November 7, 2017

 News…

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Audiences in five West Virginia cities will have the opportunity to experience contemporary arts performances through a state partnership with the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation. A schedule of events is listed below.

“The Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation has been providing exceptional programs in performing arts throughout our region since 1979,” said West Virginia Division of Culture and History Commissioner Randall Reid-Smith. “We are proud to partner with this organization in its mission to support artists, increase access to arts programming and encourage more participation in cultural programs that present audiences with international arts programs.”

The West Virginia Division of Culture and History supports the foundation through its annual membership and by participating on the foundation’s board of directors through the West Virginia Commission on the Arts. 

“This partnership is invaluable to our arts community and to the residents of West Virginia,” said John Strickland, West Virginia Commission on the Arts chair. “It allows arts and education venues to bring in performances that might not be available to them in any other way.”

Commissioner Reid-Smith noted that the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation has the same vision for arts that the division has. “The foundation believes that art is essential, that it has the power to transform individuals and communities, and in so doing helps define our society. This fits perfectly with our mission.”

The division, led by Commissioner Randall Reid-Smith, is an agency within the Office of Secretary of Education and the Arts with Gayle Manchin, cabinet secretary. It brings together the past, present and future through programs and services focusing on archives and history, arts, historic preservation and museums. For more information about the division’s programs, events and sites, visit www.wvculture.org. The Division of Culture and History is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.

Schedule of upcoming Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation funded events:

Thursday, Nov. 9 – 7:30 p.m.
Nobuntu Ferrell Hall, West Virginia State University, Institute, W.Va. 
Nobuntu is an a cappella ensemble of young women from Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, who sing mostly Zimbabwean songs in a traditional, imbube, style with influences of gospel, Afro-Jazz, and recently, soul.
http://www.wvstateu.edu/

Friday, Nov. 10 – 7:30 p.m.
Nobuntu, Carnegie Hall, Lewisburg, W.Va.
http://carnegiehallwv.com/

Saturday, Nov. 11 – 8 p.m.
BalletX, Frank Center Theater, Shepherd University, Shepherdstown, W.Va.
BalletX, Philadelphia’s premier contemporary ballet, unites distinguished choreographers with an outstanding company of world-class dancers to forge new works of athleticism, emotion, and grace.
http://www.shepherd.edu/passweb/

Thursday, Nov. 16 – 7:30 p.m.
SOLE Defined, ArtsLink, New Martinsville, W.Va.
SOLE Defined creates a “Percussical,” an innovative twist on the traditional musical with its integration of percussive dance and multi-media with acting and singing.
http://www.artslinkwv.org/Websites/page.aspx?page=Events+Calendar

Saturday, Nov. 18 – 7:30 p.m.
Andes Manta, Pocahontas County Opera House Foundation Inc., Marlinton, W.Va.
Andean music has been played in South America for thousands of years and continues to be played from Colombia to Tierra del Fuego, and none play it better than the four Lopez brothers—Fernando, Luis, Bolivar and Jorge—as Andes Manta.
http://www.pocahontasoperahouse.org/event/andes-manta/

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