LINCOLN In 2020, the State Ballet of Rhode Island was supposed to celebrate its 60th anniversary.
Diamond Jubilee performances of “Giselle” were scheduled for April, and by February, company dancers, guest artists and young dancers from the Brae Crest School of Ballet, the official school of the state ballet, were well into rehearsals, overseen by the ballet s founder, artistic director and choreographer, Herci Marsden, 83.
Then an uninvited guest showed up: COVID-19. By March 23, Gov. Gina Raimondo had ordered all public recreation and entertainment establishments to cease in-person operations.
“We thought, ‘Let’s get a new date,” recalls Ana Marsden Fox, the state ballet’s executive director.
The Herald News
NEWPORT, RI Island Moving Company, Newport’s classically trained, contemporary ballet company, announces the World Premiere of its newest film, Through Her Eyes - A Newport Nutcracker Reimagined.
While in-person performances remain limited this year, IMC s unique approach to its annual family favorite, A Newport Nutcracker, has been reimagined as a spectacular 30-minute feature film, making its holiday classic more accessible than ever this year.
Imparting a welcome sense of magic and whimsy for the holiday season, Through Her Eyes - A Newport Nutcracker Reimagined was filmed at multiple, majestic properties of the Preservation Society of Newport County, and follows a young girl’s magical, global journey of discovery, and self-empowerment.
Whatâs happening in the arts world
Updated December 24, 2020, 12:00 p.m.
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MUSIC
Rock & Pop
ELLIS PAUL AT PASSIM Wednesday sees Club Passim hosting an Ellis Paul tribute night featuring a whole raftâs worth of local folkies; the next night Paul himself hosts a New Yearâs Eve party to close out 2021.
Dec. 31, 8 p.m.
Dec. 31, 10:30 p.m.
Classical
BOSTON BAROQUE As in Decembers past, the ensemble will ring in the new year with performances on Dec. 31 at 7 p.m. and Jan. 1 at 3 p.m., this time featuring an encore broadcast of its vibrant New Yearâs concert from January 2019.
Daily News staff
PROVIDENCE The Rhode Island State Council on the Arts awarded nearly $1 million in COVID relief funds to artists, professional arts education associations and arts and culture organizations, including a number in Newport County.
These grants, announced in a press release Monday, will provide needed assistance to organizations, artists and arts educators who continue to experience economic hardship as a result of the COVID pandemic.
“I’m immensely proud that we can provide this essential support to artists and nonprofit arts organizations here in Rhode Island. These are difficult times for everyone in the arts sector,” Randall Rosenbaum, executive director of RISCA, said in announcing the grants. “The pandemic has closed concert halls, theaters and museums, and put working artists out of work. The ability to pay salaries and help artists pay rent and put food on the table is critical to the lives and livelihoods of these Rhode Islanders, and I’m happy