Archive for the ‘dance’ Category
AIR Tour
Our recently launched website, Arts Incubator of the Rockies (AIR), has been growing rapidly—now incorporating almost 600 members. The website includes a variety of great resources designed for all artists and art-based organizations, not only for inspiration and motivation, but also for connecting and succeeding. This regional arts incubator is a wonderful opportunity for artists to utilize many tools in one convenient website.
Recently, we have added a helpful and comprehensive website tour to the homepage. This tour, guided by our own Executive Director, Beth Flowers, walks viewers through the website features and functionality. If you have never visited the website before, have casually browsed it, or have recently become a member, this tour is the perfect chance to learn the power of the website and how to use it.
We are still in the midst of our membership drive and are recruiting as many people as possible. There is no force to commit. Though paid members have access to more features and benefits, free memberships still include a great base of available resources. So please, visit the website, and take the tour to help get you immersed in AIR.
Holidays of the Arts
The holiday season is upon us once again. The cold weather has finally come out of hiding, helping the transition into the winter months. Old Town is glimmering with a mass of glowing lights, familiar holiday drinks have returned to menus across town, and often, this cold time of the year brings warmth through traditions and the spirit of the season.
As many people are building our local economy by shopping at local stores, may we not forget about our wonderful arts scene, which can be a wonderful option to indulge in the spirit of the holidays. Many arts organizations feature holiday shows, including the CSU University Center for the Arts’ production A Christmas Story, Canyon Concert Ballet’s The Nutcracker, Bas Bleu Theatre’s Almost Maine, and Opera Fort Collins’ Gift of the Magi. The opportunity to enjoy and support the arts during this holiday season is invaluable.
Sharing time with friends and family is a large part of many people’s traditions and what better occasion to create memories than attending the multitude of fantastic, spirit boosting, arts events in Fort Collins.
The Wild Goose
The feeling of dancing with a partner whose identity is sealed behind a mask could be described as mysterious and exhilarating. The chance to partake in such an experience is this coming Saturday, October 27th, at The Wild Goose Masquerade Ball! Inhibitions are lowered when we are in disguise, so what a perfect opportunity to waltz, swing, tango, and polka your way to a delightfully elegant and wonderful evening. Live music will be provided by the 50-piece Mostly Strauss Orchestra, which will not only help set the mood for the ball, but offer for a most memorable experience.
The ball will be filled with costumed participants from the most exotic to the tastefully sophisticated; it is up to you what “look” you may focus on. Attire is formal, semi-formal, or ethnic. Friends of Traditional Dance is hosting this elegant event in the CSU Lory Student Center Main Ballroom at 7:30 p.m. For more information, please visit the website.
More Salsa, Please!
Salsa dancing at the Rio has been a local tradition for folks looking to spice up their Tuesday night, and for those who haven’t attended one of these sessions, you’re missing out! Each session of Salsa dancing, hosted by The Rhythm Company, begins with a mini lesson, starting at 7:30 p.m., with some of the basics to help get participants dancing in no time.
The comfortable and fun atmosphere makes for an exciting night of dancing. You can bring a someone with you but there are usually plenty of willing partners to dance with if you come on your own.
After attending the mini lesson or if you are already an expert in Salsa, a DJ plays a variety of zesty melodies to dance to, from 8:00 to 10:30 p.m., so you can show off your new moves.
The Rhythm Company also hosts Swing dancing at Old Town Yoga every Saturday evening! For more information, please visit their website.
October is Arts and Humanities Month
October is National Arts and Humanities Month. The arts are a significant entity in our families, community, and hearts. Not only do the arts entertain us, they inspire us and make the world a brighter, more vibrant place. Art is a vast presence in our daily lives, and deserves the appreciation of its many supporters. Many of us are hobbyists, enthusiasts, or even artists, and we can agree that the arts play a unique role in shaping our community.
This month-long event gives us an excuse to add some extra events to our list of those to attend this month. However, celebrating doesn’t have to mean going to events. It can be as easy being a regular advocate by spreading general love of the arts to others, or even enjoying art related activities with your family, like listening to music, reading, dancing, or drawing. The degree and nature of our celebration is up to each individual, but regardless, let us take the time to commemorate and explore our arts culture in October.
Digital Con Brio
Despite construction closures and tremendous traffic jams, people came out to the streets Friday night to hear a variety of Streetmosphere musicians. This was the first weekend of the summer where the majority of performers have been musical, with Susan K. Dailey being the only visual artist on the lineup.
People loved the unique sounds of the four musical groups: MDT 3, the Steve Johnson Group, the Fort Collins Four Tuba Quartet, and the String Quartet Con Brio.
I’ve already written about the Fort Collins Four Tuba Quartet and the Steve Johnson Group, but MDT 3 and the String Quartet Con Brio deserve some attention.
Enthusiastic Streetmosphere Fan!
Branden Sipes performing with Streetmosphere, photograph taken by Tim Van Schmidt
Tim Van Schmidt is a craftsman, and a freelance writer and photographer. He specializes in writing about contemporary music on the local and national level. An experienced writer, Van Schmidt wrote for The Coloradoan as the music columnist, for the Fort Collins Forum as the entertainment columnist, as well as edited for Scene Magazine, of which he is a co-founder. Since then, Van Schmidt has been publishing his writing and photographs online.
Van Schmidt’s photography career really blossomed because of his writing. When attending concerts to write a review, he was always asked, “Do you also want a photo pass?” Since then, he has photographed many artists, such as Clapton, Springsteen, U2 – and of course our Streetmosphere performers!
Tim followed the end of the 2011 Streetmosphere program and photographed eight of the performers in Old Town. This year, Van Schmidt says that “checking up on Streetmosphere is a regular part of my summer!!” He has photographed twenty-two of our artists so far in both our downtown and Front Range Village locations.
Live music is what keeps Van Schmidt ticking, and Fort Collins doesn’t disappoint. Out of the hundreds of cities he has visited, he says that “Fort Collins has gone way beyond the average city.” Our city provides programs like Noontime Notes in Oak Street Plaza, concerts in Old Town square, FOCOMX, Bohemian Nights at New West Fest, and of course Streetmosphere to promote live music and its native artists.
Van Schmidt enjoys the diversity and accessibility Streetmosphere offers and says that “it would be a crime not to take advantage of what is offered in so much abundance.”
Dancing is Encouraged
Sawmill performing in front of Cache Bank this Saturday.
There is just something about old-timey music that makes people want to dance, and Sawmill’s music is no different. The duo set up on the corner of Mountain and College, in front of Cache Bank, last Saturday night where they were met with an enthusiastic crowd who, you guessed it, couldn’t help but stop and dance.
The banjo and fiddle pair consists of Beth and Eric, who have casually been playing music together for three years, but only formed Sawmill about a year ago. In previous years, Beth and Eric attended Streetmosphere as spectators, but decided this year it would be fun to audition and here they are!
Sawmill draws in crowds with a fun, relaxed set, encouraging people to interact and dance along. The duo’s laidback attitude helps to create a carefree performance environment where people can just enjoy themselves and have a good time.
Sawmill will be performing at both the downtown and south locations of Streetmosphere all summer long. For more information about the band, including a schedule of their upcoming performances, check out their website.
To find out more about the Streetmosphere artists and schedules, be sure to check out our Facebook page or our website. While you’re there, be sure to take our survey to let us know what you think for a chance to win a prize! And don’t forget, while you’re at next week’s event, pick up a guidebook to learn more about the sponsors that make Streetmosphere possible!
A Variety of Visuals
HalfMoon Arts
All of Streetmosphere’s performers are impressive. The musicians invoke spontaneous dancing by people walking past. The dancers draw huge crowds of people to watch and participate. But the visual artists often don’t receive the recognition they deserve. They sit quietly in front of their project for hours, painting, drawing, carving or sewing, and occasionally stop to chat with a passerby. Their craft doesn’t gather as much attention as the noisy musicians or the lively dancers, but the visual artists are just as important to Streetmosphere’s success as any.
Among the performers of this past weekend, some notable visual artists deserve some attention. These visual artists include HalfMoon Arts, Art on Mountain, and Chris Bates.
HalfMoon Arts is an arts apprenticeship program for youth ages 13 to 21. The youth who participate in Streetmosphere all design, carve, and paint totem poles in Oak Street Plaza. They begin with a log that has been flattened on one side. The artists must first shave down the surface of the log until it becomes smooth. Then they draw out their design in pencil on the log and begin carving into the wood. Once it has been carved to their liking, they paint it, mount it, and add any additional features—one of the artists added a tiny strand of lights to her totem pole. The artists can then opt to sell their work to the public and generate a small income.
Viewsic Art Entertains in Old Town Square
The motto for Streetmosphere is, “Expect surprise around every corner,” and the group, Viewsic Art, represents that to a T. Viewsic combines beautiful music and singing, with the artistic stylings of Streetmosphere solo artist, Chris Bates, for an overall unique performance.
Set up in Old Town Square this past Sunday, Viewsic Art drew in a crowd of curious bystanders. Some members of the crowd danced, clapped or sang along to the music, while others stopped to admire Chris’ artwork. Whatever they did, the audience as a whole was completely captivated by the performance.
