Tap visionary Michelle Dorrance and dancer-choreographer Ephrat Asherie join forces for The Center Will Not Hold, a lively celebration of street, club, and vernacular dances, inaugurating the summer season in the Ted Shawn Theatre at Jacob’s Pillow in Becket, Mass., today through Sunday. The work features an eclectic ensemble of 11 performers, each deeply rooted in regional music and movement — including tap, hip-hop, breaking, house, Chicago footwork, Detroit jit, litefeet, Memphis jookin’, and body percussion. (Wed-Sun, Jun 25-29)
Choreographer-dancer Pam Tanowitz’s Pastoral -- a collaboration with artist Sarah Crowner and Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Caroline Shaw -- kicks off the season at Bard SummerScape in the Fisher Center at Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, N.Y., today through Sunday. The work muses on and transforms Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6 in F Major, also known as the Pastoral Symphony. Tanowitz first created the dance to the Beethoven, then removed the music, replacing it with a specially commissioned score by long-time collaborator Shaw, which itself responds to and transforms the Beethoven score. (Fri-Sun, Jun 27-29)
Grammy Award-nominated jazz vocalist Jazzmeia Horn is a living bridge connecting precursors including Sarah Vaughan and Nancy Wilson to today’s smooth, soul-influenced sound. Her bright, open vocals illuminate jazz standards, original compositions, and tunes by Jon Hendricks, Erykah Badu, and Stevie Wonder. And, in case you were wondering, the answer is yes -- Jazz Horn is her real name from birth. Horn entertains at the Hunter Center at MASS MoCA in North Adams, Mass., on Saturday at 8pm. (Sat, Jun 28)
Shake It Up: A Shakespeare Cabaret, a mash-up of modern music and Shakespearean verse, is presented by Shakespeare & Company in Lenox, Mass., from next Tuesday, July 1, through Sunday, July 6. “Shakespeare and rock ‘n’ roll have been part of the fabric and lifeblood of popular culture for a long time,” says Shakespeare & Company artistic director Allyn Burrows, director and co-creator of Shake It Up. “Mashing them together yielded fun and fascinating results, so we’re eager to keep digging.” (Tue, Jul 1-Sun, Jul 6)
Also of note:
New York City rockers Dallas Wax bring their blend of punk-rock, psychedelia, and blues to Park Theater in Hudson, N.Y., tonight at 8pm. Kingston native Jack Manley warms up the crowd for Dallas Wax.
Cellist Dane Johansen performs a program of solo cello suites by Bach, Britten, and Cassadó at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Stockbridge, Mass., on Saturday at 5pm, in a concert presented by Berkshire Bach.
Pianist Steven Masi will perform Bach’s French Suites at the Adams Theater in Adams, Mass., on Saturday at 7:30pm.
Las Guaracheras, an all-women salsa sextet hailing from Cali, Colombia, brings its Afro-Caribbean rhythms to PS21 in Chatham, N.Y., on Saturday at 7:30pm.
Pianist Zoltán Fejérvári performs works by Dvořák, Janáček, Schumann, and Brahms in the Tannery Pond series presented by Capital Region Classical at the Darrow School in New Lebanon, N.Y., on Saturday at 7:30pm.
Electro-pop duo Ringdown, featuring vocalist and folk-pop singer-songwriter Danni Lee Parpan and Pulitzer Prize-winning composer, violinist, and vocalist Caroline Shaw, celebrate the release of their haunting debut album, Lady on the Bike, at the Spiegeltent as part of Bard Summerscape at Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, N.Y., on Saturday at 8pm.
Gary Clark Jr., Cassandra Wilson, and Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue headline the 48th annual Saratoga Jazz Festival at Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., on Saturday and Sunday. Also on the bill are Al Di Meola, Kenny Garrett, Cory Wong, Lettuce, DJ Logic, and Veronica Swift.
Pianist-composer Jeff Beal will perform music from his latest album, New York Études, at Stissing Center in Pine Plains, N.Y., on Sunday at 3pm.
Trio Celeste opens the Maverick Chamber Music Festival with a concert of piano trios by Mendelssohn and Dvořák alongside new works by Hudson Valley composer Gilda Lyons at Maverick Concert Hall in Woodstock, N.Y., on Sunday at 4pm.
Seth Rogovoy is editor of the Rogovoy Report, available at rogovoyreport.substack.com.
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