Month: February 2019

Finding Parking Just Got Easier

We know finding parking prior to performances here at the Lincoln Center can be challenging but now finding parking just got easier in two ways.

First, Blue Ocean Enterprises is once again partnering with the Lincoln Center to provide additional parking at 419 Canyon Avenue for patrons attending LC Live performances. These additional spaces are located directly across the street from the Lincoln Center to the west. Patrons may park at this location only for the duration of any LC Live performance. These performances are presented exclusively by the Lincoln Center/City of Fort Collins and are easily identifiable on LCtix.com as they bear the words “Presented by LC Live.” We’d like to thank Blue Ocean Enterprises for sharing these additional spaces.

Additionally, you can save time driving around searching for parking with the new FC Parking app. This new app, by the City of Fort Collins Parking Services, is available on iPhone App Store or Google Play and allows users to monitor and locate garage and on-street parking with ease. The app, which basically works in real time, can be used to display an easy-to-use map of parking zones around the Lincoln Center. The map indicates where individual parking spaces are available with a quick glance. Get the new app and get to your shows on time.

British Blokes, Ballads and Brews

It’s a party! It’s a concert! It’s a pint-filled good time when The Choir of Man hits The Lincoln Center stage on February 23. Known across the globe as “the ultimate feel-good show,” The Choir of Man offers up a night filled with spirited harmonies, high-energy dance and live percussion all set in a working pub.

Debuting at Edinburgh Fringe Festival (the largest arts festival in the world) in 2017, The Choir of Man has had such phenomenal success it has gone on to tour Australia and the USA. It even returned to excited fans at the Fringe Festival in 2018.

“Fort Collins can look forward to an unforgettable night of unadulterated entertainment,” says Johnny Sheehy, the “Casanova” character of The Choir of Man crew. “And if you get there early, you can come up on stage with us to have a pint and a chat with nine handsome blokes.”

The multi-talented cast of “nine handsome blokes” sings everything from sing-along classics to opera, rock, pop and more. The cast features world-class tap dancers, tumblers, singers and instrumentalists, ensuring that there is something for everyone in this joyous and uplifting show.

Sheehy explains that The Choir of Man is about community and friendship, and a way to “pay homage to community spaces like the local pub where people come to ‘simply be, in simple company.'”

“We’re like a family, just like in the show we all have our familial roles to play on the tour,” says Sheehy. “Throughout the show we aim to show that men can be both strong and sensitive, and this pub is a sanctuary where we get to express that through music and song.”

Unlike most shows, The Choir of Man aims to be up close and personal. “People leave the show feeling like they have been right there in the pub with us and have nine new friends,” says Sheehy.

And you know you’re in for a rousing good time when Sheehy describes The Choir of Man as “a Desperados, a fun-filled beer with a kick of tequila and a zesty aftertaste.”

Come drink in the action with The Choir of Man on February 23rd! Seats from $15 at LCtix.com.

Breaking Ballet’s Boundaries

From its diversity in choreography to its inventive use of media, Aspen Santa Fe Ballet promises an evening of powerful dance on March 5 at The Lincoln Center.

Founded in 1996, with early support from artists Moses Pendleton (MOMIX) and Dwight Rhoden (COMPLEXIONS), Aspen Santa Fe Ballet quickly made a name for themselves by embracing the varied dimensions of multiple art forms. Through this, their success allowed them to expand their home base from Aspen, Colorado to Sante Fe, New Mexico. Their following in both states is a testament to their level of performance and influence in the field of dance. The distinguishing factors of multimedia art and superb dancers make their performances unlike any other.

“The diversity of work that we do means we need to be super versatile as dancers,” says ASFB dancer Anthony Tiedeman. “It’s refreshing that every piece is different and there is something that caters to everyone.”

Bending the perspective of dance allows ASFB to put on a performance that breaks ballets boundaries. Props, lighting, and music are all used to create imaginative pieces like the mystifying dance Dream Play. This piece leaves the audience questioning if they are awake or in a fantasy as dancers master the illusion of flying using only their bodies and a projector.

“We love having Dream Play as part of our repertoire because it brings a different aspect into our shows,” says Tiedeman. “We are very different from other dance companies in the things we do and that’s one of my favorite things about us.”

“There is an entire set of props and the video projection. Everything is set to the beat and there is a lot that can go wrong,” says Tiedeman. “This makes us stay very alert and active so we are able to improvise if things don’t go as planned.”

ASFB has carved a reputation as a “dance-lover’s dance company” by fostering a new breed of exceptional dancers and cultivating choreographic talent resulting in innovative and sensational performances that also allow for dancers to connect with the audience.

“This show is special because it gives everyone in the audience a chance to connect with a specific dancer,” says Tiedeman. “There are a lot of moments in the performance where we get to show who we are and the diversity of the company.”

Experience the company that epitomizes the contemporary-classical genre. Seats from $15 at LCtix.com.

Limitless Rhythmic Possibilities

Known the world over for being the ambassadors of Japanese culture, the world’s premier traditional Japanese taiko drum performers, Kodo, comes to The Lincoln Center on February 17.

Taiko drums have had a long history in Japan. They are used for theatre, music, religious ceremonies and festivals. In the 16th century, they were even used to communicate orders to armies during the Warring States period.

Kodo, however, is focused not just on the past of taiko, but its future. With limitless rhythmic possibilities, Kodo uses taiko to transform many different Japanese cultural artforms while still being respectful of their roots. “This dual goal that Kodo upholds of preserving tradition and continually evolving is what we strive to be every day,” says Misturu Ishizuka, the most senior member of Kodo.

For Ishizuka, Kodo’s newest show, Evolution, will conjure the image of the traditional and the new spinning together until they create something unknown. What will come of this is a new sound that has never been heard before, yet will still be distinctly taiko.

Even their signature pieces, such as “Odaiko” and “Monochrome” will be getting new interpretations. Though the traditional Japanese instruments are there, they have incorporated Western instruments to create what Ishizuka calls a “more colorful” and “rich musical expression.”

What makes Kodo the best in the world is not only their desire to evolve but also the drive and determination of their performers to deliver the best performance.

When accepted as an apprentice, they move to Sado Island in Japan and live communally in the mountains with veteran performers. There, they practice not only taiko drumming, dance, and flute, but other traditional Japanese art forms like noh (theatre), kyogen (comic theatre), sadou (tea ceremony), Ryukyu (Okinawan) dance, Minyo (folk singing), and the koto harp. They also train their physical fitness every day, as well as manage daily routines like farming, cleaning, and cooking.

On top of that, they cannot drink, smoke, or access the internet during their apprenticeship.

“After the two-year apprenticeship,” Ishizuka says, “a few get selected to advance as a Junior member to perform on stage with the Kodo members for one year, making it at least three years to fully become a performing member for Kodo.”

Is it any wonder that Kodo has been one of the most dynamic performances, and must-see shows since their inception in 1981?

“The thing I love the most about a taiko performance is the raw, pure energy it produces,” says junior member, Taiyo Onoda. “It gives everyone, people watching and performing, energy to plow through life.”

Kodo’s new show, Evolution, will embody that “raw, pure energy” that fans of the art form and the group expect, but the experience will be different.

Don’t miss the world’s most celebrated masters of taiko when they come to Fort Collins February 17, 2019! There are only a handful of tickets left, so get your seats before they are gone! Tickets from $15 at LCtix.com.