In Focus edition with Ballet Nouveau Colorado

This edition of In Focus will feature Ballet Nouveau Colorado and their encore of Rock Ballets at the Avada Center Amphitheater and the Denver debut of singer/songwriter Phil Putnam at Lannie's Clocktower Cabaret which was a benefit for the Matthew Shepard Foundation.

Last night we covered the Henry Awards from the front of the house, and backstage. Produced by the Colorado Theater Guild, it's like the Tony's for the Colorado Theatrical community. It was a big night and we are excited to feature some highlights of the evening on an upcoming edition

In Focus Premiers Tonight!!!

Set your DVR/VCR if you wont be home or awake.

Sunday, June 28 at 11:00 pm on Channel 12 / 12.1

On our first edition we talk to Gov Ritter at the Curious Theatre's annual Denver Stories event. Thriller Author Jeffery Deaver (The Bone Collector) discusses his thoughts on the craft of writing, and a sneak preview of Garrett Ammon's Rock Ballets for Ballet Nouveau Colorado at the Arvada Center.

www.infocustv.org

SPDRs.com Dog Commercial

I love this commercial....this dogs reminds me of my husband

Mark your calendar ... set your DVR

I'm happy to announce my new show, In Focus, premiers Sunday June 28th on PBS affiliate KBDI channel 12, at 11 PM.

This will be our time slot for the summer, through mid September.









If you are not in our broadcast area, we will post some clips after they have aired.

The team continues to grow and the show's website will have details soon.

in focus premier promo

The first promo spot for our first episode. :-) Very exciting! Stay Tuned for more details

BNC Needs you for Dance From the Heart

For regular readers of this blog, and viewers of our TV shows it is well known that I am a big fan of Ballet Nouveau. (previous entries) The quality of the work they do even earned them a very special accolade this year. BNC was named one of Dance Magazine's 25 to watch


But their performances are not the only thing to admire about BNC. Ballet Nouveau has a wonderful school as most companies do, and a vital outreach program. Last week was an important annual fundraiser to support those programs. Programs which for that past 17 years have gone into the schools to work directly with students who might not otherwise be exposed to another enrichment program. There are so many budget cuts everywhere, and often these programs are the first to be cut or eliminated. BNC presented some compelling facts during this event.

Children who participate in the arts for at least one full year are:

• 4x more likely to be recognized for academic achievement


• 3x more likely to win an award for school attendance


• 1/2 as likely to commit delinquent behaviors


• 1/3 less likely to drop out of school

93% of Americans believe that arts are a crucial part of education, yet programs are often not available.

• Funding for arts in schools has been consistently cut over several decades


• 80% of Colorado schools look to outside organizations like BNC to provide vital arts experience for their students

Safe Schools programs try to address the needs of all students, which include LGBT students, students for whom English is a second language, and really any student who may feel different than their peers. Bullying and a dance or arts enrichment program? YES! BNC confronts these issues on several levels, one of which is their "Ugly Duckling" program. Just look at this example of the work BNC does with students. Watch this touching video Community Outreach Programs That video is only a glimpse of this vital work Ballet Nouveau is doing for students. But to sustain this work BNC needs us.

We need to raise $25,000 to support these programs. So far, through attendance
at Dance from the Heart, we have raised $16,000, so we need to raise an additional $9,000 in the next week.
Please make a contribution today to help us reach our goal!

GREAT NEWS -
thanks to a very generous group of BNC supporters, your donation today will be
matched dollar for dollar - PLUS, all donations that take us beyond the $20,000
mark will be matched two-for-one!
Your contribution could have triple the
impact - so please don't wait - click here to donate now

I urge you to join me in supporting this important program. Even a smaller donation of $50, or $25 can have a large impact, and if you respond this week every dollar will be matched. Please consider making a donation to the BNC program in any amount you can.

Broadway

Everyone who knows me, or even casually follows this blog, knows I love the theater. All kinds of theater. One of the many quotes I love from "All About Eve" is when Bill Sampson (played by Gary Merrill) sums it up nicely.

"What book of rules says the Theater exists only within some ugly buildings crowded into one square mile of New York City? Or London, Paris or Vienna?" ---

"Listen, junior. And learn. Want to know what the Theater is? A flea circus. Also opera. Also rodeos, carnivals, ballets, Indian tribal dances, Punch and Judy, a one-man band - all Theater. Wherever there's magic and make-believe and an audience - there's Theater. Donald Duck, Ibsen, and The Lone Ranger, Sarah Bernhardt, Poodles Hanneford, Lunt and Fontanne, Betty Grable, Rex and Wild, and Eleanora Duse. You don't understand them all, you don't like them all, why should you? The Theater's for everybody - you included, but not exclusively - so don't approve or disapprove. It may not be your Theater, but it's Theater of somebody, somewhere."

I agree completely! So I try to see as wide a variety of theater as I can. Some I enjoy, some I do not, and that is as it should be. During my recent trip to NYC I was able to see Shrek The Musical, and I loved it. Blithe Spirit was also wonderful. (Ruper Everett, Christine Ebersole, Jayne Atkinson and Angela Lansbury!!! Great Cast!!!) I can't wait to get back so I can see a few more. Of course I want to see the new vision of West Side Story, and 9-5 The Musical is a must, but there is a Eugene O'Neill play that I have only read, but have never seen staged. Desire Under the Elms

Show Website

Desire Under the Elms
St. James Theatre
The acclaimed Goodman Theatre production stars Brian Dennehy, Carla Gugino and Pablo Schreiber as family members entangled in a love triangle.

Show Dates:Performances from 14 Apr 2009Opening 27 Apr 2009Closing 05 Jul 2009