Bud Light Street Beat - Panjea is Public Pic

Last night Panjea played the free concert series Bud Light Street Beat in Vail Village. We had a great turn out and the guys from Panjea played a fantastic set. We received a bunch of comments about their style and how they were a great fit for this series. Hopefully someday we will be able to bring them back to town. If you missed last night's show, check out some photos and a short video below. From here on out Bud Light Street Beat takes a Vail stage almost every week until April 15.

Next Wed, March 4, join us at Checkpoint Charlie for Yo Mama's Big Fat Booty Band -- another high energy band that is sure not to disappoint our free concert going brethren.

Panjea was our "public pic" for Bud Light Street Beat. We put a bunch of bands into a poll and partnered with the Vail Daily to allow the general public to select one of the acts to play this free concert series. Thank you public! We loved your choice and look forward to having another public pic for our summer free concert series, Bud Light Hot Summer Nights.

Check out a video from last night's Panjea Street Beat Concert:


Photos from Panjea:

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"Tango Fire" Tango Lesson at Saddleridge

Two lucky locals enjoyed a private tango lesson with a performing couple from Wednesday night's "Tango Fire" show at the VPAC! Watch them learn the moves from the pros. The lesson was followed by a scrumptious dinner at Saddleridge, and then the full "Tango Fire" performance at the VPAC!

Join the VPAC email list at www.vilarpac.org/email to learn about special offers like this one!

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Teva Mountain Games = Manly Man Adventure

What do the the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, Great White Shark Diving, the Baja 1,000 and The Teva Mountain Games all have in common?

They are all Manly Adventures according to the Travel Channel.

The Travel Channel HD/Travel Channel will be featuring the Teva Mountain Games as one of their chosen 21 Manly Adventures. The Mountain Games weighs in at number 16, above things like Whistler Blackcomb, ATV Sand Dune Riding and the Peter Luger Steakhouse. Thankfully for our public perception the Mountain Games falls below things like Great White Shark Diving and rafting the Zambezi river.

If you want to catch all 21 Manly Adventures tune into the Travel Channel or Travel Channel HD on March 5 at 8pm EST/ 6pm MST.

Feeling a little manly yourself? CLICK HERE to register for the 2009 Teva Mountain Games.

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"Country 4Some" Ticket Offer at the VPAC

Country music lovers: come one... come all... come fourth!

The Vilar Performing Arts Center has launched a special “Country 4Some” ticketing offer, with discounted prices for their outstanding country shows in March: The Oak Ridge Boys performance on March 4 and the Cherryholmes performance on March 10.

When you buy 3 tickets for either outstanding performance, you’ll get the 4^th ticket for that show free! Make it a double date or a family night; partner up with colleagues who want to see the show; however you do it, make it a “Country 4Some” on March 4 and March 10 for great value – and great music! – at the Vilar Performing Arts Center. The special offer can be redeemed by calling the box office at 888.920.ARTS(2787) and giving the code “4Some.” The special offer can also be redeemed in person at the box office in Beaver Creek.

Read more about The Oak Ridge Boys and Cherryholmes on the VPAC Website.

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Teva Mountain Games makes the New York Times!

A really nice article hit the New York Times yesterday about 44 year old Matt Carpenter training for the 2009 Teva Mountain Games. Carpenter is known as the master of high-altitude running and holds the current record for the 13.3 mile Pikes Peak ascent and Pikes Peak marathon races.

CLICK HERE to read the entire article.

If you are interested in trying to take down Matt at the 2009 Teva Mountain Games CLICK HERE to register.

Best of luck with your training Matt, we look forward to seeing you here in Vail June 4-7 for the 2009 Mountain Games.

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The Fray at the VPAC - Friday, March 6

Denver-based rockers The Fray are en fuego. They're hot off the release of their sophomore self-titled album, and have earned a trio of Grammy nominations for their work. They make a special appearance at the VPAC on Friday, March 6 at 9:30pm, presented by VH1 Lift Ticket to Ride. All proceeds benefit the VH1 Save the Music Foundation, as well as VPAC education programs.

The bar at the VPAC will open at 8pm, with doors to the theatre opening at 9pm. Tickets are general admission, so arrive early for preferred seating. The concert starts at 9:30pm.

General Admission tickets for The Fray are priced at $30 and are available online at www.vilarpac.org, by phone at 888.920.ARTS(2787) or in person at the VPAC box office in Beaver Creek. Tickets are available online 24 hours a day; the box office is open Monday through Saturday from 11am-5pm MST, with additional hours on performance days.

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Bud Light Street Beat - Rebirth Brass Band Video

If you missed the last Bud Light Street Beat featuring Rebirth Brass Band on 2.11 we feel bad for you, but, not that bad because you still have 8 Street Beat concerts to go and 8 chances to register to win the Volvo C30. This week we have Panjea taking the Checkpoint Charlie stage at 6pm on Wednesday, February 25.

Check out a video of Rebirth Brass Band at Street Beat on 2.11.09:

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Win a Tango Lesson for Two!

We know you're out there. Those people who sit at home on their couch watching "Dancing with the Stars," thinking "...man, I could dance circles around those fools!" Now is your chance to prove it. Join the VPAC email list at www.vilarpac.org/email and enter the word "TANGO" in the comments field, and you'll be entered to win a tango lesson for two before the "Tango Fire" show at the VPAC on February 26. Read more about the "Tango Fire" show here.

The winner will begin their night at 5pm on the 25th with a private tango lesson at Saddleridge Restaurant in Beaver Creek, taught by one of the show's performing couples. The lesson is followed by a complimentary dinner in the historic Beaver Creek eatery, and the evening concludes with the fiery show at the VPAC at 7:30pm.

If you're already on our email list, we've automatically entered you to win. Share this offer with family and friends! All they have to do is join our list at www.vilarpac.org/email. The winner will be notified on Friday, February 20.

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Keller Williams Photos

Keller Williams played the Vilar Performing Arts Center on 2.12.09. He put on a fantastic show and it was great to welcome him and his fans to the VPAC.

Check out some photos from the Keller Williams show below:

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Tickets on Sale -- Vail International Dance Festival

Tickets for the 2009 Vail International Dance Festival are on sale now! Purchase your tickets online, or call the Box Office at 888.920.2787 between 11am and 5pm MST Monday-Saturday to purchase over the phone.

Check out the full lineup, read details on performing artists, and check out photos and video from past Festivals - all at www.vaildance.org.

Also check out our specially priced ticket packages.
Download a printable schedule here, or use our handy Schedule at a Glance page to link to performance details.

2009 VAIL INTERNATIONAL DANCE FESTIVAL SCHEDULE:
Monday, July 27: Savion Glover
Tuesday, July 28: UpClose: Savion Glover, Tap Genius
Saturday, August 1: Miami City Ballet
Sunday, August 2: Festival Highlights Spectacular
Monday, August 3: UpClose: Edward Villella
Tuesday, August 4: Dance for $20.09
Thursday, August 6: UpClose: Wendy Whelan, Dancer and Muse
Friday, August 7: Morphoses 3.0
Saturday, August 8: International Evenings of Dance I
Sunday, August 9: International Evenings of Dance II
Monday, August 10: Ballroom's Best
Tuesday, August 11: Bud Light Hot Summer Nights of Dance

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Bud Light Street Beat TONIGHT! Rebirth Brass Band

The second installment of the free concert series Bud Light Street Beat gets underway tonight at 6pm at Checkpoint Charlie. Put on an extra layer, grab some gloves and don't miss this opportunity to see the Big Easy hit Bridge Street with Rebirth Brass Band.

We have seen Rebirth Brass Band a few times in all their glory. The real question is... how in the world are all those guys going to fit on the Street Beat stage?

Don't forget to register tonight to win the Volvo C30 and/or the Volvo Return Trip to Vail!

For complete show details, please CLICK HERE.

LISTEN TO REBIRTH BRASS BAND:

The Rebirth Brass Band

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Ramses II Has a Big Head - Aida Load-In

Here are some shots of the Grandest of the Grand Operas loading into VPAC today in preparation for Teatro Lirco D'europa's production of Aida tonight.

The statues and head of Ramses II didn’t fit on the elevator so we lowered them to the stage using chain motors. Our new method of bringing in over sized scenery is working well.

Man... Ramses has a big head.

Tickets and more information for tonight's Aida performance can be found HERE.

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Special Shuttle Service for Academy of St. Martin in the Fields

Are you staying in Vail, and not sure how to get to the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields with Julia Fischer performance at the VPAC on Wednesday, February 18? Do you live in Cordillera, and just not want to make the trek in your car?

The Vilar Performing Arts Center has arranged for special shuttle service to the theatre for this hallmark classical music performance. Beaver Creek Resort Company shuttles will pick up guests at the Vail Transportation Center (top level of the Vail Village Parking Structure) and at the Cordillera Post Office. Shuttles will be leaving from each location at 5:45pm sharp, headed to the theatre in Beaver Creek for the 6:30pm performance.

Want a ride? Call the VPAC Box Office at 888.920.ARTS(2787) to reserve your spot on the shuttle.

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A Classical Music Blowout: Academy of St. Martin in the Fields with Julia Fischer

There are some names in classical music that stop you in your tracks. The New York Philharmonic. Yo-Yo Ma.

For millions of fans, the names Academy of St. Martin in the Fields and Julia Fischer carries the same weight. One of the most acclaimed – and the single most recorded – orchestra in the world is joined by the most sought-after violinist touring today for a very special performance as the Vilar Performing Arts Center presents the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields with Julia Fischer on Wednesday, February 18 at 6:30pm.

The Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, now celebrating its 50th anniversary U.S. tour, has been called "a beacon of musical excellence" (The Times, London). Since leading the Baroque music revival of the 1960s, this beloved London institution has produced definitive performances of the great classical masterworks in ways that make the music seem new again.

Julia Fischer has long been considered one of the brightest talents in classical music, acknowledged as Gramophone's 2007 Artist of the Year, and BBC Music Magazine’s 2006 Best Newcomer of the Year. She has since collaborated and toured often with Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, and on this tour, leads the ensemble as not only a soloist, but also the conductor.

The Academy has received many prestigious international awards, including eight Edisons, the Canadian Grand Prix and a multitude of gold discs – thirteen alone for the soundtrack of Milos Forman's film “Amadeus.” Their soundtrack for the hit movie “The English Patient” won an Academy Award for Best Sound.

Buy tickets now! And check out http://www.vilarpac.org/ for more info on the full season.

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Opera 101 at the VPAC

Interested in checking out the opera on Sunday and Monday at the VPAC, but not sure where to start? Stop by the theatre at 5:30pm on Sunday for "Opera 101." This complimentary discussion, led by Theatre Director Kris Sabel, will offer insight into the plot, history and score of "Aida." And you'll need it. The story puts modern day soap operas to shame, featuring outrageous love triangles, treacherous plotting and live entombment... are you getting all of this? Sabel will lead you through Verdi's timeless opera, and make sure you know what to listen and watch for on Monday night at 6:30pm when Teatro Lirico D'Europa performs the opera in all its glory.

Not sure you're ready for all that? Check out "Great Moments in Opera" at the VPAC on Sunday at 6:30pm, immediately following "Opera 101." This "greatest hits" showcase features the best arias, duets and choruses from the most beloved operas of all time including from “La Bohème,” “La Traviata,” “Il Barbiere Di Siviglia,” “Turandot,” “The Marriage of Figaro,” “Madama Butterfly” and “Carmen,” to name a few.

Learn more about both performances, and all the shows at the VPAC, at www.vilarpac.org.

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Celebrate the Beat charges full steam ahead

The 2009 Winter Celebrate the Beat Residency is officially underway at 3 Eagle County Schools! Beginning in January, Heather Kratz, our fantastic CTB teacher, relocated to Vail from Crested Butte to teach Eagle County 2nd, 3rd, 4th & 5th graders dance, music & movement. Accompanied by her talented husband, Mark, on the drumbs, and musical director, Tim aka "Mr. T", on the piano. We went to Meadow Mountain Elementary School to see what CTB was all about and came away in absolute awe. With the help & support of gym teacher Monica Douglas and music teacher, Holly Tranter, Heather teaches the students to respond to visual signals, memorize dance moves & sequences and challenges them to "be excellent."

A typical class starts out with a basic warm-up; bouncing up and down, arm stretches, reaching to the sky, reaching to the floor, marching in place, jumping and so on. Over the course of the 40 - 45 minute session, the class gets increasingly more difficult, and fast, but these kids respond without missing a beat! Sometimes, without saying a word, Heather will communicate to the class an entire dance sequence using visual signals and before you know it, they are busting out dance moves in perfect syncopation. All the while, grinning ear-to-ear and jumping to the beat of Mark's drums. I have to check the sign at the door and make sure that I am indeed in a school gymnasium and didn't accidentally walk into a professional show at the Vilar Performing Arts Center.

More than anything, watching these students as they grow and become more comfortable in the movement, and more confident in themselves warms my heart more than anything. Little Jimmy who wouldn't look up from the ground the first day of class is now, 3 weeks later, at the front of the line; intently listening, executing perfect dance moves - with what Heather calls "atomic" energy, and doing it all with a smile that stretches ear to ear. Suddenly I realize that I too have been smiling - for 40 minutes straight - and my face is beginning to hurt. That smiling thing is contagious and when the children walk out the door their smiles, their enthusiasm and most importantly, their new found confidence is transferred into everything else they do that day. And that is what makes Celebrate the Beat so powerful and life changing.

Each class ends with a special "goodbye," where the students basically thank Heather, thank the musicians, thank Holly & Monica for supporting them and then thank themselves for working hard. This "goodbye" is actually a spin off the traditional "reverance" which is used in ballet class, this just has a fun and fresh twist. At the end of class all the students gather around the drums and piano and Heather asks them where they want to go that day; Outer Space, Kentucky, Africa, England or, if they can't decide, you just make up a dance, and that is exactly what one creative little guy did today, and we all did the "Robot, Chicken, Pirate" dance.

Who knows where we will "go" next week but one thing is for certain, the sky is the limit for these students and Celebrate the Beat is arming them with boosters to get there!

To learn more about Celebrate the Beat or support this program please click here.

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Annie Load-In - By the Numbers

After a long night last night for The Rat Pack Is Back, the VPAC crew is hard at work today with a large production load-in for tonight's performance of the timeless tale of Little Orphan Annie.

Doing two large shows back to back like this is fantastic for our community and guests, however, it is a lot of work for our staff. 15 VPAC staff members worked from 9:30pm - 6am to load-out the Rat Pack in preparation for the the Annie arrival. Many on the VPAC crew have been working for more than 24hrs.

Yes, Annie is an adorable little girl, however, her production is a daunting task of load-in and load-out for one night of Broadway bliss.

Check out these details for the Annie Load:
4 53 foot semi trucks
1 Crew Sleeper Bus
1 Cast Bus
1 Dog Van (they never allow the dogs to fly)
Road Crew of 11
65 People to Feed
Ten piece orchestra plus 1 conductor

As of 1pm today, the show is loaded and now the work begins assembling the scenery, focusing the lights and unloading the costumes. After the performance tonight, another crew of 45 people arrives to load-out and then the truck drivers and crew drive through the night to Farmington, NM so they can do it all over again.

Tickets for tonight's performance of Annie are still available and can be purchased HERE.

PHOTOS FROM TODAY's ANNIE LOAD-IN:

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Congrats Lindsey Vonn!

Lindsey Vonn of Vail became the first American woman to win a World Championships super G gold!

It was the first race of the 2009 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships and the career first gold medal for Vonn (she has two silver from '07).

- Lindsey ran 21st and the light was absolutely horrible, the course was choppy, slippery and downright hard - 16 racers didn't finish. She took control of the bottom and absolutely took ownership of this hill.

More information can be found here.

Congrats again go out to Lindsey!

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