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UB on the Green plans second season of entertainment
By KEVIN FRYLING
Reporter Staff Writer
The vast green lawn in front of Hayes Hall on the South Campus once again will transform into an entertainment destination this summer as UB opens its second annual performance series for the community, UB on the Green.
The free music-and-dance performances will be held from 6-8 p.m. on four Tuesday evenings: July 22 and 29, and Aug. 5 and 12.
In addition to providing all-ages entertainment, UB on the Green offers an opportunity for the community to become more familiar with the university. It also is designed to educate, as well as entertain, with interactive demonstrations and other hands-on activities that are fun for the whole family.
Participants are encouraged to bring a picnic to enjoy during the performances. Refreshments will be available for sale. UB on the Green is an alcohol-free, family-friendly event.
The series will kick off on July 22 with a performance titled “Mood Swings” by the Iacono Dance Company, Western New York’s original ballroom and Latin dance company. Iacono will perform tango, cha-cha, swing and other ballroom dance styles. It will be followed by Steve Lucky and the Rhumba Bums featuring Carmen Getit, a San Francisco-based, high-energy swing ensemble with a live-wire performance style.
The acclaimed ensemble DanceBrazil, one of the first dance troupes to bring the Brazilian martial art capoeira to the United States, will headline the July 29 program. Outer Circle Orchestra, Buffalo’s original World Beat music collective, also will perform that evening.
The Aug. 5 program will feature the Anat Cohen Quartet, a musical group that combines jazz, classical, Brazilian, Argentine and Afro-Cuban musical styles. Esperanza Spalding, a talented bassist, composer and vocalist whose unique sound incorporates the rich traditions of soul, pop and world music, also will perform on Aug. 5. Spalding will be seen this month on “The Late Show with David Letterman” and “Jimmy Kimmel Live.”
The series will end on Aug. 12 with performances by two crowd-pleasing, culturally diverse dance companies. The Live In Color Dance Collective, featuring Caribbean, African, Latin and urban dance styles, recently was cast for the MTV show “Randy Jackson Presents America’s Best Dance Crew” and has won national video music and dance awards. Illstyle & Peace Productions, a Philadelphia-based, urban dance ensemble, puts a unique twist on the spirit of old-school hip-hop.
“UB on the Green proved to be a great community builder last summer,” notes Sister Jeremy Midura, pastoral associate at St. Joseph’s University Church. “I was delighted to mingle with families and singles and groups of work colleagues. It provided the perfect venue for gathering with neighbors—relaxing, chatting and enjoying an evening of free entertainment,” Midura says.
“There was something truly nostalgic about sitting back in your folding chair on that broad green lawn in front of those magnificent stone buildings and enjoying the simple entertainment and presence of neighbors and friends on a warm summer night.”
Adds David Ellerbrock, president of the University Heights Collaborative: “UB on the Green is just one more reason residents and students can enjoy University Heights in a way they didn’t expect. The campus green can be thought of as not only a pretty place to drive past, but a place to build a neighborhood with.”
Robin Hibbert, assistant artistic director and choreographer with Le Ballet Touba, N’Dame Fall, was a performer at UB on the Green last summer. “Although my involvement in UB on the Green was personal and physical as a performer, I can definitely say it is a cultural event series that opens doors to the rich tapestry of our community’s varied cultural heritages,” Hibbert says. “This interdisciplinary performing arts series offers the community opportunities to appreciate and draw connections between their own cultural backgrounds with traditions, values, language, music, arts, dances and histories of other cultures.”
For more information about UB on the Green, contact the Office of Community Relations at 829-3099 or click here.