Contemporary dance company Momix and the touring company of improvisational comedy troupe Upright Citizens Brigade (founded in part by Amy Poehler and Little Rock native Matt Besser) are among the highlights of the fifth annual Acansa Arts Festival, Tuesday-Sept. 23 at venues in Little Rock and North Little Rock.
The festival will also include the Arkansas premiere of the stage adaptation of Warriors Don’t Cry, Melba Patillo Beals’ autobiographical account of the 1957 events at Little Rock Central High School as a member of the Little Rock Nine and musical performances by award-winning a cappella group Voiceplay, Delta-blues band Steve Azar and the Kingsmen and Latin American jazzman Chuchito Valdes.
Local folk duo A Rowdy Faith (Allison Reid and Cate Davison) performs for a kickoff reception with light hors d’oeuvres and beverages, 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Butler Center for Arkansas Studies, 401 President Clinton Ave., Little Rock. Admission is free. At 7:30 p.m., bluegrass band Milkdrive performs at the Ron Robinson Theater, 100 River Market Ave., Little Rock. Tickets are $20.
The rest of the lineup:
m 5:30 p.m. Wednesday: Gallery reception and performance, guitarist, singer/songwriter, photographer and painter Jimmy Abegg, Stella Boyle Smith Concert Hall, Fine Arts Building, University of Arkansas at Little Rock, 2801 S. University Ave., Little Rock. Free.
m 7 p.m. Wednesday: Steve Azar and the Kingsmen, Ron Robinson Theater. $25
m 7 p.m. Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday, Upright Citizens Brigade Touring Company, Argenta Community Theater. $30
m 7:30 p.m. Thursday: Guitarist Laurence Juber, The Joint, 301 Main St., North Little Rock. $25
m 8 p.m. Thursday: Voiceplay, Center for Humanities and Arts, University of Arkansas-Pulaski Technical College, 3000 W. Scenic Drive. North Little Rock. $25
m 9:30 p.m. Thursday-Friday, comedian Kevin Doyle, Arkansas Repertory Theatre Annex, 518 Main St., Little Rock. $20
m 7 p.m. Friday: Pianist Tatiana Roitman Mann and trio, New Deal Salon, 2003 Louisiana St., Little Rock. $20
m 7 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. Sept. 23, Warriors Don’t Cry, Mosaic Templars Cultural Center, 901 W. Ninth St., Little Rock. $20
m 8 p.m. Saturday: Momix, Center for Humanities and Arts, Pulaski Tech. $40
m 8 p.m. Saturday: Chuchito Valdes Trio, The Rail Yard, 1212 E. Sixth St., Little Rock. Tickets: $25
m 8 p.m. Saturday: The Glow, Epiphany “Big Piph” Morrow’s New Age, narrative, one-man show, Arkansas Regional Innovation Hub, 201 E. Broadway, North Little Rock. $20
Call (501) 663-2287, email admin@acansa.org or visit acansa.org.
Honky tonkin’ at AMP
Country singer Alan Jackson, on his “Honky Tonk Highway” tour, performs at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the Walmart AMP, 5079 W. Northgate Road, Rogers. Gates open at 6:30. Tickets are $46.75-$106.75 plus fees. Call (479) 443-5600 or visit amptickets.com.
White Gloves screening
The University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service, in partnership with the Butler Center for Arkansas Studies, will screen the documentary The Giants Wore White Gloves, marking the 60th anniversary of the Women’s Emergency Committee’s work during the Little Rock school desegregation crisis, 2 p.m. today at the Ron Robinson Theater, 100 River Market Ave., Little Rock. Admission is free; reserve a seat by calling (501) 683-5239 or emailing publicprograms@clintonschool.uasys.edu.
Beethoven & Faure
Pianist Julie Cheek and violinist Andrew Irvin of ARmusica, with cellist Stephen Feldman and violist Tatiana Kotcherguina, will offer a program called “Beethoven Borrowed & Baby Faure,” 7 p.m. Tuesday at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, 4106 John F. Kennedy Blvd., North Little Rock, to open the church’s 2018-19 Festival of the Senses season. The program: the Piano Quartet by Ludwig von Beethoven and the Piano Quartet No. 1 by Gabriel Faure. A reception will follow in the parish hall. Admission is free. Call (501) 753-4821, email st.lukesfestivalofthesenses@yahoo.com or visit stlukeepiscopal.org.
Walton performances
This week at Fayetteville’s Walton Arts Center, 495 W. Dickson St. — call (479) 443-5600 or visit waltonartscenter.org:
m New York-based Jessica Lang Dance performs at 7 p.m. Thursday, part of the center’s 10x10 Arts Series. There will be a 6 p.m. pre-show Creative Conversation and a post-show party with the performers in the Walker Atrium. Tickets are $10.
m The Zukerman Trio — violinist Pinchas Zukerman, cellist Amanda Forsyth and pianist Angela Cheng — performs at 8 p.m. Friday. The program: the Piano Trio No. 7, op.97, “Archduke,” by Ludwig van Beethoven; Duo for Violin and Cello by Zoltan Kodaly; and the Piano Trio No. 1 by Anton Arensky. Tickets are $30-$85 plus fees; top ticket price includes a meet-and-greet with the artists. A few student tickets are available for $10.
‘Africa in the Ozarks’
The Arts Center of the Ozarks, 214 S. Main St., Springdale, with Afrique Aya Dance Company, will present “Africa in the Ozarks,” a celebration of culture, drumming and dance, Thursday-Saturday.
There will be two performances of Tradition of the Mask, a West African opera involving song, drumming, drama and dance, 7:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday at the center. Tickets are $20, $15 for students.
And there will be two sessions of “Drumming in the Park,” an informal community drum circle, with an African market, 5-7 p.m. Thursday at the Shiloh Museum of Ozark History, 118 W. Johnson Ave., Springdale, and 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday at Walter Turnbow Park, 125 Mill St., Springdale. Admission is free.
Call (479) 751-5441 or visit acozarks.org.
