Martha Graham Dance Company

Saturday, Oct. 3, 2009, 8 p.m.
Palmer Auditorium

The Martha Graham Dance Company is one of the oldest and most illustrious contemporary dance companies in the world. Martha Graham's name is synonymous with modern dance and she has been acclaimed by many as modern dance's founder and greatest practitioner. The evening's program will include "Diversions of Angels," which premiered in Palmer Auditorium in 1948.

Tickets: $28, 24, 20; Seniors: $25, 21.50, 18; Students: $14, 12, 10

"Laramie Project 10 Years Later — An Epilogue"

Monday, Oct. 12, 2009, 8 p.m.
John C. Evans Hall

The Tectonic Theater Project returned to Laramie, Wyo., 10 years after Matthew Shepard's murder to interview members of the community. The resulting play, "Laramie Project 10 Years Later — An Epilogue," explores the long-term impact of the tragic event. The play will be presented as a reading by members of our community on the anniversary of Shepard’s death.

Presented in collaboration with the Department of Theater.

Tickets: $12; Seniors: $10; Students: $6

Dianne Reeves in Concert

Saturday, Oct. 24, 2009, 8 p.m.
Palmer Auditorium

Dianne Reeves is the pre-eminent jazz vocalist in the world today. Her virtuosity, improvisational prowess, and unique jazz and R&B styling have garnered her four consecutive Grammy Awards for Best Jazz Vocal Performance.

"Her three-plus, pellucid octaves, diva-like delivery and intimate sense of a song have long made her one of the most compelling vocalists in jazz." — Seattle Times

"A natural story teller, she used her timing and phrasing to bring novel insights to everything she sang." — Los Angeles Times

Tickets: $28, 24, 20; Seniors $25, 21.50, 18; Students $14, 12, 10

Vanguard Jazz Orchestra

Friday, Nov. 6, 2009, 8 p.m.
John C. Evans Hall

The 16-member Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, winner of the 2009 Grammy for Best Large Jazz Ensemble for their recording "Monday Night Live at the Village Vanguard," continues the tradition of stellar concerts and recordings that was created by founders Thad Jones and Mel Lewis. As the permanent Monday-night band at the historic Village Vanguard, the orchestra serves as a creative outlet for some of the nation's foremost performers, composers and arrangers.

"There probably isn’t a big band in the country that can rival the bullish precision of this one. ... Not only is the clockwork impeccable, but it takes risks, commissions new pieces, and has exceptional soloists in every section." — The New Yorker

Tickets: $22; Seniors: $20; Students: $11

The Calder Quartet

Friday, Nov. 13, 2009, 8 p.m.
John C. Evans Hall

Inspired by the innovative American artist Alexander Calder, the Calder Quartet continues to expand its unique array of projects by performing traditional quartet repertoire as well as partnering with innovative modern composers, emerging musicians and performers across genres. The group received the 2009 ASCAP Adventurous Programming Award.

"The Calder Quartet ... is the model of the sleek young string quartet. The ensemble's technical accomplishment is very high. ... They have a reverence for the formal Classical style and for formal Modernism as well." — Los Angeles Times

Tickets: $22; Seniors: $20; Students: $11

Kinodance Company — "Denizen"

Friday, Feb. 5, 2010, 8 p.m.
Palmer Auditorium

Kinodance Company is a Boston-based artist collaborative that merges dance, film and visual art. The company was selected by Dance Magazine as one of the "25 to watch" in 2008. "Denizen," a cinema stage performance inspired by Armenian cinema, blends contemporary choreography with film shot on location in Armenia.

"... stunning ... 'Denizen' integrates film, a scenic design, and special lighting into the dance to create a theatrical experience with enormous dramatic impact.” — Boston Globe

The evening will also include the premiere of a new film created by Kinodance Company with the Dual Language Arts Academy in New London and Connecticut College.

This performance is funded in part by the Dayton Artist-in-Residence Program.

Tickets: $22, 18, 15; Seniors: $20, 16, 13.50; Students: $11, 9, 7.50

The Acting Company & The Guthrie Theater’s “Romeo and Juliet” by William Shakespeare

Directed by James Kerr
Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2010, 8 p.m.
Palmer Auditorium

The Acting Company, renowned for its productions of classic plays, joins the award-winning Guthrie Theater in production of Shakespeare's iconic romantic tragedy, "Romeo and Juliet." Young love has never been so delightful or as dangerous as in this stirring new production.

Tickets: $26, 21, 16; Seniors: $23.50, 19, 14; Students: $13, 10.50, 8

Note to educators: We will present a school-time performance of the play on Thursday, Feb. 11. Please call 860-439-5069 for details and reservations.

Cantus — a cappella ensemble

Friday, April 9, 2010, 8 p.m.
John C. Evans Hall

Cantus is recognized as one of America's finest professional male vocal ensembles. The Washington Post hails the ensemble's sound as having both "exalting finesse" and "expressive power," and refers to their music-making as "spontaneous grace." The ensemble is known for adventurous programming spanning many periods and genres including chant, Renaissance music, contemporary, art song, folk, spirituals, world music and pop.

"Other groups aim for a honeyed but disembodied sound. Cantus matches that blend, but it also revels in a heft of sound hardly imagined possible form ten men singing without accompaniment. At times ... Cantus sounded 50 voices strong." — Los Angeles Times

Tickets: $22; Seniors: $20; Students: $11