The Iowa Cultural Corridor Alliance presented Hancher Auditorium Executive Director Chuck Swanson with the 2017 Larry Eckholt Award for arts advocacy Nov. 8 at its annual Celebration of the Arts. The award is the ICCA’s highest individual honor, presented annually to a south corridor-area community member.
Larry Eckholt was the development director for the Iowa City Public Library at the time of his death at age 56 in 2002. He previously served as the University of Iowa Foundation’s director of development for the Iowa Center for the Arts, where he was responsible for fundraising for all of the UI’s arts programs. He initiated efforts to raise funds for the Iowa Dance Residency program, worked to establish a long-term relationship with the Joffrey Ballet, and served on several cultural organization boards and committees.
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Iowa Now - Monday, November 6, 2017
There’s an old saying: Those who can, do; those who can’t, teach. While most people would agree this isn’t true, those who need to be persuaded otherwise need look no further than the University of Iowa’s Dance Gala.
The annual tradition returns Nov. 10–11 to the Hancher Auditorium stage for the first time since the 2008 flood. Along with the premiere of an original work created for Dance Gala by award-winning artist Monica Bill Barnes, the works of five members of the UI’s highly acclaimed dance faculty will be brought to life by their students.
The Daily Iowan - Thursday, October 26, 2017
The blue janitorial jumpsuits are subdued underneath a twinge of purple light. Glow-in-the-dark stars are scattered across the back wall as in the bedroom of a child. The set draws a fine line between simple and imaginative.
“I have always loved music from colorful storytellers, and I brought that into my band,” Ethan Lipton said. “We have melded various genres together into one particular sound that is rooted in American music.
“We are always trying to make sure we are pushing forward and charting new territory.”
Ethan Lipton and His Orchestra perform cabaret–lounge-style music, but the lyrics have a satirical element that transcends genre. The group will play at Hancher at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, performing two different sets: “The Outer Space” on Friday and “No Place to Go” on Saturday.
The Daily Iowan - Thursday, October 26, 2017
On Tuesday and Wednesday evening, the New York City Ballet merged fantasy with reality when it performed at Hancher during its MOVES tour, mesmerizing the more than 850 people in the audience.
Ballet dancers moved swiftly across stage, their bodies moving fluidly, their dancing graceful and seemingly effortless. The live music and dancing was flawless and in sync , while the lighting and stage scheme enhanced the aesthetics of the performance.
Brian Anstedt, the Hancher production manager, said preparing for New York City Ballet’s performance was a long process. Stage workers spent eight hours on Oct. 21 and around 13 hours on Monday setting up the light plot and getting ready for the performance.
The Gazette - Wednesday, October 25, 2017
Everything was exquisite in New York City Ballet’s Hancher debut Tuesday night, but all eyes were fixed on Iowa City native Miriam Miller’s triumphant return to her hometown.
She appeared in the company for “La Stravaganza” in the first half of the 2 1/2-hour program, but truly got to shine in the sensual “After the Rain.” Christopher Wheeldon, whose re-imagined “Nutcracker” previewed at Hancher last year, created a pas de deux — a ballet dance duet — in 2005 with extraordinary, fluid choreography that today fits Miller’s tall frame beautifully, showing the full reach of her liquid, languid arms.
The Gazette - Sunday, October 22, 2017
Joshua Bell is peerless perfection on violin. His artistry knows no bounds.
Friday night’s nearly sold-out crowd at Hancher Auditorium heard Bell and his 300-year-old violin in all their glory, in a magnificent two-hour recital with pianist Alessio Bax.
The pair performed three sonatas and three encores, each piece keeping listeners on the edge of their seats, holding their breath as each final note hung suspended in midair before fading into silence, broken only by gasps, thunderous applause and multiple standing ovations.
“That was the most amazing thing I’ve ever heard,” a young woman told her friend as they exited the auditorium.
The Gazette - Saturday, October 21, 2017
Diana Nollen The Gazette More stories from Diana
Oct 21, 2017 at 8:00 pm | Print View
New York City Ballet is on the move to Hancher for the first time, keeping an Iowa City native on her toes.
Miriam Miller, 20, was just 4 when she danced on the former Hancher stage, but she doesn’t remember that performance. This time, she’s stepping into “After the Rain,” a pas de deux choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon, who mounted the Joffrey Ballet’s new “Nutcracker” at Hancher Auditorium last December. She also will be among the three couples dancing “La Stravaganza,” with music by Vivaldi and others, set by French choreographer Angelin Preljocaj.
The Gazette - Thursday, October 19, 2017
Theirs is a love affair that bridges the centuries and makes audiences swoon, whether they’re zipping past in a subway or seated in one of the world’s most magnificent concert halls.
It was love at first sight for Joshua Bell and his 1713 Huberman Stradivarius violin, which he’ll make sing at Hancher Auditorium on Friday night (10/20).
Many hands have held the instrument during its 300 years, and Bell is determined to hold it for the rest of his life.
The Daily Iowan - Thursday, October 19, 2017
Walk into the auditorium. The lights are dimmed. Wait for a world-class musician to take to the stage. The crowd applauds as he walks on, holding his instrument. He lifts the instrument, ready to take flight and bring the audience into an uplifting world.
Joshua Bell, a world-renowned classical violinist, will perform at Hancher at 7:30 p.m. Friday. He performed at Hancher’s previous incarnation in 2003.
For Bell, this love of music began early. As a child, his parents found him in his room, plucking rubber bands he had tied to his dresser drawers. Young Joshua was trying to play the music he had heard, and his parents immediately took action. Thereafter, Bell and his violin took on the world.
The Daily Iowan - Monday, October 16, 2017
Sandy Boyd, the president emeritus of the University of Iowa and our dear friend, has long said Hancher Auditorium is the largest classroom on campus. I’ve always been inspired by that notion, and it has motivated me to raise funds for the many programs at Hancher that change lives.
Our work inspires the lives of elementary, middle-school, high-school, and University of Iowa students — as well as people of all ages throughout our wider community, region, and state.