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by Melissa Bailey | Apr 18, 2007 5:02 pm

(5) Comments | Commenting has been closed | E-mail the Author

Posted to: Arts

Ushered in by Spike Lee, the 15-day bonanza of summer fun called Arts & Ideas will feature, among other attractions: A floating concert boat designed by Louis Kahn, individualized dance performances for an audience of one, and a tap dance show on the Green.

Festival director Mary Lou Aleskie (pictured at left) and programming director Cathy Edwards unveiled the 12th annual Arts & Ideas Festival at a press event Wednesday.

This year’s festival, scheduled for June 9 to June 23, includes more of an international focus than last year, more dance, and an expansion of events into Fair Haven and the Long Wharf pier.

This year’s theme, “A World Reimagined,” is intentionally open-ended, said Aleskie. Some would call it a dance-a-thon, or a tribute to African diaspora. Aleskie urged visitors to find their own path, and theme, through the unending array of theater, dance, music and family fun, much of which is provided for free.

When funding for New Haven’s prized summer festival was slashed in the governor’s budget, organizers got a scare. But the funds were reinstated by the legislature’s Appropriations Committee after lobbying from New Haven’s delegates. The final state budget hasn’t been approved, but “we’re very hopeful that [funds] will sustain the remainder of the process,” Aleskie said.

She presented a host of activities. Details are dazzling, and all the events—including a host of free walking and biking tours—didn’t even fit into the brochure.

Here are some highlights.

Opening night: New York director Spike Lee hits the stage, narrating and sharing memories as Terence Blanchard, back from last summer by popular demand, plays the soundtrack to “When the Levees Broke.”

Personal performance: By appointment only, Cell, “an ambitious hour-long work driven by observations of urban pedestrians and street life,” is performed to one individual via instructions delivered to a cell phone. Performed by the Headong Dance Theater, and by you.

Floating woodwinds: The festival expands to the waterfront, as this 195-foot floating theater and gallery (pictured) anchors at the Long Wharf Pier and on the Quinnipiac River in Fair Haven for free evening concerts.

Dance: For the first time, one of the free weekend shows on the Green will be dance, not music. Tamango, an urban tap dancer, takes stage on the Green June 16. Also for the first time, the festival will include a full-length classical ballet—Giselle, by Nina Ananiashvili and the State Ballet of Georgia, making its U.S. debut. Dancers, including an acclaimed company from Siberia, will hold masters classes for the public.

Free concerts: Angelique Kidjo on June 10; Cyro Baptista & Beat the Donkey, June 17.

The list of arts, coupled with ideas events that illuminate them, goes on. Brochures will be available starting Thursday on this website, which includes instructions on how to book tickets ahead of time by donating $100.

Comments

posted by: east rock resident on April 18, 2007 5:30pm

I have no idea what any of this is. Combined with the downgraded summer festivals that the City is offering, this looks to be a summer of unexciting concerts on the green and ridiculous arts events that appeal to virtually no New Haven residents.

posted by: sandstorm on April 19, 2007 11:15am

Having had the opportunity to see the American Wind Symphony Ensemble on its floating shell, I can attest to the quality of performance and acoustics. The Bridgeport audience was riveted!
Anyone who could be less than impressed with
the Festival and the other entertaining, stimulating and thought provoking opportunities that abound in New Haven is not very resourceful.

It is amazing that all of the programming was
achieved in the absence of knowledge re: the amount of funding available.

posted by: charlie on April 19, 2007 1:15pm

The Kahn barge is kind of cool, but whatever happened to the Metropolitan Opera on the Green and the almost daily series of amazing concerts? Maybe funding should have been cut after all and the money redirected into streetscape improvements or something. The festival has always been great, especially the kids events on the Green, but it’s sad to see it slip so far downhill. Of course, New Haven’s downtown is now so popular in its own right (in part due to the early years of the festival) that people will be flooding into the area festival or not.

posted by: Kevin on April 19, 2007 1:31pm

Speaking as a middle-age white guy who lives in East Rock, I’m amazed that anyone is unfamiliar with Spike Lee. Seriously, the idea of the festival is to introduce people to a wide variety of artists from around the world.

posted by: Chris on April 29, 2007 12:09am

I saw Angelique Kidjo in Brooklyn last summer. She is a class act; one of the superstars of the world-music scene and a riveting performer.

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