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Rachael Carnes has written for Eugene Weekly as well as The Stranger in Seattle, since the mid-nineties. Covering dance, theater, performance art as well as human interest stories, Rachael enjoys meeting new people and seeing their creative process in action. As the founder of a local non profit, Sparkplug Dance, she spent 15 years teaching movement to kids in our community who juggle any number of risk factors, and now dedicates most of her time to supporting Arts Integration in area Middle Schools, through her work with the Educational Policy Improvement Center.
A delightfully satirical sendup, 2001’s Urinetown: The Musical by Mark Hollmann and Greg Kotis, pokes fun at everyone, from poet Bertolt Brecht and Les Miz, to our legal system, politics and capitalism. Refreshingly irreverent, Urinetown is a musical’s musical, and it’s given the five-star treatment by the capable team at South Eugene High School (SEHS). Continue reading
In the depths of the Great Depression, screwball musicals — both staged and on film — buoyed spirits with their vaudevillian charm. Continue reading
Eugene Ballet Company opened its season with a dazzling production of choreographer Petipa and composer Tchaikovsky’s “The Sleeping Beauty.” What a treat to ease into a classical ballet – fairies! Good ones, one really bad one, garland dancers, dancing cats, dancing bluebirds (Question for Petipa: Why no scene where Puss in Boots chases the Bluebird? – but I digress) – the overall effect was pure magic, and the classic roots of the dancing showed off the sharp technique of the EBC dancers. Continue reading
Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland consistently delivers up ancient texts in modern, fresh ways. Their Much Ado About Nothing, directed by Lileana Blain-Cruz, is no exception, delighting – and ultimately transcending – with an interpretation as fresh and relevant as anything on the contemporary stage. Continue reading
Formed in the UO dorms in 1990, the Sugar Beets ought to hold the all-time record for Band Fortitude: “A quarter-century of sustaining anything in this crazy world is a rarity,” says Marty Chilla, acoustic rhythm guitarist and Beets founding member. “It feels like destiny sometimes, and just plain persistence and work at other times. The Sugar Beets have just kept going step by step, song by song, show by show, and have grown up in front of each other and our audience.” Eight years ago, the band introduced the “baby” of the group — jazz vocalist Halie Loren. Continue reading
Since bursting onto the scene in 1995, Riverdance has employed more than 2,000 dancers and performed more than 11,000 shows before 25 million people in 467 venues across 46 countries. But who’s counting? In advance of the show’s return to the Hult Oct. 28-29, we caught up with senior executive producer, Irishman Julian Erskine, who’s been with Riverdance since the beginning. Continue reading
The Jayanthi Raman Company performed for a small but appreciative audience Saturday night, October 3. The performance featured choreography, design, costumes and lighting design by Raman, to varying effect. Continue reading
How can one possibly review a great artist like Twyla Tharp? Her work spans fifty years – this is the 50th anniversary of her dance company – which deserves its own accolades in the arts-funding parched USA. 50 years of collaborations, discipline, technique, of musical explorations, theatrical endeavors, of making her mark, of being herself, of being a woman in a male-dominated field, and a strong, focused and no-nonsense woman at that. She’s a role model for creativity and the shrewd confidence needed to sustain growth over time and space. Continue reading
There’s no excuse for staying home — well, OK, that’s allowed, but should you want to venture out, there are plenty of world-class options this season at Eugene’s Hult Center for the arts lover in all of us. Ballet Fantastique’s all-original dance theater and live music delivers a retro-glam jazz holiday in American Christmas Carol Dec. 11-13. The Eugene Concert Choir offers a choral adventure, combining tradition and skill, with A Dickens of a Christmas on Dec. 6. Continue reading
Oregon Contemporary Theatre artistic director Craig Willis has a keen curatorial vision, one that’s helping to shape the landscape of what’s possible for the arts in Eugene. “My predecessor had done a good job of trying to provide interesting, challenging work,” Willis says, referring to OCT in its Lord Leebrick days, before he took the helm in 2003. Continue reading