Madison Pops on July 4th 33rd Annual Concert on the Madison Green

Susan Yankee

Eric Dillner

This year’s Concert on the Madison Green, sponsored by Madison Cultural Arts, will be held Saturday, July 4th, beginning with the Shoreline Youth Symphony Orchestra at 5:00pm and a favorite Caribbean band, Moto, performing  at 6:15pm.

At 7:00pm, Philip Ventre (Madison’s own) and The Wallingford Symphony Orchestra will present July Pops, including Mezzo Soprano Susan Yankee and Tenor Eric Dillner to sing classics from Sound of Music (50th anniversary) and My Fair Lady. In addition, there will be themes from James Bond, Downton Abbey and Mad Men (and others), a beautiful waltz, Sibelius’ Finlandia, John Williams and many more . . . plus all the favorite patriotic music to begin and end the concert.
Featured vocalist Susan Yankee has performed at Carnegie Hall and at venues across the country. Eric Dillner began his career as a tenor with the New York City Opera and currently is the CEO/Executive Director of Shoreline Arts Alliance. Philip Ventre is the Symphony founder and has led the Symphony for the past 41 years. He is on the faculty at Choate Rosemary Hall. (This performance will be repeated on Sunday, July 5 at Choate Rosemary Hall).

Admission to the performance on the Madison Green is free, but there are also limited reserved ticket areas on the lawn in front of the stage for patrons who donate $70 or more. Because this special concert is funded predominantly by patron donations for the reserved area and also by passing the hat at the concert, private support is the only way that this wonderful event continues each year. All donations are welcome! In addition to the reserved area, patrons are guaranteed rainy-day seats in Brown Middle School Auditorium for the first 300 patrons.

To buy patron tickets click here.

Let's Tango!

Connecticut Tango Festival was established by Dale Ellison and Gem Duras in 2008, with a mission to introduce Argentine Tango to new enthisuasts and increase its popularity in Connecticut. The main venue of the festival is the Milford Arts Council, which sponsors the annual Tango Passion Show, as well as the majority of the classes, workshops and Milongas - Argentine Tango social events. Each year various activites take place throughout the state, in Milford, Norwalk, Danbury, Stamford, Hartford, Middletown and New Haven among others.

The festival which takes place July 10 - 19 this year presents an Argentine Tango Boot Camp for beginners, intermediate and advanced workhsops with invited Argentine guests focusing specific tango topics. Recent guests include such important names as Oscar Mandagaran and Genrgina Vargas, Los Totis, Pablo Nievas and Valeria Zunino, Pablo Velez and Daniela Kizyma, Carolina Jaurena and Diego Blanco, Victoria Sarquisse and Federico Jorquera. The opening weekend will feature Opening Milonga in Middletown on Friday, July 10 and  Tango Sueno Milonga in Stamford on Saturday, July 11.

The annual Tango Passion Show in the past years has included Latin Grammy Winner bandoneonist Raul Jaurena, singer Marga Mitchell, Grammy Nominee Emilio Solla and bandoneonist JP Jofre in 2014 and 2011.

The CT Tango Weekend, which takes place each March, complements the festival by mostly focusing on the Boot Camp for beginners to introduce new dancers to the Connecticut tango communities. Read more and event schedule...

For Full Event Schedule click here.

Third Annual Dance for Peace

Artists for World Peace, a nonprofit organization founded in 2003, promotes peace by feeding, housing, educating and providing healthcare to the most vulnerable,and lifting communitites to a place of hope. 

Through its global family of artists and activists, AFWP is becoming a recognized catalyst for peace and self-sufficiency by providing replicable, sustainable humanitarian projects – one community at a time.

Artists for World Peace raises funds through making art to support grass-roots organizations in communities around the world

This year’s Dance for Peace on June 27 at the Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center in Old Saybrook will benefit the Dr. Yoram Kaufmann Scholarship Fund. 
Artists for World Peace established this fund in 2009 with the goal of spreading peace through artistic expression and education. The fund provides scholarships to students who are currently majoring in the arts and are in need of financial assistance. Named in memory of Dr. Yoram Kaufmann, a life long supporter of education,this scholarship will eventually support the education of children around the globe.

Eight celebrated local and regional dance companies will be featured, as well as the International Peace Belt. Since 2003, the Peace Belt has traveled to over twenty-eight countries on five continents, and has been work during hundreds of artistic performances and sacred ceremonies. Buy tickets now and join Artists  for World Peace as they celebrate the creative spirit in the name of peace.

Performers:

Ekklesia Contemporary Ballet 

Elizabeth McMillan began her ballet training with the Alabama Dance Theater in Montgomery. At the age of thirteen, she was accepted into Houston Ballet’s Ben Stevenson Academy in the pre- professional division, and Houston’s High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. McMillan was promoted to the professional division of Houston Ballet Academy and placed on a full merit scholarship while performing with the Houston Ballet. Her other training includes Joffrey Ballet and USA International Ballet Competition School. In 2000, she joined Ballet Magnificat!, touring nationally and internationally with the main company for seven years—performing in Greece, Singapore, Costa Rica, and the Czech Republic—in addition to the USA International Ballet Competition Gala in Jackson, MS and most major cities across the United States. In 2006, she accepted a position as Adjunct Professor of Dance at Belhaven University; two years later she was promoted to the full-time faculty position of Specialty Instructor of Dance. McMillan is the Founding Director of Belhaven University’s Dance Ministry Ensemble. She has served on the faculty of Houston Ballet’s Ben Stevenson Academy, the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, Ad Deum Dance Company, Yale Ballet, and as Ballet Mistress for Houston Metropolitan Dance Company and Point Park University’s International Summer Dance Program in Pittsburgh, PA. McMillan served as Shoreline Principal with New Haven Ballet for three years and was named Assistant Choreographer for New Haven Ballet’s 2012 production of The Nutcracker. She has also choreographed two original works for New Haven Ballet Company. McMillan is currently on the faculty of The Hartt School, University of Hartford.  McMillan has performed corps de ballet and leading roles in such classical ballets as The Nutcracker, Les Sylphides, Giselle, Paquita, Coppelia, and Cinderella. She has also performed original works by choreographers Jiri Sebastian Voborsky, Kathy Thibedeaux, Randall Flinn, Caleb Mitchell, Stephen Wynne, Trey McIntyre, Priscilla Nathan Murphy, and Ben Stevenson. Many of her former students are pursuing professional careers in dance with reputable companies around the world and have received acceptance to some of the nations leading university dance programs, including Ailey/Fordham University, University of North Carolina School of the Arts, SUNY Purchase College, Southern Methodist University, University of Arizona, Indiana University, Point Park University, and The Juilliard School. McMillan is an ABT® Certified Teacher, who has successfully completed the ABT® Teacher Training Intensive in Primary through Level 3 of the ABT® National Training Curriculum. She received her certification in September 2012. McMillan was appointed Artistic Director of Ekklesia Contemporary Ballet in the fall of 2013. She is delighted to move the company forward in its Artistic Vision and Mission.
www.ekklesiacontemporaryballet.com

Rivka “La Azucumba” Isskandreyya is a dancer hailing from Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn. She has been studying the art of “Belly Dance” for over a decade and continues to study with master teachers throughout the NYC area. Rivka has studied extensively with world renowned artists such as Ariana Halima Al Tiye and Dalia Carella. She has also studied with Azza Amon, Nourhan Sharif (NYC), Najmat, Miever De La Cruz, Johara (Boston), Portia (Miami), and has taken workshops with Madam Raqia Hassan, Mohammed Shahin (Egypt), Karim Nagi (Boston), Lotus Naraja and many more. Rivka taught a workshop in Costa Rica and has previously taught in Brooklyn dance centers. Rivka was a member in the Johara Snake Dance Theatre troupe in Boston, and a member of the DREAM TEAM in NYC. Her dance repertoire also includes Afro Latin dances such as Rumba and Samba, as well as other African based dances. Rivka is currently available to teach both private and group classes, create choreographies and perform at your next event!

Elm City
Contemporanea is a work conceived by Lindsey Bauer with musical direction by Olushola Cole. It is a piece inspired by the Brazilian martial art of Capoeira, which incorporates elements of the art form with dance and music. A dynamic perspective, Contemporanea allows audiences to see where Capoeira lives in dance. Lindsey Bauer is the Programming Director of Elm City Dance Collective, a non-profit organization that provides an experiential and collaborative approach to dance creation, education and performance. She is a dance artist, educator and choreographer. Lindsey is a member of the Cooperative Arts and Humanities High School dance faculty, and trains in Capoeira at Raça em Movimento with Mestre Efraim Silva. Her choreography has been presented in and around the northeast and in Arizona. Most recently, Lindsey has danced with/for artists such as Olushola Cole, Kellie Ann Lynch and Adejoke Tugbiyele. She has an MFA from Arizona State University and a BFA from Towson University.
Dancers

Lindsey Bauer

Olushola Cole

Michael Eskridge

Wilfred Hernandez

Luis Antonio Rodriguez

www.elmcitydance.org



Island Reflections Dance Theater Company
www.islandreflections.org
Island Reflections Dance Theatre Company (I.R.D.T.C.) is a Hartford-based dance company that provides training for emerging artists throughout Connecticut ranging in age from 3 to adult. The educational mission of IRDTC is to nurture and cultivate students who have a desire and passion for the various areas of the performing arts.  Professionally trained instructors deliver the curriculum, cultivating students with excellence in a variety of dance forms, music and theater techniques. Under the brilliant artistic direction of Stephen Hankey, the Company continues to flourish and educate the community about modern, Caribbean Folk, and other traditional dance forms.  Mr. Hankey’s choreography is an extraction of the African experience with indigenous Indian, European and Asian influences representative of the colonization and social history of the Caribbean.  IRDTC Company members have made a name for themselves, performing original dance works at such prestigious locations as the Wadsworth Atheneum, the  Katherine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center, and Hartford’s own Bushnell Performing Arts Center.  Their vibrant and colorful performances are more than just dance; Island Reflections beautifully tells stories which pay homage to ancestors and cultures worldwide through dance theater.




Lenard Foust is a Dance Education Major at CCSU— after transferring from WCSU where he studied musical theatre.  He is presently teaching various forms of dance and movement concepts in affiliation with CCSU FDC models, Lincoln Elementary, and DFX Entertainment Company. He dances professionally in the entertainment industry. Lenard began his ballet and modern dance training with the Albano Ballet Company, as well as Dancentral. His strong passion and dedication motivates him to continue to pursue his career in the dance world.





Sonia Plumb Dance Company
http://www.soniaplumbdance.org
Sonia Plumb Dance Company was formed in Hartford, Connecticut in 1990.

Since then, the Company has performed throughout the Northeast in self-promoted concerts and adjudicated showcases including: “Connecticut Dance Alliance;” “Connecticut Choreographers’ Forum;” “A New Generation of Dance” at SUNY Purchase, New York; “New Dance/New Haven;” “Dance Services Network Choreographers’ Showcase;” “International Festival of Arts and Ideas” and the Special Olympics in New Haven and First Night in Hartford. The Company’s “Dare to Dance” community arts program has brought them to many underserved minorities, seniors and youth audiences. In 2000 and 1996 Artistic Director Sonia Plumb received the Connecticut Commission on the Arts Choreographers’ Fellowship for Artistic Excellence. The Company premiered “Water Wars” at the University of St. Joseph in September 2012, and is currently on the Hartford Performs’ artist roster. Sonia teaches at the Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts in Hartford and recently received a National Artisti Teaching Fellowship from the SURDNA foundation.

 

Coleman School of Dance

“For Malala”
Choreography: Christina Coleman & Sophia Procario-Foley
Music: Max Richter, Drummers of Africa & Mattia Cupelli
Dancers: Sophie McCann, Jennifer O’Garro, Sophia Procario-Foley, Susanna Procario-Foley.

www.ColemanDance.Com






Capoeria
Joel Melendez is an accomplished Capoeirista with an energy for the art that is highly contagious.  Included in his experience, Joel trained with Mestre Efraim Silva for four years, and he has trained with Mestre Pinga Fogo Currently under the supervision of Mestre Pinga Fogo, Joel enjoys training and sharing his knowledge of Capoeira with students of all ages.
Capoeria- A jovial Brazilian martial art that fuses dance, music acrobatics and song.

www.ctcapoeiragbcdo.com






dancEnlight
Lorelei Chang- Artistic Director
dancEnlight’s mission is dedicated to fostering the arts through excellence in dance, education and artistic collaboration in a tapestry of Eastern and Western culture & ideas. dancEnlight strives to enrich the community, enlighten audiences of all ages, and inspire cultural development, locally and globally.
Founded by Lorelei Chang and Mai Nakanishi in 2008, dancEnlight is currently in residence at Connecticut Concert Ballet. dancEnlight is a professional modern dance company that performs in the US & Japan under the direction of Lorelei Chang (US) and Mai Nakanishi (Japan). Ms Chang & Nakanishi draw their inspiration from their Asian background and create cross-cultural works with inventive ideas. Their idea of combining dance and the ancient art form of Chinese calligraphy have uniquely set the company a part from others. Through artistic collaboration, dancEnlight works together with local and global artists to create lasting, high quality works of art that can be embraced by a wide range of audiences.

http://dancenlight.org/

Summer Family Fest at Lyman Allyn Art Museum

The Lyman Allyn Art Museum invites you and your family to celebrate the start of summer at Summer Fest, the Lyman Allyn’s community picnic, on Saturday, June 27 from 11am-5pm. Summer Fest is FREE for everyone and will feature food trucks, live entertainment (amplified, unplugged, performance and participatory), and family friendly activities on the grounds and inside the Museum. In the event of rain, everything but the food trucks will move indoors to the Museum’s galleries, auditorium, and art/dance studio. 

Summer Fest will feature the music of some of the region's most popular performers. The Rivergods will perform their "heartfelt harmony-rich folky/rootsy/rockfish” unique style of music. Bluesman Ramblin' Dan Stevens shares his repertoire of American roots music to classic folk. Ron Murray and Vuelo combine Spanish influences with standards and original compositions featuring 7-string guitar and percussion. Geoff Kauffman will turn his vocal talents to kids' songs with a maritime flair. 

Bring a blanket and explore the grounds of the Lyman Allyn, including the McCourt 9/11 Memorial Garden and our outdoor sculpture trail. Summer Fest volunteers will be on hand for brief tours of our current exhibitions, and kids will enjoy hands-on art activities, the fun of April's Balloon Creations, face painting, the incredible "Don't Burst My Bubble" program from the Children's Museum of Southeastern Connecticut, and animals from the Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center. Bargain shopping opportunities at displays such as New London's own Flavours of Life and the Lyman Allyn Bookstore clearance table will help whet your appetite, which will be more than satisfied by the array of food trucks and beverage carts. 

Thanks to the generosity of a great team of sponsors, admission is free for everyone.

Entertainment Schedule

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11:00am – Explore the grounds of the Lyman Allyn including the McCourt 9/11 Memorial Garden and our sculpture trail

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12:00 – 2:00pm – April Brunelle Balloon Creations

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12:00 – 12:30pm – L’ana Burton dance performance in the garden

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12:30 – 12:50pm – Trish McAvoy yoga in the garden

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1:00pm – Ron Murray & Vuelo: Music with Spanish influences featuring 7-string guitar and percussion

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1:30 – 1:50pm – Trish McAvoy yoga in the garden

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2:00pm – Rivergods: Heartfelt harmony-rich folk/rootsy/rockish music on the front steps

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2:30pm – Stonington Players: Comedy sketch

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3:00pm – Dan Stevens: American roots music and classic folk on the front steps

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3:30pm – Stonington Players: Comedy sketch

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4:00pm – Geoff Kaufman: Children’s songs with a maritime flair in the garden

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Dancing in the Streets of New Haven

This year marks a New Haven first with a dance festival -- “Dancing in the Streets,” on Thursday, June 11, which will celebrate dance in New Haven, featuring performances by New Haven Ballet, Elm City Dance Collective, a capoeira demonstration, free salsa lesson and dancing by Alisa’s House of Salsa, and much more.

New Haven Ballet Artistic Director, Lisa Sanborn, explains, “As a primary cultural and arts center in Connecticut, New Haven is especially rich is its breadth and scope of dance offerings. From classical ballet, tap, and jazz, to ballroom and contemporary dance, to many, various ethnic dance genres and contingencies, New Haven is home to a wide and colorful dance community. We are honored to host this first for New Haven dance festival as a salute to the International Festival of Arts and Ideas, and to celebrate all who enjoy dance – from recreational participants to audiences of all ages.” 

Partnering with New Haven Ballet to make the dance festival possible this year is NeighborWorks America. “As part of NeighborWorks America’s National NeighborWorks Week, we are excited to be a partner in this community building event and are excited to participate in the first annual Dancin’ in the Streets,” states Director of Operations and Programs, Gloribell Lopez.

The dance festival will take place on the New Haven Green at Temple Street between Elm and Chapel Streets, from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. There is no admission charge. New Haven Mayor Toni N. Harp is thrilled to serve as Honorary Chair of this first-ever New Haven Dance Festival and will welcome dance enthusiasts to this celebratory event on Thursday, June 11. 

New Haven Ballet is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and acknowledges the generosity of its devoted patrons and corporation as well as foundation support, including Carolyn Foundation, City of New Haven Arts, Culture & Tourism, Department of Economic and Community Development, Ethel & Abe Lapides Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, NewAlliance Foundation, The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven, Theresa Foundation, and Withers Bergman LLP.

Alive Inside! Explores the Music & Memory Program

Community Music School, the Alzheimer's Association Connecticut Chapter, and The Kate present a screening of the award-winning documentary film Alive Inside! on Tuesday, June 2 at 7pm. This stirring documentary follows social worker Dan Cohen, founder of the nonprofit organization Music & Memory, as he demonstrates music's ability to combat memory loss and restore a deep sense of self to those suffering from it. Filmmaker Michael Rossato-Bennett chronicles the astonsihing experiences of individuals around the country who have been revitalized through the simple experience oflistening to music. His camera reveals the uniquely human connection we find in music and hos its healing power can triumph where prescription medication falls short.

The evening includes a brief performance by the New Horizons Band - a performing group at CMS comprised of active adults - and post-screening panel discussion with experts in the field of memory loss and music as a therapeutic resource. Panelists include: Shannon J. Kiley, MMT, MT-BC- Music & Memory practitioner - Alzheimer's Resource Center of Connecticut; Susan Ostrowski, MA, MS, SLP-CCC Speech-language pathologist and co-founder of reading2connect; Judy Bahr MSN, RN-BC, CIC-Middlesex Hospital-Geriatric Education Specialist/NICHE Coordinator; Elena Schjavlan, APRN - Keys 2 Memory, LLC-Memory Disorders, Cognitive Imapirment, and Dementia Evaluations; Adele Paxton, MS-Professional and Rehabilitation Counseling, LLB-Hons, Dip. LP in Scots Law, PPRNCM-Singing, ALCM-Singing, Therapeutic Voice Work.

Gala World Premiere of Karyl Evans’ Documentary Film Letter from Italy, 1944: A New American Oratorio Narrated by Meryl Streep

L to R: Nan Meneely, Joseph D'Eugenio, Sarah Meneely-Kyder, Meryl Streep, Karyl Evans

Greater Middletown Chorale will celebrate Flag Day with the World Premiere screening of a moving documentary about PTSD and music, entitled “Letter from Italy, 1944: A New American Oratorio.” The film, by Emmy award-winning documentary filmmaker Karyl Evans and narrated by Academy Award-winning actor Meryl Streep, chronicles the creation of Letter from Italy, 1944 (LFI), which was presented to a standing-room-only audience by GMChorale in April of 2013. The screening of this powerful documentary will begin at 3:30 pm on Sunday, June 14, at the MHS Performing Arts Center, 200 LaRosa Lane, Middletown, CT. There is a suggested donation of $25.

After a recent screening of the documentary for a Yale veterans’ group, Professor Andy Morgan from the University of New Haven commented, “In her film, Karyl Evans achieves something that many filmmakers only aspire to do: She inspires! While letting us share an intimate portrait of the love and the losses created by war in one family, she gives us the opportunity to experience a stunning work of art and to remember that we are not spectators to war and its effects; we are fellow human beings who share the toll exacted by war and who can also find solace and resolution in music and poetry.”

In 2010, Grammy-nominated composer Sarah Meneely-Kyder and her sister, noted poet Nancy Meneely, saw GMChorale’s staged production of Mendelsson’s Elijah, and were so impressed with the performance that they chose GMChorale to bring their music, based on their father’s poetry and war-time love letters to their mother, to the public stage. The oratorio, conceived by the two sisters, is the story of their father, Dr. John Meneely, a medic with the 10th Mountain Division in WWII, who returned home with emotional wounds— what we now term PTSD.

The Chorale commissioned the work, according to Artistic Director Joseph D’Eugenio, to “create something very new and very innovative,” blurring the lines between several genres—opera, choral music and theater—thereby expanding its appeal to a larger audience. The completion of the oratorio resulted from a collaborative effort between Director D’Eugenio and the sisters to create a story line, with the music being composed around the poems, and to decide which pieces would be choruses, arias, duets and trios. Sheila Garvey, who had staged the Chorale’s performance of Elijah, was brought in to operatically stage LFI.

Early on, Karyl Evans (karylevansproductions.com) was approached about the possibility of documenting the preparation and performance of the oratorio and expanding the message of Dr. Meneely’s story, which is also the story of any soldier who goes to war and returns home to struggle with the effects of that experience. The film includes many interviews, including three with WWII veterans from the 10th Mountain Division (two of whom are from CT) who attended the performance and spoke of their military experiences.

The GMChorale-commissioned documentary expresses the Meneely sisters’ hope that writing this oratorio would honor their father’s life, as well as all who go to war and those who wait for them at home. In the words of tenor Jack Anthony Pott, who sang the role of Dr. Meneely, “If this story touches one person, it has done its work.”

The Premiere Gala, GMChorale’s major fund-raiser, will follow this event at 5:30 pm at Wadsworth Mansion, 421 Wadsworth St., Middletown. Join the GMChorale and film celebrities as they gather to celebrate with food, drink and song! Gala admission is $100 per person, which will include the screening of the film. Visit www.gmchorale.org or call 860-316-4854 for information.