October 2, 2003

The Dayton Contemporary Dance Company will perform The Flight Project at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 11 at the Lied Center for Performing Arts.

Dayton dance group to take Flight at Lied

Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, a contemporary dance troupe from Ohio, will present The Flight Project at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 11 at the Lied Center for Performing Arts.

The Flight Project includes four pieces created by leading choreographers, including "Eurydice's Flight," co-commissioned by the Lied Center and choreographed by Jawole Willa Jo Zollar.

"Eurydice's Flight" was inspired by the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice and will be performed to music by Miles Davis. Also being performed as part of The Flight Project will be "On the Wings of Angels," performed to music by John Adams and Steve Reich; Bill T. Jones' piece, "and before . . .", performed to music by Johann Sebastian Bach; and "Sets and Chasers," set to the music of Duke Ellington.

The Dayton Contemporary Dance Company has chosen to celebrate the quest to fly because 2003 marks the 100th anniversary of the Wright Brothers' historic flight, and Orville and Wilbur Wright were natives of Dayton, Ohio.

Founded in 1968 by Jeraldyne Blunden, Dayton Contemporary Dance Company has won national and international acclaim with a diverse repertoire of works by choreographers such as Alvin Ailey. The company holds the world's largest and most comprehensive collection of classic works by African American choreographers. It is also lauded for its educational programming and will present classes and workshops during the company's stay in Lincoln.

At noon on Oct. 7, members of the company will be on hand at the Museum of Nebraska History, 15th and P streets, for LiedLunch. This brown-bag session will include the artists and local historians discussing flight as it is portrayed in dance and its importance in Lincoln's history. The public is invited to this event.

One of the dancers from the company will give a lecture 30 minutes before the performance in the Lied's Steinhart Room.

Tickets for this performance are $32, $27 and $22; tickets are half price for college students and those 18 and younger. Call the Lied box office at 472-4747 or (800) 432-3231 for tickets.

Symphony Orchestra to give concert

The UNL School of Music will present the UNL Symphony Orchestra at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 3 at Kimball Recital Hall.

The orchestra will be directed by Tyler Goodrich White and graduate associate conductors Kristin Brye and Jiang Liu. Faculty artist Karen Becker, cello, will be the soloist.

Tickets are at the door and are $5; $3 for students/seniors.

Intervention now featured at Sheldon

Losing the Instructions: An Artistic Intervention by Barbara Kendrick and Timothy van Laar is now featured at the Sheldon Art Gallery and Sculpture Garden. The exhibition is the result of research by the two artists, who are using work from the Sheldon's permanent collection and their own studio work to produce a curatorial-artistic project.

Kendrick and van Laar have "lost" the common "instructions" or practices of installing and experiencing art that have been shaped by art historians and museum curators. Both artists, who are on the faculty in the department of art and design at the University of Illinois, focus on the ways that artists experience art in museums.

Kendrick's project is an installation exploring gender issues through rarely seen works in the Sheldon's permanent collection. van Laar's installation is a meditation on one particular work of art, Albrecht Durer's Melencholia I. Both artists looked for visual connections between the collection and their own work.

The Sheldon is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays, until 8 p.m. Fridays, and from noon to 5 p.m. Sundays. Admission is free. For information, call 472-2461.

Also at the Sheldon The Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery will offer its October First Friday event, "Sweet Dreams and Nightmares: Interpretations" with UNL psychologist Robert Portnoy from 5:30-7 p.m. Oct. 3 in conjunction with the gallery's Edwin Dickinson: Dreams and Realities exhibition. Portnoy will speak on dream interpretation and its evolution. He will also discuss the philosophies of dream interpretation so individuals can apply it to their own lives. Edwin Dickinson: Dreams and Realities, on exhibition through Nov. 9, will provide a backdrop for this presentation. The collection of more than 80 pieces displays dreams and nightmares. For more information, call 472-2461.

Train to give benefit concert

The rock group Train will perform in Lincoln Oct. 15 in a concert to benefit the Nebraska Children's Home Society Foundation.

The concert is part of UNL's Homecoming week activities and sponsored by the foundation and the Association of Students of the University of Nebraska. It begins at 7 p.m. at Pershing Center. Tickets are $25 at the Pershing box office, all Ticketmaster locations, by phone at 475-1212 in Lincoln and online at the Ticketmaster website, <www.ticketmaster.com>. All proceeds from the concert will benefit the foundation.

Train's hit songs have included "Drops of Jupiter," "Calling All Angels" and "Meet Virginia."

The funds will be used for Nebraska Children's Home's programs such as statewide adoption services, foster care for sick children and New Behaviors, a behavioral intervention program for children aged 2-7 in the Omaha area.

University Theatre opens with Romeo and Juliet

UNL Theatre's University Theatre opens its 103rd season of productions with William Shakespeare's story of young love, Romeo and Juliet. The production, directed by assistant professor Virginia Smith, will have performances at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 9, 10, 11 and Oct. 15, 16, 17 and at 2 p.m. Oct. 19 in Howell Theatre. A sneak preview/final dress rehearsal performance begins at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 8. Tickets to the preview are $5 at the door.

Romeo and Juliet tells of Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet, who fall in love despite a long-held hatred between the two's families. Their forbidden love invokes a series of violent episodes between the two households.

Smith and her design team have infused the production with elements that provide a sense of the play's relevance to contemporary audiences, with the idea expressed in scenery, costumes and sound design as well. All combine elements of the Renaissance and contemporary society, Smith said, and the casting also provides a contemporary twist with women playing several men's roles.

The cast features all undergraduates and is headed by Chad Brown and Cecilia Stinner as Romeo and Juliet.

Tickets to all four plays in the season (excluding the spring production of Guys and Dolls) will be on sale through Oct. 19 and are $42, $34 for faculty/staff and senior citizens. Tickets to individual productions are $14, $12 for faculty/staff and senior citizens, and $10 for students/youth. Groups of 20 or more may buy tickets at 50 percent of the regular price. Tickets are on sale through the Lied Center Box Office at 301 N. 12th St. and one hour before performances in the designated theatre lobby. Call 472-4747 or (800) 432-3231.

Artist-in-residence brings Fosse to UNL

Bill Hastings will be the guest artist-in-residence with the dance division of the UNL School of Music through Oct. 4, with rehearsals open to the public from 2:30-5 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Hastings will return to UNL from Nov. 16-22 and Feb. 24-29.

Hastings has been an actor and dancer on Broadway and with touring companies of Broadway shows. He was a featured dancer in Fosse and also served as assistant to the choreographer. Hastings has staged Fosse dances, as well as his own choreography, worldwide. He will stage three dances by Bob Fosse, representing three decades of Fosse's career, for UNL dancers: Steam Heat from Pajama Game, The Rich Man's Frug from Sweet Charity and Dancin' Man from Dancin'. These works will be featured, along with an evening full of dances from Broadway musicals, at the Dance Division's annual Dance Gala concert on Feb. 28, 29 and March 1, 2004.

Hastings' residency is presented by the dance division of the School of Music with support from the National College Choreography Initiative grant award. The initiative is a leadership initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts with additional support by the Dana Foundation.

Hastings will offer master classes in the Fosse style of jazz dance during his residencies in November and February. Call the Dance Division at 472-5803 for dates, times and details.

Sheldon seeks volunteers to assist visitors

The Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery and Sculpture Garden seeks volunteers for its new Visitor Service Program, which includes a new welcome desk in the Great Hall and the Sheldon Museum Store scheduled to reopen in mid-November.

The next training session will be from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Oct. 11. More ongoing training will be provided during available hours. Volunteer shifts are available on weekday afternoons, weekends or evenings and will be arranged according to volunteers' schedules.

Candidates should be enthusiastic, flexible and enjoy working with the public. Multilingual candidates are encouraged and welcome, as are volunteers with retail experience. Experience in museums or the arts is not required. Volunteers receive free parking, training, special invitations and other opportunities.

These volunteers will welcome and help visitors by answering questions and participating in programs and offerings at the Sheldon. Volunteers will be trained about other local attractions. Those interested in volunteering in the Museum Store will also be trained to use the cash register and other store-related processes.

To apply, contact Monica Babcock at the Sheldon, 12th and R streets, Lincoln, 68588-0300, call 472-2461 or e-mail <mbabcock1@unl.edu>.