See what's coming up this season in our other concert series:
Costume Contest!!!
Adults - Saturday beginning at 7 p.m. in the lobby
Children - Sunday beginning at 2:30 p.m. in the lobby
Prizes Galore!
Winners of the costume contests will win one of several fabulous prizes. Additional prizes will be given away on Saturday evening, you would win simply by being there!
Join the fiesta as we visit our
sister city Saltillo, Mexico in a
celebration of Halloween and
Dia de los Muertos—
theDay
of
the Dead.
Click here for the concert programme
Click here to learn more about Dia de los Muertos
Saturday, October 31, 2009 at 8:00 p.m.
Sunday, November 1, 2009 at 1:30 p.m. (limited seating available)
Chrysler Theatre
John Morris Russell, Conductor
The Join Hands Puppeteers, Matthew Romain
Windsor Dance eXperience
Windsor Light Music Theatre
Ballet Folklorico Estudiantil, Mexican Dancers
Lionel Walsh, Director of U of W School of Dramatic Arts
Leonora Ramirez-Kormendy, the Catrina
Calixa Lavallée O Canada
Jaime Nunó /
Francisco Gonzales Bocanegra Himno Nacional Mexicano
Modest Mussorgsky Night on Bald Mountain
Edvard Grieg In the Hall of the Mountain King
John Williams Harry Potter Suite
Camille Saint-Saëns Danse Macabre
Andrew Lloyd Webber Phantom of the Opera
Hector Berlioz “Dies Irae” from Symphonie Fantastique
Hector Berlioz “March to the Scaffold” from Symphonie Fantastique
Charles Gounod Funeral March of a Marionette
Traditional Fiesta Mexicana
Traditional Mexican Folk Dances
Chuck Rio Tequila!
Claude Debussy Clair de lune
John Williams Adventures on Earth from E.T.
programme subject to change
Since 1980 Margaret Atkinson & Matthew Romain, the Join Hands Puppeteers, have toured across the country finding solid, creative methods of fulfilling their mandate to educate and entertain through puppetry.
They’ve performed over 2,000 shows across Canada, over 1000 of those in schools, and have conducted hundreds of puppet making workshops for adults and children. The puppeteers teach their art to students in all levels, and promote the educational value of puppetry by providing in-servicing to teachers and school boards, and conducting workshops for education and drama-in-education students.
Join Hands shows are well-known for their unique open-puppetry style of performance. Their audience sensitivity and rapport make them welcome guests in any community. Their keen sense of fun is appreciated by both children and adults. The puppeteers are consistently rewarded with the appreciation of their audiences and the respect of their peers and presenters.
The Join Hands Puppeteers would like to thank Greta Pepper, Misuzu Yamana, Mary Atkinson for their involvement in the creation of these puppets. Thanks also to Tiffany Wentzell for her collaborations, and to the enthusiastic group of WDX dancers for their commitment.
Found in 2003, Windsor Dance eXperience Inc. is a non-profit theatrical dance organization run entirely by volunteers, encouraging youth throughout the community to develop an appreciation for the fine arts. They are currently working on their Christmas production, An Angel Came Down with a 35 member cast ranging in age from 6 to 28. WDX would like to extend a big thank you to Maestro Russell and the WSO for this incredible opportunity and to Matthew Romain for exposing us to such a magical art form.
Sharon Hocevar—member of WLMT (formerly the Windsor Light Opera) for 30 + years—on stage and off, working here and there and loving all of it. “Thank you for the opportunity to again be involved with WSO and enjoying it,” says Sharon. “Maestro Russell, you fill it with so much energy, fun and enormous talent.”
Kathleen Paterson is a teacher /guidance counselor with Greater Essex County District School Board, sings and has played percussion with Music Express for 26 years. She is a life member of Windsor Light and has been thrilled to be a part of over 30 regular and players shows, several symphony collaborations and 100 Years of Broadway. Music has been a wonderful part of her life!
Nancy Morand and her husband Chris are lifetime members of Windsor Light Music Theatre and together performed for over a decade with the Windsor Light Opera’s (WLO) Cabaret Singers. While usually seen backstage painting sets or managing props, Nancy has hit the “bigstage” in Fiddler on the Roof, Gpysy, WLO’s 50th Anniversary Celebration, and past WSO/WLMT concerts. Nancy is enjoying retirement from her former postion as Windsor’s Heritage Planner. No comments about type-casting for today’s performance, please!
Vanessa Plourde is a social science teacher at Vincent Massey Secondary School and a graduate of the Drama in Education and Community program at the University of Windsor. It has been quite a while since Vanessa has stepped onto the stage, and she would like to thank Shawna for this great opportunity! Happy Halloween everyone, and enjoy the show!
Shawna Zoern is an English and Drama teacher at Vincent Massey. She is a graduate of U of W’s Acting Program and has been performing in Windsor’s theatre community for several years. You may have seen her in Thoroughly Modern Millie, Beauty and the Beast, The Sound of Music, Christmas Survival Guide, Seussical the Musical and Gypsy to name a few. She is very excited to be working once again with the WSO. Thanks to her family and Kurt for their love and support!
El Ballet Folklorico Estudiantil
El Ballet Folklorico Estudiantil is a non-profit organization whose mission is to increase awareness and preservation of the Hispanic cultural heritage and to enhance self-determination and confidence among residents in the Hispanic communities that it services. Our organization has been the leader in providing Hispanic cultural programs to Michigan residents for many years. Branches of the organization service the Hispanic communities in Flint, Pontiac and Lansing, MI. In addition to the numerous performances within the Midwest region, the group has performed with the Mariachi Cobre at Walt Disney World in Florida in 1994 and 1998, in Houston, TX and in Tequisquiapan and San Juan del Río, Querétaro. Since 1995 members have participated in the Huapango Dance Competition in San Joaquín, Qro. In June 2001, El Ballet Folklorico Estudiantil was honored with the Second Place award at the International Folkloric Dance Competition held in Chicago. We have maintained cultural exchanges with dance groups from Mexico, and are currently working with dance groups in Houston, Texas, and Atlanta, Georgia.
Our mission is achieved through the following goals.
EDUCATION
To provide quality ballet and folkloric dance classes to students who many not have the opportunity otherwise, with an emphasis on Hispanic children.
PERFORMANCES
To present Hispanic folkloric dance concerts to audiences and organization throughout Michigan performed by our local dance troupe and by guest troupes when available.
PROFESSIONAL
To offer folkloric dance workshops taught by dancers WORKSHOPS from international troupes.
Lionel Walsh is a professional actor and director who holds a BFA in Dramatic Art: Acting from the University of Windsor and an MFA in Theatre (Acting) from Virginia Commonwealth University. He teaches acting, improvisation, and character study. Lionel is a certified Master Teacher of the Michael Chekhov Acting Technique (Michael Chekhov Association), specialising in using the technique to facilitate the development of original solo productions based on life studies, and has trained at the Moscow Art Theatre.
As an actor, Lionel appeared most recently as Lyle in Whale Riding Weather at the Brighton Festival Fringe, UK, for which he also served as Producer. In August 2005 as John in Judith Thompson’s Off the 401 at the Chekhov Festival in Amherst, Massachusetts and as the Narrator in King David for Soundsations, Windsor, ON. He also appeared as Luni-Mato in the award-winning film, Commedia Fantasia, for Gina Lori Riley Dance Enterprises; the film has had showings in Houston, New York City and Monte Carlo.
In 2007, Lionel received the Alumni Award for Distinguished Contribution to University Teaching and has also been nominated for an OCUFA Teaching Award. In 2005, Lionel received the Alumni Association’s Excellence in Mentoring Award for his commitment to the growth and development of his students.
Lionel is President, Council of Ontario University/College Theatre Programmes; a member of Canadian Actor’s Equity Association; The Michael Chekhov Association; and Theatre Ontario and has served as Vice-President, Awards for the Association for Theatre in Higher Education. He is Associate Professor of Acting, School of Dramatic Art, University of Windsor, where he has served as the Director of the School since 2002.
Leonora Ramírez-Kormendy was born and raised in Mexico City, where she studied drama. She was involved in the theatrical industry in Mexico, as well as in the motion picture industry. She is a member of the “National Association of Actors” in Mexico. She has been living in Canada for the past eleventh years and she has been involved with several theatre companies in the City of Windsor and has had roles in several plays, such as The Odd Couple and Office hours. These days she works as a Language Interpreter, Spanish Teacher and she is highly involved with the Latin Community.
In the Mexican tradition, people die three times:
The First Death, when the body ceases to function; when the heart no longer beats on its own accord, when the bundle no longer has depth or weight and when the space it occupies slowly loses its meaning.
The Second Death comes when the body is lowered into the ground, out of sight, returned to mother earth.
The Third Death, the most definitive death, when there is no one left alive to remember them.
Reason to celebrate
Celebrating the Day of the Dead (All Souls Day in the European tradition) means to keep “alive” the cultural heritage from the pre-Hispanic ancestors.
More than 500 years ago, when the Spanish Conquistadors landed in what is now Mexico, they encountered natives practicing a ritual that seemed to mock death. It was a ritual that had been practiced for at least 3000 years.
The Spaniards, who considered the indigenous, barbaric and pagan, saw this ritual sacrilegious and tried to destroy it in their attempts to convert the pre-Hispanic people to Catholicism. But like the old Aztecs spirits, the ritual refused to die, it merged in the new religion instead.
What is the Day of the Dead?
It is a time for the spirit of the dead to return home and visit the loved ones, feast on their favorite foods and listen to their favorite music.
What do you offer to your “dead visitors”?
You indicate the way home by placing marigold flowers making a path to the house entrance, candles to illuminate the way, water to quench their thirst and food (normally their favorite one) to recover from the walking, towel, soap and a small bowl with water to refresh from the journey and a wicker rug to take a rest.
| Box | A | B | C | D | |
| Adult | $85 | $56 | $39 | $29 | $13 |
| Senior (60+) | $85 | $56 | $36 | $23 | $13 |
| Student/Youth | $42 | $28 | $18 | $14 | $6 |
