MIAMI BEACH—Among the premier commercial illustrators of the past three decades, the work of internationally acclaimed artist/photographer, Jeff Wack,
will be on view locally when his stunning collection of beautiful women, “Sensuous Muse Collection,” bows in a month long show, Wednesday, January 6 through Sunday, January 31 at the World Erotic Art Museum, 1205 Washington Avenue.

In a career spanning 30 years in which his clients have included Coca-Cola, Anheuser-Busch, 20th Century Fox, Universal Studios, Sony and a score of Fortune 500 companies, Wack, nonetheless, found time to address his passion for figurative work as a “labor of love,” declaring that what art devotees will be viewing will be what he considers to be his best, “representing the highest realization of both my narrative skills and technical abilities as an artist.”

Winner of the XTO Award and currently featured artist at New York’s Farmani Gallery, Wack’s approach to his work is the combining of his masterful command of photography with that of digital painting, each work of original art presenting a timeless moment captured with a sense of magical light and color…an ethereal mix of reality and idealized feminine mystique.

The World Erotic Art Museum is located at 1205 Washington Avenue, Miami Beach. Open Monday thru Thursday, from 11 A.M. to 10 P.M., Friday and Saturday from 11 A.M. to Midnight. Tickets are $15 with no one under 18 admitted. Further information is available by calling (305) 532-9336 or via www.weam.com.

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Artistic Director Delma Iles asks,
“Join us in 2010 for our season of outstanding and innovative performances!”

Momentum Dance Company will present a series of children’s concerts in Coral Gables, Miami Beach, Hollywood, and throughout Miami-Dade in 2010. Under the leadership of founder and Artistic Director Delma Iles, Momentum is nationally recognized for its outstanding children’s programs.

A four concert series of classic children’s performances returns to the Coral Gables Public Library where Momentum has performed since 2000. Momentum also returns to Miami Beach after four years to present children’s programs at the Byron Carlyle Theatre.

Coral Gables Children’s Library Series:
Presented free of charge, the four performances of the Children’s Library Series are aimed at ages 4-10 and their families. The series takes place at the Coral Gables Branch Library located at 3443 Segovia Street. Phone 305-460-5600. Concerts include:
· January 9 at 11AM – Children’s Library Series, Program I, Coral Gables Public Library. Presenting Hansel and Gretel
· February 6 at 11AM – Children’s Library Series, Program II, Coral Gables Public Library. Presenting Fish Tales
· March 6 at 11AM – Children’s Library Series, Program III, Coral Gables Public Library. Presenting Goldilocks and the Three Bears & Red Riding Hood
· April 17 at 11 AM – Children’s Library Series, Program IV, Coral Gables Public Library. Presenting Peter and the Wolf

Miami Beach Children’s Concerts
Momentum presents two family programs at the Byron Carlyle Theater, 500 71st Street, Miami Beach. Requested contribution $5 per person at the door. Preferred seating for advance donors. For information call: 305-858-7002.
· January 16 – Miami Beach Children’s Series, Program II, Byron Carlyle Theater at 11:00 AM. Suggested contribution $5. Preferred seating for advance donors. Presenting Red Riding Hood & Hansel and Gretel
· March 27 – Miami Beach Children’s Series, Program II, Byron Carlyle Theater at 11:00 AM. Suggested contribution $5. Preferred seating for advance donors. Presenting Fish Tales

Additional Children’s Performances by Momentum Dance
· March 13 at 2 PM – Young Circle Arts Park, Hollywood. Admission Free. Presenting Fish Tales
· March 21 at 3:30 PM – Collaborative performance with the Miami Youth Symphony. Miami-Dade County Auditorium. Children age 10 and under FREE admission with the donation of a canned good or non perishable food item for Lutheran Family Services of Florida. General Admission tickets $12. Presenting Peter and the Wolf
· April 28 at 7PM – Lemon City Branch, 430 NE 61 St., Miami, FL 33137. Free Admission. Presenting Children’s Classics Repertory
· May 1 at 10:30 AM and 11:30AM -Miami Dade Public Library System Storytelling Festival, Main Library Plaza 10:30 AM & 11:30 AM. Presenting Fish Tales (excerpt)

Additional public library performances will be announced in 2010.

*Audiences are advised to be on time for these presentations, because they are always standing room only.

For information, call 305-858-7002
www.momentumdance.com

Momentum Dance Company’s Children’s performances are made possible with support from: the National Endowment for the Arts; the Florida Division of Cultural Affairs and the Florida Arts Council; the Children’s Trust, the Miami-Dade Cultural Affairs Council and the Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners; the City of Miami Beach, the City of Coral Gables, the Thoresen Foundation, and Citizens Interested in Arts

The Board of Arts Ballet Theatre of Florida announces an upscale evening of dinner, dancing, wine, socializing and a silent auction-all in a Spanish theme! The event, a benefit fundraiser for the growing non-profit ballet company will be located at the new studios on Biscayne Boulevard in North Miami Beach on December 5 at 6:30pm.

The menu for the evening includes a delectable Spanish Paella by established chef Xavier Bonnafous salad, dessert, and wine or other beverages.

Attendees will be treated to entertainment from the dancers of Arts Ballet Theatre of Florida- featuring excerpts of various spirited Spanish ballets and other Spanish themed dances.  Miho Yoshioma will demonstrate her technical prowess as the seductive gypsy in Esmeralda.  Erin Simons-Brown will be dancing high-energy Kitri variation from the audience favorite, Don Quixote.  Olga Mekhonoshina will be performing a variation from Paquita, showing the higher-society side of the Spanish ballets,  with many more exciting performers and performances also on tap. Additional  entertainment includes acclaimed Flamenco dancer, Esther Pardo, as well as a flamenco performance by the participants of the Flamenco division.

Throughout the evening, guests will have the option of participating in a silent auction to further benefit the company.

Tickets for this exciting event are $40 per person, $70 per couple, and $240 for a table of eight-an excellent deal for dinner and a show! To order tickets, please call 305.948.4777 or email artsballet@bellsouth.net, and R.S.V.P. by December 1^st.

HERE COMES ELLE!  THE FIRST NATIONAL TOUR OF JOYFUL BROADWAY MUSICAL LAUNCHES TWO WEEK RUN, NOVEMBER 10 THROUGH, NOVEMBER  22 PRESENTED BY FLORIDA THEATRICAL ASSOCIATION

AT BROWARD CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS

Fort Lauderdale-Fl.—Sorority star Elle Woods doesn’t take “no” for an answer.  So when her boyfriend dumps her for someone more “serious,” Elle puts down the credit card, hits the books, and sets out to go where no Delta Nu has gone before: Harvard Law.  Along the way, Elle proves that being true to yourself never goes out of style.  Elle’s special “style” will be on view with cute Chihuahua  at  her side, Tuesday, November 10through Sunday, November 22, presented by Florida Theatrical Association at the Broward center for the Performing Arts.

In its first year on Broadway, LEGALLY BLONDE THE MUSICAL earned seven 2007 Tony Award nominations, ten 2007 Drama Desk Award Nominations, a 2007 Outer Critics Circle Award and the chorus of the musical was honored by Actors’ Equity Association’s Advisory Committee on Chorus Affairs (ACCA) with the first ever ACCA Award.  The musical also ranked in the top ten list of the most requested Ticketmaster “Arts & Theatre Events” for 2007. LEGALLY BLONDE THE MUSICAL received three 2009 Touring Broadway Awards in New York City on May 4, 2009.  The show won awards for Best New Musical, Best Production Design and Best Choreography of a Touring Production. The Awards, presented by The Broadway League, honor excellence in Touring Broadway.  It is the only such national award.

Becky Gulsvig, the Elle understudy in the original Broadway cast, is Elle Woods in the tour. Fans of the MTV reality show “Legally Blonde The Musical: The Search for Elle Woods”, which premiered on June 2, 2008, will recognize two familiar faces in the tour casting: Third runner-up Rhiannon Hansen plays Elle’s best friend Margot and fourth runner-up Lauren Zakrin is an ensemble member and understudies the role of Elle.  The reality show represented the musical’s second venture with MTV.  In the fall of 2007, MTV aired LEGALLY BLONDE THE MUSICAL in its entirety to stellar ratings and was subsequently nominated for two 2007-2008 Daytime Emmy Awards.

The Original Broadway Cast Recording for LEGALLY BLONDE THE MUSICAL was released on Ghostlight Records, an imprint of Sh-K-Boom Records, and captured the #1 slot on the Billboard Cast Album chart and charted at #86 on the Billboard Top 200.  The album has continued its success, charting every week as one of the top-selling Broadway cast recordings and soared to the Top 10 albums (of any genre) on iTunes once the show premiered on MTV.

As on Broadway, Tony Award-winner Jerry Mitchell is the director and choreographer.  Music and lyrics are by both Laurence O’Keefe and Nell Benjamin, and the book is by Heather Hach. The production features scenic design by David Rockwell, costume design by Gregg Barnes, lighting design by Kenneth Posner and Paul Miller, orchestrations by Christopher Jahnke and sound design by ACME Sound Partners.

LEGALLY BLONDE THE MUSICAL is produced on tour by Hal Luftig, Fox Theatricals and Dori Berinstein, in association with MGM Onstage, Darcie Denkert and Dean Stolber.

LEGALLY BLONDE THE MUSICAL will be presented November 10 – 22 at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts, 201 S.W. Fifth Avenue, Fort Lauderdale.  Performances are Tuesday thru Saturday at 8 PM., Sundays at 7:30 PM., matinees Saturday and Sunday at 2 PM and Wed November 18 at 2PM. Tickets prices range from $67 to $23 and are available at the Broward Center Box Office Monday through Friday 10AM-5 PM., Saturday and Sunday 12 Noon- -5 PM and 1 ½ hours prior to show times; on line at www.broadwayacrossamerica.com; www.browardcenter.org; via phones

(954) 462-0222 or 800-982-2787. Groups of 15 or more are invited to call

800-647-6877 or (954) 462-0222.

Snowflakes, sugarplums, naughty little boys, and magical dolls– The charm of the Holidays is back this year, as Arts Ballet Theatre of Florida presents the return of the classic ballet “The Nutcracker.” The critically acclaimed performance, choreographed and directed by renowned Ballet Master Vladimir Issaev, will run in both Fort Lauderdale and North Miami Beach.

The enthusiastic young company features a team of professional dancers performing the principal roles, as well as a community cast made up of local character artists and children for the party scene. The engaging choreography- from the fun of the party scene- to the harrowing battle scene- to the enchanting kingdom of the sweets- is guaranteed to entertain any age.

This traditional ballet is performed every year by Arts Ballet Theatre of Florida to Tchaikovsky’s popular score based on the tale of Ernest Hoffman. Not only is it the most popular ballet enjoyed by all audiences around the world during this time of the year but it also serves as an introduction to ballet for the very young audiences.

Issaev’s choreography preserves the Russian tradition, and the company’s ticket pricing makes the gift of the ballet a truly unique and unforgettable opportunity for any budget. Arts Ballet Theatre of Florida’s adaptation of the classic also offers a refreshing alternative for those who have already experienced the Balanchine version.

This is your chance to give the gift your loved ones will always cherish. Don’t miss the opportunity to share the excitement and charm of the holidays with Arts Ballet Theatre of Florida during their extraordinary performances of “The Nutcracker” at the Parker Playhouse of Fort Lauderdale, December 12 and 13 www.parkerplayhouse.com, and at the Julius Littman North Miami Beach Theater, December 19 and 20 www.boxofficetickets.com. Tickets range from $15.00 to $ 35.00

For information: www.artsballettheatre.org or 305 948 4777.

The Nutcracker has the support of the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council, the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissioners.

Funding for this organization is provided in part by the Broward County Board of Commissioners as recommended by the Broward Cultural Council. Arts Ballet Theatre of Florida is also sponsored in part by the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs, the Florida Arts Council, and the National Endowment

November 21, 2009 – South Florida JAZZ welcomes the renowned piano and vocal sensation ELIANE ELIAS performing with her quartet to celebrate the South Florida JAZZ 18^th anniversary.

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL – Brazil is a continent-sized nation blessed with abundant natural resources, including a seemingly endless supply of wonderful female singers, but none more and accomplished and ravishing than Eliane Elias, who is, at the very least, equally as renowned for her prowess as a jazz pianist. Eliane will traverse the rich musical terrain of her country with her quartet in this fundraising gala evening.

This concert takes place at the 500-seat Rose & Alfred Miniaci Performing Arts Center on the Nova Southeastern University campus, 3100 Ray Ferrero, Jr. Blvd. in Davie, FL 33314. Tickets are $40 or $125 for VIP packages. All seats are reserved and may be purchased from the Broward Center box office by calling 954.462.0222 in Broward County; also toll-free at 877-311-SHOW, and online at: www.southfloridajazz.org, the presenting organization’s official Web site.

VIP packages include:

• Best seats first

• Pre-concert Gourmet Fare & Wine reception with live music by the award-winning New World School of the Arts Jazz Ensemble

• 2010 South Florida JAZZ membership

• Discounts to all concert series performances

• Members-only promotions

For more details, please see below

Eliane Elias

Pianist-singer-composer Eliane Elias is known for her distinctive and immediately recognizable musical style that blends her impressive instrumental and compositional skills with a sensuous, alluring voice, delicately flavored by her Brazilian heritage. Born in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Eliane demonstrated musical talent at a very early age. She began piano studies at age seven, and at age 12 she was transcribing solos from some of the great jazz masters. Remarkably, at 15 years of age, she was teaching piano and improvisation at one of Brazil’s most prestigious music conservatories. Her professional career began shortly thereafter, working with Brazilian singer-songwriter Toquinho and the great poet Vinicius de Moraes, who was also the legendary Antonio Carlos Jobim’s co-writer and lyricist. At 21, Eliane left home for New York and quickly claimed the piano chair in the acclaimed, forward-looking jazz band, Steps Ahead.

Considered one of the great interpreters of Jobim’s music, Ms. Elias has been featured in many concert tributes to the master, and recorded two albums on Blue Note Records dedicated to his works, Eliane Elias Plays Jobim and Eliane Elias Sings Jobim. The latter won Best Vocal Album in Japan and was recognized as the Best Brazilian Album in the 1999 Jazziz magazine Critics Poll.

Eliane Elias was featured in the Thelonious Monk Institute’s Second Annual Celebration of America’s Music. She has appeared at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, the Hollywood Bowl with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra; with the BBC Jazz Orchestra in London, and at Carnegie Hall with the Carnegie Hall Jazz Orchestra, and at Carnegie Hall to name just a few notable performances.

In 2007, Ms. Elias released Something for You – Eliane Elias Sings and Plays Bill Evans, which received Best Vocal Album of the Year and the Gold Disc Award from the Recording Industry Association of Japan, the third consecutive recording that Eliane received these awards, and her fourth all-time. It is a disservice to her pianistic skills that the accolades are directed to singing because her piano playing is so impressive, and she sings on only six of the 16 tracks. In early 2009, Blue Note Records released the remarkable Bossa Nova Stories that features the cream of Brazil’s rhythm players in Eliane’s band. The CD immediately went to the top of the charts on iTunes and everywhere else. This performance for South Florida JAZZ on November 21, 2009 supports that most recent recording effort by one of Brazil and America’s most gifted musical artists.

Funding for this organization is provided in part by the Broward County
Board of Commissioners as recommended by the Broward Cultural Division

Florida Grand Opera will open its 69th season on Saturday, November 14, 2009, with a double-bill of Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci and Puccini’s Suor Angelica featuring the outstanding American soprano Kelly Kaduce singing both Nedda in Pagliacci and Sister Angelica in Puccini’s gripping musical drama. Ms. Kaduce will be joined in Suor Angelica by mezzo-soprano Mzia Nioradze as the Princess, Sister Angelica’s aunt, who visits the convent to demand that Angelica relinquish her inheritance. When Angelica begs for news of the son she bore seven years earlier, she is devastated to learn he has been dead for two years. Angelica’s desperate suicide is followed by a dispensation of grace that provides one of the most moving effects in all of opera. Suor Angelica is one of three one-act operas, collectively known as Il trittico, that were given their world premiere at New York’s Metropolitan Opera in 1918. The others are Gianni Schicchi and Il tabarro. Mzia. Nioradze, a Georgian mezzo-soprano, made her Metropolitan Opera debut in 2002 in War and Peace and has performed with leading companies in the United States and Europe.
Tenor Jay Hunter Morris will join Ms. Kaduce in Pagliacci singing Canio, the leader of a group of itinerant performers. His rage at Nedda, who has betrayed him, spills over into their performance, resulting in the death of both Nedda and her lover, Silvio, before a stunned audience who realize that the arresting drama is in fact real life being played out before them. This verismo opera concludes with the famous words signaling the end of the play within a play as well as the opera, “La commedia è finita.”
Kelly Kaduce was seen this summer in the title role of Richard Strauss’ Salome at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, of which the St. Louis Post-Dispatch wrote, “Kaduce was simply stunning in the role.” Her previous engagements with Florida Grand Opera include Marguerite in Faust, Mimì in La bohème, the title role in the world premiere of Anna Karenina, and last season as the Countess in The Marriage of Figaro. Jay Hunter Morris last appeared with Florida Grand Opera in the 2000 production of La traviata, and has since specialized in some of the tenor repertory’s most demanding roles for leading companies. Baritone Mark Rucker will return to Florida Grand Opera in his signature role of Tonio, who sings the famous prologue to Pagliacci, and later betrays Nedda’s infidelity to Canio.

Florida Grand Opera Resident Conductor Andrew Bisantz will conduct the double-bill. He made his FGO main-stage debut in 2006 conducting performances of Carmen, and has subsequently led FGO performances of Manon Lescaut, La bohème and La Cenerentola. He made his Glimmerglass Opera debut in 2004, conducting Gilbert and Sullivan’s Patience, and in 2005 conducted Massenet’s Le portrait de Manon, which was subsequently broadcast on NPR. He is currently Guest Music Director of Eugene Opera, where he conducted critically acclaimed productions of Orphée aux Enfers and Don Giovanni last season, and will return this season to conduct The Marriage of Figaro and Faust. Additionally, he returns to Portugal to lead the Orquestra Nacional do Porto and will make his Boston Lyric Opera debut conducting a new production of Britten’s The Turn of the Screw.
Cast lists and performance dates:
* = Debut; ◘ = Former Young Artist
Pagliacci by Ruggero Leoncavallo and Suor Angelica by Giacomo Puccini
Sung in Italian with English and Spanish projected translations
MIAMI ◙ Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County
Sanford and Dolores Ziff Ballet Opera House
November 14 at 7 p.m. – Opening Night
November 18, 20, 24, 28 at 8 p.m.
November 22 matinee at 2 p.m.
FORT LAUDERDALE ◙ Broward Center for the Performing Arts
Au-Rene Theater
December 3 & 5 at 8 p.m.
Conductor ………………………………………………………………………………………………… Andrew Bisantz
Director ………………………………………………………………………………………………… Sandra Pocceschi*
Set Designer ………………………………………………………………………………………………….. André Barbe
Costume Designer ………………………………………………………………………………………….. André Barbe
Lighting Designer …………………………………………………………………………………….Gordon W. Olson
Chorus Master…………………………………………………………………………………………………..John Keene
Production ………………………………………………………………………………………….. Florida Grand Opera
Pagliacci
Canio …………………………………………………………………………………………………….. Jay Hunter Morris
Nedda ………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. Kelly Kaduce
Tonio ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………. Mark Rucker
Silvio ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… Kyle Pfortmiller*
Suor Angelica
Suor Angelica ………………………………………………………………………………………………. Kelly Kaduce
The Princess, her aunt ………………………………………………………………………………… Mzia Nioradze*
Continued on following page . . .

About Florida Grand Opera
Florida Grand Opera was formed in June 1994 by the merger of Greater Miami Opera, founded in 1941, and The Opera Guild Inc., of Fort Lauderdale, founded in 1945. Celebrating its 69th season of continuous performances, Florida Grand Opera stands as one of the oldest performing arts organizations in Florida. In addition to producing standard repertoire, Florida Grand Opera also presents lesser known operas, as well as commissions and produces new operas. Annually, performances are attended by nearly 100,000 people, and education and outreach programs serve over 50,000 students. FGO offers several highly successful outreach and educational programs, including its internationally-recognized Young Artist Studio. Founded in 1984, the program attracts young singers who train and enhance their professional skills during a 35-week Miami residency.
Florida Grand Opera is sponsored in part by the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs, the Florida Arts Council, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Funding for this organization is provided, in part, by the Broward County Board of County Commissioners as recommended by the Broward Cultural Council and by the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau. Additional support is provided by the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs, the Cultural Affairs Council, the Mayor and the Miami-Dade County Board of County Commissioners. Program support is provided by the City of Miami Beach, Cultural Affairs Program, Cultural Arts Council. Florida Grand Opera is a Resident Company of the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County and a member company of OPERA America.
American Airlines is the Official Airline, Intercontinental Miami is the Official Hotel and Steinway & Sons is the Official Piano of Florida Grand Opera.