All in Behind the Scenes
Something monumental is coming this June for Calgary arts fans - Arts Commons, the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, and Theatre Calgary are coming together for an unprecedented creative collaboration. In three performances, Ragtime: A Concert Presentation will merge the songs of the smash-hit Broadway musical with the renowned acoustics of the Jack Singer Concert Hall on June 11 & 12, 2022.
Tom Jackson is on a mission to create health. The much-loved Canadian singer-songwriter, humanitarian, and activist has given a lot of thought to what that means, and how to include as many people as possible within that circle of well-being.
Tap Dance is my trade. It gives me great joy, a sense of purpose and belonging as Black woman in North America. It has brought me to the jazz bandstand, the Cotton Club and even to Broadway all while extending me the privilege of accessing depths of a culture’s history. It is an African-American art form, born through the oppression of slavery, yet miraculously thrives worldwide today. Let’s be clear, I started recreationally in the suburbs of Calgary, like most do here, and Tap Dance is often still a punch line for those who ask, “So, what is that you do for living?” I’ve learned, now, that the best way to respond is to ask the following, “When you think of Tap Dance, what is it that you think about?”
One Yellow Rabbit’s 36th annual High Performance Rodeo, is about to warm up your winter with the hottest live-performance art in the city. We sat down with Producer Oliver Armstrong to find out what’s in store at Calgary’s International Festival of the Arts. Here’s what Producer, Oliver Armstrong is excited about for the upcoming HPRodeo.
On November 20th the first TD Amplify Cabaret of the 2021-22 season launches in the Engineered Air Theatre at Arts Commons. After almost two years of quiet venues, dark dressing rooms, and an infinite number of Zoom shows, the anticipation of live performance is palpable––and for the inaugural artists of the TD Incubator Program, even more so. Here’s a peek behind the curtain at the performers who will be lighting up the stage Saturday night, and the curators who brought it all together.
It’s a well-known story, beloved by generations: a clever young girl spends the day with her siblings and her cherished cat, when, in a state of drowsy boredom, she spies a rabbit in a waistcoat who checks his pocket watch, and then runs off. What else is a curious child to do but follow him down the rabbit hole?
This November, Arts Commons’ TD Amplify Cabaret series is back, but this year the series is taking a bold new step. Under the artistic helmsmanship of the Arts Commons Incubator Fellows, Jae Sterling and Contra, the evening will feature multidisciplinary artists from the program as they explore the theme of existence in liminal or limbo space.
We’re excited to share that September 7, 2021 will mark Art Commons’ official reopening to the public a year and a half after it closed its doors on March 22, 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Art has been crucial in getting us through the pandemic and lifting our spirits during these difficult times. Recognizing the importance of the arts and governmental mandates around reopening, Arts Commons is set to safely welcome back audiences to our facilities this month.
