BEST FOR:
Middle School students and up

Martha Graham Dance Company

October 7, 10:00 am
Walton Arts Center

American pioneer Martha Graham, has been compared to Picasso, Stravinsky and Frank Lloyd Wright in terms of her influence on world culture. This performance brings her work to life on stage as well as explains its importance in American culture through live performance, vintage film footage and narration by artistic director, Janet Eilber. Graham's influence continues to be felt world-wide as an important American innovator. She was an artist activist who commented on the effects of war and new technologies in the 20th century, issues that our students are experiencing today.

Martha Graham Dance Company Performance Guide
(PDF 900KB)

BEST FOR:
Upper Elementary and Middle School students

Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters

October 11 & 12, 9:30 am & 11:30am
Walton Arts Center

Mufaro's pride and joy, his two daughters–of two very different dispositions–travel a half-day's journey to see the king, who seeks a worthy wife. With traditional African drumming and dancing, Dallas Children’s Theater’s musical theater production celebrates goodness, generosity and love in an adaptation of the Caldecott Award winning Cinderella story by John Steptoe. Based on a traditional African folk tale.

Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters Performance Guide
(PDF 900KB)

BEST FOR:
Upper Elementary, Middle School students and up

Step Afrika!

October 14, 9:30 am & Noon
Walton Arts Center

Stepping is a percussive dance form of synchronized percussive movement, singing, speaking, chanting, and drama that melds folk traditions with popular culture. Developed by African American fraternities and sororities, stepping is now practiced worldwide. As the first professional company dedicated to this new tradition, Step Afrika shares its history while promoting themes of teamwork and cultural understanding.

Step Afrika! Performance Guide
(Coming soon! PDF 1.7MB)

BEST FOR:
Upper Elementary students

Alice in Wonderland

November 3 & 4, 9:30 am & Noon
Walton Arts Center

A tardy rabbit and a grinning cat, along with Alice and the rest, are brought to life by Théâtre Tout à Trac. This imaginative adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s 19th century classic Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, unites actors and puppets to tell the story of Alice’s journey down the rabbit hole. A whimsical stage set, conceived as a pop-up book, and beautiful costumes richly evoke the original illustrations by Tenniel. This production was a winner of the Acadie-RIDEAU award at La Soirée des prix RIDEAU 2008.

Alice in Wonderland Performance Guide
(PDF 2MB)

BEST FOR:
Lower Elementary students

Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Musical

November 7 & 8, 9:30 am & Noon
Springdale High School - Springdale Performing Arts Center

Just a quick trip to the Laundromat with Daddy, but before you know it things go horribly and hilariously wrong. Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Musical brings adventure, song and gigantic dancing laundry to life in an adaptation of Mo Willem’s beloved Caldecott Honor–winning picture book. This Kennedy Center Theater for Young Audiences on Tour production lovingly celebrates the heart and heartache of being a child (and parent!).

Knuffle Bunny Performance Guide
(PDF 1MB)

BEST FOR:
Lower Elementary students

Harold and the Purple Crayon: A Dance Adventure

November 10 & 11, 9:30 am & Noon
Walton Arts Center

Harold creates his world by simply drawing it. This adaptation of Crockett Johnson's beloved Harold and the Purple Crayon picture book, puts Harold’s curiosity in motion and reveals the relationship between wonder and wander. Dancers from Hubbard Street 2 perform to music by indie-musician Andrew Bird, to remind us how much of life is experienced in the imagination.

Harold and the Purple Crayon: A Dance Adventure Performance Guide
(PDF 1.3MB)

BEST FOR:
Lower Elementary students

A Brown Bear, A Caterpillar and A Moon: Treasured Stories by Eric Carle

December 12 & 13, 9:30 am & Noon
Walton Arts Center

Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia uses music, visual effects and innovative puppetry to recreate Eric Carle's most beloved tales, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Brown Bear, Brown Bear What do You See?, and Papa Please Get the Moon for Me. Support the learning and enthusiasm of young readers by seeing favorite literature come to life on stage.

A Brown Bear, A Caterpillar and A Moon: Treasured Stories by Eric Carle Performance Guide
(PDF 287KB)

BEST FOR:
Upper Elementary, Middle School students and up

Tao: The Art of the Drum

February 29, 2012, 9:30 am & Noon
Walton Arts Center

Athleticism and theatricality meet explosive Taiko drumming in a performance of extraordinary energy, precision and stamina. The production demonstrates how traditional art forms, such as Japanese drumming, remain relevant through time in a vibrantly modern interpretation of an ancient practice.

Tao: The Art of the Drum Performance Guide
(PDF 3MB)

BEST FOR:
Upper Elementary, Middle School students and up

Peking Acrobats - SOLD OUT

March 14, 9:30 am & 11:30 am
Walton Arts Center

Celebrate the Chinese New Year with The Peking Acrobats! For over fifty years this elite group, from the People’s Republic of China, has toured the world sharing the ancient folk art of Chinese acrobatics. Gymnasts, jugglers, cyclists and tumblers, accompanied by live music, transform a 2000-year-old athletic discipline into a kaleidoscope of wonder.

Peking Acrobats Performance Guide
(PDF 307KB)

BEST FOR:
Upper Elementary, Middle School students

Zorro

April 25 & 26, 9:30 am & Noon
Walton Arts Center

A flurry of a cape, the glint of a sword and a flash of a mask—a mysterious figure has arrived in town. Who is this baffling character? The award-winning company Visible Fictions who thrilled teachers and students with Jason and the Argonauts, brings the swashbuckling hero to life in an action packed adventure set in Colonial California.

Zorro Performance Guide
(PDF 254KB)

Diavolo is BEST FOR:
Middle School students and up
We Built This City is BEST FOR: Lower Elementary & up

Artosphere programs

Diavolo Dance Theater
May 11, 2012, 10:00
Walton Arts Center

We Built This City
May 17, 2012, 9am, 10am, 11am
May 18, 2012, 9am, 10am, 11am

Welcome to the third year of Artosphere, Arkansas’ Arts & Nature Festival! As one of the only festivals in the country that explores how art, nature and sustainability intersect, Walton Arts Center invites students, teachers and the community to look at the world in a new way—through the eyes of diverse artists and art forms. Artosphere introduces artists’ voices into the discussion of sustainability, through both performances, visual arts and sustainable practices. Artosphere events for school groups include performances by Polyglot Theatre and Diavolo Dance Theater, visual arts installations by Patrick Dougherty and Massey Burke and the exhibition, Structuring Nature, in Joy Pratt Markham Gallery.