As part of Vineyard Community Church’s annual Christmas show this year they added a simple flashmob dance after their performance in Springdale. The flashmob dance followed the trend of previous Cincinnati flashmobs and overtook Fountain Square.
“Over 500 suburbanites trekked downtown to dance for two minutes,” said Brad Wise, Creative Director, Vineyard Community Church. “The cool thing was that a lot of them stuck around afterward and went out to eat and enjoy the city.”
The Cincinnati Arts Association presents “Binocular”, the first performance of the 2010 season by Exhale Dance Tribe. This particular presentation is not your typical “going to the ballet” dance experience. Exhale Dance Tribe is a contemporary jazz troupe, mixing modern and rhythm based dance to create “expressionistic and multi-lingual dance rooted in rhythmic language and story telling.” They work hard to push the boundaries and discover new and beautiful ways of expressing oneself through movement.
Exhale Dance Tribe was created by Andrew Hubbard and Misty Lay Zimmer, who met while performing during a Broadway run of the musical “Cats.” According to the Exhale website, the partners noticed a dire need for dancers to reconnect with what dance was originally intended for: self expression and storytelling. As choreographers, performers and educations, Hubbard and Zimmer are committed to drawing out the artistic soul of performers and audiences alike, daring to explore and expand notions of individuality and nonconformity.
Dance is one aspect of the arts community that is often overlooked in Cincinnati. Exhale Dance Tribe takes the preconceived notions of what dance should be and flips them around into something entirely different.
With “Binocular”, the audience is invited to look closer… what we perceive with one “lens” may be transformed when we see with both eyes. It is the first performance of the 2010 season and includes original choreographic works from LA choreographer Kristen Denehy as well as Andrew Hubbard and Missy Lay Zimmer. It includes new works and premieres of “Motion Pictures” and “Valley of the Dolls.”
Performances are Friday and Saturday, January 8th and 9th, at 8pm. The performances will be held in the Jarson-Kaplan Theater at the Aronoff Center for the Arts on Main Street downtown (map). Tickets are $20, and ETA members can use their vouchers or get tickets for $12 the day of the show. Call (513) 621-2787 or email ticketing@cincinnatiarts.org.
All pictures copyright Exhale Dance Tribe. Become a fan on Facebook!
This week marks the return of the broomball season to the Fountain Square Ice Rink. In its fourth annual season the Fountain Square Broomball League has consistently been one of the Square’s more popular activities which is amazing considering it is played in the heart of winter. It’s even more amazing when you stop and consider that players run around on ice in gym shoes wielding broomsticks and chasing after a small blue ball.
Give me a second to try to explain, though of course you’ll do yourself much better by stopping by to catch a game or two. The games that broomball most closely resemble are ice hockey & soccer. Hockey in such a way that there are six players to a side, including a goalie, the players run around with sticks and try to put the ball in the opponent’s net. Soccer in a sense that the players wear “regular” shoes, can kick the ball, and are not allowed using their hands aside from knocking the ball down. Make sense now? Probably not, so stop down and see some broomball action. As a bonus, adult beverages are sold in the heated tent alongside the rink for a very reasonable price.
Aside from the normal UrbanCincy post reminding you about all the great things going on in our fair city, this one has a bit more of a personal touch as Jenny Kessler & I are playing this year. We are members of the Little Kings & Queens of Cincinnati, with our big debut coming tonight! The even better news: we are only a small representation of the local blogging scene on the roster. We also have Brad Thomas from CincyStreetcar Blog, Gordon Bombay from Queen City Discovery, and Soapbox contributor Casey Coston. Our number one fan is 5chw4r7z who has promised to enjoy a cigar under the shadows of the Genius of Water during our games.
While the entire weekday broomball schedule can be found here, The Little Kings schedule is listed below (all games are weather permitting). Of course after the game you can join us at JeanRo for specials on buckets of Little Kings.
Broomball photograph by 5chw4r7z.
The first decade of the 21st Century has been an interesting one to say the least for Cincinnati. Two new professional sports stadiums rose from the riverfront, mega projects throughout Downtown have transformed the center city, civil unrest shook the city to its core, and a neighborhood on the brink of total failure has seen one of the most dramatic turnarounds in recent time. Billions and billions of dollars have invested into our city’s urban core, and our region is better off as a result.
If you had to pick one story line that defined Cincinnati over the past decade it would have to be the story of Over-the-Rhine. The long troubled neighborhood was brought to its knees following the civil unrest in 2001 just as the neighborhood was starting to pick itself back up in the form of a rejuvenated Main Street Entertainment District that included residences, businesses, and lots of nightlife.
Crime rates rose, abandonment became more problematic, and investors became wary. But in 2003 the Cincinnati Center City Development Corporation (3CDC) was formed by then mayor Charlie Luken. Made up of some of Cincinnati’s most influential power brokers, 3CDC was tasked with turning around Cincinnati’s center city by making key investments that would make “tangible” improvements quickly.
Since its inception seven years ago, 3CDC has renovated Fountain Square and turned it into the region’s premier gathering spot which has sparked millions of dollars of investment in the surrounding area. Early on, 3CDC helped pushed the agenda on the $1 billion riverfront development known as The Banks until they stepped aside and moved their interests towards the historic Over-the-Rhine neighborhood where they have arguably made the most profound impact that any one development corporation could have made anywhere.
It was just earlier in this same decade that Over-the-Rhine was quite possibly hit the lowest of lows, but now, the neighborhood is in the midst of an exciting revival that has grabbed national attention. Millions of dollars have been invests, hundreds of new residents and dozens of new businesses now occupy formerly vacant structures, one of the most dangerous intersections (12th & Vine) has been turned into one of the safest as crime has dropped significantly throughout the neighborhood, and perceptions are changing rapidly about the once downtrodden neighborhood.
3CDC has had a profound impact on our center city for the good over the past seven years, and they plan an even bigger future over the next decade. In 2010 alone the development corporation plans to expand and renovate Washington Park, continue their renovation work throughout Over-the-Rhine, begin renovation of the Metropole Apartment building on Walnut Street to turn it into a swanky new 21c Museum Hotel, further invest in the burgeoning Backstage Entertainment District with even more restaurants, bars/clubs, and new residences.
It may be easy to point to a singular event or item that has had the greatest impact on Cincinnati over the past decade, but when you look at what has been the most transformative there is no doubt that the arrow points to 3CDC. Cincinnati is a better place because of the work that 3CDC has done, and it will prove to be Charlie Luken’s greatest legacy.
Come downtown to ring in 2010! Fountain Square will feature a 15,000 pound Ice Bar, which includes a Red Bull ice luge. Faucets are frozen inside the bar so beer can be tapped from inside the ice. The bar is about 20 feet long, 12 feet deep and 10 feet high. Soda, snacks, draft beer, champagne and mixed drinks will be available for purchase. Additionally, Strauss & Troy are sponsoring FREE ice skating and skate rentals, which are typically $2.50 each.
DJ Pillo will spin tunes all night to keep the non-skaters moving as well. At 11pm, watch Red Bull’s “New Year No Limits” TV special live on ESPN. Red Bull athlete Travis Pastrana will drive a car off a pier in Long Beach and land it on a barge floating in the harbor, in an attempt to set a world record for longest distance jump in a rally car. Then at 11:59 pm be part of a live television crowd on Fox 19 that counts down to the New Year and welcomes 2010 with fireworks by Rozzi’s Famous Fireworks.
Parking is available all evening in the Fountain Square Garage for just $5. Or leave the car at home by taking a bus to the event (plan your trip now). You could always take a cab home if needed.