On May 9-11, 2019 Ballet West presents its third annual Choreographic Festival at the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center. They welcome the Scottish Ballet who is celebrating their 50^th anniversary this year. Christopher Hampson is the CEO and Artistic Director for the Scottish Ballet and they will be presenting as an Artist in Residence, Sophie Laplane’s new work Sibilo.

“I am excited that Chris chose this unique and dynamic work from Sophie Laplane,” said Artistic Director Adam Sklute. “Sibilo’s quirky humor and interesting groupings make the work perfect for the Choreographic Festival as it explores movement, sound, and theatrics through the prism of ballet.”

Laplane’s inventive piece for eight dancers features whistling (sibilo means whistle in Latin) with additional music from Glasgow’s Alex Menzies that modulates from electronica to mid-century pop music. The result is hilarious, moving, and eccentric.

“I am delighted to present Sibilo at the Ballet West Choreographic Festival, and to see Scottish Ballet perform the work in a celebratory year for the company,” said Laplane. “As a choreographer, it is exciting to see my work being presented on an international stage, and for Sibilo to get its American premiere in a festival that programs and celebrates new choreography.”

Also on the program is a world premiere from celebrated choreographer and BalletMet Artistic Director Edwaard Liang, along with premieres by Ballet West artists Emily Adams, Katlyn Addison and Trevor Naumann.

This year, the festival will also offer ancillary events, adding educational and entertaining experiences. On Wednesday, May 8 at 7pm at the Rose, Ballet West will screen Danseur, a recently released independent film from Scott Gormley that explores gender inequality in ballet, and shines a light on bullying, homophobia, and other barriers for young men in the industry. Tickets are $8 for adults and $5 for students. Afterward, dance teacher and journalist Kate Mattingly will lead a panel discussion with Adam Sklute and Ballet West dancers.

Ticket holders are also encouraged to attend warm-ups in the Rose Room. These free educational lectures, one hour before evening performances will be hosted by Artistic Directors, choreographers, and dancers. Finally, local artists will makeover the balcony of the Rose Wagner with an exhibit, “Art of Ballet” displaying the oil, photography, and contemporary works showing the athleticism and beauty of the art form.

“Every year I look forward to this Festival. The terrific camaraderie that is built between all the companies is so inspiring. It is about taking chances. It is about seeing what other companies are doing. And it’s about learning from one another,” said Sklute. “This year’s program will certainly take those same risks and I’m thrilled that we are welcoming our first International Company. I know our audiences will be fulfilled by the exploration.”

Tickets are available now and start at $50.00. You can either call 801-869-6900 or order online at www.balletwest.org. This is a great way to celebrate Mother’s Day weekend and take your Mom to see some amazing dance.

See all our dance coverage here.

Another FanX in the books, and this year’s spring event left many fans, including myself, very satisfied. The event was supposed to be the “smaller” of the two Fan-X events but it definitely didn’t feel that way.

Walking up to the event, I could see the same level of dedication that I witnessed at last fall’s event. Nerds from everywhere gathered together with some impressive costumes. As I walked through the doors,  I could hear the lyrics to Backstreet Boys’, “I Want It That Way.” It turns out that someone had the idea of having an impromptu karaoke sesh with most of the songs being a throwback to the Backstreet Boys. I mean what’s not to like?

The theme of this year’s event seemed to revolve around the fans again. Go figure. The setup was pretty much the same as last year, with the exception of the Evermore booth not being there. I was able to make my over to the PlayStation booth which had a pretty decent line to get in there. The booth was one of the new installments for last year’s event and was pretty successful. This year was no different. A couple of new games were available to play like Days Gone, a zombie thriller, and Mortal Kombat 11, the popular fighting game that’s been around since 1992. They were also handing out some coupons for discounts on items in the PlayStation Store. Free merch is always a bonus when coming out to a gathering like this.

This year had no shortage of stars bringing out names like, Asher Angel (Shazam), John Cleese (Monty Python), Mike Colter (Luke Cage), Tom Felton (Harry Potter series), Seth Gilliam (The Walking Dead), Clark Gregg (The Avengers) and many more. One of the amazing features about this convention is bringing out stars like this to do meet and greets, pictures, autographs etc. The fans are the focus. I happened to run by one of my heroes, Brian Baumgartner (Kevin from The Office) and it made my weekend.

Overall, FanX has done it again. They managed to put together an incredible event that made the fans the focus. There were questions and maybe there still are about the rebranding of the event and how it would affect future conventions. After attending the last two events, I think they’ve done something amazing in managing to bring out an insane amount of fans and making it all about them. Thank-you FanX! Until next time.

See all of our Fan X coverage here.

Who can’t relate to the story of the orphaned and outcast Aladdin, rummaging his way through life with high hopes of something better? And then there’s Jasmine. Her black hair is glossy, her tan, flawless, with a waistline as epic as a flying carpet ride. And she has a pet tiger?!

Disney’s Aladdin at the Eccles Theater

April 25 – May 12, 2019

Best Availability:
-Matinee May 2 at 2 p.m.
-Weeknight performances May 2 – 9
-Sunday evenings in May at 6:30 p.m.

Tickets and info here 

If you can’t resist these two, all you gotta do is steal a magic lamp and give it a polish and your wish will be granted. Disney’s Aladdin is coming in its Broadway musical form to the Eccles Theatre, for a run from April 25 through May 12, 2019. It’s a whole new world, baby.

And, Aladdin is just one of many ways that Eccles is bringing Broadway to SLC. We can also look forward to upcoming shows such as the 20th-anniversary tour of RENT, The Book of Mormon musical (how appropriate) and School of Rock (minus, Jack Black).

Can’t watch what you don’t know about. Learn more of SLC’s shows and events here.

Can it be? Has another year gone by? Yes. The Utah Arts Festival is coming, again. The surest sign of summer in SLC and the folks at UAF just rolled out the music line up for 2019. So picture yourself paying too much for beer at Library Square, as is tradition, and decide which of these shows you will be sipping your drinks at.

The Slackers will be kicking things off on June 20th bringing their Ska, Reggae, and Soul blend to Salt Lake City. They are deeply rooted in ska and bring a unique “Jamaican Rock n’ Roll” sound that sets them apart.

The Steel Woods will follow on Friday June 21st. They are labeled as a southern blues-rock band with a little bit of R&B, country, gospel, bluegrass, blues, folk and metal sprinkled in there.

Caroline Rose will be closing out Friday night with a lot of instruments, a sense of humor, and some angsty pop music.

Saturday, June 22nd Christine Lavin grace us with her musical roots of contemporary folk music. Based out of New York City, Lavin has recorded numerous solo albums and has also done some work with other female folk artists.

Head for the Hills will be play the Amphitheater Stage on the 22nd. They are rooted in bluegrass but have been pushing for more futuristic sounds. Their music is a little bit of jazz, indie, hip-hop, soul, and folk that have all been mended together to create a very, well, whatever that mix makes. Just go.

The Festival Stage will play host to Tinsley Ellis, the Southern blues-rock guitar wizard. This bona fide “guitar hero” will bring the heat.

Hot Buttered Rum ‘s  five amazing musicians will bring the jam on string-bass, fiddle, guitar, banjo, mandolin make up some of the incredible sounds this group has put together. Get ready for some twirlers and noodlers in the pit.

MarchFourth will close out the festival on Sunday the 23rd. They are an explosion of brassy funk, rock, and jazz. This will be a performance delivered by 20 performers on stage. Yes, 20 people will be up on stage.

Get tickets and info about under the Utah Arts Festival link.

See all of our A&E Coverage here.

FanX, Salt Lake City’s big pop culture fan convention, returned to the Salt Palace Convention Center for its slightly scaled-back spring 2019 event — two days of instead of the usual three, no carnival-like press conference, no panels at the Vivint Arena, fewer A-listers. Of course, even scaled-back, FanX spring 2019 is big. This weekend, fans are meeting stars like John Cleese, Zachary Levi and Alice Cooper (yes, really); dressing as their favorite characters and meeting the geniuses who invented them; buying work from local and traveling artists; and discussing deeply important issues, like whether or not Thanos was right in Avengers: Infinity War (he was). FanX runs through April 20.

My first day of FanX spring 2019 was pretty big, too:

Me and my new friend, Garrett Wang. I mean, a two-minute interview makes us friends, right?

After my first coffee cup, I was granted the opportunity to chat with Garrett Wang (Ensign Harry Kim, Star Trek: Voyager). After a long break from Hollywood, 2005 to two weeks ago, Wang says he’s excited to go back.

While new projects may be on the horizon, he looks fondly on his time on Voyager. One of his favorite moments was filming the pilot episode, Caretaker. “Going on location to the various places we went to, it was a very exciting time, just getting to know the actors that I would end up being friends with for the next seven years.” Wang added that he’s appreciative of Crazy Rich Asians, since the film has opened doors for more Asian male leads.

Fan-favorite artist at the convention, Camilla d’Errico, was also up for a chat.

Hanging with Camilla d’Errico at FanX spring 2019

This year, she is showing off her new mermaid coloring book, along with other new merchandise, including pins and clothing featuring her artwork. Yesterday, she held a panel on artwork for coloring books. You can meet d’Errico and check out her surreal, bubbly pop art at booth 413, or browse her Etsy store.

Going from two stars to a third, I grabbed a coffee and headed to John Cleese’s panel, where the comedic legend didn’t pull punches. “It’s quite nice being old, because you just don’t give a fuck,” Cleese said. “Climate change? Who cares?” Clearly, Cleese doesn’t. Over the course of his panel, he roasted the Utah Jazz for their contradictory name, President Donald Trump for having “never read a book,” and even his former Monty Python colleagues, mentioning that Michael Palin’s travel programs have been “ass-achingly boring.” However, Cleese only had good things to say about his work with Megan Mullally on Will & Grace. For more of Cleese’s blunt humor, see his Las Vegas show in November.

Maybe the best part of FanX is what you see when you’re on your way somewhere else. Between interviews, panels and cups of coffee, I met incredible artists, took a peek at nerdy fun like a court room to get a final verdict in nerd disputes and the KidCon princess tea party (read our write-up on KidCon), and marveled over fans’ intricate costumes.

Sharyl Sykora as a drow from Dungeons & Dragons. Sykora uses her cosplay to raise money to fight multiple sclerosis.

Local artist Megan Jimenez of Burning Elegance shows her wood-burned art at FanX spring 2019.

A princess tea party at KidCon

The family that cosplays together stays together.

Groot at FanX

Chalk art outside the Salt Palace

The day ended just as wonderfully as it started, with a Hogan’s Hero dog and beer at Fat Jack’s Tap House, directly across the street from the Salt Palace.

One last thing: The cleanest set of bathrooms at the Salt Palace seem to be the ones just north of the vendor hall on the lower level, near the area fans are taking photos with celebs. All of that coffee led me to use pretty much all of them.

Look for a recap of day two from our writer Johnny Max Thomas.

Read all of our FanX coverage here.