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| Big Swing Theory |
The UNM-Taos Art Department is holding a benefit concert on to help the popular and ever-growing Performing Arts Program put on their first-ever full theater production. Thursday, February 23rd will be a full night of great music, dance and theater at the KTAO Solar Center, with Voodoo Sky kicking off the event at 7:00pm. The featured act, local favorite, Big Swing Theory will follow with some of the student performing artists showcasing their wonderful talent in between.
Tickets are $20 and are available through KTAO (www.ktao.com), at the door or through the UNM-Taos Art Department. For any questions, please call Sabra Sowell at 737-6256.
The Art Department at UNM-Taos serves a broad range of students everywhere from traditional incoming students who desire to stay in Taos, to life-long learners perfecting and expanding their craft. As the department continues to grow, so does the need to purchase new equipment and maintain existing equipment and supplies. The art world has changed in the economic crisis and it has become increasingly important that UNM-Taos continues to function as a place to not only train people to be competitive in the Taos and the larger world, but also to nurture creativity. All of the arts offer learning opportunities that go beyond “how to make something.” They provide skills in perception, communication, critical thinking, researching, cultural history and application. Those are all skills that are needed to compete in the job market of today regardless of the field.
The Art Department includes media arts, visual arts, applied arts and crafts, performing arts, dance and music. The theater program is one of our fastest developing areas. It is also one of the areas that are helping students land work, which is very helpful to them and to Taos as well. Taos has incredible community and reparatory theater groups, and UNM-Taos would like to provide a training ground for those groups and hopefully together an expansion of the performing arts will come about. It is imperative that the acting students have the opportunity to perform a play on stage for an audience. At this time, UNM-Taos does not have a theater, so in order for the group to put on a play they need to rent theater space. They will also need money for costumes and the royalty fees for the right to produce the play. They are planning to put on their first production during the summer session. The proceeds from the February 23rd benefit will go toward their production as well as to the purchase of equipment for the other areas of the art department. What better way to raise money than to come together, see what the theater department can do and dance the night away as a community of people who support the arts in Taos.
