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The UO presents its Student Dance Concert, featuring nine emerging artists, 8 pm, May 7-9, in the Dougherty Dance Theatre, Gerlinger Annex; $5-$10. “Audiences can expect to see a diverse set of dance works that range from the concept of energy flow to an exploration of group relationships,” a UO press release says. Continue reading
“There’s something that just feels right about the Cinderella story,” says Hannah Bontrager, choreographer and executive director of Ballet Fantastique. “This person has a gut feeling, against all odds, that she is meant for something greater,” Bontrager says. “Everyone can relate to that.” Audiences will have an opportunity to see Ballet Fantastique’s new spin on the classic tale when BFan presents Cinderella: A Rock Opera Ballet May 8-10. Set in the 1960s, this Cinderella is anything but stuffy. Continue reading
According to recent data, wine now generates $3.5 billion annually and accounts for 17,000 jobs in wine and related businesses in Oregon. Now, that’s impact. And it seems to be growing. Consider our (fairly) recent history: Continue reading
Oregon’s best wine? Seems a silly question, at first. Pinot noir? Pinot gris? Nah. One very wine-savvy professional is ready to offer a rather shocking response: chardonnay. Say what? If it’s even partly true that chardonnay rates as one of Oregon’s best wines, the phenomenon could be called a renaissance, a revival, even a re-birth, because Oregon chardonnay had effectively died in the ’80s. And it wasn’t a pretty demise. Continue reading
Many a romantic notion is attached to wine, like zooming past the city limits, wind in your hair and finding a sunny patio nestled into the rolling hills of a country winery where you can sip vino and take in the vistas. Continue reading
I’m no oenephile. Don’t get me wrong, I like wine, but its niceties are lost on me, perhaps because in my college years my idea of “good wine” was strawberry Boones Farm, preferably after it had sat in the freezer long enough to give it a certain Slurpee-like texture. I’m still that chick who, when asked what I’d like to drink at an elegant restaurant, responds, “Give me your cheap red.” Continue reading
A logo with two salmon on your wine bottle doesn’t mean the wine pairs well with salmon — it means the wine came from a vineyard certified salmon-safe. Vineyards in the Willamette Valley can have an impact on the water quality of nearby streams, but salmon-safe vineyards go through an extensive certification process that ensures winemakers preserve riparian areas, protect water quality and prevent erosion. Continue reading
Even if Joss Whedon hadn’t already been telling the press that he’s (probably) done directing Avengers films, it would’ve been clear to Whedon fans that Avengers: Age of Ultron is his finale. There’s the iconic tracking shot that opens the film, nodding to each of our superheroes as it checks in with them amid a snowy forest fight. And there’s the Hellmouth, a gaping hole in the earth where a small town once stood. Continue reading
Willis Earl Beal sounds like your favorite vinyl: scratchy, with a cosmic understanding of the word “cool” and a distinct otherworldliness. The bluesy lo-fi singer pairs smokey vocals reminiscent of Nat King Cole with an avant-garde sensibility that recalls Tom Waits. Beal is a singer in his early 30s, but his soulful sound remains both timeless and lonely. He draws from life experience ranging from reading poetry at open mics on the south side of Chicago to a battle with homelessness in New Mexico. But Beal has minimal “classical” music training. Continue reading
Seattle duo Noise-A-Tron possesses a keen understanding of the space needed for music to breathe. The band, consisting of Lea and Jason Bledsoe, creates a huge sound without falling prey to two-piece rock stereotypes. Where others fill empty space with crushing volume, Noise-A-Tron takes pause. The Bledsoes’ drone-heavy rock is devoid of vocals, relying instead on sparse samples and keyboards that add texture to their fuzzed-out, eight-string bass-and-drums format. Continue reading