they be and why? 

Elizabeth would play the trumpet and piano--they're such versatile instruments. Evan [Evan “Bibs” Palazzo, piano] would play the piccolo for size, or the stock market.

 9. What is the best advice that you have been given?

The same advice we give: Play the music you love, not what you think people want to hear. If you're feeling it, the audience will feel it too. Also: Take the stairs.  

10. Whom do you define as a visionary? 

Every one of our influences had a specific musical vision that guided what they did. But to pick just one: Ray Charles, who knew that country tunes by the likes of Hank Williams could, with the right arrangements, swing hard. 

Click here for a little taste of The Hot Sardines' straight-up, foot-stomping sound!

Tangram

 

Complex, Sexy and Irreverently Imaginative 

This Friday, Tangram will be preforming at WAC. Tangram redraws the boundaries of dance, new circus and physical theatre. Created and performed by classically trained ballerina Cristiana Casadio and world-class circus artist Stefan Sing, this compelling production from Berlin encapsulates the struggles of human relationships in a performance that is both beautiful and breathtaking. Whether she’s hanging from her partner’s fingertips like a marionette, or he’s shielding himself from juggling balls landing on him like missiles, the pair embodies both passion and fury. Imaginative, sensuous and cutting-edge, Tangram questions what it is like to surrender to love and asks us, who is in control?

As part of our 10x10 Arts Series, which seeks to educate and inspire theatergoers to explore new art-forms, we asked both Christiana and Stefan to answer 10 questions that will give us some insight into their artistry. 

1) What are your favorite songs to jam to?

Stefan: everything which is minimal… when classical instruments, they have to be solo instruments… music which is present, but without giving too much information... John Cage, minimal electronic music.

Cristiana: classical music, especially string music... electronic music but less minimal than Stefan’s taste.

Both together: there is nothing better than live music. 

2) What makes an interdisciplinary approach to art so powerful?

The intersection between two disciplines can be powerful because it's something unexpected and rarely seen. I do not think that an interdisciplinary approach is powerful in and of itself.  Anything that is done well is powerful.

3) How does the title Tangram speak to the performance?

TANGRAM is an old Chinese intersection puzzle with seven different flat shapes. Using a small number of pieces you can illustrate almost everything you want. It' s a metaphor for our work: there are only two bodies and one object (the ball), but you can connect them in an infinite number of ways. Also the game is very minimalistic. This was also an important thought for our piece. We use only balls for our scenography, and we put them in different shapes to create new "stages sets."

4) Out of the following, which would you like to be and why?

•       Clock
•       Hummingbird
•       Pair of shoes
•       Sea turtle 

Stefan: Perhaps a sea turtle because I love to sleep and just chill and be slow.

Cristiana: I would like to be a clock, because the clock is always in the present (which is one of the most difficult things).

5) What do you find most exciting about exploring attraction, love, power and control using just your body?

Perhaps the control - because it requests a more subtle way of research. 

6) What is the best advice that you have been given?

Stefan: Do not comment on things happening on stage with your facial expression. First of all, the actions should speak for themselves and second of all, leave space for interpretation for every single person in the audience.

Cristiana: Speak less and do more.

7) Are there moments in your performance that reflect your experiences as a married couple?

Yes and no. On stage everything is exaggerated… we would never be so bad and mean to each other.  But in a small way, it is possible to see our relationship (and hopefully others can see their relationship dynamics too).

8) How does your work connect to the larger world?

Good question for which I do not really have an answer.  It is possible that some people in the audience can see in our stuff aspects of their own life and perhaps it can give an impulse to live a better life. But in general, it doesn't connect concretely to the larger world - we are in the "artist bubble." Any connection to the larger world would be made by the audience.

 9) Who do you define as a visionary?

People who have the courage to do things on stage without thinking about the response of the audience. It's not about provocation just for the sake of provocation, but it's about feeling the need to express something. To be specific: Nietzsche, Wittgenstein, John Cage and Merce Cunningham. 

10) If you could incorporate another art form into your show, which would it be, and why?

Narrative Theatre - speaking on stage. But actually there is no other art form I really would like to incorporate. Stefan (the juggler) would like to be a better dancer. Cristiana would like to incorporate performing music on stage and be able to produce the music on her own.

"Inspiring" -- Audience Reviews on Soweto Gospel Choir

Walton Arts Center was thrilled to have the Soweto Gospel Choir as part of our 10x10 Arts Series last week. Baum Walker Hall was filled with patrons of all ages who gave us lots of positive feedback, and around 1,000 Northwest Arkansas students were able to see the performance through performing arts field trips with their schools--the cherry on top of the Choir's visit to NWA.

If you missed out on this amazing show, don't worry! We still have several 10x10 performances remaining this season. Our next 10x10 show is coming up on Wednesday, April 23, so go ahead and add the hilarious Improvised Shakespeare Company to your planner. You definitely won't want to miss out on a night of laughter with this talented group!

Here are a few more comments we received from you after the show:

“My heart was full! Soweto Choir Rules!"

“Wonderful cultural experience” 

“My favorite 10x10!”

Thank you so much to everyone who came out and made the Soweto Gospel Choir performance such a success! We hope to see you for our next 10x10 performance!

Mnozil Brass wraps up October 10x10!

This Friday, Oct. 25, we have our third 10x10 Arts Series performance with Mnozil Brass. Called the “Monty Pythons of music”, these Austrians create high-energy concerts with pieces ranging from the William Tell Overture to Bohemian Rhapsody.

We had the chance to ask members Leonhard Paul and Wilfried Brandstötter a few questions. Read them below, then watch a video of them performing – sometimes upside down!

1. Fill in the blank; Mnozil Brass is ______.

Seven instruments, seven characters, seven opinions.

2. What is your most memorable performance and why?

We have done about 2,000 gigs so far, so there have been a couple of memorable things. We have performed in wine cellars and on trucks, on boats and in pubs, for weddings and funerals, in very small (50pax) and very large halls (7000pax). 

3. What kind of art inspires you?

Life.

4. As an artist, is there anything you hope to be able to accomplish?

Sure. Wisdom and respect and a better embouchure. 

5. Who is your artistic icon? Why?

All the great performers! Frank Sinatra, Spike Jones and the City Slickers, Victor Borge, Barbra Streisand, Danny Kaye and many more.

6. What profession other than yours would you most like to attempt?

We are happy as musicians! 

7. What are the three most played songs on your iPod?

Changes daily. 

8. What do you want audiences to walk away with after your performance?

With a smile on their face and a DVD.

9. If there were a feature film created about your life who would play you?

Krasimir Stojakawowsky.

10. Do you have a guilty pleasure?

To play the violin secretly.

11. Music and comedy is such a great combination! Were you born funny or did you study comedy as well?

As we haven’t studied comedy we must have been born this way.

12. What is your favorite meal before a performance?

Champagne.

13. Mnozil? What’s the story behind the name?

We’re named after the cafe where we started playing.

Tickets are still available, so help us welcome these amazing performers to NWA! Join the Facebook Event to stay up to date with all the information on our pre-show Creative Conversation with a member of the Mnozil Brass team, and the post-show party where you can mingle with the performers and enjoy a signature 10x10 cocktail!

“Simply Delightful” – L.A. Guitar Quartet

We had a great turn-out for L.A. Guitar Quartet, the second performance in our 10x10 Arts Series. A big thanks to everyone who came and made this a special night. We have one more 10x10 show this month, with the “Monty Pythons of Music,” Mnozil Brass, on Friday, October 25.

Here are a few comments we received from you after the show:

“Best 10x10 yet!!”

“Great Group, Great Sound”

Our next 10x10 performance features Mnozil Brass! RSVP to the Facebook Event to stay up-to-date with the latest information on the pre-show Creative Conversation, and the post-show party where you can mingle with the performers and enjoy a signature 10x10 cocktail! Watch the video below for a sneak-peak to see that these funny guys mean business!

10x10 is back with Los Angeles Guitar Quartet!

This Thursday, Oct. 10, we have our second 10x10 Arts Series performance with Los Angeles Guitar Quartet! The Grammy® Award-winning group plays across the genres. Their programs have included Latin, African, Far East, Irish, Folk and American Classics that transport listeners around the world! 

We had the chance to ask members John Dearman and William Kanengiser a few questions! Check them out below, then watch a video of them performing.

1. What great advice did you receive when you began your artistic journey?

William: Find the best teacher you can, and do everything he says!

2. What is your most memorable performance and why?

John: We played a concert in a giant lava tube - kind of like a cave created by a huge bubble in an ancient lave flow - on Lanzarote; one of the Canary Islands. It was actually a real concert hall and was part of a whole underground complex of hotels, restaurants and bars. An awesome place! 

William: Doing "Don Quixote" with Monty Python's John Cleese; sharing the stage with one of my comic heroes is something I'll never forget.

3. What kind of art inspires you?

John: I saw a film called 'Gerhard Richter Painting' recently - I like what he does.

4. Who is your artistic icon? Why?

John: I love the Assad Brothers. Of course they're guitarists, they play Brazilian as well as classical music, and for me, they just have the perfect temperament as performers and personalities. They never fail to astound me in every way.

William: Maestro Pepe Romero.  As our mentor, friend and role model, he epitomizes the ideal of the virtuoso soloist, consummate ensemble player and inspirational stage performer.

5. What profession other than yours would you most like to attempt?

John: Restoring vintage motorcycles.

William: Gourmet chef.

6. What are the three most played songs on your iPod?

John: I don't really know but: Recently I listened to “Forrobodo” by Egberto Gismonti in a loop for about 30 minutes. 2 others that come to mind: “The Soleares from En Vivo” by Paco de Lucia.  A tune called “Greenwich Mean” by the guitarist Wayne Krantz.

William: Glenn Gould's 1981 “Goldberg Variations,” “Romance de Abindarraez” played by Jordi Savall and Hesperian XX, "California" by Joni Mitchell.

7. What do you want audiences to walk away with after your performance?

John: That they've heard something new and they liked it.

William: With a new appreciation for the sonic potential of the classical guitar. And a few copies of our CD's, I suppose!

8. If there were a feature film created about your life who would play you?

John: Bryan Cranston, of course.

William: Paul Giamatti!

9. Do you have a guilty pleasure?

John: HBO - there's just too much good stuff on TV these days!

10. Why a quartet? What is so magical about 4 guitarists as opposed to 2, 6, or 8?

John: The Romeros were such an inspiration and we've never really thought about any other formation.

11. Do you have a favorite sports team?

John: Any team that's playing against the Celtics.

William: Sadly, the Los Angeles Lakers.  It's going to be a long year.

 Tickets are still available, so help us welcome these amazing musicians to NWA! Join the Facebook Event to stay up to date with all the information on our pre-show Creative Conversation with a member of LAGQ team, and the post-show party where you can mingle with the performers and enjoy a signature 10x10 cocktail!

"Oh my, oh my!" - AnDa Union

What an amazing kick-off to our 10x10 Arts Series with AnDa Union! Thanks to everyone that joined us last Friday for this performance and helped make it an evening to remember! Our next 10x10 show is this Thursday, October 10 with the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet.

The AnDa Union pre-show Creative Conversation with Tim Pearce (sound engineer and tour manager) and Sophie Lascelles (artistic director) was a wonderful experience.  Tim shared his experience going from a London concert promoter to focusing his work around AnDa Union and working to create the documentary “From the Steppes To The City” with his Sophie, his wife.

If you’ve never been to a performance featuring throat singing, you missed out! The singers of AnDa Union filled Baum Walker Hall with their unique sounds; you could feel it in the air in a way videos can’t capture!

Here are a few comments we received from you after the show:

“Beautiful! Amazing voices. I appreciated the background photos that showed life & scenery in Mongolia. Interesting instruments too.”

“AnDa Union – mesmerizing and thrilling”

“I like the funny noises they made and I like all of the songs.” – Owen, 4 years old

“I’m saddle sore – tearing across the grasslands. Thanks”

 

Our next 10x10 performance features the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet! RSVP to the Facebook Event to stay up-to-date with the latest information on the pre-show Creative Conversation, and watch our blog for a Q&A with some of the members this week!

10x10 Arts Series Kick-off with AnDa Union!

We’re excited to kick-off our 10x10 Arts Series next Friday, Oct. 4 with AnDa Union! This amazing musicians and vocalists are unlike anything hosted on the WAC stage before. Coming from nearly 7,000 miles away, the young musicians in AnDa Union take you on a hauntingly beautiful musical journey, uniting the diverse traditions and styles of both Inner and Outter Mongolia through all the Mongol tribes that Genghis Khan unified.

AnDa Union

We had the chance to ask the performers a few questions! Check out band members Saikhannakhaa and Chinggel's answers below, and then watch a video of them performing.

• What are you most looking forward to on this US Tour?

We love playing concerts!

• What is your favorite Mongolian tradition? 

Mongolian music

• What size of audiences and whom do you typically perform for in Inner Mongolia? 

Over 1,000 people – especially younger people. 

• How did you learn how to play your instrument? When?

We trained at music school from the age of 13. 

• What makes you unique from other performers?

The way we combine Mongolian music and singing style.

• What are 3 goals of your performances?

That the audience have a good time, that they learn about Mongolian culture and that they leave feeling the world is a better place.

• What do you want audiences to walk away with?

Happy memories of our music, culture and grasslands.

• Was there some great advice you received as you began your artistic journey? 

Be true to your music and your heart.  

• Is there something you enjoy collecting?  

Instruments! And music. 

• What profession other than yours would you most like to attempt? 

A teacher, or maybe start a Mongolian restaurant.  

Tickets are still available, so help us welcome these amazing musicians to NWA! Join the Facebook Event to stay up to date with all the information on our pre-show Creative Conversation with a member of the AnDa Union team, and the post-show party where you can mingle with the performers and enjoy a signature 10x10 cocktail!

10x10 Arts Series Giveaway!

Here at Walton Arts Center we are eagerly anticipating the upcoming season! The shows on our 10x10 Arts Series are always audience favorites as they provide unique entertainment experiences with pre and post-show activities and conversations.

In celebration of the new season, we are giving one lucky audience member the chance to see all of the 10x10 Arts Series shows for free with our 10x10 Giveaway! It's super easy to enter - there's a Rafflecopter widget at the bottom of this post, just follow the steps & voila! You're entered! 

This season’s 10x10 Arts Series is a unique collection of music, dance and comedy. All of the shows on this series start at $10 per ticket. Here is a look at all the performances the winner of our giveaway, and all audience members will be enjoying this season:

AnDa Union 

Friday, October 4 at 8 pm

From Inner Mongolia, AnDa Union draws inspiration from Mongolian music that nearly disappeared during China’s tumultuous past. This acoustic group of 14 musicians and vocalists creates unforgettable rhythms with throat singing and traditional instruments including the morin khuur (a horse-hair fiddle) and the maodun chaoer (a three-holed flute).

AnDa Union

Los Angeles Guitar Quartet

Thursday, October 10 at 7:30 pm

Playing to sold-out houses world-wide, this Grammy®-winning quartet is one of the most multifaceted groups in any genre. Comprised of four accomplished guitarists (John Dearman, William Kanengiser, Scott Tennant, and Matthew Greif) who bring a new energy to the stage, their programs range from Bluegrass to Bach and guarantee a night of musical delight.

Los Angeles Guitar Quartet

Mnozil Brass

Friday, October 25 at 8 pm

A brass ensemble like you’ve never seen before, Mnozil Brass is simultaneously an orchestra, ballet, chorus and ensemble of soloists. These seven musicians have been called the “Monty Pythons of music” due to their humor and comedic timing.

Mnozil Brass

Compagnie Käfig

Thursday, January 23 at 8 pm

Artistic director Mourad Merzouki is at the forefront of the international hip-hop dance scene. Käfig’s sensational double bill of Correria andAgwa showcases the all-male ensemble of 11 Brazilian dancers in an irresistible mix of athletic samba, hip-hop and capoeira dance styles, highlighting astonishing acrobatic skills and dazzling virtuosity.

Compagnie Kafig photo by Christopher Duggan

Chucho Valdes

Friday, February 14 at 8 pm

With five Grammys® and numerous other awards, Chucho Valdes is one of the most influential Latin musicians and jazz pianists ever. It’s a night for lovers, and lovers of jazz! 

Chucho Valdes

LEO

Friday, February 21 at 8 pm

LEO is an astonishing show that asks you to forget the rules of the universe and enter an entirely different world. This fantastical, witty one-man show from Berlin blends brilliant physical theater, acrobatics, and mind-bending animation, challenging perception of reality through the clever interplay of live performance and video projection.

LEO

Soweto Gospel Choir

Thursday, March 6 at 7:30 pm

The 24 member Grammy®-winning choir from South Africa is dedicated to sharing their faith and their music.  Some of Soweto’s most famous songs include Grammy®-winning “Baba Yetu (Our Father)” and the Oscar nominated “Down to Earth.” 

Soweto Gospel Choir photo by Tony Lewis

The Improvised Shakespeare Company

Wednesday, April 23 at 7:30 pm

Based on audience suggestion, the Company creates a fully improvised play in Elizabethan style. Each of the players has brushed up on his “thee’s” and “thou’s” to bring you an evening of off-the-cuff comedy using the language and themes of William Shakespeare.

The Improvised Shakespeare Company

Trey McIntyre Project

Friday, May 16 at 8 pm

Trey McIntyre’s innovative and notably American brand of dance was called “amazingly fresh” by The New York Times. The evening will include a new ballet choreographed by Artistic Director Trey McIntyre, set to chamber music and premiering in spring 2014.

Trey McIntyre Project photo by Lois Greenfield

Time for Three with the Artosphere Festival Orchestra

Saturday, May 31 at 8 pm

The Artosphere Festival Orchestra under the direction of Corrado Rovaris headlines the 2014 Artosphere Festival with a program featuring Time for Three, the high-energy string trio that wowed 10x10 audiences in 2012 with their assortment of bluegrass, jazz, folk and hybrid styles.

Time for ThreeEnter the Rafflecopter giveaway below for a chance to win tickets to all ten shows on the 10x10 Arts Series this season! We will choose a winner by September 25, and notify them by email. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway