4 things to do in Calgary this weekend
From a visiting classical music star’s performance to light-filled Japanese avant-garde performance art there is plenty to do in Calgary this weekend.
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In case you missed the Banff Mountain Film Festival this past November, you can catch some of the best films of the festival in Calgary, as part of their world tour.
Every year, after the main festival wraps up in Banff, some of the better-received outdoor-related short films are screened around the world. It usually ends up hitting 32 countries and more than 245,000 people.
The 1st Afghan Ski Challenge is just one of the films to check out.
As you could probably guess, skiing is not the most common pastime of war-torn Afghanis. This is a documentary about the very first downhill skiing competition in that country's history, with competitors who are literally brand new to the world of skiing.
Festival runs until January 20. The only screenings that aren't yet sold out are Saturday and Sunday matinees.
University of Calgary's Rosza Centre
Pianist Anton Kuerti at the Jack Singer Pianist Anton Kuerti is one of the more famous names in Canadian classical music, and has been called one of the best working pianists working today by a number of different international press.
Kuerti is probably best known for his interpretations of Beethoven works, and that's exactly what you'll see him doing tonight and tomorrow night at the Jack Singer. He plays Beethoven's Second Concerto, as well as parts of Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 3, with guest conductor, Hans Graf with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra.
Friday and Saturday night
Jack Singer Concert Hall
The High Performance Rodeo is up and running until the first weekend of February. One of many shows in production as part of the annual arts festival is Alberta Ballet's Up Close.
If you've ever seen Alberta Ballet in performance at the Jubilee, you probably wouldn't necessarily describe the experience as “intimate.” Alberta Ballet wants to change that with its current production.
This time, it's in the very cozy Martha Cohen Theatre, and it's presenting three smaller shows that make use of the entire company, though not necessarily all at the same time.
It's a rare chance to see the company do what they do without all the pomp of some of their larger productions, says artistic director Jean Grand-Maître.
“It's a program that’s very contemporary, very up close. You get to see the dancers and three different aesthetics in the same night and I think that for the dancers it’s exciting, because sometimes the Jubilee is such a big theatre, the connection with the audience is a lot more difficult to establish than in a smaller venue like the Martha Cohen,” says Grand-Maître.
Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. MT, Saturday at 2 p.m.
The Martha Cohen Theatre
Haptic and Holistic Strata is the latest from the folks at Theatre Junction. It’s a two-piece show from Japanese avant-garde artist Hiroaki Umeda.
He's a trained dancer and choreographer, but he's also designed some pretty dramatic lighting effects and electronic sound art.
It's almost like he's taking the static from a bad television signal and shaping it into sound and music and becoming part of that static himself with his dance, says Theatre Junction's artistic director Mark Lawes.
“He works with video images, sound, he’s a lighting designer. He’s really working on technical experimentation and movement with cyber-imagery, electronic music and a really crackling digital soundscape,” says Lawes.
“He uses himself and the stage as a screen and projects millions of tiny lights on him, so it’s like his body becomes particles.”
Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m.
Theatre Junction Grand
