Tanya Tagaq Brings the Rage
June 21, 2019 New Haven Independent
“But it was Tagaq’s guttural voice that added the most weight, full of menace and anger. It was all she needed on Thursday night to set the College Street Music Hall stage on fire … It was scary and thrilling, transporting and time-stopping … After a ranging, emotionally devastating performance like that, there was really nothing left to say.”
A&I Brings it All Back Home
June 20, 2019 New Haven Independent
“In the end, there are departures, as there must be. No matter how at home we may feel, we’ve got to be going. And the house, its plastic flapping as it awaits renovation, seems to beckon from the future and the past at once. This place was someone’s home. Maybe it will be again.”
Kronos Quartet Looks Back In Anger — And Hope
June 19, 2019 New Haven Independent
“...it wasn’t an easy trip down memory lane. Through the quartet’s championing of younger composers, and through the musicians’ astonishing skill at their instruments, the program itself questioned the program title’s statement. How far have we really come from that time? How much really has changed? … it was a sobering reminder of all that remained to be done, and a quietly withering indictment for anyone looking to mythologize the ‘60s into something they weren’t."
Gina Chavez tops bill as New Haven’s Arts & Ideas begins Week 2 June 16
June 14, 2019 New Haven Register
“There’s something for everyone,” says Herzog. “One thing that’s cool about the ticketed programming this year is there’s only one performance where you have to have a strong command of the English language for; other than that, it doesn’t matter what language you speak, if you speak, the performances are all going to mean something to you and touch you because you don’t have to speak English.”
Review: Gay duo makes seamless dash through tough question in ‘No Kids’
June 13, 2019 New Haven Register
“‘No Kids’, a rivetingly seamless piece the couple wrote (and directed, as well), is a physical and artistic achievement for this dynamic duo as they roll out everything but a big brass band to illustrate points and keep the story visually, aurally and intellectually interesting.”
Real Life, Real Questions On Stage: Should We Have Kids?
June 12, 2019 WNPR – Morning Edition
“Mann said Paldi originally came up with the theatrical idea. “I was terrified of going there," he said. "So my first response was, ‘No! We’re not going to do that!’ And then a few years after that, I started to come round to it mainly because we realized that no one seems to be talking about it. And as a same-sex couple I realized there didn’t seem to be much guidance.”
Yale science hits the stage with ‘Quantum Sound’
June 11, 2019 Yale News
“For the Quantum Sound gig, this intrepid trio will perform the first-ever concert created from the measurements of internal operations of superconducting quantum devices. Their instruments — the superconducting quantum devices — are housed in special refrigerators that Yale researchers use to chill things down to near absolute zero for experiments.”
Michelle Dorrance taps creative impulse in Arts & Ideas program June 11
June 9, 2019 New Haven Register
“Ballet dancers plie and jeté to classical works from Bernstein to Stravinsky to Tchaikovsky. But tap dancers? They supply most of their own music. Especially if they dance with Michelle Dorrance.”
Circa troupe readies ‘What Will Have Been’ at Arts & Ideas June 12
June 9, 2019 New Haven Register
“They perform extraordinary feats of balance and agility, these three figures — one female and two males — who seem to defy the limits of physical possibility. And if that isn’t enough, they succeed in turning motion into emotion, drawing their audience into an engrossing world of humanity and feeling.”
Thabisa Rocks New Haven Green
June 9, 2019 New Haven Independent
“The South-African born musician Thabisa let her sonic stardom shine on the New Haven Green Saturday as the headlining artist for this summer’s International Festival of Arts & Ideas concert series.”
Food, drink tell stories of culture at New Haven’s Arts & Ideas Festival
May 31, 2019 New Haven Register
“When you talk about food, you can’t help but touch on history, culture, politics and immigration. In Cruz’s estimation, eating on Grand Avenue is the portal to all of that. “It’s a magnet for storytelling because it is showing off culture,” said Chad Herzog, one of the co-directors of the International Festival of Arts and Ideas.”
International Festival of Arts & Ideas returns to Green (& beyond) June 8
May 31, 2019 New Haven Register
“That diverse schedule includes Australian contemporary circus company Circa, Inuk musician Tanya Tagaq — seen recently on a “60 Minutes” report for her “exotic” vocal act — the Latina singer Gina Chavez and a Green concert/dance event called Garba360, based on a form of dance that originated in the state of Gujarat in India. But local performers are well-represented, too.”
Hillfest Brings Out The Neighborhood
May 19, 2019 New Haven Independent
“People thronged the lot across from the Cornell Scott-Hill Health Center on Columbus Avenue on Saturday for Hillfest, a neighborhood festival organized by the Hill community under the auspices of International Festival of Arts & Ideas. The event brought food, music, and a host of activities and kept the crowds out for a full sunny afternoon.”