Event

Studio5 Fine Arts Series: "Let's Face The Music And Dance"

Petra van Nuis, vocals
Eric Schneider, reeds
Andy Brown, guitar
Dan DeLorenzo, bass
Bob Rummage, drums

OK, this one is going to be wildly fun, but requires a little 'splainin'. My dear friend (and wonderful vocalist) Petra van Nuis attended an event at Studio5 and walked away with a fabulous idea for an event for our Fine Arts Series. You may know about Petra's great musical abilities, but you may not know that she is a former dancer. Our dance-centric theater inspired her to consider all the dance-themed jazz standards (e.g. "Shall We Dance", "Come Dance With Me", "Happy Feet") and wondered what it would be like to perform those pieces with her band while a pair of extraordinary swing dancers simultaneously improvised dance around them. How cool is that? So that's what we're doing. Petra has designed a special dance-themed song list for us and will be joined by some of Chicago's finest jazz musicians ... and two great swing dancers, Denise Williams and Tom Bachtell, all improvising together. By the way, if Tom Bachtell's name sounds familiar, it may be because in addition to being a wonderful dancer he is also a noted cartoonist for the New Yorker. Whaaat? Doubly cool. We'll be sure to build a little time into the evening to chat with these interesting artists. And for you interested hoofers out there, for the final set of the evening, the dance floor will be open to the entire audience and you'll all be invited to get on up and shake your tail feather to this great band. That's right, it's audience participation of the most enjoyable variety. How can you miss this? May I just say that one of the delights of having our own theater is that we can take fun ideas like this and put them on stage? We so hope you enjoy it, and truly appreciate when you stop by to have fun with us. Thanks for supporting our flights of fancy. --SR

Cash bar, light snacks, free parking right outside! Doors open at 7:30.

[NOTE: ONLINE TICKET SALES END ONE HOUR PRIOR TO THIS EVENT. REMAINING TICKETS ARE AVAILABLE AT THE DOOR.]