Stage Notes: Bruce Wood Dance gives 'Grace' this June; GD Choral Society announces new ED

Ben Needham-Wood in rehearsal for “Ghost.” (Courtesy photo by Brian Guilliaux)

Stage Notes is a weekly aggregate post about theater, classical music and stage news, events, reviews and other pertinent information.

Two world premieres will be featured in BWD’s June show Grace

Bruce Wood Dance will present Grace, with two performances at Moody Performance Hall on June 10 and 11. The set will feature world premieres by BWD Artistic Director Joy Bollinger as well as by Emmy-winning choreographer Ben Needham-Wood. The show will also include the return of Bruce Wood’s “Rhapsody in Blue.” Curtain chats with the creators and the dancers will follow each performance. Tickets will go on sale on Monday.

Bollinger will premiere her new work, “And Heaven and Nature” which is set to the music of Dustin O’Halloran and Hannah Peel. “I am drawn in by the space around me. Patterns like fractals shape the land, water, and air. The intricacy of these structures, of heaven and nature, gives me a sense of something greater and turns my gaze to the spiritual,” Bollinger said in a press release.

Needham-Wood will present “Ghost” with music by Ludovico Einaudi. The Emmy Award–winning choreographer, filmmaker, dance educator also serves as the artistic director of Boulder Ballet and Redirecting Dance. His work draws on the positive effects of body movement on mental health. “Our bodies hold onto the past, as if there is a ghost within us—a shadow—pulling our internal strings and shaping how we understand our present,” he mentioned in the release.

Rounding out the program is “Rhapsody in Blue” which premiered in Fort Worth in the summer of 1999 with music by George Gershwin.

Greater Dallas Choral Society appoints new executive director

Miguel Cantu (Photo via Facebook)

The GDCS announced Thursday morning on Facebook that it has named Miguel Cantu IV as its new ED.

From GDCS Facebook:

We are thrilled to announce that Miguel Cantú IV has been named Executive Director of GDCS. Miguel Cantú’s multi-faceted career in the arts spans 14 years of performing, teaching, and arts administration.

As a performer, Miguel traveled the US performing orchestral music, chamber music and early music on period instruments as both a violinist and a violist. In 2010, his career pivoted into administration with his role as Contractor and Personnel Manager for Versa Strings, Lyric Stage as well as for churches and other arts organizations across DFW.

In 2017, Miguel co-founded the American Baroque Opera Co., where he served as General Manager and Executive Director for five years before joining the Greater Dallas Choral Society. Miguel attended Michigan State University and the University of North Texas, where he studied viola with renowned pedagogue Susan Dubois.

GDCS is the premiere children’s chorus following the legacy of Children’s Chorus of Greater Dallas. The organization was established in 2022 marking its debut with the Dallas Opera.

Season announcements

Hip Pocket Theatre announces its 47th season lineup

HPT’s new season is opening a bit early with its first production opening May 19. The season consists of six outdoor shows through October. Both Hip Passes and single tickets are available now.

The season includes (from HPT):

May 19-June 11: Riders of the Purple Sage. Johnny Simons and James Maynard adapted Zane Grey’s original story, which was last seen at Hip Pocket in 1996. It’s a classic Western of the silent film era, about Lassiter, an avenging gunslinger in black, Jane Withersteen, a plucky and determined cattle rancher and the dastardly forces that separate them. JoAnn Gracey will direct, with music, lyrics and music direction by Joe Rogers.

June 23-July 16: El Maleficio De La Mariposa | The Butterfly’s Evil Spell. The play was written by Federico Garcia Lorca, and was last produced at Hip Pocket in 2011. Lorca’s poetic world of beetles, fireflies and other magical creatures is disrupted when a hypnotic, wounded butterfly enters their dewdrop paradise. Boybeetle is cast under the spell of love, and Scorpy is sure to shake things up in this timeless tale of longing and beauty. Yvonne Duque Guerrero will direct, with music composed and performed live by Darrin Kobetich.

July 28-Aug. 20: White Elephant. This show was first produced in New York City by La Mama ETC in 2009, receiving two grants from the Jim Henson Foundation, with a reprisal on the Hip Pocket stage with the original New York cast. A reimagining of the original production, it is a meditation on transition, memory and release. The show is presented as a series of poetic vignettes about animals, people and objects that transform from one plane to another. Their stories come to life through puppetry, mask, movement, film and live music. White Elephant was co-written and directed by Lake Simons and John Dyer, with music composed and performed live by Dyer and choreographed and designed by Simons.

Sept. 1-3. Testing Ground 3+3. Hip Pocket will return to its roots in experimental theatre by producing a festival of three new works by Rob Bosquez, JoAnn Gracey and Shelby Griffin.

Sept. 15-17: Old And In The Way. Once upon a time three friends got the crazy idea of starting their own theatre. They had grown weary working with the restrictions of so called “professional theatre.” So they burned their equity cards and set out to create a place for original work in a rough- hewn, handmade space reflecting their hearts desires. Cash for this adventure began with $300 pulled from their hip pockets. Ticket prices were set at $2.50. This presentation is a nostalgic look back to the early days of a youthful dream, brought to life by the elders of our little tribe wrangled together by Doug Balentine, Diane Simons and Molemo! Molemo! is now one of the last living members of the original tribe and this presentation is meant to be a tender remembrance of the past and a tragi-comedic look at the last days of an old elderly hippy. This play is not for children. (Note: Tickets for this production only are set at $2.50 each!)

Oct. 6-29: The Fly. James Clavell wrote the screenplay for this special Halloween production, which has been adapted by Shawn Gann who will also direct, with music by Joe Rogers. Science played with The Atom and a MONSTER has emerged from the disastrous experiment! Combine your molecules with Hip Pocket Theatre as we use music, practical effects and whimsy to bring you The Fly.

In addition to the season of production, Hip Pocket will offer two special events. These are not covered with its Hip Pass.

May 20-21: Rough Magic: Live Wire theater and movement workshop. This ritual theatre lab will be produced by Ecstatic Dance Dallas. Lorca Simons is dedicated to the creation of physical theatre that is both interactive and transformative. Offering labs rooted in a visionary and rigorous technique for people to become true “athletes of the heart,” Live Wire ritual theatre expands the imagination through curiosity, breath, physical gesture and space.

July 12: Stephen Jenkinson and Gregory Hoskins. A Night of Grief and Mystery World Tour combines stories and observations by author/culture activist Jenkinson, drawn from his decades of work in palliative care, with original songs/sonics by recording artist Hoskins. These two Canadian artists have been exploring the intersection of their work for eight years, across three continents, in three recordings and two short films. They come to the road now in 2023 as they did in the beginning: the two of them, a singer and a storyteller, out into the mystery days. Tickets and more information are available here.

Opening this week: