ARTS Pick: The Nutcracker

Charlottesville Ballet’s The Nutcracker is a skillfully choreographed, engaging take on tradition for all ages. The story begins when Clara receives a wooden nutcracker as a holiday gift, and it comes to life along with other toys that accompany her on a journey through an enchanted land filled with dancing dolls and evil mice, guided […]

ARTS Pick: Let There Be Light

Ever seen a cake go up in flames, or bamboo bathed in blue beams? At PVCC’s Let There Be Light, an illuminating art gallery celebrating the winter solstice, 26 artists present 21 light-centered art installations, creating a magical glow that cuts through winter’s early nightfall. Bring a flashlight to find your way through the diverse […]

ARTS Pick: Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World

You know that rock band. The one you can recognize immediately because of its iconic style and utter uniqueness? Well, you may be surprised to hear that if you trace that sound back through the years, you’ll likely find Native American influences at its roots. Catherine Bainbridge and Alfonso Maiorana bring this often-overlooked topic to […]

ARTS Pick: Romeo and Juliet—Reconstruction of Love

Shakespeare may have formalized the tale of star-crossed lovers on stage, but the heart of tragic romance stretches back to antiquity. Directors Boomie Pederson and Brad Stoller take the Bard’s script and push it forward with Romeo and Juliet—Reconstruction of Love, a modern retelling that pulls from a range of dance styles, accompanied by an […]

Lisa Parker Hyatt’s Miami imagery hits home

Even though she lives in the nation’s capital now, Lisa Parker Hyatt can’t leave Miami behind. “I spent most of my life in Miami,” explains the artist, whose richly colored paintings are included in collections at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the archives of the National Museum of Women in the Arts […]

ARTS Pick: Spherus

With Greg Kennedy, juggling is more than a talent—it’s a spectacular feat of modern engineering. Watch him juggle wickedly angled geometric props in Spherus, the coolest circus you’ve ever seen. The show also features aerial dancers Rachel Lancaster and Christine Morano, soaring through the air in a flurry of ribbon, as well as surreal video […]

ARTS Pick: Cabaret

Producer-choreographer Brad Stoller and his team put a neo-Victorian steampunk costume on the classic musical Cabaret, while using the original themes and context to explore the effect of politics on everyday lives, and the parallels in the current political climate. Set in 1930s Berlin, Germany, the plot unfolds in song around the Kit Kat Club, […]

ARTS Pick: Chopiniana

Escape to the theater with Charlottesville Ballet as the company presents the airy, romantic Chopiniana, along with new works by Julia Mitchell, R. Colby Damon, Ty Cooper and Maggie Small. Presented in several variations over the past century tracing back to 1892, Chopiniana is revered as one of the earliest ballets to convey just mood […]

ARTS Pick: ‘Let There Be Light’

Despite the short days and early nightfall, there’s light on the horizon at the 10th annual “Let There Be Light” installation. James Yates curates an eye-dazzling array of work from area artists that challenges the senses and offers magical perspectives, including Yates’ “Luminous Egg Hunt,” which he says is “drawn from the writings of Carlos […]

ARTS Pick: Latin Ballet of Virginia

It may take two to tango, but this time around, the Latin Ballet of Virginia dance company puts classical forms, flamenco and tango to the writings of Edgar Allan Poe, Alfonsina Storni, Pablo Neruda and Federico García Lorca. Poemas melds words with a showcase of contemporary and traditional Latin American and Spanish dance to give […]