The Hope College Great Performance Series returns for the 2010-11 season with a range of cultural events highlighting the best in dance, music and theatre.
From the multi-Grammy winning sounds of the Turtle Island Quartet to the New Orleans swing of the Hot 8 Brass Band or the Finnish theatre troupe Circo Aereo, the series features a range of events for everyone.
The series will open on Thursday and Friday, Sept. 30 and Oct. 1, with 7:30 p.m. performances by Deeply Rooted Dance Theater at the Knickerbocker Theatre. Based in Chicago, Ill., the company draws on nationally renowned choreographers focusing on the African-American tradition of dance. The company is known for its energetic performances, and its pieces often delve into current social issues.
On Friday, Oct. 8, at 7:30 p.m., the New Orleans sound of the Hot 8 Brass Band will take the fall chill out of the air at Dimnent Memorial Chapel. The band has been featured on television networks and programs such as CNN and "Nightline," and features a joyous and energetic sound that has made the street musicians become ambassadors of what "The New Yorker" calls "defiant swing."
The Turtle Island Quartet, which took home Grammy awards for Best Classical Crossover in both 2006 and 2008, will perform at Dimnent Memorial Chapel on Friday, Nov. 12, at 7:30 p.m. A fusion of jazz and chamber music, the ensemble is at home in a range of musical styles. "It must have been like this when Beethoven was taking Vienna by storm - the exhilaration of seeing the future of classical music unfold before your eyes and ears," said "The St. Louis Post-Dispatch."
On Thursday, Jan. 27, the Claremont Trio will take the stage at Dimnent Memorial Chapel. Winners of several prestigious awards, the group is the only piano trio to ever win the Young Concert Artists International Auditions. The members have now been performing together for several years and continue to earn praise. "The New York Times" has said that "The Claremont Trio offered an object lesson in how deceiving looks can be. All three musicians are young and petite, yet... they play with an uncommon ferocity." The trio will perform works by Dvorak, Shostakovich and Frank Martin.
The DeWitt Center main theatre will play host to the Finnish theatre troupe Circo Aereo for two performances. The company will perform on Friday, Feb. 25, at 7:30 p.m. and on Saturday, Feb. 26, at 1 p.m. Widely recognized throughout Europe as a pioneer of New Circus, this "theater without words" combines traditional circus arts with cabaret theater, movement and humor. "Le Monde" in France has said that at a performance the company's "intelligence and skill ensure that the stage is filled with magical cameos - half circus, half cabaret."
The season will end on Thursday, March 31, at 7:30 p.m. when the internationally recognized vocal group the Rose Ensemble performs at Dimnent Memorial Chapel. Performing its popular "Music from the Land of Three Faiths," the Rose Ensemble seeks to connect audiences with the past through stories of spirituality and humanity. After one performance, the "The Cleveland Plain Dealer" said that "the audience was mesmerized."
The Deeply Rooted Dance Theater performances are supported by the Performing Arts Fund, a program of Arts Midwest funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, which believes that a great nation deserves great art, with additional contributions from Michigan Council for Arts & Cultural Affairs, General Mills Foundation, and Land O'Lakes Foundation.
Individual and season tickets are now available. Season subscriptions are $63 for adults, $50 for senior citizens and $140 for a family (no matter how many children). The subscriptions are such a savings that they are equivalent to seeing two shows for free. Individual tickets are $18 for regular admission, $13 for senior citizens, and $6 for children 18 and under. Both individual tickets and season subscriptions are available at the Hope College ticket office or by calling (616) 395-7890.
The ticket office is open weekdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and is located in the main lobby of the DeVos Fieldhouse, at 222 Fairbanks Ave., between Ninth and 11th streets.
More information about the season may be obtained online by visiting
https://hope.edu/arts/gps/