Thursday, November 2, 2017
For a Good Cause
A 2nd Act. Listen to female cancer survivors share their stories–about their cancer, yes, but more importantly, about how they’ve chosen to live their lives after cancer and make a difference for other survivors. Founder Judy Pearson is a breast cancer survivor herself, but said it was important to her to include survivors of all kinds of cancer. Only women are featured in the show, however, because she’s found that men and women heal differently. “Women are happy to show mastectomy scars and talk about dry vaginas in a group,” she said. “Men don’t wanna do that.” You might cry, you’ll probably laugh, and you’ll definitely feel inspired. 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 5. Berger Center for the Performing Arts, 1200 W. Speedway. $22 (proceeds go toward 2nd Act programs, including micro grants for survivors!)2nd Annual Run/Walk to Break the Silence on Ovarian Cancer. You “think pinked” your way through October, but you might not have realized that September was Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month. Take this opportunity to “feel the teal” and raise awareness of the fifth leading cause of cancer deaths among women. The Tucson chapter’s goal is to raise $30,000 for ovarian cancer awareness and research, and they’re well on their way, so even if you can’t walk or run, donate! 7 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 5. UA Mall, 1303 E. University Blvd. Pre-registration: $15 for kids 6 to 11 and survivors, $25 for ages 12 and up, $45 virtual walkers. Day of: $20 kids ages 6 to 11, $15 survivors and $40 for ages 12 and up.
The Gray & White Fete. Put this on your calendar now, or, much like the white rabbit from Alice in Wonderland, you’ll be late! You’ll be late! For a very important date! The Center for Neurosciences Foundation in Tucson is holding this annual fundraiser for their mobile neuroscience lab The Brain Bus, and in the process, they’re transforming the downtown Bates Mansion into a magical wonderland. We could all use some time in a magical wonderland right about now, but add dinner, dancing, music, magic and the chance to support a good cause? Down the rabbit hole we go! 7 p.m. to midnight. Friday, Nov. 3. Bates Mansion, 283 N. Stone Ave. $100.
Dogtoberfest for Handi-Dogs. Just reading the name of this event is enough to make you realize that there should be a dog version of every holiday. Chrismutt? New Year’s Dog? Ind-pant-dence Day? Well… we have time to work on the names, and in the mean time, just head over to this canine carnival. Pups can paint pictures, enter costume and trick contests and run obstacle courses where they can even be clocked by radar guns. This year, they're also introducing the Dogtini Lounge, where dogs can enjoy their own special beverage selections. Humans can enjoy live music, food, a beer garden, raffles, a vendor fair and a huge selection of excellent dogs to feast their eyes upon, and maybe even pet. Proceeds benefit Handi-Dogs, a local nonprofit which helps people train service, therapy and emotional support dogs. 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 5. The Gregory School, 3231 N. Craycroft Road. $5, and free for dogs and kids 12 and under.
Shopping
Introducing the Cow Store. It’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for: a curated collection and one stop shop for all of the paintings of cows Diana Madaras has ever done. The Madaras Gallery crew has corralled all the cattle into an online cow store, where you can peruse prints, canvases, housewares and other moo-tiful cow adorned products. To celebrate, the gallery is throwing a party with special offers, drinks and some alfalfa to munch on (just kidding, they’ll have human treats.) 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 2. Madaras Gallery, 3035 N. Swan Road. Free.Tags: A 2nd Act , cancer survivors , Ovarian Cancer awareness , Break the Silence , awareness run/walk , the gray & White Fete , Bates Mansion , Oktoberfest , Dogtoberfest , Hand-dogs , Cow Store , Madaras Gallery , Diana Madaras , Shop Local Mingle & Jingle , jingle bells , Celtic Festival and Scottish Highland Games , if you could change yer fate , WUJER?!?! , Celtic , Scottish , All Souls , All Souls Procession , Tucson Comic Con , Billy Dee Wiliams , Seventh Annual Harvest Festival , petting zoo , RENT , RENT 20th anniversary tour , David Rakoff , just pay your rent , Mamalinas Pedacitos de Cielo , benefit concert , Puerto Rico Hurricane , Mexico City earthquake , The Value of Names , Invisible Theatre , Jeffrey Sweet , Animaniacs in Concert , Pinky and the Brain , Raphael , Donatello , Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles , Rob Paulsen , Yakko , Face Paint Town , Hotel Congress , Marana Earth Festival , dispose-a-me , d , recycling , sustainability , go green , Evergreen Mortuary and cemetery , Luminous full moon Labyrinth Walk , Rio Vista Natural Resources Park , labyrinth , full moon , The Maverick , Tumamoc Hill Sicence Cafe , climate change , Tucson Roadrunners , hockey , beer , rain ar , rain art show , Zac Anderson , Emotions in Art , Nanini Library , gratitude journals , Mary Ellen Palmeri , Nightcrawler , Secondhand Serenade , tonight will be the night that I will fall for yoooou , Remembering Rainer , Rainer Ptacek , Giant Sandworts , Giant Sand , Exo Roast Co. , Night of the Living Fest , Twin Ponies , The Flycatcher , 191 Toole , Rialto Theatre , Goatwhore , The Rock
Thursday, October 26, 2017
The River Bride blends Brazilian folklore, poetic imagery and the excitement of young love to tell a story of two sisters in fishing village along the Amazon. Right before her sister Belmira’s wedding (to a man Helena feels was rightfully hers), fishermen pull a man out of the river who has no past, but who offers both women an enticing, if uncertain future.
The Arizona Theatre Company production of The River Bride, by Marisela Treviño Orta, opens in Tucson this Friday, Oct. 27 at 7:30 p.m. The play made its debut at the 2016 Oregon Shakespeare Festival, and was the winner of the 2013 National Latino Playwriting Award.
Treviño Orta has a background in poetry, and received a master of fine arts degree in writing at the University of San Francisco. After serving as the resident poet at El Teatro Jornalero!, she found herself attracted to playwriting for the first time
“It felt so very welcoming and embracing and supportive in a way that I was like ‘this feels so right,’” she said. “And doors kept opening for me.”
Tags: ATC , The River Bride , Arizona Theatre Company , theater , ATC , Marisela Treviño Orta , Brazilian folklore , Brothers Grimm Fairytales , theatre
The Tell-Tale Art
Live Drawing Atelier. Can we all agree that you’re held a little bit more accountable when someone is watching you? You try just a little bit harder, maybe turn out work that’s just a little bit better? At this event to benefit the UA School of Art Advisory Board, you can be either the accountable or the accountability. Artists are invited to take part in two 45-minute sessions at 5:45 at 6:45 p.m., and can purchase drawing kits or bring their own supplies. Non-artists are invited to ogle over the skills of artists while enjoying wine, beer, a complimentary “Artist’s Alchemy” cocktail from The Independent Distillery’s Mixologist and appetizers from Johnny Gibson’s. 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 1. The Independent Distillery, 33 S. Arizona Ave. $80 (includes appetizers and two drink tickets). First-time attendees to a School of Art Advisory Board event get a 15 percent discount, so tickets are $68. ($40 tax-deductible from either ticket.) Drawing kits are $10.Arts in the Plaza. You are about to experience so much art that you are going to come away from this event with an urge to buy a downtown studio apartment and start wearing a beret. But really, with more than 50 artists participating in this festival, as well as violin, guitar, jazz piano, harp, and cello music providing a soundtrack to the event, you’d be hard-pressed to find a more pleasant way to spend a day, not to mention a better opportunity to support local artists. Jewelry, ceramics, glass, metalwork, photography, acrylic, digital art, leather, sculpture, mixed media and even custom wood designs are all available for perusing, ’preciating and purchasing. Mention you’re attending Arts in the Plaza for a 10 percent discount at Union Public House or Reforma Cocina Cantina. 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 28, and Sunday, Oct. 29. St. Philip’s Plaza, 4280 N. Campbell Ave. Free.
Sugar Skulls! If you’re not skully prepared for Dia de los Muertos yet, here is your chance to finally get your head in the game. As supplies last, the library will be providing materials for patrons to decorate sugar skulls with glitter, feathers, sequins and a skeleTON of other stuff. Don’t miss this opportunity to customize a Day of the Dead staple to your liking. 3 to 4:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 26. Miller-Golf Links Library. 9640 E. Golf Links Road. Free.
Portentous Performances
Carnival of Illusion Season Opener. Carnival of Illusion, the vaudevillian, close-up sleight of hand, cozy magic show founded by Tucson locals Susan Eyed and Roland Sarlot, is kicking off its ninth season with a (Mesa performance and then a) Tucson performance! Take a night off from all the tragic stuff going on and get some magic stuff going at a show one reviewer called “Better than the pool on a 100 degree Arizona day.” Is that even possible?! It’s definitely worth looking into, wouldn’t you say? 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 28. Scottish Rite Grand Parlour, 160 S. Scott. $33-$48.Tags: live drawing atelier , arts in the plaza , SAACA , sugar skulls , miller-golf links library , id de los muertos , Carnival of Illusion , Susan Eyed , Roland Sarlot , Gabriel Iglesias , Fluffymania , Fluffy , James Bond , Hilary Kole , ArtNow! MOCA , Sharon Louden , Pima Air and Space Museum , Fright Grill , Autumn Fest , Amerind Museum , nightmare on congress street , DJ Jazzy Jeff , Will Smith , Rocco’s Fourth Annual Blanket & Sock Drive , free hugs , socks drive , Freddy’s on Oracle Car Show , car show , Freddy’s , custard , Kartchner Caverns , Oro Valley Community Center , Halloween Spooktacular , spooky , Hogwarts , Harry Potter , mugs , boo at the zoo , reid park zoo , elsa , captain jack sparrow , cyclovia tucson , desert boneyard 10k run and 5k run/walk , Davis-Monthan Air Force Base , TMC Get moving , half marathon , 5k , fitkidz mile , madeintyo , carrots , black pussy , cash’d out
Thursday, October 19, 2017
However, the vocalist also created the iteration of the “Music of James Bond” event she’ll be performing as a part of the Tucson Symphony Orchestra’s SuperPops! Series, which is something fewer people can lay claim to.
“People have a really deep connection, especially over the last 40 years, to these movies and what they mean,” she said. "It kind of unites everyone, as far as you could be 20 or you could be 80, and you’re a Bond fan.”
She first performed a version of the James Bond show with the Charleston Symphony, and when she realized how much the audience connected to it (and how much fun she had) she wanted to do more. She developed a new arrangement with the arranger, wrote all of the in-between segments (she shares facts about the franchise and actor throughout the show) and started performing it.
“I’m always looking for new, fun things,” she said. “To me, it’s always my job to entertain the people who are coming, but to do it at the highest musical level possible.”
Her favorite part, she said, is getting to sing so many different kinds of music over the course of one show, from Louis Armstrong to Shirley Bassey to Adele.
“You have 60 years of some of the biggest starts in the world kind of giving their talent to the Bond franchise,” she said. “The truth is, it really is all about the music.”
The Music of James Bond will be performed by the Tucson Symphony Orchestra, with Scott Terrell conducting and Hilary Kole on vocals. Shows are at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 28 and 2 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 29, both at the Tucson Music Hall, 260 S. Church Ave. Tickets are available on the TSO website for $15 to $78.
Tags: James Bond , Hilary Kole , The Music of James Bond , TSO , Tucson Symphony Orchestra , Super! Pops , Scott Terrell , Tucson Music Hall , symphony , skyfall , live and let die , goldmember
Stars
Star Wars Paint Party. You Pick Your Side! You may not be able to use the force to help you become a professional painter, but you can attend a fun event where your painting is sketched out for you ahead of time and you have something to work with. Specify “Vader” or “Yoda” when you buy your ticket, so you can choose whether you’ll get an instructor who breathes really heavily and rarely speaks or one with confusing syntax. No, but really, specify one or the other so they’ll know which one to sketch out on your canvas. 6:15. Friday, Oct. 20. HighWire Lounge, 14 S. Arizona Ave. $30.Agua Caliente Park Astronomy Star Party. This event is simple, straightforward and starry. The Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association is setting up a cluster of telescopes in the Park Bus Lanes (at the north end of the park) to look up at and appreciate the sky. TAAA has been around for over 60 years, and the stars have been around for even longer than that. Celebrate and learn about both at this family-friendly event. Arrive early in case the park entrance gate closes one hour after the start time. 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 21. Agua Client Park, 12325 E. Roger Road. Free.
Meteor Mania! The Orionids are coming! The Orionids are coming! Produced by Halley’s comet, these visitors from the school of space rocks will be doing a flyby on Friday. It’s the middle of the night, so warm clothing (hats, gloves, layers) is a must. Feel free to bring sleeping bags, blankets or lawn chairs to hang out on as well. It’s big, bright, beautiful and the perfect event for space-loving kids (or for the conversion of a non-space-loving kid into a space-loving kid), especially ages 8 and up. 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. (though shuttles back to the parking lot will be available at 1 a.m. and 2 a.m. as well). Friday, Oct. 20. Kitt Peak National Observatory Visitor Center by driving way west on Ajo Way and taking a left at AZ-386 South. (Park in the picnic area, a mile below the summit, and take a shuttle the rest of the way.) $49.95 online or $55 over the phone for adults. $46.95 or $52 by phone for ages 8-16. Tribal members free.
Do Good, Feel Good
Tucson Walk to End Alzheimer’s. The Desert Southwest Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association is hosting the Tucson branch of this walk, which takes place in more than 600 communities across the country. Walk a one-mile or three-mile route at Reid Park and raise funds to support Alzheimer’s research, support and care. It’s free to register for the walk, which gives you all the more incentive to reach out to friends, family, coworkers and beyond to help support a worthwhile cause. 8 a.m. to noon. Saturday, Oct. 21. Reid Park, 900 S. Randolph Way. Free.Tags: Star wars , star wars paint party , Aga Client Park Astronomy star party , star party , stars , meteor mania! , meteors , orionids , orion’s belt , but orion the cat , men in black , Tucson Walk to End Alzheimer’s alzheimer’s , dementia , Light the Night , Leukemia and Lymphoma Society , childhood cancers , Boogie Nights , breast cancer research foundation , magic and murder at hotel congress , hotel congress , luna gale , Rebecca gilman , st. francis theatre , firebird , tucson symphony orchestra , TSO , The River Bride , Marisela Tervino Orta , national playwriting award , Arizona theatre company , Temple of music and art , mocha third Thursdays , happy hour , dogs , SAFE , FAME , Family arts and music experience , MOCA , Children’s Museum tucson , fall ball music festival , you’re not hardcore , unless you live hardcore , Breaking Benjamin , Pierce the Veil , Thrice , Beartooth , Arizona Lapidary Fall Festival , rocks , rocks rock , rock rocks , festival on the green , Oro Valley community center , Marana Cotton Festivals , Gnome fest , festival , Metro Gnome Music , most gnomes , Tucson Classics Car Show , Rotary Club Tucson , Inversion Workshop , 4th Avenue Yoga , nightcrawler , the English Beat , 6LACK , Brother Ali , 191 Toole , Rialto Theatre , Club Congress
Friday, October 13, 2017
The play became a wildly popular movie, which I rented for $2.99 on YouTube on Tuesday, Oct. 3, for obvious reasons. I highly recommend it if you need to make the world go away, as most of us have in the last couple of weeks.
If you’re also avoiding being alone, you can see the play in a brief run that starts Saturday, Oct. 14, at Arizona Rose Theatre Company, a year-old pop-up venue in Tucson Mall. Visit arizonarosetheatre.com for location, showtimes and reservations.
The Odd Couple is quaint in a way that reminds us of how smart the world could be in 1968, and how “woke” we are today in comparison. (The misogyny is pastel, innocent and fleeting.) The dress and manners of the era are charmingly constrained.
Yet the patented snappiness of Neil Simon’s comic dialog remains literally irresistible. If laughs are what you need, they will escape you despite your best efforts.
Arizona Rose’s General Manager Brandon Howell says the company feels ready to tackle what’s arguably Simon’s most enduring work. They’ve bulked up with popular productions of Simon’s Barefoot in the Park and Lost in Yonkers. “In fact, Howell says, “We’re going to bring that back in the Spring it was so popular last time.”
He says director Cynthia Howell, his mother and the family’s artistic director, has updated some of the most jarring anachronisms in the production’s sets and wardrobe She’s left the script almost entirely intact, though.
“That’s what we love about Neil Simon’s work,” Howell says. “His comic timing is so natural. Even in the most dramatic moments, he knows just the right time to break the tension.
“We tried to cast it so the character types fit the characters that Neil Simon wrote, Howell says. Christopher Younggren plays Felix; Lawrence Fuller plays Oscar. “Finding our Oscar was a challenge, but I think because they fit the character types so well, the relationship evolved out of the characters naturally.”
Other characters include Howell’s wife, Stephanie, as a Pigeon sister, continuing the Howell family’s long tradition of involvement since Howell’s parents, Terry and Cynthia, founded the company in 1986.
Thursday, October 12, 2017
Books!
Analog Hour at Tap & Bottle Downtown and Exo! Try leaving the house without your phone, just to see if you can do it. We’d suggest starting with something small, like going outside to check the mail, and then maybe a trip to the grocery store. And, when you’re ready to actually try to enjoy some of this phone-free time, then read a book, play a game, listen to some music, have a conversation or just sit at this monthly event at Exo and Tap & Bottle. 1 to 3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 15. Tap & Bottle, 403 N. Sixth Ave. Free entry.2017 All-Zona Book Fest. If a group of lions is called a herd, and a group of crows is called a murder, what do you call a group of local authors? Spend the day meeting a litter of authors responsible for some of the coolest mystery novels, memoirs, self-help books, children’s books and short stories around. The pack of pen-wielders will be available for a meet & greet, so attendees are in for a gaggle of good advice, behind-the-scenes info about favorite characters and the opportunity to meet the men and women behind the words. Bring a children’s book to help the event hosts, Gecko Gals, reach their goal of donating 500 books to Make Way for Books. 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 15. Tucson Jewish Community Center, 3800 E. River Road. Free.
Catalina Art Lovers Book Club. Books, of course, are an art form in and of themselves, but some people like their art to be about other art. For those of you in the art squared club, this book club is not to be missed. They’ll be meeting every second Friday, starting this month with The Scribe of Siena, in which a woman sees her own face in a fourteenth century painting and finds herself transported to medieval times—and we’re not talking the dinner theater. If you can’t make it to this one, stay tuned for future books: November’s The Improbability of Love by Hannah Rothschild, December’s A Piece of the World by Christina Baker Kline and January’s Lisette’s List by Susan Vreeland. 10:30 a.m. to noon. Friday, Oct. 13. Dewhurst-Catalina Library, 15631 N. Oracle Road. Free.
Art
The Year’s Strangest Art Show. Tales from the Trash is made up of two guys who pick up wacky and wild and sometimes wonderful art from thrift stores, flea markets, yard sales, swap meets and the occasional dumpster. The two are exhibiting pieces form their carefully curated selection for this well-named show, where most of the pieces will be for sale, and for a pretty low price. Maybe you were dumpster diver in a past life, but your back just isn’t what it used to be. Or maybe you just don’t want to go in a dumpster. Either way, at this show you can skip the dirty part and just let yourself reap the rewards. 6 to 10 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 14. Iron Horse Fabricators, 503 E. Ninth St. Free.Tags: analog hour , no phone zone , books , reading , book fest , local authors , book club , Tales from the Trash , Tucson miniature showcase , Sherlock Holmes , Ballet Tucson , The Addams Family , Tucson Humanities Festival , Resistance & Revolution , Bouts & Brews , Crooked Tooth Brewing , Climate Change , Feng shui , DOOM yoga , doom metal yoga , Friday the 13th , Friday the 13th tattoo specials , Cathey’s Cosplay Workshop , Tucson Coin Club Coin Show , The Great Pumpkin Race at Buckelew Farm , The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown , Buffalo Exchange , All Souls , Nightcrawler , M Ward , She & Him , KMFDM , 33rd Annual Blues Heritage Festival , KC & the Sunshine Band , Of Mice & Men , Eagles of Death Metal
Thursday, October 5, 2017
World Margarita Championship. Life is less hard when you have a marg, and furthermore… TEQUILA! Tucson Original Restaurants and the Southern Arizona Arts & Cultural Alliance are teaming up to make your life a little less hard and a lot more spirited with this opportunity to sample local cocktails and cuisine. A panel of judges (including the Weekly’s own Chow writer, Mark Whitaker) will deliver their verdict on the best of the Southwest, and attendees can vote for the People’s Choice Award for best signature margarita. Proceeds from admission and raffle ticket sales go to SAACA to support local arts education, art therapy programs and Tucson Originals restaurants. 6 p.m. Friday, Oct. 6. Hilton Tucson El Conquistador Golf & Tennis Resort, 10000 N. Oracle Road. $55 in advance, $70 day of event.
Desert Foods Fiesta. Give a man a prickly pear, and he’ll eat for a day. Teach a man how to safely harvest prickly pear fruits and make jellies and syrups out of the juice, and he’ll eat for a lifetime. At this festival, enjoy learning about prickly pear delicacies, solar cooking with the Solar Guild of Tucson, viewing the sun through telescopes, and milling your mesquite pods into flour. David Yetman of “In the Americas with David Yetman” and “The Desert Speaks” will also give a special presentation. Vendors ranging from El Saguaro Restaurant to Prest Coffee to Native Seed/SEARCH will be present to prepare and sell foods. The whole shebang is hosted by the Cooper Center for Environmental Learning, or Camp Cooper, which teaches kids (and adults!) all about the Sonoran Desert and the environment. 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 7. Cooper Center for Environmental Learning. 5403 W. Trails End Road. Free.
Tags: margaritas , pancakes , prickly pear , desert foods , sonoran snacks , pita jungle , kingfisher , fired pie , sour beer , sour candy , sour grapes , 1912 , chili cook-off , david yetman
Art
Free First Thursday: Sonoran Oktoberfest. Celebrate TMA’s sculpture garden, TMALearn, and then exit through the gift shop. No, really, it’s also the grand opening of the new museum shop in the Historic Fish House on Main Avenue and it’s going to be cool. This event will feature a reception for artist Roxanne Rossi and her series of mixed media paintings, in which women’s dresses are used to represent the complicated nature of love. Some dresses have lovely patterns, but uneven hems. Some are delicate colors with rough, uneven textures and some are voluminous but look torn apart. Besides, there will be live music, local beers and opportunities to make art! 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 5. Tucson Museum of Art and Historic Block 140 N. Main Ave. Free.The Big Picture. The Central Tucson Gallery Association is kicking off the downtown art season with exhibits at galleries all along Sixth Ave. and on local college campuses, including an “Enjoy Yourself” exhibit at the Joseph Gross Gallery at UA. Check out the "Surrealistic Stew" exhibit at Contreras Gallery and Jewelry, featuring art by Gary Aagaard, Neda Contrefas and E.M. Contreras, or the glassworks exhibit by Wes and Wesley Hunting at the Philabaum Glass Gallery. Most galleries are holding their reception from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 7. Gallery hours vary. Free.
Art in the Park Sierra Vista. There's something for everyone! The 46th annual Art in the Park Sierra Vista is an art show is the spot for artists to show and sell their original work. This year the event will bring over 200 vendors, both returning and new! It's the spot to browse or shop for a variety of art pieces. 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 7 and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 8. Veteran’s Memorial Park, 3105 E. Fry Blvd, Sierra Vista. Free.
MOCA Fall Exhibitions Opening. The three new exhibits at MOCA this season all examine the intense realities of living and working along the U.S.-Mexico border. Here, the border wall is examined as a metaphor: a simple line that could have the power to shape identities, lives and the future. See Paul Turounet’s examine the migrant experience in Estamos Buscando A. Examine the historic struggles of the border region in the multi-disciplinary Nothing to Declare: Transnational Narratives, curated by Ginger Shulick Porcella. In ByNowWeAreThere, see the art created by artist David Taylor and ten students during a road trip from Tucson to Tijuana. Saturday, Oct. 7. Members preview 7 to 8 p.m., public reception 8 to 9 p.m. Exhibit runs through Dec. 31, 2017. MOCA Tucson, 265 S. Church Ave. Free.
Tags: Sonoran Oktoberfest , The Big Picture , Central Tucson Gallery Association , CTGA , Art in the Park Sierra Vista , MOCA , Barrio Hollywood , Tohono O’odham , Where art and history meet , Tubac , Detour traveling show , arts for all , beauty and the beast , bonjour , Tucson for Mexico , Santa Pacha , Oscar Fuentes , Diluvio , Mono Sound , Heart and Should Queen of New Orleans , Irma Thomas , Ballet Tucson , TSO MasterWorks Series , Dusk Music Festival , DJ Jazzy Jeff , FST , Female StoryTellers , Meg Kearney , library , pima county library , Rainbow Salsa , Feature Writing , crochet , knit , GLOW , Jewish History Museum annual block party , SAHBA Home Show , Two chicks and a hammer , Tucson Reptile and amphibian show and sale , tucson modernism week , Fat Tony , Caustic Casanova , Obituary , reptiles , alligators , yay
Friday, September 29, 2017
Olivia Avanzato, 28, has been dancing since she was 4 years old. She’s been teaching classes at Floor Polish for about a year, teaching styles like “bad-ass tap” and solo salsa.
When Marina Cornelius, the studio’s founder, suggested she teach a couple’s class, Avanzato was having a hard time getting psyched about it. Then she realized what the problem was.
“I’m not excited because I’m not excited about taking couples classes,” she said.
Avanzato lives in Tucson with her partner Nadia, and had never been enthralled by the traditional, very heterosexual nature of most partner classes.
“Anytime I’ve ever taken a couple’s class, I’ve gone by myself, without my partner and done the traditional follow part and danced with a male," she said. "Or I’ve gone to a traditional class and stood in for the lead part.”
So she decided to do something different, something more inclusive for everyone. And she came up with Rainbow Salsa: a monthly dance class for LGBTQ+ couples. The first class was in September, and Avanzato said the couples who attended enjoyed it.
“It was really sweet,” she said. “It was really intimate and loving.”
The classes aren’t limited to same-sex couples–Avanzato wants to make sure that that everyone on the LGBTQ+ spectrum is included.
“I wanted it to be a place where you can dance with your partner and it’s fine,” she said.
Rainbow Salsa classes will be offered once a month at Floor Polish, 215 N. Hoff Ave. #107, and cost $15. The next one is Saturday, Oct. 7 from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m.
Tags: rainbow salsa , floor polish , pride , tucson pride , lgbtq , lgbtq+ , salsa , dancing , dancer , olivia avanzato
