10 Unbelievable Performances, $10 tickets and an arts experience that will Awaken Your Creative Spirit. Innovative art at its best, with a price accessible to the masses.
The 10x10 Arts Series is all about inspiring audiences by bringing top artists in their given field and generating conversation around their craft. 10x10 performances include pre-show Creative Conversations with the artists, the show and then an after-party where patrons can mix and mingle with performers straight from the stage, while enjoying appetizers and drink specials.
Mwenso & The Shakes
Friday, Sept. 14
Mwenso and the Shakes are a unique troupe of global artists who present music that merges the highest form of entertainment and artistry while commanding a formidable repitiore of jazz and blues expression through African and Afro American music.
Immigrating from Sierra Leone, London, South Africa, Greenwich Village, Madagascar, France, Jamaica and Hawaii, The Shakes all now call Harlem their home. Taking from the stylings of Fats Waller, Muddy Waters, James Brown and many other American musical legends - Michael Mwenso leads an electrifying show that the New York Times calls “intense, prowling, and ebullient.”
Mwenso began performing at the age of 13, starting at London's legendary jazz nightclub Ronnie Scott's. During that time he was discovered by James Brown, who invited Mwenso to perform with him. From then on, Michael Mwenso has maintained a deep-rooted love for jazz, and he brings that same energy with him to the stage each night.
Jessica Lang Dance
Thursday, Sept. 20
Choreographer and director, Jessica Lang is one of the most celebrated artists of her generation. Creating "achingly beautiful" (Chicago Tribune) performances in a genre-bending, contemporary ballet style. The compositions of this New York City-based dance company resists categorical definition.
A complete universe is conceived in each dance, distinctive in its look and mood, sound and atmosphere. Lang has an architect's eye, not just in terms of the structures she builds with moving bodies, but through her use of light, objects and scenic elements.
Ragamala Dance Company's Written in Water
Sunday, Oct. 14
Inspired by the 2nd century Indian board game Paramapadam (which later became the ever-popular Chutes & Ladders), this performance by Indian dance company Ragamala features a video-saturated stage space where original paintings by Chennai-based visual artist Keshav are projected.
The result is a mythic, mystical dance landscape where the heights of ecstasy and the depths of longing in Hindu and Sufi culture are explored. Set to an original score of Iraqi Maqam, jazz and South Indian Carnatic music, this production communicates universal experiences through traditional Indian art forms and “provides some of the most transcendent experiences that dance has to offer.” (The New York Times).
Ragamala Dance Company was founded in 1992 by Ranee Ramaswamy. Now under the direction of Ranee and Aparna Ramaswamy (mother and daughter), the company is in its 25th season of creating intercultural, collaborative performance works that forge together ancestry and continuity. In this milestone year, long-time Ragamala soloist Ashwini Ramaswamy has joined her mother and sister in their intergenerational creative partnership.
The Story of Everything- Kealoha, Slam Poet
Thursday, Nov. 1
Conceived and performed by internationally acclaimed Poet Laureate Kealoha, the first official Poet Laureate of Hawai'i, The Story of Everything is an epic poem that dramatizes explanations for human origin, drawing from sources as diverse as the Big Bang theory, disco, Michael Jackson and the Kumulipo – an 18th-century Hawaiian creation story.
Kealoha explores how science and culture can be used to approach universal questions that have challenged humans from the very beginning – where do we come from, and where do we go from here?
Hot Club of San Francisco's Cinema Vivant
Thursday, Jan. 10
As the images flicker to life beneath the stars, gypsy musicians play their guitars and fiddles, matching every movement on the screen. Reviving this lost entertainment, The Hot Club of San Francisco presents Cinema Vivant, an evening of vintage silent films accompanied by live gypsy swing. Featuring two films by the famed European stop-action filmmaker Ladislaw Starewicz, this charming performance celebrates music of the past with intricate, scorching and often brilliant renditions.
Michael Andrew: Sinatra and the American Songbook
Saturday, Feb. 23
Michael Andrew has many credits to his name. He was the headline singer and band-leader at the world famous Rainbow Room atop Rockefeller Center in New York City.
He also performed that coveted role at Merv Griffin’s “Coconut Club” in Beverly Hills, California. While on “Larry King Live,” Merv called Michael Andrew “one of the great singers of all time.” This show, developed specifically for our 10x10 audience, pays tribute to the writers of the "American Songbook," including Johnny Mercer, Sammy Cahn, the Gershwins and Frank Sinatra. Celebrate some of history’s most iconic composers and singers led by “one of the best talents to come down the pike in 50 years” (Jerry Lewis).
A Midsummer Night's Dream
Saturday, March 16
One of Shakespeare’s most beloved and witty comedies is brought to vivid life in an innovative new production by the critically acclaimed Aquila Theatre Company.
At the center of the story is the Fairy King’s servant, the impish Puck, whose magic creates an endless supply of mirth, mistaken identity and inappropriate, if not absolutely ludicrous passions. Exploring the universal theme of love (and its attendant complications: passion, lust, frustration, depression, confusion and marriage), this classically trained, modernly hip troupe is here to bring the classics into present day with a signature style full of beautiful movement, music, song and some of the finest Shakespearean acting today.
The Edge Effect
Friday, April 5- VoiceJam A Cappella Festival Headliner
Winners of MTV's "Top Pop Group" and Boyz II Men's "Next Great A Cappella Group," America's Got Talent finalists and international recording group, The Edge Effect joins us as this year’s VoiceJam A Cappella Festival headliner- part of the 10x10 Arts Series!
A six-man vocal band, The Edge Effect combines pop, R & B, jazz, rock and funk in a show unlike any other. Their signature sound blurs the genre line and weaves a colorful tapestry of infectious beats, intricate harmonies and spectacular vocal acrobatics. With stunning reinterpretations of musical favorites, as well as inventive, contemporary original songs, this performance is sure to be an unparalleled entertainment experience.
6-WIRE
Thursday, May 9
Bringing artists and musical styles from historically conflicting regions and countries together on stage, 6-Wire’s performances promote world peace and cultural understanding. Concerts include cutting edge electronic sound libraries designed by Grammy Award®-winning sound engineers, and feature the circular PianoArc seen during Lady Gaga’s 2017 Super Bowl halftime show. Performing mixes of traditional world music with pop and jazz elements, 6-Wire explore the boundaries of new world music.
Artosphere Festival Orchestra 10x10 Concert
Wednesday, June 26
Soaring strings, crashing symbols and timpani drum rolls to a tumultuous musical crescendo… with a decisive sweep of his baton, internationally acclaimed Maestro Corrado Rovaris will once again lead the Artosphere Festival Orchestra (AFO) through an enchanting symphonic experience.
Recognized as an important musical voice by American Public Media’s “Performance Today” – the nation’s most popular classical music radio program – the AFO is a dynamic ensemble of young, talented musicians. In their ninth year performing together, these virtuosic artists will showcase fresh interpretations of leading composers in a stunning exhibition that demonstrates the brilliance of classical music.
