Nazareth College Arts Center: Critics' Blog

Arts Center Patrons Partied with Tiempo Libre - A Gala Experience

By Hilda Chacón, Ph.D.

The exhilarating performance of the Miami-based salsa band, Tiempo Libre, rendered a gala  experience for general audiences at the Callahan Theater of the Arts Center of Nazareth College on Saturday February 16, 2008. There could not have been a better presentation to closure this year’s adult programming for fans of the Arts Center: a magnificent spectacle of lights, colors, Cuban music, and a great performance that involved audiences of all ages and diverse cultural backgrounds in the joy of collective dancing at the sides of the main stage. Tiempo Libre is a band integrated by seven dynamic Cuban-born musicians lead by pianist and musical director, Jorge Gómez, with main vocalist Joaquín (El Kid) Díaz, Tebelio (Tony) Fonte at the bass, Luis Beltrán Castillo at the saxophone and flute, Leandro González at the congas (who also participated in one singing intervention), Raúl Rodríguez with the trumpet (who at some point was performing among the audience in the back of the Callahan Theater!), Hilario Bell with the drums, and sound engineer Alain Aguilar. It was inevitable to notice that the talented performers were just slightly older than our students at Nazareth College –who were also dancing enthusiastically on the sides of the Callahan Theater at the beat of Tiempo Libre’s music.

            Multiple times Grammy-nominated Tiempo Libre was formed in 2001 with the goal of conveying their rich Cuban roots with a new youthful and modern musical reinterpretation of their heritage vis-à-vis their American experience. The successful outcome of this enterprise was evident for Rochesterians, Cubans, Cuban-Americans, Americans and Italian students who enjoyed their presentation on February 16. They have performed extensively throughout the United States, as well as in numerous countries of Asia and Europe. They have performed along with prominent salsa and jazz starts such as Celia Cruz and Aretha Franklin. In 2007 the young musicians embarked in a new one-of-a-kind musical experience in their career, the writing of musical works that fusion symphony orchestra tradition and Cuban band music –something they call “Rumba Sinfónica”.

            On February 16, Tiempo Libre, superbly recreated old traditional Cuban tunes such as “Lágrimas negras” a guaracha composed in the 1930’s by Cuban musician Miguel Matamoros (1894-1971) and widely performed in Cuba. We also heard “Guantanamera” whose authorship has been attributed to José Fernandez Díaz (Joseíto) around 1929, which borrows some stanzas from 19^th Century Cuban poet and pro-independence fighter, José Martí’s “Versos sencillos”. Another great performance was “El cuarto de Tula” a Cuban son tune made famous in the United States by Ibrahím Ferrer and the magnificent group of musicians gathered by Ry Cooder, “Buena Vista Social Club”. The audience also listened to Tiempo Libre’s recreation of the old Cuban guaracha “Bilongo” composed by Guillermo Rodríguez Fifé (b. 1907), among other great Latino tunes that made of this performance an unforgettable one –a performance that leaves all of us with great desire to attend next year’s programming at the Callahan Theater of Nazareth College.

Tiempo Libre’s Party at the Callahan Theatre

By Rubén. L. Gómez, Professor of Modern Languages and Cultures, St. John Fisher College

I am getting old, like most of those near million of us who have been coming to US shores for the past fifty years, a fact recognized by Tiempo Libre in their closing tribute to this country. I love true Cuban classics- yes, Lágrimas negras and El cuarto de Tula are among them-, play me some Beny Moré, Celia Cruz or Pello el Afrocan; heck, put on some Albita, that talented, energetic, resounding presence I last enjoyed at the Yuca Restaurant down in Lincoln Road one New Year’s Eve.  My friends mock me telling me I am the worse Cuban they know, and by that they simply mean that I can no longer gyrate my pelvis like Joaquín (El Kid) Díaz managed to do tonight on the stage at the Callahan Theater.  It’s a good thing The King overdosed on prescription drugs that August night back in 1977.  Had he seen El Kid perform tonight, he would have hired him to choreograph his own pelvic thrusts. That kid was hot in his café con leche colored tight pants, and he got the younger crowd to mover el esqueleto, sorry, shake their booties, with, of all things, our other national anthem, our precious Guantanamera, a song constructed around a poem by Cuba’s greatest voice, the poet José Martí.  That particular segment of the public in attendance as well as many others in the theater would not stop their dancing and that, indeed, was the intention.

The Nazareth Art Center put on a magnificent show indeed.  From several streets away, I could see the wonderfully lit trees and the building itself beckoning us to its interior for one more performance before its scheduled nine-month gestation.  It will reopen in January of next year and welcome us, the faithful, back to an even better space.

          We in the community were fortunate to have Nazareth College partake in the splendid “Across Borders, Rochester” program.  It has provided us with much needed and certainly most welcome series of incredible performances covering the vastness of the Hispanic world: from the Ballet Folklórico de México, to the Tango Buenos Aires to the Ballet Hispánico to this final Cuban Tiempo Libre.

            I teach deconstruction as well as postmodernism in my literature classes and I realize that younger groups such as Tiempo Libre face the struggle of handling their musical legacy and contributing to a new one.  They did that amazingly well thus the birth of timba.

I do have some criticism.  The patron of the Art Center, who welcomed the audience into the theater, proudly announced that the music for the event had been enhanced- big mistake!  The sound overpowered the beautiful lyrics sung by the aforementioned The Kid.  The sax and the trumpet played by Luis Beltrán Castillo and Raúl Rodríguez were much too loud and their loudness was not enough to truly integrate them into the rest of the group.  The disco balls were anachronistic.  I kept expecting Travolta himself to jump up ion stage with his white suit.

Jorge Gómez, the piano player and musical director informed us that this was not a concert, but a party and that’s great, but not in that space.  The performance merited some other venue and a nice Cuba Libre would have been far preferable to the health bars sold at the front table.  Alas, there is no other Cuba!

Not Goodbye, Just Hasta Luego

By Sofia Tokar        Nazareth College Marketing and Communications Assistant

Interviewer: What do you think about the El Niňo phenomenon?

Bridget: It’s a blip. I think Latin music’s on its way out.

                                                                        -- From the movie “Bridget Jones’s Diary” (2001)

Remember when Ricky Martin, Jennifer Lopez, her now-husband Skeletor – er, Marc Anthony – and their ilk spearheaded the mainstream Latin music scene here in the United States? The la vida loca trend of yesteryear has given way to the welcome and steadily increasing influence of Hispanic culture here in America.

Reflecting that zeitgeist was the Arts Center’s 2007-2008 season, opening with the one-two punch of Ballet Folklorico de Mexico and Tango Buenos Aires, and continuing with Ballet Hispanico. The season came full circle with the final evening performance featuring Tiempo Libre, a Cuban timba band from Miami.

The band opened with an instrumental piece showcasing the skills that garnered two Grammy nominations. Piano man Jorge Gomez welcomed everyone by clarifying, “This is not a concert; this is a party!” On cue, the lights of disco balls revealed two dance floors flanking the stage. I’m no math major, but even I know that two dance floors equal two times the fun.

Introductions of the band members followed. Standouts included Tebelio, rockin’ the bass and sporting a kilt – presumably representing Clan MacCuban; and Raul, playing both the trumpet and the role of Chris Daughtry’s doppelganger.

However, it wasn’t until the lead singer appeared that the audience got the whole package… so to speak. So you think you can dance? Well, check out Joaquin Diaz, the vocalist who goes by the stage name El Kid, which translates as The Kid (Thank you, AP Spanish). His was the pelvic thrust seen round the theater! Shakira may be right in warbling that hips don’t lie, but they sure do gyrate.

In the interest of maintaining her critical faculties, this reviewer opted not to subject fellow audience members to any Elaine Benes-like dance antics. But resisting the siren calls of the dance floors proved difficult for many: One spectator christened them “dens of sin” before dashing away to become a denizen of said peccadillo pits. Aesop’s Fables would have us believe that there’s a moral to every story. Clearly the lesson here is that there are few better ways to spend your free time than with Tiempo Libre.

It's a Post Modern Thing

By Lorraine Person, Ph.D.   Assistant Professor, Nazareth College Department of Theatre Arts

We live in a postmodern society.  There’s just no getting around it.  Scholars have tried to define postmodernism in essays, books, and lectures for decades now.  If there is still a question as to what it is … David Parsons’ performance on Saturday should answer it once and for all.

Here is what scholars say about postmodernism in a nutshell: 

• Highly Theatrical
• Mixing musical traditions
• Referencing the Past (without worrying too much about plagiarism)
• Integrating all forms of art and technique; avoiding categorization

Parsons’ work is certainly integrated and theatrical.  According to the program notes, his works are conceived from the beginning in partnership with lighting designer, Howell Brinkley.  How delicious!  It seemed as if the lighting design was a featured dancer in all of the works, taking the starring role in two of the pieces:  Hand Dance and Caught. And the audience loved it.

The dancers, too, were superbly integrated and theatrical – exquisitely trained in all forms of dance technique, from ballet to Brazilian copoeira and hip hop.

Parsons’ musical choices were sophisticated and wide-ranging, ranging from Dave Matthews Band to electronica and Brazilian dance music, erasing the boundaries of pop and serious music.  Very postmodern.

That brings me to “Referencing the Past.”  That’s something I had trouble with.  Maybe I’m old-fashioned, but there was a lot of “referencing” going on.  The Hand Dance for example employed a lighting effect used by Bob Fosse in Pippin and before that by modern dance legend Alwin Nikolais.  Many of the evening’s other pieces, too, were highly reminiscent of works by Momix, Alvin Ailey, Martha Graham, et al.  The surprise of seeing very familiar movements and ideas portrayed here (albeit in new ways) sometimes interrupted my enjoyment of the piece that I was seeing.  However, maybe it’s a good thing that a truly gifted choreographer like Parsons – and he is very gifted -- is re-using some of the best of dance history.  Rap artists do it everyday.  And maybe it’s a good thing to stand on the shoulders of giants.  But can we also remember the giants?

But this is so nit-picky.  The bottom line is that Rochester got to see a world-class company of magnificent dancers doing first-class choreography with a genius lighting designer.  It was thrilling.

Beautiful to Watch...Clever, Entertaining...Lacking an Edge

By Natalie Rogers-Cropper     Dancer, Choreographer and Director Garth Fagan Dance School

The Parsons Dance Company has a tradition of exceptional ballet technique among the dancers. David Parsons himself was a dancer of extraordinary athleticism, power and beauty. His dances celebrate this same joy of moving and the delight of taking the human body to its limit in stamina and technique.The jumps are high and happily not confined to just the men, the turns are fast, the lifts are risky and exciting and the dancers fearless for the most part. The choreography itself however lacks a degree of movement invention, and except for some original moments in the 3rd piece of the evening, Nascimento Novo, there were too many instances of "been there, seen that" Closure opened the program, but lack of dynamic range, the overuse of center stage and the predictibility of facing front to the audience brought the lovely dancers down a notch. The piece seemed long, but the gorgeous lift section was a breath of fresh air. While I am aware of the limited ability of the Arts Center to provide adequate lighting for most choreographers, this piece suffered greatly from the dark costumes, the moody lighting and the tendency of the marquee lights upstage to disect the dancers bodies and make the movement difficult to see. The piece that followed, "Hands" though more of a theater piece in the "Momix" tradition, used side lighting to isolate and illuminate the arms of five dancers. It was clever and entertaining, much like a spoonful of sorbet between courses. Some lovely movement phrases in 'Nascimento Novo" made this the most engaging piece of the evening. Parsons dancers are so beautiful to watch, particularly Tommy Scrivens and Abby Silva. There was a joy and freedom to the piece which was very well rehearsed as were, in fact all the pieces in the program. Again came another version of that wonderful risky lift section which we first saw in "Closure" with female dancers throwing themselves into the men's arms forward, backward and sideways. Generally speaking, some of Mr. Parson's choices of movement in all his pieces can be a tad predictable, and I eventually grew weary of the many male/female duets, when there are so many other combinations that one can experiment with in contemporary dance. Just a thought. The beautiful music of Milton Nascimento was heart-warming but overpowered a strangely empty duet that again was poorly lit and difficult to see. I saw that love was a major factor, but somehow this did not come across. "Union", was a study involving slow travel of bodies from one end of the stage to the other. Some langorous lifts and changes of level made it interesting for the first half of the piece, then less so as the repetition of a single dynamic got a little tiresome. Some of the work of the evening seemed impersonal to me and the ability to pull the audience in was not there. I missed that human connection that can come from great art, that ability to make the audience feel something inside after the evening is over. I am not talking about feeling "entertained", but a real deep reaction, of joy of pain of puzzlement even, but something that reminds us of our vulnerability, of our humanity which we share when we sit in a theatre with others. The feeling I describe came when Tommy Srivens hit the stage in "Caught" This piece was made famous by David Parsons himself and before this night,had not been done as well since. The piece uses a strobe light to create the illusion of dancing without touching the ground. Mr. Scriven's youth and power and incredible leaps and flips brought the audience to their feet. He is a dancer of exceptional ability, presence and complete commitment to his craft. What a thrill it was to watch him master this solo. Bravo After "Caught" "In The End" was somewhat anticlimactic, though well danced and it was good to see the individuality of each dancer shine through. One section served as an appropriate tribute to Paul Taylor's "Esplanade". Parsons was a former member of Paul Taylor's company, and one of his brightest stars. Miguel Quinones seemed to suddenly come out of his shell with a beautifully performed solo. However, this piece removed me from the concert dance stage to more of the musical theatre stage, which would have been fine if that was what I came to see. Though the evening was not necessarily disappointing, it did make me wish for something with an edge, with a strong statement about humankind, something less superficial and more powerful in its impact. Still, Nazareth Arts Center should be commended for bringing high quality performing to Rochester. Thank you Nazareth College, keep up the good work.

An Enjoyable Evening of Pure Dance

By Kylee Pike - Pike has an MFA in dance performance and choreography from SUNY Brockport    

            On Saturday, February 9, 2008 The Parsons Dance Company performed at the Nazareth College Arts Center.  As a jazz and modern dancer I have, of course, heard of David Parsons and his company, but I have never seen a live or taped performance.  I know his lineage as a dancer with Paul Taylor, and I have seen his former company member, Robert Battle, and taken class with Battleworks’ dancers.  I was curious to see how Parsons’ time with Taylor influenced his choreography and vocabulary, and how he molded a successful modern dance choreographer himself.

            Most of the night’s dance pieces showcased the high energy and athleticism Parsons’ is known for as a choreographer.  His use of ensemble is often accentuated with the dancers creating a large circle in the space and moving into and out of their places within the group.  The ease of changing formations, I believe, is Parsons’ strength as a creator, as was demonstrated in “Closure” and “Nascimento Novo.”

            Oddly enough, my favorite pieces were not the trademark high energy dances (except for “Caught”, which I will discuss in a moment.)  In the first act “Hand Dance” was a stand out because of the quirky and unexpected movements of the five dancers.  The attention to the piano and fiddle in the music was humorous, enjoyable, and on point.  Parsons created visually appealing phrases and tableaus with ten hands, and I imagine rehearsals to be very long to get the precision down.  The sparse lighting created the effect of only seeing hands dancing.  If a dancer were to be in the wrong spot for even a second, the whole allusion of the piece would have been ruined.

 

            Opening the second act was “Union”, a controlled and slow moving dance piece, in which the dancers traveled in a ripple pattern to reach the center, and exited again in a ripple.  Moving at a slow tempo allowed the dancers to honestly fulfill the movement and to stretch through each line.  Once in the center of the space the dancers transitioned easily into controlled lifts and descents, switching partners with the viewer hardly noticing.  Though the Parsons’ dancers move so well at a quick pace, “Union” displayed the true athleticism and technique necessary as a dancer.

Clearly the highlight of the evening was “Caught.”  This piece showed innovation, athleticism and precise timing.  The dancer began the piece in the center of the stage in a pool of light.  Commanding the space, he performed sharp, definitive movements and then traveled into another pool of light.  This continued for a couple of minutes and then the strobe began.  The dancer moved through the space doing leaps and jumps in such perfect time that it appeared as if he never touched the ground.  He returned to the center occasionally, always reaching his destination as the strobe stopped and the pool of light appeared again.  I cannot begin to imagine the rehearsals for this dance and the repetition needed to perfect the timing with the strobe. 

            In all it was an enjoyable evening of pure dance.  My one wish was that original performance dates could have been listed next to the dance title in the program.  This would have allowed the audience to understand the timeline of each work’s creation and let us know which pieces have been performed over a period of time and which ones were newly made.

A Spectacular Night of Music, Dance and Marching

By Bill Ritchie - Piping enthusiast and member Gates Keystone Pipes and Drums

          Friday night I attended the sold out Royal Scots Dragoon Guard and Band of the Coldstream Guards. Being a “student of the pipes” I admit that I came to see the Dragoon Guards but, I could not believe the sounds, traditional uniforms and precision marching by the Coldstream Guards on such a small stage! The band was in fine form and there is an excellent tin whistle player who is very talented and is featured on the emotional Welch tune Sao Gan. When the strings played the Coldstream Guards Waltz, you could close your eyes and not know it was a live performance. The Tribute to America set we saw a tremendous display of marching and the band received a lengthy applause! The bandmaster, Graham Jones, has done a fine job of assembling an interesting program that does not leave you wondering when the Pipe Band is going to be returning to the stage! For those of you wondering, that funny looking, snake-like instrument is called a “Serpent”!

          Now on to the pipes! All the stops were right on, a crisp marching display and a uniform that was immaculate and fully squared away. They are playing the new Shepherd Orchestral chanter with Shepherd reeds and the sound complemented perfectly the other instruments. I’m told that Army piping sounded like this the glory days of the 1970-1995 era. Full and bright, yet not overly high pitched as has become the case nowadays. The blend with brass was stunning.

          The high step marching in place and everyone sticking the ending created a great visual effect. This is where they really shined! It's not always about how well you can play a set, but rather, can you show a different dimension to your audience?

          As far as the sets went: I felt that they played too fast on the Scottish Set: My Home, Skye Boat Song, Highland Cradle Song and Dark Isle. These are emotional tunes that you can almost not play them too slow; some of that emotion was lost.

          The competition set: high stepping, tempo changes, they made this look easy! My favorite tune of the night was “When the Saints go Marching in” I think it was because you could feel the energy move the audience!

          In all it was a spectacular night that I felt privileged to witness. It’s clear why they have the deserved reputation as the finest Bands in the British Army.

It's Not All Show Business - Is it?

By Lorraine Person, Ph.D. 

Assistant Professor, Nazareth College Department of Theatre Arts

Based on what we’ve seen in the Nazareth season so far, I had the highest expectations for the Coldstream Guards/Royals Scots Dragoon Guards last night.   I expected to see exceptional art, or at least craft of the highest order.  I would have settled for clever or astonishing or entertaining. (At least give me entertaining!)  I didn’t get any of that, but by the end of the evening I got something at least as important.  The Guards² took me on a voyage from my usual Contemporary Ironic Detachment to a different place – a humbler place.

It took me most of the evening to figure out what I was seeing. They were a marching drill band. That’s fine, but the drilling was mediocre, the musicality substandard, and the dance dreadful.  What confused me most was the lack of any desire on their part to entertain.  No shock and awe, no humor, nothing cutting edge -- no costume changes! – just marching back and forth, on stage and off, playing songs from hundreds of years ago.  What was this, a history lesson?

When they announced their “Salute to America,” in the second act, my oh-so-cool, overly-intellectual persona, nearly walked out.  This was too obvious, too overdone, perhaps worthy of an elementary school pageant.

And then I got it …with the help of a few members of our Rochester community. As the band played the Army song – and the caissons go rolling along – one lone man in the audience stood up.  Then when the navy song was played, three men, isolated in the darkened house, stood silently. And the Marines.  And the Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard.  Each branch was honored and each veteran stood.  Simple.  Real.  Courageous.

Well, that brought me out of my irony and allowed me to see what was happening here.  This wasn’t mere entertainment. The Guards weren’t doing anything for the effect. They were simply doing what they had been doing for centuries: their job, their duty, their part to protect their country -- and honoring the men and women who do the same for ours. Ignoring passing tastes, refusing to appeal to our contemporary aesthetic expectations, they demonstrated honor, tradition and commitment.  Those weren’t costumes; they were uniforms, and they were not about to change them to cater to my short attention span.

There’s a line from the movie Chicago when the sleazy lawyer says, “It’s all show business kid!” Well it’s not.  Not all of it.  I needed the Coldstream Guards/Royal Scots Dragoon Guards to come to America in this age of sound bites, press agents, and paparazzi to remind me that it’s not all show business.  And I was grateful for this respite from our overly-hyped culture and from my own ironic detachment.  What a relief.

Caliente Y Con Sabor! (Hot and With Flavor) Ballet Hispanico in Rochester, New York

By Nydia Padilla-Rodriguez, Rochester City School District, Director of Community Partnerships; Founder & Artistic Director, Borinquen Dance Theatre, Inc.

I had the opportunity to attend three wonderful events over a two day span involving Ballet Hispanico. Nazareth College Arts Center and the sponsors, we thank you for your vision and for supporting diversity at its best! The excitement of being part of all three experiences left me with a great sense of Latin “Sabor” (Flavor).

The participation of Rochester City School District Dr. Martin Luther King elementary School #9 students in the Ballet Hispanico workshop was splendid! I witnessed the enthusiasm and glow in the students’ faces and determination to engage in a new cultural experience through dance. The students were in awe particularly with Eric Rivera, a native of Humacao, Puerto Rico and the lead instructor. The dancers introduced themselves, sharing their countries of origin and backgrounds; leaving the students at the workshop with inspiration for more inquiries of what to expect at the performance for students of the RCSD the next day. The following afternoon, Ballet Hispanico program included a sampling of traditional dances from various Latin American countries. The range of costumes, entertainment and dance left the students with joy and excitement as they cheered and chanted with pride. What a rich cultural experience for over 450 RCSD students!

The Master Class conducted by Nicolas Villeneuve, (a Canadian raised in Kingston, Jamaica) for Borinquen Dance Theatre and Hochstein dancers was superb! Nicolas presented his genre of dance and instruction with patience, precision and conviction, but most of all with finesse. While the dancers attempted to dissect his technical demonstration, they embraced the energy necessary and discipline to capture the essence of the movements with passion. Nicolas flowed and undulated his body like wind vibrantly passing infinitely. By the end of the class, the dancers were mesmerized with his execution and fluidity of movement and technique. As a result of this workshop, three dancers were inspired to audition for Ballet Hispanico.

The evening performance at Nazareth on January 11 was the highlight of Ballet Hispanico’s visit to Rochester. Their fusion of ballet, modern, jazz dance and Latin influence was harmony in movement. How exciting it was to be a spectator of such an astounding young group of dancers. They dazzled the audience with rhythm, multicolored festive costumes, fluid dancing, sensuality and passion, and a great selection of music and choreography. What a rich cultural experience! It reflected diversity of Latinos in the arts, history, music and dance. It all left me wanting MÁS (more)!

And Somewhere a Swan on a Lake Turns Green with Envy

By Sofia Tokar   Nazareth College Marketing and Communications Assistant

            The ballet, I admit, often leaves me cold – one too many holiday viewings of The Nutcracker sans a big enough cup o’ cheer, I suspect. Mercifully, there was nary a tutu in sight during Friday night’s performance by Ballet Hispanico. Instead, iridescent tea-length and cocktail dresses for the glamazons – as well as unitards and torero-inspired attire for the gents – made for sexy, playful, and modern-looking dancers who put your grandmother’s sugar plum fairies to shame.

Living up to its name, the company presented ballet con un infusion del hispanico. I generally think of salsa as best paired with tortilla chips and tequila, but the performers proved to me that it marries quite nicely with ballet too. The company’s works, according to the program, “create a new style of concert dance in which theatricality and passion propel every move.” Indeed, each piece told a story, and many a tableau vivant featured two boys for every girl. Skirts and shirts were aflutter, prompting one spectator to remark, “It’s like a Harlequin romance cover!” Surely by the end I wasn’t the only person wondering if a cigar really is just a cigar. ¡Muy caliente y picante!

My critical eye is ill suited to dissecting the technical aspects of the dancing itself. As an avowed couch potato, any kind of athletic prowess is mind blowing to me. These dancer-athletes were no exception: watching their chiseled arms and pumping quads alternating between lifts and kicks left me questioning that fifth post-dinner linzer cookie.

But cookie or no, I give credit to the ladies for mambo-sashaying the night away in four-inch heels (shoes that are clearly the love children of this season’s Christian Louboutins and the light-up Reebok sneakers I had as a kid… Props to the wardrobe director). The performers’ energy during the second half was infectious, and I wondered if my girlfriends would be game for some La Macarena-meets-jazz-hands-style dancing afterward.

Like the tropical fish in an aquarium at the orthodontist’s office, the dancers were mesmerizing and hypnotic, fluid and colorful – fuerte y brillante, as my shampoo bottle says. And now that I’ve exhausted my high school-level Spanish, I fall back on the precious little Italian I know and say bravo! The Arts Center is undergoing renovations this spring, including replacement of the temperature and air circulation systems. Maybe we should let Ballet Hispanico stay and keep bringing the heat to the Arts Center.