 |
Angkor Dance Troupe |
 |
String of Words, 2004, mixed media collage by Karen Shaw |
New in the Fine Arts Center
Great Performances
Clad in rich velvet, glittering sequins, silk and gold, with snug-fitting pointed hats, the Cambodian dancers of Angkor Dance Troupe will grace the Fine Arts Center Concert Hall on Friday, Feb. 11 at 8 p.m. A feast for the eyes in their stillness, the dancers expand the magic as they move. This inspiring event is held in cooperation with the URI Jazz and World Music Festival.
The Jacques Thibaud String Trio continues the Great Performances series on Feb. 25 at 8 p.m., with special guest flutist Susan Thomas. Among the selections to be performed by this unique trio, without score or music stand in sight, is Mozart’s Flute Quartet in D Major.
Tickets are $15 for the general public, $12 for URI faculty, staff and seniors, and $5 for students. For more information, call 401-874-ARTS.
Theatre
URI Theatre leads off its spring performances with a presentation of Les Liaisons Dangereuses, a complex tale of the moral ambiguities of seduction and revenge. As one reviewer wrote, “the play’s irresistible appeal lies in the shocking contrast between evil, malice, pride and vanity, and the beautiful, polished exterior of civilized elegance.” Based on the novel by Choderlos de Laclos and directed by URI lecturer Alan Hawkridge, the play will be performed in the Fine Arts Center’s J Studio Feb.17-19 and 23-26 at 8 p.m. and Feb. 20 at 5 p.m. Tickets are $12 for the general public and $10 for students, seniors and children. For more information, call the box office at 401-874-5843.
Music
This year’s Jazz and World Music Festival will be held Feb. 3-13 and includes seven separate concerts, led off by the URI student jazz combos on Feb. 3 at 7:30 p.m. and the student jazz ensembles on Feb. 4 at 8 p.m. The jazz combos perform again on Feb. 5 at 8 p.m. with special guests V. Majestic providing improvisational soundscapes, and again on Feb. 10 at 7:30, joined by local high school bands. The Angkor Dance Troupe performs Feb. 11 at 8 p.m. as part of the Great Performances series (see above).
On Feb. 12 at 8 p.m., the URI Honors Big Band performs with guest vibraphonist Jay Hoggard. The festival concludes Feb. 13 at 7 p.m. with the ska-jazz group Eastern Standard Time. For more information about these and other Department of Music performances, call 401-874-2431.
Art
The Main Gallery opened the new year with two intriguing and complementary exhibitions presented simultaneously. One, a collaborative work in progress called “From the Error Engine: Experiments in Self-Evolving Narrative,” is an interactive installation by writer Judd Morrissey, digital artist Lori Talley, and computer scientist Lutz Hamel.“’The Error Engine’ is a tool for the development of self-evolving narrative, a system designed to create performances in language that are authored collaboratively by humans and machines,” said the artists.
The related exhibition, “Body Language,” is a predominantly sculptural elaboration of a number/value/letter-based system by artist Karen Shaw. “My work is about coding and decoding, finding the unexpected in mundane materials,” she said. The exhibits run through Mar. 6
In the Corridor Gallery through Mar. 1 is a special exhibit, “Directions in Contemporary Printmaking,” which culls selections from four portfolios of accomplished and innovative graphic work by a cross-section of 25 RISD students and faculty members. A gallery talk with artist Sarah Hartman will be held Feb. 7 at noon.
The Photography Gallery features “Beyond Black & White” by photographer Jonathan Bailey, who uses a photographic process called split-toning to create visually arresting, variegated coloration to dramatically alter the character of black and white photographs. Through March 10.
