Latest news with #CelebritySeries
Boston Globe
05-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
Celebrity Series chief Gary Dunning to retire following 2025-26 season
Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Under Dunning's leadership, Celebrity Series has continued its tradition of bringing star power to Boston stages, including artists such as pianist Yuja Wang, cellist Yo-Yo Ma, and trumpet player Wynton Marsalis. Advertisement But he has also worked to broaden the organization's appeal. One year after his 2011 arrival, Dunning oversaw the creation of 'Arts for All!,' a community outreach program that promotes local artists and offers free performances. Another early program, the Debut Series, highlights young and emerging classical musicians. More recently, he's overseen the launch of the Stave Sessions, which focuses on contemporary music, and the Jazz Festival. Advertisement Perhaps equally important, Dunning led a $23 million capital campaign that expanded the organization's endowment and created dedicated funds for programming. Dunning, who led American Ballet Theatre and the Houston Ballet prior to his arrival at Celebrity Series, called it an 'honor to steward this incredible institution and contribute to Boston's arts ecosystem.' 'The artists, audiences, staff, Board, donors, and community partners I've worked with have inspired me every day,' he said in a statement. 'I am so proud of what we've achieved together, and I look forward to seeing Celebrity Series continue to grow and innovate.' Malcolm Gay can be reached at
Boston Globe
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
Boston Lyric Opera, Celebrity Series of Boston announce 2025-26 seasons
The remaining three productions are a one-night only performance of 'Ride of the Valkyries!,' an original operatic entertainment starring Christine Goerke and Morris Robinson (Nov. 12); an already-announced concert performance of 'Vanessa' in collaboration with the Boston Symphony Orchestra (Jan. 8 and 10), and an installation of Gustav Mahler's 'Das Lied von der Erde' directed by Anne Bogart and starring Raehann Bryce-Davis and Brandon Jovanovich (March 20-29). The latter will be the first major event BLO will host in its newly renovated Opera + Community Studios in Fort Point. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Though 'Das Lied von der Erde' is a symphonic work with vocal soloists, not an opera, Vernatter said it would be 'fully staged as a dramatic work with a narrative,' on a similar scale to previous BLO productions in nontraditional venues such as 2023's 'Bluebeard's Castle/Four Last Songs' at Flynn Cruiseport. Bryce-Davis will also present a solo recital in the Fort Point venue, on March 24. Subscriptions are available now; single tickets will be available for purchase at a later date. Advertisement Yunchan Lim. James Hole Celebrity Series's upcoming season features dozens of performances across classical, jazz, and dance. Artistic director Nicole Taney said she found it hard to choose which event she was most excited to have on the bill. 'They're all my favorite children,' she said, but shouted out performances by pianist Yunchan Lim (Oct. 22), accordionist Théo Ould (Dec. 2), the Budapest Festival Orchestra with Iván Fischer and members of the Boston Lyric Opera Chorus, and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra with music director designate Klaus Mäkelä. Further highlights of the subscription season before New Year 2026 include a recital by mezzo-soprano J'Nai Bridges at Groton Hill Music Center (Oct. 9), a return performance by adventurous Nordic roots trio Dreamers' Circus (Oct. 26), a debut series performance by acclaimed young violinist (and current New England Conservatory student) Amaryn Olmeda (Nov. 17), and an evening uniting Third Coast Percussion with choreography by street dance specialists Lil Buck and Jon Boogz (Nov. 22 and 23). This year for the first time, Celebrity Series's free Neighborhood Arts performance series is also included in the season brochure. Taney said she had intended to bring the series, which largely features artists with ties to the Boston area, 'under the same umbrella' as the subscription series. 'It really does showcase all of what we do,' said Taney of the Neighborhood Arts series. The first half of the season includes performances by Grammy-winning jazz trombonist Kalia Vandever with harpist Charles Overton (Sept. 20), violinist Adrian Anantawan (Sept. 27), global music ensemble Biribá Union (Oct. 19 and Oct. 25), Afro-Haitian dance company Jean Appolon Expressions (Nov. 15) and pianist Kevin Harris, who will perform a new suite inspired by the notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci (Dec. 6). Advertisement Jean Appolon Expressions. Mika Pasco Subscriptions will be available to the public on May 22, with single tickets for fall performances available Aug. 7. Both organizations typically receive some project-based funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, but they don't expect that will continue in the near future given President Trump's recent cuts to the agency and the termination of grants. Celebrity Series executive director Gary Dunning clarified that the organization received its 2024-25 grant money shortly after New Year 2025, but 'we have not received any notification — which we normally would have — for next year's grant, which we fully expect will never happen.' BLO received an email from the agency on Friday, May 2 informing it that its award had been terminated, effective May 31. Federal grant money was not a critical chunk in the operating budgets for either organization, but BLO general director Bradley Vernatter said he was concerned about the arts sphere as a whole. 'The entire situation is having a profound impact on the arts community, and creating pressures' on both artists and individual philanthropists, he said. 'It has a ripple effect through the entire ecosystem.' BOSTON LYRIC OPERA Advertisement 617-542-6772, CELEBRITY SERIES OF BOSTON 617-482-2595, A.Z. Madonna can be reached at
Boston Globe
26-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
‘The Center Will Not Hold' brims with creative energy
Advertisement Dorrance, a MacArthur Fellow, founded Dorrance Dance in 2011; this weekend marks the fifth time Global Arts Live has brought her company to Boston. Dorrance and Bessie Award winner Asherie met in 2004, when both were teaching at Broadway Dance Center, Dorrance tap, Asherie breaking. Asherie's 'Odeon' was the Celebrity Series's first event at New England Conservatory's Plimpton Shattuck Black Box Theatre in the fall of 2018, and she was part of the company that presented Dorrance's 'SOUNDspace' at the ICA in 2023. 'The Center Will Not Hold' begins with the sounds of percussion before the curtain rises to reveal John Angeles seated at a tabletop instrument. Silhouetted against a blue-lit industrial backdrop with towering stepladder, he bangs out the opening three minutes of a sophisticated rhythmic score that combines his live performance with commissioned music from Donovan Dorrance, Michelle's younger brother. The lights dim and then come up on Asherie and Dorrance standing side by side. Wearing sneakers and more or less staying in place, they react individually to the music while staying in touch with each other. They seem to be asking how we relate through movement. The center just about holds. Advertisement That's the theme for the rest of the hour, as Kathy Kaufmann's lighting cues the emotional shifts. To music that at times resonates with pain, the dancers, all in black and sneakers, line up facing the audience and move in agitated jerks and pops, exchanging positions, suggesting brief solos, a fraught ensemble wary of one another. Angeles, who otherwise is visible upstage left behind a percussion kit, comes forward and is flanked by Manon Bal and Tomoe 'Beasty' Carr, their arms gesticulating frantically; it's as if he were there to keep the two women apart. Dorrance, now in tap shoes, engages in a furious battle with Angeles and his ambulatory percussion, each in turn driving the other back. Matthew 'Megawatt' West crabwalks, handstands, headstands, and serves up eye-popping floorwork while Ron Myles circles warily; for a moment they face off. Donnetta 'Lil Bit' Jackson does an explosive solo in front of the group, which then moves to shield her from the eyes of the audience. Halfway through, there's a kind of intermezzo where Angeles, Dorrance, and Eriko Jimbo sit at the percussion table and bang it with their hands, fusing music and dance. Bal and Carr confront each other again before the men intervene and produce a truce of sorts. Asherie and West reprise the piece's opening duet. Then Asherie and Dorrance turn that up a notch, Asherie showing exquisite control in ghostly, slow-motion spinning while Dorrance shadows and finally circles her with frenetic tapping. Advertisement Dancers move in and out of spotlights as if dodging unfriendly eyes; then the lighting brightens and we get brief animated solos from Jimbo, Virgil 'Lil O' Gadson, West, Bal, and Carr, the latter two still eyeing each other. Jackson, Myles, and Michael Manson Jr. 'tap' as a trio while Dorrance accompanies them from a distance; the footwork is perfectly matched, but only Dorrance and Jackson actually have tap shoes on. The center now is a hybrid of tap and breaking, the two street forms indistinguishable. Angeles brings the piece to a close by leaving his percussion kit and joining in, his clapping and body-slapping now the only audible sound. Community restored, all 11 performers stomp and clap, making their own music, dancers indistinguishable from the music as well as from the dance. 'The Center Will Not Hold: A Dorrance Dance Production' Created and directed by Ephrat Asherie and Michelle Dorrance. Performed by Dorrance Dance. Presented by Global Arts Live. At: Emerson Cutler Majestic Theatre, Friday April 25. Remaining performance: April 26. Tickets $66-$94. 617-876-4275, Jeffrey Gantz can be reached at
Boston Globe
23-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
In a Dorchester skating rink, a lesson in ballet choreography from a pair of former dancers
Accompanied by percussionist Roderick Jackson, Robinson and Machanic patiently took an enthusiastic crowd of children, teens, adults, and seniors through the three soulful acts of 'Revelations,' set to passionate spirituals that the performers could sing along to. Advertisement As they demonstrated the evocative movements, Robinson and Machanic also shared historical facts about Ailey's inspirations for 'Revelations,' rooted in his experiences growing up in Black churches in Texas. When the afternoon drew to a close, Machanic awarded T-shirts and prizes to participants who could recall some of these facts. The dance theater and Boston arts nonprofit Celebrity Series have been in partnership for nearly 60 years, but this year is the first to see more than one community educational event, according to Shaumba-Yandje Dibinga, founder of OrigiNation Cultural Arts Center in Boston and program manager for the 'Revelations' event. 'We normally do one, but we did four this year,' Dibinga said. 'Renee and Amos are legends. They led three back-to-back workshops yesterday and their energy never changed, they're spectacular.' The addition of three community events meant that around a thousand people in total were able to attend, Dibinga said. Machanic said that hosting more events meant fulfilling the vision of Ailey himself, who believed 'dance came from the people and that it should always be delivered back to the people.' Courtney Boston, the event's emcee, emphasized the importance of hosting these workshops in predominantly Black neighborhoods of greater Boston. 'We didn't want to have these events in Seaport or anywhere that our people might not have access to,' Boston said. 'We're right here in our neighborhoods and our backyards.' Advertisement Boston was pleased by the event's inclusivity of people from all walks of life, including those with dance backgrounds and those without. 'It was awesome. There's people being centered in Black culture today, using music and dance and arts to bring people together,' she said. 'I'm not a dancer, but they had me moving.'
