March 6, 2006

Performance to showcase world's cultures, languages

A diverse mix of cultures and languages will be on display at An Evening of Music and Dance, presented by the Language Program and Cowell College.

Senior Blaise Hamel, a cellist with the UCSC Orchestra, will be performing.

The show will be performed at 8 p.m. on March 8 at the Cowell College Dining Hall.

The first half of the program will be devoted to instrumental and vocal pieces, including rock, folk, popular, traditional, and opera.

Vocal works will include three original pieces, written by students in Spanish, French, and English. Solos and duets in Italian, German, and Chinese, as well as a fully staged scene from Verdi's Falstaff, will be accompanied on the piano by Aura Barr. Performances on exotic instruments such as the Vilhuela (from Mexico) and the Shamisen (Japan) will be featured, as will be works for guitar, flute, piano, and cello.

The focus will be on Latin America in the second half of the program, with colorful dances from Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Uruguay, and Spain. Performances will include flamenco, ballet folklorico Mexicana, and the tango.

Brenda Barceló, lecturer in Spanish, is coordinating the dance segment, and Miriam Ellis, lecturer emerita in French, is the program's producer. Admission is free and open to the public.

For further information, contact Ellis at ellisan@ucsc.edu.