Arts in Brief: March 7

Aspen Santa Fe Ballet; Dream Theater to perform in TA; Andy McKee to make Israel debut.

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Ballet 311 (photo credit: Lois Greenfield)
Ballet 311
(photo credit: Lois Greenfield)
Aspen Santa Fe Ballet
The acclaimed Aspen Santa Fe Ballet (ASFB) makes its Israeli debut at the Herzliya Performing Arts Center from March 30 to April 2, with a performance at the Haifa Auditorium on March 29.
ASFB dances Where We Left Off by Nicolo Fonte, Stamping Ground by Jiri Kylian and Red Sweet by Jorma Elo. The company’s signature style is the seamless meld of classical ballet with modern dance, and its work has been described by the New York Times as a “a breath of fresh air.”
Bebe Schweppe, a former dancer, established a ballet school in her native Aspen, Colorado, in 1975. In 1996 she founded the Aspen Ballet, and Tom Mossbrucker became the artistic director. In 2000 the company expanded to Santa Fe, New Mexico. There’s a vigorous dance school with some 500 students, as well as a Mexican folklore outreach program. ASFB comes here straight from New York’s Joyce Theater whose Joyce Foundation last year awarded its top prize to Mossbrucker and ASFB CEO Jean Philippe Malaty. • Helen Kaye
Dream Theater to perform in TA
One of America’s top hard rock bands, Dream Theater, will make their second visit to Israel, performing on June 16 at the Tel Aviv Exhibition Grounds. More than 10,000 tickets have already been sold for the show, which was originally scheduled to be held inside, but the promoters decided to move it to the complex’s vast outdoor area.
Formed in 1985 by students at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Dream Theater has released 10 albums of progressive metal and developed a reputation for being musicians’ musicians, dazzling contemporaries with their proficiency and flash. Not afraid to pay homage to the arena rock bands of the 1970s and 1980s such as Rush, Styx and Foreigner, Dream Theater has always been more accessible than your average headbangers, and their fans, including those in Israel, are among the most rabid in the metal world.
• David Brinn
Andy McKee to make Israel debut
American acoustic guitar virtuoso Andy McKee will be bringing his astonishing stylings to Israel for three shows – June 20 at Reading 3 in Tel Aviv and June 23 at Rapaport Hall in Haifa. A third show between the two has not yet been confirmed. McKee, considered one of the world’s finest fingerstyle soloists, has risen to worldwide fame mainly due to the online community. Views of his YouTube clips have topped 78 million and have raised his stature to the point that he of performs more than 200 live shows a year.
McKee’s unique skill allows him to transform an acoustic guitar into a dynamic calliope of sound through altered tunings, syncopated rhythm guitar taps and his textural use of polyphonic tones and drones. According to this website, McKee’s Israel performances will be an evening with shows, featuring solo performances by the master surrounded by a dozen of his favorite guitars.
• David Brinn