7/13/2006 - Mattatuck Museum - Summer Arts on the Green

SUMMER ARTS ON THE WATERBURY GREEN

Whether you like your music hot or cool, there is something for everyone this summer on the Waterbury Green. During four Thursdays in July and August, the Mattatuck Museum Arts and History Center celebrates the arts by sponsoring four live performances on the Waterbury Green*.

The performances are FREE, culturally diverse and bound to engage the audience, whether it¹s to the rhythmic beat of Latin jazz or the cool sounds of Mozart and Shostakovich. Bring a lawn chair and a picnic!

Also on July 6, the Mattatuck Museum will offer free admission from 5:30-7:30 p.m. to "Breaking Away: Waterbury and the Revolution".

The Summer Arts performances are as follows:

Thursday, July 13, 2006

12 Noon 1:45 p.m.

Vinny & Ray, Latin jazz band

Hot, hot, hot! Winners of the 2004 Independent Music Awards for best original Latin song, twin brothers Vinny & Ray lead eleven high energy musicians to the sound and rhythm of salsa, merengue, rumba, jazz and rhythm & blues. This upbeat music will be sure to have everyone swaying and dancing! For more information on Vinny & Ray, visit http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/vinnynray.

Thursday, July 20, 2006

5:30 p.m. 7:30 p.m.

³Hot Salsa Nights²: Karibe Mambo, salsa and Latin jazz band, and Alisa¹s House of Salsa Latin Heat Dance Co.

Sway to the contagious sound of Orlando Ortiz and his eight-piece band, Karibe Mambo while dancing under instruction of Alisa¹s House of Salsa Latin Heat Dance Company.

Born and raised in Puerto Rico, Ortiz blends the rhythms of Africa, Cuba and Puerto Rico into an energetic mix of salsa and merengue. No one will be able to stay in their seat when they hear this irresistible beat!

Dancing to the beat of Karibe Mambo, Alisa Bowens will lead an authentic Latin salsa presentation with help from instructors and advanced dancers from her studio, Alisa¹s House of Salsa Latin Heat Dance Co. Later in the program, volunteers from the audience will be invited to learn the rhythmic steps of salsa and merengue. Who can resist?

For more information on Orlando Ortiz and Karibe Mambo, call 203-530-2399 or 203-543-7000; for Alisa¹s House of Salsa Latin Heat Dance Company, visit www.alisashouseofsalsa.com.

 

Thursday, July 27, 2006

5:30 p.m. 7:30 p.m.

Mozart & Shostakovich Tribute: Greater Waterbury Classic Concerts, Greater Waterbury Youth Symphony and Connecticut Dance Theatre

Celebrating Mozart¹s 250th and Shostakovich¹s 100th birthdays, the Greater Waterbury Classic Concerts and the Greater Waterbury Youth Symphony will perform works by both composers. Students from the Chamber Music Institute and Festival program at Post University and their renowned professional instructors will perform with dancers from The Connecticut Dance Theatre, choreographed by founder and artistic director Donna Bonasera. Dancer wanna-bees from the audience will be invited to participate in part of the program.

For more information on Greater Waterbury Classic Concerts, visit www.grwtbycc.org. Founded in 1989, The Connecticut Dance Theatre is one of the leading training schools of dance in the state, visit www.ctdancetheatre.org. Founded in the 1960¹s, the Greater Waterbury Youth Symphony has been providing opportunities to students of all cultural backgrounds and musical abilities, encouraging and challenging them to participate at the highest level possible. Students range from age six to eighteen. Visit www.gwys.org.

 

Thursday, August 3, 2006

11:00 a.m. 7:30 p.m.

Neighborhood Block Party!

Get out on the Waterbury Green for an old-fashioned summer block party! Meet your neighbors, celebrate summer, bring a lawn chair or blanket and spend the day just having fun! Bring a picnic or chose from one of the food vendors. The festivities being with:

11:00 a.m. 3:00 p.m. Farmers Market

12:30 p.m. 1:30 p.m. Sounds of Afrika, Connecticut¹s premier African dance and drumming ensemble celebrating the traditions of Africa, visit www.soundsofafrika.com. 1:30 p.m. 2:30 p.m. Greater Waterbury Classic Concerts 2:30 p.m. 3:30 p.m. Morris Bently Burch, Energy Specialist, certified health and wellness instructor and Head Instructor of Health Healing Martial Arts will demonstrate the breathing, healing and alignment exercises of Tai Chi Kung and lead the audience in a group session. 3:30 p.m. 5:30 p.m. The Ken Reeder Experience, popular veteran local comedian and performing artist, will entertain with trivia games, comedy and more

5:30 p.m. 7:30 p.m. Timmy Maia, Singer, Songwriter and native of Waterbury, is best described as ³a hot young singer/songwriter whose style is smooth and romantic.² His second CD is a refreshing combination of R&B and Hip Hop influenced love songs and ballads. For more information, visit www.timmymaia.com. 4:00 p.m. 4:30 p.m. ³The History of Waterbury Neighborhoods² at the Mattatuck Museum. Watch a short film about the history of Waterbury and how it evolved into the community it is today.

 The Mattatuck Museum Arts and History Center is located at 144 West Main Street, Waterbury, across from the Green with convenient parking behind the museum on Park Place. The Museum will be open to visitors the evenings of the performances, admission will be FREE. The Museum¹s collections focus on three centuries of the region¹s heritage and Connecticut¹s master artists. Open Tuesday Saturday 10-5 and Sunday 12 Noon 5:00 p.m.

Convenient parking is located behind the museum in the gated lots on Park Place. In case of rain, the performances will be held in the museum¹s Performing Arts Center. For more information contact the Mattatuck Museum Arts and History Center, 203-753-0381 or visit the museum online at www.MattatuckMuseum.org.

 

 

*The Summer Arts project is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts, which believes that a great nation deserves great art. Support also comes from Mattatuck Museum Arts and History Center, Main Street Waterbury, City of Waterbury Bureaus of Parks and Recreation, City of Waterbury, Arts and Tourism Commission, the Northwest Connecticut Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Greater Waterbury Arts Roundtable.