ZUZI! Continues to Soar after 15 Years
What flies through the air every winter solstice for the past 15 years? It’s not the Great Pumpkin, but rather one of Tucson’s most unique and best loved dance companies, ZUZI! who will present their 15th Annual Solstice Gala performance at the Stevie Eller Dance Theatre on Friday, December 21.The ZUZI! company, known for both their land-based as well as their aerial dance extravaganzas will be joined by guest artists as they celebrate the winter solstice as well as their own anniversary as a local dance institution.
ZUZI! is a unique Tucson institution, a blending of dance training, a professional modern and aerial dance company, and a theater space that provides other performing arts groups a place to perform. Their annual solstice performance is usually held at their home space, in the Historic “Y” on University Boulevard, but for their anniversary ZUZI! decided to present the show at the larger Stevie Eller Dance Theatre on the UA campus. The group hopes to “expand their audience” and continue to spread the word about ZUZI! by utilizing the larger venue, according to operations manager Jamey Garner. ZUZI! has managed to carve out a niche as well as a national reputation based on their unique approach to operations (dance school, performing company and performance space) which has enabled them to thrive and train a generation of great dancers.
Special guest dancers for the Solstice Gala, Nathan Dryden and Greg Colburn, will be joined for the one night only event by musical guest artist Lindianne Sarno, performing on both piano and violin. ZUZI’s resident dancers for the performance will include Melissa Buckheit, Ekida Laurie, Karyn Reim, Carie Schneider, Sarah Anderson Stewart and Mechelle Tunstall. The show will feature works choreographed by artistic director Nanette Robinson, as well as by company dancers. A post performance reception, with live music featuring Pablo Peregrinna, will be paired with a silent auction fundraiser to complete the evening. Tickets are priced at either $75 for the performance and reception, or just $25 for the performance. ZUZIMoveIt.org.
Category: Arts
