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Performing Arts

1Paulie
Paulie Distefano

The Telluride Dance Academy presents its annual recital on Sunday, June 6, 3 p.m. on the stage of the Michael D. Palm Theatre. The theme, "Fresh Twists," suggests a program that reflects new ways of looking at dusty notions about dance and what dance academies teach: students who participated in the Academy's spring session, ages 3 – 18, are scheduled to perform dance forms ranging from classical ballet to hip hop, with all the stops in between.One of those students is the handsome young man in charge of all heavy lifting: Paulie Distefano. And "Fresh Twists"  is great way of summarizing exactly what's happening in his life.

After dancing only six months under the tutelage of the Academy's artistic director/former prima ballerina Valerie Madonia, Paulie, who was born and raised in Telluride, was accepted on full scholarship in to the Joffrey School of Ballet's summer intensive. He leaves just days after his performance. That's the kind of magic even Paulie, a trained magician, could not have conjured.

05 June, 2010 /


The Freelance Whales, appearing in concert at Telluride's historic Sheridan Opera House starting at 9 p.m., Friday night, June 4, plays everything from guitars, banjos, tambourines, harmonium, glockenspiels, and watering cans to the occasional keyboard and laptop assist. Besides instruments, the band favors ghosts and dream-logs. Their first release, Weathervanes, has lots to do with ghosts. And dreams.

Freelance Whales met via Craigslist, went on to play on street corners and in subways, where busy New Yorkers, wanting more of their indie sound, chose to miss their trains. Drilling down in to the sound, well, it ranges far and wide from electronic indie booty-shaking riffs to what one critic described as "overalls on a front porch." And another summed up this way:

03 June, 2010 /

Image003, cropped This weekend, Mountainfilm in Telluride and SquidShow Theatre present "War of the Words: A Murder Trial, Endangered Language vs. English. The dramatic event takes place Saturday, May 29, 9:15 p.m. @ The Masons.

After bringing Howard Zinn's Voices of a People's History to life last year, SquidShow Theatre is excited to pair up with Mountainfilm again, this time creating an original play based on the Festival's theme: extinction.

“Festival Director David Holbrooke approached us about creating an original play, because he wanted to incorporate theatre and live performance in this year’s Festival again," said Sasha Cucciniello. "After several conversations about what we might write about, David mentioned language extinction. After doing some research, the choice was made. Being a writer, I was blown away by the subject, the impact language extinction is having on our world and the implications for the future of language.”

29 May, 2010 /

Sam Bush Tuesday is a rather new feature on Telluride Inside... and Out, an opportunity to see an old Telluride friend in different circumstances. Last week's submission told of the CD release party of Sam's recent recording, "Circles Around Me." That event was also Sam and Lynn Bush's 25th wedding anniversary. We'll let Sam's people tell the story.

"As the release of Circles Around Me and Sam and Lynn's 25th wedding anniversary were celebrated on the same night, this week’s episode of Sam Bush TV gives additional  insight into the 25th wedding anniversary portion of the celebration at Sound Emporium Studio, in Nashville, TN.

25 May, 2010 /
[click "Play" for John Vaillant's conversation with Susan]

On Saturday, May 29, 12:15, at The Palm, Mountainfilm in Telluride guest author/journalist John Vaillant talks about his latest book,"The Tiger" (Knopf).

But "The Tiger" is not just an action-adventure tale about a big cat. The story is a variation on Vaillant's favorite theme: Man and nature at odds.

A growing body of evidence in the form of melting glaciers and extended droughts to escalating species extinction, the subject of Mountainfilm's Moving Mountains Symposium, suggests the natural world is spinning out of control. And Mother Nature is showing her extreme displeasure by biting back.
23 May, 2010 /
[click "Play" to listen to Mark Galbo's conversation with Susan]

N174399212347_8010 On Saturday, May 22, 7 – 10 p.m., Telluride's historic Sheridan Opera House hosts a Spring Rock Concert featuring local talent from director Mark Galbo's Rock and Roll Academy.

An innovative, passionate and dedicated music educator – and life coach – Mark Galbo founded the Rock and Roll Academy is 2004 on the strongly held conviction that music is "instant community." The goal of his School within the School at Telluride's Mountain School and his after-school initiatives are the same: deliver an experiential music program that encourages team building, self-expression, personal transformation, and social responsibility. In a nutshell, Galbo's Academy has little to do with chest-beating, guitar smashing or priapic strutting and much more to do with teaching kids how to make positive choices in their lives. They learn fearlessness while finding mystery and having fun.
20 May, 2010 /

by Tracy Shaffer

Denver starts to rock, the season of new beginnings. The town is warming up for the summer nights to do what Denverites do best— hit the streets! Not long after the ski slopes close, concert venues open: for the next five months, music will waft through our city’s all too thin air. Picnics in the park, treks up to Red Rocks: I can almost hear the clickety-clack of Prada sandals as the charge of the Botox Brigade hits the patio at Elway’s.  Kicking it off this Saturday is the 7th annual Five Points Jazz Festival at 27th & Welton Street.

Long before Denver welcomed the likes of Matt Holliday or the Birdman, Duke Ellington, Charlie “Bird” Parker and Billie Holiday roamed the streets of Five Points, frequenting the jazz clubs and speakeasies that tarted up the streets. Sitting down for coffee with Denver Office of Cultural Affairs Public Programming Coordinator, Gina Rubano, the talk was all that jazz and how the festival pays tribute not only to the rich cultural heritage of the Five Points neighborhood, but to modern day jazz icons as well.
20 May, 2010 /

A new feature on Telluride Inside... and Out is a regular Tuesday post by Sam Bush, one of Telluride's favorite musicians. Last week was the opening of this series, a Doers column with Sam, a podcast interview with Sam by Susan, and a video from Sam Bush TV.

This week's article is not quite that elaborate, but includes a video from SBTV. The video will be a weekly part of TIO's coverage, and we at Telluride Inside... and Out appreciate the opportunity to help spread the gospel according to Sam. The following is a description of this week's video from Sam's organization:

"On this week's episode of Sam Bush TV, we're revisiting the Circles Around Me CD Release party (which, coincidentally, was also Sam & Lynn Bush's 25th wedding anniversary) at Sound Emporium Studio, in Nashville, TN the spot where most of the CD was recorded.

18 May, 2010 /