An inside guide for week two
By Bruce Mason, Gabriola Sounder
Monday, April 28 2008
Hopefully you have attended at least one Dancing Man event and are looking forward to what’s on tap for the second entertainment-packed week.
First a program note, actually a glitch in the brochure. Switch the events listed for April 28th and the following night.
On Monday evening you will find Foxy at the Roxy, lucky you. Roughly translated that means Roger Christie and good friends, including yourself.
Last time out at his Raspberry’s Jazz Café he and the gang packed the place for two nights running and a very good time was had by all.
Show up at 7 pm and enjoy wine and snacks. Also there will be a tent set up out front for the silent auction to help out Raspberry’s regular, Ian Lowden, who is incurring considerable expense after a lung transplant.
Enjoy - you will find that easy to do - some of the island’s best vocalists and musicians Christie, Leah Hokanson, Evelyn Cerano, Tony Gradanti, Brad Shipley, Andreas Kahre, Saburo and more in an evening of “pop songs and smooth jazz.” Tickets are $15.
Insiders know that another one of the ongoing delights on the Isle of the Arts is Radio After Dark, a local take on the Golden Age of Radio’s ‘theatre of the mind,’ recreated live, complete with sound effects, period costumes and occasional bloopers.
What started out as live performances of classic scripts has been enlarged to include original stories and dialogue.
On Tuesday night, April 29th, in the Surf Lounge the Dancing Man will present the world premier of Bill Miner’s “Seven for a Secret” featuring the playwright, Tony Gradanti, and the always delightful Kathy McIntyre and Tina Jones. The show is at 8 pm; tickets are $10.
Turning your attention to the ArtStart list - wow what a colour - you will see that Dancing Man does just that big time on Saturday and Sunday, May 3rd and 4th.
While faculty members from the Vancouver Tap Dance Society are still on the island after Hoppin at the Haven, Sas Selfjord has arranged for a don’t miss workshop.
True to the society’s mission to educate the public on the art form, the artists are packing up bins and bins of tap shoes, all sizes for youth and adults to deliver three workshops at Agi Hall (note this has changed from the original school location) on Saturday, May 3rd. Classes: 5-8 years, at 9:30 am; 9 and up, at 10:30; adults take their turn at 11:30.
This is a wonderful opportunity to get up close and personal with the artists - who are also among the best teachers in North America - while learning the rudiments of tap dance. Registration forms for tap classes (only $5) and tickets to Hoppin at the Haven ($15) are available at Artworks.
Questions? Call Sas: 247-7197 or email:sasself@shaw.ca.
Later on Saturday, May 3rd, Soasis Sukuweh presents “5Rhythms of Ecstatic Dance” - which is part dance, part meditation practice - to free the body, ignite the heart and calm the mind. The three-hour fund-raiser for Crimson Coast Dance starts at 1 pm at the Community Hall. Tickets are $35.
Still Wanna Dance or talked yourself into thinking you can’t? Ladies and gentlemen, meet Gwen Spinks, dancer and teacher extraordinaire. She will not only introduce you to Western Swing but also the patterns that form the basis for hundreds of dance variations.
No matter what level you are at dance-wise you will take a step up, guaranteed. Tickets are $5 for the lesson which begins at 7:30 at the Surf.
Don’t leave the dance floor. Dinah D and her Contraband Swing Band will take the stage at 9 pm. Tickets are $12, or $15 will get you into the lesson, as well.
Back to the program, quickly, Gabriola-based Cem Zafir - through his Zula Presents - has really enlivened and enriched life throughout the region with ongoing performances from outstanding artists from around the world.
Wednesday, April 30th will be no exception when globally renowned Latif Bolat brings Sufi music to the Roxy for an entertaining evening that will be, as promised: “deeply spiritual and unwaveringly authentic.”
Start off the month of May with our very own Tina Jones and her band at the Surf in an evening that dancers have been waiting for, along with Tina’s fans and folks who can’t get enough of soul, R&B, Hip Hop, Deep House and funky jazz. Tickets are $12.
Last week in the Sounder you read about two very special evenings (Hoppin at the Haven, at 7:30, Friday, May 2nd) and Eric Dozier and the One Family Gospel Choir (also at the Haven, Sunday, May 4th at 7 pm)
Both performances will be thoroughly entertaining, educational and inspiring and are highly recommended. Tickets are $15.
On Friday, May 2nd, the trio, Women in the Round, will perform a rollicking evening of powerhouse folk, part of a phenomena that has swept the world. Tickets are $15.
The next night at the Haven, the Vancouver Community College Jazz Ensemble offers up an evening of mainstream jazz, flavoured with the likes of Charles Mingus and more. Tickets for the 7:30 show are $14.
Don’t forget Kidsfest with the Kerplunks at 11 am at Agi Hall, Sunday, May 4th at 11 am. Take your child and learn how to make a percussion instrument and then march and jam along. It’s free and how!
All tickets at Artworks. While you are there, check out “Light” which kicked off the 2008 Dancing Man Festival and congratulate yourself for supporting live performance on Gabriola.
|
