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941.360-7399 ringling.org

Leev Theater Group

Hamlet, Prince of Grief

OPENING NIGHT OF THE FIFTH ANNUAL RINGLING INTERNATIONAL ARTS FESTIVAL

RIAF INSPIRES

WED, OCT 9 5:30 PM RECEPTION

* 7:00 PM PERFORMANCE, followed by dinner in The Ringling Museum of Art galleries

TICKETS $500

Opening Night “RIAF Inspires” is an intimate and elegant evening featuring contemporary Flamenco artist, Rocío Molina. Wednesday, October 9. For tickets and information call 941.360.7399.

* ROCÍO MOLINA

Danzaoro

Mertz Theatre, $40

THU, OCT 10, 1:00 PM & 9:00 PM

One of the most brilliant bailaoros of our time, Spain’s Rocío Molina is the recipient of her nation’s most coveted award in the arts, the National Prize for Dance. Her energized display of Flamenco, classical bolero, and traditional popular dance creates a “danceable universe” with its own unique language and meaning. “Ms. Molina is one of the greatest flamenco dancers I have seen...(she) seems to lead an audience into the heart of flamenco at its purest and extend it by making it new.” – Alastair Macaulay, The New York Times

TERE O’CONNOR DANCE

Mertz Theatre, $40

THU, OCT 10, 5:00 PM

FRI, OCT 11, 1:00 PM & 9:00 PM

SAT, OCT 12, 1:00 PM

Viewing dance as an abstract documentary form, Tere O’Connor’s bold and individualistic approach to choreography explores the complex coexistence of time, metaphor, and memory.

“There isn’t a dull movement in Tere O’Connor’s current program . . . hands flutter or gesticulate, feet tap or paw or prance, backs tilt or arch, pelvises shift gently or forcefully. Partnering can be now touching, now funny.” – Alastair Macaulay, The New York Times

Stephen Prutsman And The Aeolus Quartet

Sherlock, Jr.

Historic Asolo Theater, $40

THU, OCT 10, 9:00 PM

FRI, OCT 11, 5:00 & 9:00 PM

SAT, OCT 12, 5:00 PM

The mystique of the silent-film era is captured — and updated — with a screening of Buster Keaton’s 1924 comedy Sherlock, Jr., accompanied by a live performance of the jazzy, eclectic, and inventive score for piano and string quartet composed by pianist Stephen Prutsman and performed with the Aeolus Quartet.

“Prutsman’s multistyled facility was given full vent in Sherlock, Jr. The music one moment evoked a lilting, lyrical Fauré and the next a jaunty rag.” – Anthony Tommasini, The New York Times

Cook Theatre, $30

THU, OCT 10, 5:00 PM

FRI, OCT 11, 1:00 PM & 9:00 PM

SAT, OCT 12, 5:00 PM

From Iran comes a humorous and most unusual rendition of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Written by Mohammed Charmshir, the work is performed by Afshin Hashemi in Farsi (with English subtitles) and employs an imaginative menagerie of plastic toys to symbolize the inhabitants of Hamlet’s drama.

“With dark, expressive eyes and a rich, versatile voice, Mr. Hashemi is a compelling presence, ably suggesting a man haunted by the agonizing tale he must recount.” –Charles Isherwood, The New York Times

Belarus Free Theatre

Minsk 2011: A Reply to Kathy Acker

Cook Theatre, $40

THU, OCT 10, 1:00 PM & 9:00 PM

FRI, OCT 11, 5:00 PM

SAT, OCT 12, 1:00 PM

If scars are sexy, Minsk is the sexiest city in the world. Strip clubs, underground raves and gay pride parades pulse beneath the surface of a city where sexuality is met by government oppression. Minsk 2011 celebrates and mourns a land that has lost its way. Performed in Russian with English subtitles. For mature audiences only.

“Something mythicd — a sight to inspire fear and wonderd — tears its way into existence toward the end of Minsk 2011, the beautiful and brutal performance piece from the Belarus Free Theater.” – Ben Brantley, The New York Times