Sudbury arts and entertainment in brief

Ora Sawyers

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Sudbury Burlesque takes audiences back to the cabaret

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Sudbury Burlesque, Northern Ontario’s premier burlesque troupe, is getting ready to celebrate love and nostalgia with their latest production. From Feb. 9-17, Sudbury Burlesque presents Va-Va-Valentine: A Burlesque cabaret at Steve’s Encore Lounge in the Sudbury Theatre Centre, 170 Shaughnessy St.

This latest production features a sizzling revue with Sudbury Burlesque’s cast of showgirls, accompanied by a live trio of local jazz musicians.

With champagne, hors-d’oeuvres, go-go dancing, sweet treats, party favours and local vendors, the event promises to tantalize and provoke from the moment the doors open to the minute patrons leave.

“We’re going all the way back to our roots with this production,” said Jess Crowe, the troupe’s artistic director. “We started over 10 years ago with smaller, more intimate productions and we’re very excited to get back to performances where we get to connect with each and every audience member.”

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The soundtrack to this Valentine’s Day spectacle will have that swing that harkens to the era of jazz greats and the STC lounge will be transformed to feel just like the cabarets that gave life to those classics.

Shows start at 7:30 p.m. Doors open at 7 p.m. A cash bar will be available. Sudbury Burlesque shows are for audiences 19 years of age and older.

Electronic tickets are available at SudburyBurlesque.com and physical tickets can be purchased at Knowhere Public House, 130 Elm St.

 

Sudbury Music Festival goes live in 2023

The 2023 Sudbury Music Festival, formerly the Kiwanis Music Festival of Sudbury, will be held from March 25 to April 5.

After two years of COVID-19 precautions and restrictions limiting the festival to online activities, participants will once again have the opportunity to gather in person and experience each other’s performances live, carrying on a 76-year tradition.

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“Our aim is, and always has been, to create as meaningful an experience for the participants as possible,” Ralph McIntosh, board chair, said. “The return to an in-person format will be a welcome change for the performers, parents and other supporters.”

The festival board is delighted to announce that Louis Simão will be continuing in the role of festival co-ordinator.

“Louis and the organizing board have been working for the past several months to ensure Sudbury and area music students have a chance to perform and compete as they have over the past 76 years,” McIntosh added. “After two challenging yet successful years, we are all looking forward to the return of a live, in-person festival.”

The return to an in-person festival will also require the support of community volunteers to assist with the supervision of various festival activities. We invite music lovers and supporters to contact Simão at [email protected] or 416-532-8209.

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Registration is open until Jan. 31. To learn more, please go to sudburymusicfestival.ca. 

PA days at the STC

Exploration and fun are the key words for the Sudbury Theatre Centre’s PA day theatre camps, for youth aged eight to 12.

Six full-day camps will run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the following dates: Feb. 3; March 10; April 28; and June 9.

The program includes collaborative activities and games designed to build imagination, confidence and creative expression.

Students will enjoy learning drama fundamentals such as role-playing, tableaux and stage-blocking. Character work and storytelling activities building on the theme of relationships and respect will challenge students to think critically and creatively.

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The camps will be led by Garrett Carr. Enrolment is limited to 20 students. Masks are no longer mandatory. Activities will be held in instructional spaces that promote physical distancing. Hand sanitizer will be readily available throughout the building and in the washrooms.

Parents may register their children for more than one camp, but payments will be collected for one camp at a time. The cost is $65 per day (includes HST) or $60 for current STC Academy students. After-care until 5 p.m. is available upon request for an additional $10 per day.

For more information, including registration forms, visit sudburytheatre.com/youth. To register, email completed forms to the STC box office at [email protected] and call 705-674-8381 ext. 1 to provide payment.

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Jazz Sudbury kicks off 2023 by celebrating Black History Month

Jazz Sudbury is getting ready for its inaugural Black History Month celebration, which takes place Feb. 25. This addition to the Jazz Sudbury calendar promises to be a captivating event that features Order of Canada composer and pianist, Joe Sealy.

Africville Stories is Sealy’s new presentation that builds on his Juno award-winning Africville Suite. Africville Stories will present lesser-known stories about the people and their community.

Established in 1847, Africville was nestled on the shores of the Bedford Basin at the north end of Halifax and was Canada’s oldest Black community. It was razed in the late 1960s as an urban improvement measure. 

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Africville had to overcome a multitude of challenges but managed to survive for more than a century, until the final building was demolished in 1970. The stories surrounding George Dixon, Joe Louis, Portia White and Duke Ellington combine to create the legacy of this unique Canadian community.

For more than five decades Sealy has enjoyed a successful career as a musician, actor, composer, music director and recording artist. During this time, he has been featured on numerous television shows, toured throughout North America and Europe, and worked with many major names in the entertainment industry. Some notable milestones include six months on the road with Blood, Sweat and Tears; a 19-concert tour of Africville Suite, including an appearance at the Canadian Embassy in Washington, DC; and a 20-city tour of Timothy Findlay’s Piano Man’s Daughter, with Veronica Tennant and Sylvia Tyson.

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Joining Sealy for this presentation is the esteemed Jackie Richardson, one of Canada’s foremost singers of gospel, blues and jazz. Known internationally, her musical career has been enriched by numerous performances with Celine Dion, Maureen Forrester, Anne Murray, Oliver Jones, Martha Reeves and Mavis Staples.

Paul Novotny, Daniel Barnes and Alison Young will also join Sealy and Richardson. 

“We are excited to be returning to the stunning Place des Arts for Jazz Sudbury’s first concert of the year,” Louis Simão, director of Jazz Sudbury, said in a release. “We invite our core audience and newcomers alike to experience what promises to be an evening of incredible music and storytelling that celebrates and brings to life this important part of Canadian history.”

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There will also be a virtual workshop and Q&A on Feb. 21 at 8:30 a.m. in conjunction with Sudbury Secondary School and other participating schools.

Tickets for Africville Stories are available for purchase at the Places des Arts box office (at the corner of Elgin and Larch Streets). For more information on Jazz Sudbury, visit jazzsudbury.com or facebook.com/JazzSudbury. Student pricing will be available with a valid student ID.

AGS hosts David Milne exhibit 

The Art Gallery of Sudbury, 251 John St., invites you to a new exhibition, titled Blazes Along the Trail: Exploring David Milne’s Imaginative Vision. It features works by prominent Canadian artist David Milne (1882-1953), organized and circulated by Art Windsor-Essex and curated by Christopher Finn. 

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This exhibition presents a selection of works from core areas of Milne’s artistic practice in oil painting, watercolours and dry-point prints. All works on display have been drawn from Art Windsor-Essex’s permanent collection. 

Milne’s artistic significance rests on his focused and deeply personal art-making strategies. Milne studied in New York City where he was exposed to the modernist thinking of contemporary American artists, as well as exhibitions displaying current art from Europe. These experiences served to inspire his explorations within his artistic practice, leading him to probe what was at the core of an individual’s creativity. 

Milne’s aesthetic revelations represent interpretations of place featuring undeveloped landscapes, as well as urban environments. His art demonstrates his ability to adapt, and to control tools and materials for production, leading to the expressiveness of his vision. 

The exhibition continues until March 19. Admission is free with donation. 

There are three other exhibitions showing at the Art Gallery of Sudbury concurrently with this exhibition: The Spaces In-Between (stairwell and Gallery 2); Frank M. Stark: The Budd Car Train from Sudbury to White River (Gallery 2, on display until Jan. 29); and Creative Kids (Gallery 3, on display until Jan. 29). 

The gallery is open Tuesday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday from 12-5 p.m. For more information or to book a visit, please go to artsudbury.org or call 705-675-4871. 

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