Entertainment

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Le Patin Libre Returns to Brattleboro with Threshold

by hahrenholz | Entertainment

Next Stage Arts presents Montreal-based contemporary ice skating company Le Patin Libre, performing their work Threshold at the Nelson Withington Skating Facility on Friday, February 16 at 6:00 and 8:00 pm. Le Patin Libre performed to a sold-out audience at the rink last winter. A second show has been added this year to accommodate what is sure to be an enthusiastic response to the company’s return.

A contemporary reinvention of the show on ice, Le Patin Libre company is once again sharpening its blades for a new frozen opus. Dazzlement assured.

Le Patin Libre, whose members are all highly trained skaters, caused a sensation in 2014 with Vertical Influences, a revolutionary display of contemporary dance on ice. “We take full advantage of what makes skating a unique and legitimate art form: the glide”, explains Alexandre Hamel. “The glide allows the disconnection of the body’s displacement in space from its physical movement.” A Le Patin Libre performance is an adrenalin-laced experience. “We use that rush to fuel our choreographic poetry.” The same artistic team—skaters Pascale Jodoin, Jasmin Boivin, Taylor Dilley, Samory Ba and Alexandre Hamel, joined by dramaturge Ruth Little—brings us another gravity-defying show. “Dancers and acrobats have to walk, run, flip, leap, and so on. We, on the other hand, can zoom around without moving a muscle!”

Kevin O’Keefe on “Here We Are”

by Wendy O'Connell | Entertainment

You don’t have to run away to join the Circus, it can come to you! Kevin creates original productions with kids, does Circus Yoga with all ages, and makes everything fun. He shows how anyone can be part of Circus. Kevin is also a writer of essays, poems and memoir.  His Circus work has been featured twice in The New Yorker magazine.

Michael Fuller on “Here We Are”

by Wendy O'Connell | Entertainment

From the early days of The Common Ground,  the Coop and communes, to the much lauded T.J. Buckley’s Uptown Dining, Michael Fuller’s Brattleboro stories are SO much fun! He’s still creating the best, most exquisite dinners ever – 40 years strong!

Pinball on “Here We Are”

by Wendy O'Connell | Entertainment

In this show, Steve Faure, owner and host of our new pinball gallery, Gravitate, talks about “the drama of the ball”, the physics and allure of pinball, and fostering community here in Brattleboro. Also, free games during Gallery Walks ! Take a look.

Community Dance at Guilford Pavilion on Aug 20

by mmrowicki | Entertainment

A Family-friendly Community Dance featuring traditional New England dances (squares, contras, circles, waltzes, polkas) will be held at the new Guilford Community Park Pavilion, 24 Church Drive, Guilford VT 05301 (behind Country Store, next to Guilford Community Church) on Sunday afternoon, August 20 from 2:30-4:30 pm.  All dances will be taught; no partner needed. All are welcome and admission is by donation with a suggested donation of $10 per person and a family limit of $20 (but no one will be turned away)

Music for the dance will be provided by some of the best in the business: Laurie Indenbaum on fiddle, Carol Compton on keyboard, with Fred Breunig, teaching and calling.

Lisa McCormick on “Here We Are”

by Wendy O'Connell | Entertainment

“Let music change your life!” LISA McCORMICK captures the power and beauty of music – with her voice, her playing, and her generosity in sharing with everyone. As she says, “Music is Art made of Sound”…..Listen in!

Bandwagon Summer Series Brings Vermont Institution Bread & Puppet to Putney

by hahrenholz | Entertainment

The Next Stage Bandwagon Summer Series presents beloved Vermont institution Bread & Puppet, bringing their touring production to Putney on Thursday, August 24 at 6:00 pm at the Grammar School at 159 Grammar School Lane, in Putney, Vermont.

The Bread and Puppet Theater celebrates their 60th anniversary with The Mother Dirt Circus!
Audiences will delight as Bread and Puppet draws on its distinctive iconography to call attention to the urgent issues of the day. Young and old will thrill to see stilt dancers and paper maché beasts of all sizes accompanied by the riotous Bread and Puppet Circus Brass Band. A colorful spectacle of protest and celebration performed under the Vermont summer sky.

Sourdough rye with aioli will be offered after the performance and The Bread and Puppet Press and Cheap Art Emporium will be open for your perusal.

By the People: Brattleboro Goes Fourth

by Not Signed In | Entertainment

“By the People: Brattleboro Goes Fourth” is set to hold the town’s 50th annual Independence Day celebration on Tuesday, July 4, with a morning parade downtown and afternoon and evening program of family activities and fireworks at Living Memorial Park.

Marching units including the local American Legion and Brattleboro Union High School bands, veterans, civic and youth groups will kick off the festivities at 10 a.m. with a parade from Flat Street to Main Street to the town Common.

Brattleboro’s Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, which is sponsoring the parade for a sixth year, will lead the march with its giant American flag, while local personality Alfred Hughes Jr. will conclude the event by debuting his annual top-secret ensemble.

Next Stage Arts and Vermont Suitcase Company bring The Feeble Fantastical to Putney

by hahrenholz | Entertainment

Next Stage Arts presents The Feeble Fantastical, a Vermont Suitcase Company production, at Next Stage Arts on Friday, July 21 at 7:00 pm.

“Theater is embedded into the fabric of this community, and The Vermont Suitcase Company is one of the threads of that tapestry,” says Keith Marks, Executive Director of Next Stage Arts. “Partnering with them to bring theater to our community is exactly the type of collaberation we envision as we create a thriving, cultural ecosystem in the region.”

Boston-based Tap Ensemble Subject:Matter Comes to the Bandwagon Summer Stage

by hahrenholz | Entertainment

Next Stage Arts brings Boston-based tap dance ensemble Subject:Matter to the Bandwagon Summer Stage on Saturday, July 8th, at 6:00pm. The performance will take place at the New England Center for Circus Arts (NECCA), 10 Town Crier Drive, in Brattleboro. Tickets are $20 in advance, $25 at the gate, children under 12 free. Visit nextstagearts.org for tickets and more information.

Subject:Matter brings an assortment of music from their varied musical catalog, including jazz standards from their show “Songbook,” funk tunes from their show “Blowout,” and new music from their upcoming premieres this fall.

Next Stage Arts Presents a Dance Party Featuring the Music of Blues Guitarist Duke Robillard and His Band on 2/24

by hahrenholz | Entertainment

Join Next Stage for a dance party featuring the music of blues guitarist Duke Robillard and his band, on Friday, February 24 at 7:30 pm at Next Stage Arts, 15 Kimball Hill, in Putney.

Whether it’s a song, a style, an idiom or an image, Duke Robillard will render it with mastery, power, nuance and an unerring grasp of its essence.

The Stockwell Brothers and Fellow Pynin at Next Stage

by hahrenholz | Entertainment

PUTNEY – Next Stage Arts Project and Twilight Music present an evening of contemporary folk and bluegrass music from near and far by Vermont-based The Stockwell Brothers and Oregon-based Fellow Pynins on Sunday, February 19 at 7:30 pm at Next Stage.

Bruce, Barry, Alan, and Kelly Stockwell’s music spans traditional and progressive styles, but their trademark acoustic sound features new singer/songwriter material recast with banjo, alternative rhythms, and three-part harmonies. Featuring 2005 Merlefest bluegrass banjo contest winner Bruce Stockwell, The Stockwell Brothers have performed alongside artists from Bill Monroe, Doc Watson and Earl Scruggs to Mary-Chapin Carpenter, Jonathan Edwards and Asleep At The Wheel, recorded with Mike Auldridge and Phil Rosenthal of the bluegrass supergroup The Seldom Scene, and toured throughout the United States and in Canada and Europe.

Next Stage Arts Kicks off the Brattleboro Winter Carnival with Montreal Contemporary Ice Skaters Le Patin Libre on 2/17

by hahrenholz | Entertainment

PUTNEY, VT— 1/22/2023 — Next Stage Arts kicks off the Brattleboro Winter Carnival with Montreal-based contemporary ice skating company Le Patin Libre, performing their show “Carte Blanche” on Friday, February 17 at 7:15 pm at the Nelson Withington Skating Facility, 61 Memorial Park Drive, in Brattleboro.

Le Patin Libre is a contemporary ice skating company from Montreal, originally founded in 2005 by ex high-level figure skaters. They regrouped with the intention of transforming their athleticism into a means of free expression. Far from sparkles, stereotypes and champions’ demos, the creations of Le Patin Libre propose real works of art exploiting the amazing choreographic and theatrical potential of glide.

American Roots Jazz Band The Afro-Centric Experience Performs at Next Stage Arts on December 10th

by hahrenholz | Entertainment

Next Stage Arts presents an evening with American roots jazz band The Afro-Centric Experience, on Saturday, December 10 at 7:30 pm at Next Stage Arts.

The Afro-Semitic Experience is an American roots jazz band with a difference. They are a group of Jewish-American and African-American musicians who have been performing, recording, and teaching together for over 20 years. Their friendship ignites their passion and purpose: Together, as a band, they merge their musical roots, Jewish and Afro-diasporic melodies and grooves, combining the core concepts of ase and shalom – power, action, unity, and peace. Their music embodies the radical notion that people of different faiths, races, and beliefs can come together, and celebrate and build community. Their repertoire is a mix of original compositions and arrangements of pieces curated from Jewish and African-diasporic cultures. Their music reaches out to a distinct open-minded listening audience; their intentional merging of jazz with the spiritual and the sacred has allowed them to share our music in concert as well as at worship services in houses of worship across the United States.

“The work of Afro-Semitic explores how two distinct cultures and histories have much to learn and share from one another,” says Keith Marks, Executive Director of Next Stage Arts. “They explore the intersections of diaspora, roots, and a renewed expression of peace in difficult times. And they happen to also be incredible musicians and educators.”

Vermont Comedy All Stars return to Next Stage Arts for a Special Holiday Stand-up Comedy Event on Friday, December 9th at 7:30pm

by hahrenholz | Entertainment

Gordon Clark and his Vermont Comedy All-Stars are back for a special holiday stand-up comedy event at Next Stage Arts!

“We all need reasons to laugh, and the Vermont Comedy All Stars do an outstanding job,” says Keith Marks, Executive Director of Next Stage Arts.

The cast of stellar performers includes:

LEAH BONNEMA is a Los Angeles based comedian hailing from rural Maine. Her broadcast credits include The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Chris Gethard Presents, Oculus & AXS TV’s Gotham Comedy Live, IFC’s Comedy Crib, TruTV’s Comedy Knockout and Vh1’s 100 Greatest series. Leah has had the honor of performing for our troops overseas, and has featured in numerous comedy festivals, including The New York Comedy Festival, The Lucille Ball Comedy Fest at The National Comedy Center, The Women in Comedy Festival, The International Glasgow Comedy Fest, Bumbershoot and The Kennedy Center’s District of Comedy Festival in Washington DC.

“Here We Are” with Jerry Carbone

by Wendy O'Connell | Entertainment

Jerry’s spent a lot of time around books! He talks about the old days at Brooks Library, the beginning days of our Literary Festival and the Words Project – and how he’s now helping folks find their roots as a genealogist. Tune in for some great stories and insights about delving into the past – in our town and in our families.