Visual and Performing Arts News

Legendary Ailey II Dance Company Coming to the Rozsa Center

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Dancer in the center of the stage with other dancers surroundingThe Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts will present the legendary Ailey II: The Next Generation of Dance at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday (Feb. 27), as a part of its 32-city US tour.

The Alvin Ailey dance spirit shines in Ailey II, known for its exhilarating and timeless performances nationally and internationally. Ailey II has been hailed as “second to none” by Dance Magazine, and noted for its “off the charts energy” by The New Yorker.

The acclaimed 12-member ensemble will inspire audiences in cities across the U.S. and also reach international audiences in France and Spain. The troupe will return home for its annual New York season, taking place at the Ailey Citigroup Theater March 14 – 25.

Ailey II is universally renowned for merging the spirit and energy of the country’s best young dance talent with the passion and creative vision of today’s most outstanding emerging choreographers. One of the most popular dance companies in the country, Ailey II combines a rigorous touring schedule with extensive community outreach programs.

The program at the Rozsa will include the iconic “Revelations,” first premiered by Alvin Ailey in 1960. Judith Jamison, artistic director emerita of the Alvin Ailey Dance Theatre, says, “Alvin was making a statement about African-American cultural experience, saying, ‘Hey, this is who we are, we live here, we were born here,’ It was a brave action. Civil rights were roaring, and our protest was our performance.”

For more information on the tour, visit alvinailey.org.

Tickets are on sale now: $22.00 – Adult, $10.00 – Youth, no charge for students with the experience tech fee. Tickets are available by phone at 7-2073, online, in person at the Central Ticketing Office in the Student Development Complex or at the Rozsa Box Office the evening of the performance. The Rozsa Box Office opens two hours prior to performances.

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Carnival of the Animals Concert Saturday

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Art with pigs, cow, chickens dancing to a squirrel playing a violinThe Keweenaw Symphony Orchestra presents “Carnival of the Animals,” 7:30 p.m. Saturday (Feb. 24) in the Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts.

One of the great zoological works in the orchestral canon, “Carnival of the Animals,” by Camille Saint-Saëns, includes humorous depictions of elephants, donkeys, lions, hens, roosters, tortoises, kangaroos and the famous “swan” for solo cello.

This concert also features two Russian masterworks: Dimitri Shostakovich’s “Festive Overture” and Modest Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition.”

Tickets are $19 for adults, $6 for youth and no charge for Michigan Tech students with the Experience Tech Fee. Tickets are available online, by phone at 7-2073, in person at the Central Ticketing Office in the Student Development Complex or at the Rozsa Center Box Office the evening of the performance. The Rozsa Box Office opens two hours prior to performances.

This concert is sponsored by a gift from John and Biruta Lowther.

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Peace Activist Reverend Sharon Washington Risher to Speak Tomorrow

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Reverend Sharon Washington Risher speakingWith the latest horrific mass shooting in Florida just last week, and the national outrage ongoing over more senseless gun violence in yet another of our schools, nothing is more relevant than a discussion with peace activist Reverend Sharon Washington Risher.

Risher was catapulted into the limelight after the Charleston, South Carolina shooting at the Mother Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church on June 17, 2015.

Her beloved mother — the church’s sexton — Ethel Lee Lance, was killed along with eight others, including two cousins and a childhood friend. Since that horrific tragedy, Sharon has been very outspoken about the nation’s gun laws and is one of the national spokespersons for the grassroots advocacy groups Everytown and Moms Demand Gun Sense.

Audiences nationwide are saying that Risher’s talks are incredibly powerful, emotional, riveting, raw and authentic, and each of her talks cover her personal experience losing loved ones to gun violence, race, racism and hate in America, as well as the path to forgiveness and an offering of hope for tomorrow.

The Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts and the Center for Diversity and Inclusion, as a part of the Van Evera Distinguished Lecture Series and the Visiting Women & Minority Lecture/Scholar Series, have partnered to present this lecture at 7:30 tomorrow (Feb. 20) in the Rozsa Center.

This lecture is free; however, tickets are required. Tickets are available by phone at 7-2073, online, in person at the Central Ticketing Office in the Student Development Complex or at the Rozsa Box Office the evening of the lecture. Note the Rozsa Box Office opens two hours prior to performances.

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Tech Theatre Presents “When You Comin Back, Red Ryder?”

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Old fashioned cafe sign graphicThe Tech Theatre Company presents Mark Medoff’s Obie Award-winning play “When You Comin Back, Red Ryder?”

The action involves the employees and customers of Foster’s Diner in Hope, New Mexico, in the 1970s. Their daily grind is disrupted with the arrival of two couples, the upscale Richard and Clarisse, and the younger and wilder Teddy, an unbalanced Vietnam War vet and Cheryl, his hippie girlfriend. Complications arise when illegal drugs and guns enter the picture, and Teddy resorts to inflicting physical, mental and emotional torment. Emotionally charged and unpredictably brutal, the play plunges from the mundane to frightening.

Performances of “When You Comin Back, Red Ryder?” are Thursday, Friday and Saturday (Feb. 22-24), and March 1-3 in the McArdle Theatre in the Walker Arts and Humanities Center. Performance times are 7:30 p.m. each evening.

Tickets at $13 for adults, $5 for youth and no charge for Michigan Tech Students with the Experience Tech fee. Tickets can be purchased online, by phone at 7-2073, in person at the Central Ticketing Office in the SDC and at the McArdle Theatre prior to the show.

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Mardi Gras Party Friday

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Colorful face masks with feathers on topThe Department of Visual and Performing Arts presents a musical Mardi Gras Party Friday. The Superior Wind Symphony, under the direction of Michael Christianson, will present a concert celebrating grooves born in the US.

The concert is at 7:30 p.m. Friday (Feb. 16) in the Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts.

Tickets are $13 for adults, $5 for youth and no charge for Michigan Tech students with the Experience Tech Fee.  Tickets are available online, by phone 7-2073, in person at the Central Ticketing Office in the SDC or at the Rozsa Center box office the evening of the performance.

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“Always Room For Rain” Exhibit Opens Friday

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painting by artists Raquel Alvizures (Guatemala) and Ross Chaney depicting an apron over a chair at a tableThe Rozsa Center Gallery presents the exhibit “Always Room for Rain,” opening Friday (Feb. 16) and running through Mar. 30.

This exhibit features paintings by artists Raquel Alvizures (Guatemala) and Ross Chaney (Cherokee and Osage Nations / New Mexico). Both artists combine colors and textures to develop paintings that express their ties to their cultures and to the stories that shaped them.

The artists will be on campus for lectures and community events, supported in part by a grant from the Michigan Tech Visiting Women and Minority Lecture Series. The exhibit is curated by Lisa Gordillo.

There will be an opening reception from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Friday, March 2. The reception will feature a conversation with the artists at 5:30 p.m.

This lecture is partially sponsored/funded by the Visiting Women & Minority Lecturer/Scholar Series (VWMLSS) which is funded by a grant to the Office of Institutional Equity and Inclusion from the State of Michigan’s King-Chavez-Parks Initiative.

Gallery hours are 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday – Friday, 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday.

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Comedian Josh Blue Headlines Winter Carnival

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Josh Blue is tc5124d211b7c56334cb44e5dd81e5e9a3e5cdd12his year’s Winter Carnival Comedian. The Rozsa Center, Student Entertainment Board, Blue Key Honor Society, and the MUB Board have partnered again this year to present the Winter Carnival Comedian.

Perhaps best known as the comedian who puts the cerebral in cerebral palsy, he will perform at 9 p.m. Friday, Feb. 9 at the Rozsa Center. Blue centers much of his self-deprecating act around his disability. He exploded onto the national comedy scene by capturing the attention and endearment of the country as the winner of “Last Comic Standing.”

Having already established himself as one of the most sought-after comedians on the college circuit, his weekly appearances on “Last Comic” in the summer of 2006 expanded his fan base exponentially. In 2011, Josh starred in “Comedy Central Presents: Josh Blue,” which received rave reviews from fans and critics alike.

Most recently, Blue debuted a one-hour comedy special on Showtime, “Sticky Change,” where he cracks jokes and tells stories about everything from being a white African-American, to dealing with cabbies who think he’ll pay in sticky change. The special is currently available on Netflix. He has appeared twice on “Ron White’s Comedy Salute to the Troops” on CMT and made his late-night television debut on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson.

Blue was the first comedian to perform stand-up on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” was named Best Winning Reality Show Guest for his appearance on “Live with Regis and Kelly” and made a standout guest appearance on “Comics Unleashed.”

He was a member of the US Paralympic Soccer Team and competed in Athens at the Paralympic Games, the world’s second largest sporting event. Blue is a single father living in Denver, Colorado with his son, Simon and daughter, Seika.

Tickets are on sale now, $15 general admission and no charge for Michigan Tech students. Tickets are available by phone at 7-2073, online, in person at the Central Ticketing Office in the Student Development Complex or at the Rozsa Box Office the evening of the performance. The Rozsa Box Office opens two hours prior to performances.

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Diversity in Jazz at ‘Club Rozsa’

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32454304261_38295e8c57_mJoin Jazz Studies Program Director Mike Irish and the Michigan Tech Jazz ensembles for a Rozsa Club Jazz Showcase: Backstage at the Rozsa at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday (Jan. 26 and 27).

According to Irish, “Diversity in Jazz. That’s what you get with the Jazz Combos Backstage at the Rozsa. Three dynamic small jazz groups will be featured. The mainstream jazz offering will be handled by JazTec, featuring two horns and a four-piece rhythm section. Momentum is a funk and fusion ensemble with three horns out front and an electric rhythm section. The guest group for both evenings will be the Dan Fuhrmann Trio, providing the best in piano trio jazz. Music by some of the greatest names in Jazz including Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, Charles Mingus, Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, Horace Silver, Herbie Hancock, John Coltrane and many others. There will be something for every taste. Live jazz provides energy, creativity, surprises and is a treat for all of the senses. Join us and immerse yourself in the diversity.”

Tickets are on sale now, $15 for adults, $5 for youth and no charge for Michigan Tech students with the Experience Tech fee, available by phone at 7-2073, online, in person at the Central Ticketing Office or at the Rozsa Box Office the evening of the performance. The Rozsa Box Office opens two hours prior to performances.

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