text only
Hancher Auditorium
University of Iowa
Iowa City, Iowa 52242
Order tickets online here.
Call the Box Office
at 319/335-1160
or 1-800-HANCHER
Click here to unsubscribe from the Hancher newsletter.
In This Issue
April (and a smidgen of March) at Hancher
• Because we trust them—The Ying Quartet and Tod Machover
• Good luck movin’ up ‘cuz we’re… Movin’ Out
• Revelations and more—Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
• Woven Harmony—Robert and Rebecca Bluestone
• “America’s greatest quartet,” plus one—Emerson String Quartet with Wu Han
• “They earned every second of the long standing ovation!”—audience comments on the Hancher blog
Ying Quartet and Tod Machover
Saturday, March 29, 7:30 pm
We’re the first to admit that this concert is challenging to describe. But we’re quite confident it will prove to be a joy both to hear and to see!
Here’s what our artistic director, Judy Hurtig, has to say about the project:
When you trust musicians enough to tell them to use their concert as “an opportunity to try something new, something you’ve never done before and, oh by the way, please let us know what that will be,” you have to expect the information will be slow in coming. After many discussions, the Ying Quartet and composer Tod Machover have put together a terrific concert for March 29. I promise that it will innovative – and very beautiful!
FEATURING
• Visualizing Music—the audience both hears and sees the music
• Machover’s composition, …but not simpler…, embedded with music from Beethoven to the Beatles
Hancher Extras with Ying Quartet and Tod Machover
Thursday, March 27, 10 am
The members of the Ying Quartet will be interviewed live by Barney Sherman on KSUI (91.7 FM or www.ksui.uiowa.edu)Friday, March 28, 12:30-1:30 pm, Harper Hall in the Voxman Music Building on the UI Campus
Master class: A student quartet will play and be coached followed by a presentation
Movin’ Out
Friday, April 4, 7:30 pm
Saturday, April 5, 2 & 7:30 pm
Sunday, April 6, 2 pm
Movin’ Out is a hit everywhere it plays! Here are the raves from road:
“Movin’ Out is fantastic! Billy Joel and Twyla Tharp are a match made in musical heaven. Don’t miss it!”—Joyce Kulhawik, WBZ-TV (CBS) Boston
“Movin’ Out is flat-out brilliant. Who will it appeal to? Anyone who loves Joel’s albums. Ditto for those who love dance. While I’m at it, let’s include anyone with a pulse.”—Nicole Peradotto, Buffalo News
“Deeply moving, breathtakingly exhilarating, inventively theatrical! The supercharged passion of Movin’ Out hits the theater with the full-blown energy of a rock concert!”—Robert Hurwitt, San Francisco Chronicle
“Plan to be struck speechless by the movement and music of a jukebox heart beating in a Broadway soul. Movin’ Out is brilliant theater, dance, concert, you name it.”—Jennifer Barrs, Tampa Tribune
“A must see! Movin’ Out isn’t just a Broadway show, it’s a life force.”—Jackie Demaline, Cincinnati Enquirer
"Movin’ Out is a moving, dazzling piece! Fans of Joel's chameleonic music will love it.
The sensual interplay of the show’s sexy women and macho men raise the temperature in the theater!"—Christine Dolen, Miami Hearld
Hear the original Broadway cast album here: http://www.rhapsody.com/billyjoel/movinout (free plug-in required)
Details on special opening night prices (plus a post-show reception) for UI students here: www.hancher.uiowa.edu/movin’
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
JUDITH JAMISON, Artistic Director
Masazumi Chaya, Associate Artistic Director
Tuesday and Wednesday, April 8 and 9, 7:30 pm
Great for families!
It’s no small matter to get the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater to come to town.
Easily one of—if not the—most popular modern dance companies in the world, AAADT has a full calendar with dates around the country and around the globe. But we simply had to have them back for our 35th anniversary season (which just happens to coincide with the company’s 50th anniversary) and so we made it happen.
The program includes Ailey’s masterwork, Revelations, which is perhaps the most beloved work in the history of modern dance.
You don’t want to miss it.
Program (text from AlvinAiley.org where video previews of the works are available):
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater at 50: A Golden Anniversary Celebration
Film produced and directed by Amanda Rogers and Stephen Mann.Love Stories
Love Stories, Judith Jamison’s dynamic collaboration with hip-hop pioneer Rennie Harris and modern dance maverick Robert Battle, was inspired by Sankofa, the Akan word which means "go back" (Sanko) and "take" (fa). Music by Stevie Wonder.
Solo
Hans van Manen divides his kinetic Solo among three dancers in a tour de force work that challenges the Ailey men's daring agility and grace. This explosive display of virtuosity and wit launches the men into an exhilarating whirlwind of movement and musicality. The San Francisco Examiner declared that Solo, “epitomizes dance at its essence.”Vespers
Ulysses Dove's bold choreographic voice and daring athleticism are embodied by the phenomenal Ailey women in Vespers, a dramatic work full of raw energy and profound grace. Mikel Rouse's percussive score matches the dancers’ insistent drive as they propel themselves across the stage in this ballet that The Village Voice proclaimed “astonishing an exemplary vehicle for six Ailey women, showing off their streamlined power and how coldly they can burn.”Revelations
Alvin Ailey said that one of America’s richest treasures was the cultural heritage of the African-American—“sometimes sorrowful, sometimes jubilant, but always hopeful.” This enduring classic is a tribute to that heritage and to Ailey’s genius. Using African-American religious music—spirituals, song-sermons, gospel songs and holy blues—this suite fervently explores the places of deepest grief and holiest joy in the soul.
Robert and Rebecca Bluestone, Woven Harmony
Saturday, April 12, 7:30 pm
We invite you to a very beautiful, very unusual concert. Robert Bluestone is a classical guitarist; Rebecca Bluestone is a weaver. Together they will immerse the audience in two distinct, but harmonized, kinds of beauty as well as a conversation about the healing power of music and creativity.
After Rebecca was diagnosed with breast cancer, she took up weaving. She and Robert are convinced that their creative endeavors carried them through the most difficult passages of their of lives. The Bluestone’s concert culminates a one-week residency centered around the Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.
Several of Rebecca’s works will be displayed in the Hancher lobby during late March and early April.
Emerson String Quartet with Wu Han
Sunday, April 13, 2 pm
Time calls the Emerson String Quartet “America’s greatest quartet.” Add fiery pianist Wu Han and you have a quintet that makes musical sparks fly. Each of these musicians is fully engaged in the music and able to impart emotion to the audience. Previous Iowa City appearances are still spoken of in awed tones. Be a part of the next round of buzz.
PROGRAM
Franz Schubert • String Quartet in A Minor, op. 29, no. 1, D804
Leos Janacek • String Quartet No. 2 (“Intimate Letters”)
Robert Schumann • Piano Quintet in E-flat Major, op. 44
Hancher Extra with violinist Eugene Drucker
Saturday, April 12, 4 pm, Prairie Lights Bookstore
Drucker will read from his book, The Savior: A Novel.
Here’s what the audience is saying…
See more on the Hancher blog!
“Wonderful to get to experience seeing world class dancers, especially Nina Ananiashvili. Thank you for attracting such incredible talent to Iowa City. They earned every second of the long standing ovation!”
