► Now See This
Jan. 19, Oklahoma Contemporary
Ring in the new year with fresh creativity, and join Oklahoma Contemporary Art Center for an event focused on the new: ArtNow returns Jan. 19 to the gallery space at 3000 General Pershing. The fundraiser helps keep the center’s programming free and plentiful all year, and is a primo party, to boot. And since there’s no time like the present, the pieces made for this event by Oklahoma artists, including Dylan Cavin’s “Pilgrimage Void,” (above) are already on display for a sneak preview.
► B Is for Brilliant
Jan. 16 and 29-30, Armstrong Auditorium
You might say this month’s entertainment in Armstrong Auditorium’s performing arts series is brought to you by the letter B and the number 2 – it’s a pair of special events. Banjo virtuoso Bela Fleck and string quartet Brooklyn Rider visit Jan. 16 for “Night Flight Over Water,” and the mighty Moscow Festival Ballet returns for a duo of shows Jan. 29-30: the Best of Russian Ballet Gala and Best of Tchaikovsky (including an adaptation of the Bard’s “Romeo and Juliet”). Be there – both times.
► Spring Is Coming
Jan. 19-21, State Fairgrounds
The turning of the seasons is a constant that provides some comfort to those weary of cold weather, but also should serve as a reminder that this would be a prime occasion to tend your mental garden so ideas can blossom along with nature. That’s why the OKC Home & Garden Show combines 500+ vendors and experts in landscaping, gardening, remodeling and home décor into this three-day event; in terms of DIY inspiration, it’s a growth industry.
► Built to Inspire
Jan. 30, UCO Mitchell Hall Theater
Announcing itself as “a distinct style of architecture in motion,” Diavolo Dance Theater specializes in performances incorporating large onstage structural elements that the dancers move on, around and through. The results, as will be displayed during their appearance in UCO’s Broadway Tonight series, are dynamic, distinctive and altogether mesmerizing. If the devil is in the details, dance that’s as impeccably intricate as this is truly Diavolical.
► Strings and Circuses
Jan. 13 and 26-27, OKC Civic Center
With two totally different performances on the calendar, the musicians of the OKC Philharmonic will need to exercise some flexibility this month … although not as much as one of their special guests. The traveling troupe Cirque Musica lends its acrobatic skills to an engrossing Pops performance called “Heroes and Villains” Jan. 26-27. But first, star composer and cellist Joshua Roman lends his expertise to a Classics concert highlighted by Haydn and Sibelius on January 13.
