This Valentine’s Day Weekend STOMP fans and newbies alike should “Go! Have the time of your life!” (NY Newsweek). STOMP is explosive, provocative, sophisticated, sexy, utterly unique and appeals to audiences of all ages. The return of the percussive hit also brings some new surprises, with some sections of the show now updated and restructured and the addition of two new full-scale routines, utilizing props like tractor tire inner tubes and paint cans. STOMP. See what all the noise is about.

SPECIAL OFFERS:

$10 off * tickets to “Broken Hearts” Singles Night at STOMP
9 p.m., Saturday, February 13

The Irish Guards were formed on April 1, 1900 on the expressed wish of HM Queen Victoria to commemorate the bravery of the many Irish Regiments who had fought in the South African campaigns. The Regimental Band was formed at about the same time and consisted initially of 35 musicians and a Warrant Officer, Mr C H Hassell, who was the Bandmaster. The Band quickly gained a reputation for excellence and in 1905 was invited to make what turned out to be the first of many tours of Canada. The people of Toronto were so impressed with the band's performance that they presented the Band with a large and very ornate Silver Cup that remains a cherished possession of the Band today.

Over the years the Band has toured extensively visiting Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Germany, Hong Kong, France, Luxembourg, Switzerland and Japan. In 2010, The Band of the Irish Guards will make its debut tour of the United States of America. It was in Japan where the band was accorded the unique honor of being the first band ever to play in the Imperial Palace in the presence of the Empress and the 2 Crown Princesses. The Band has toured Australia twice, once in 1957 for 10 weeks as part of a world tour, and more recently in 2004 for a six-week concert tour of both Australia and New Zealand. The latter consisted of 27 performances, which took in all the major cities and included the Sydney Opera House.

With a current establishment of 49 musicians, the band has a variety of professional ensembles that include a Concert Band, Marching Band, Salon Orchestra, Dance Band, Fanfare Trumpeters and several other smaller ensembles. The band's main duty is to play, in turn with the other 4 Foot Guards Bands, for the Mounting of The Queen's Guard at Buckingham Palace and for state ceremonial occasions and public duties such as Investitures, State Visits, Royal Weddings, Guards of Honour, Royal Garden Parties and, of course, The Queen's Birthday Parade (Trooping the Colour).

The Band has made many broadcast and recordings over the years and in the 1950's was chosen to give the UK premier performance of Paul Hindemith's Symphony for Concert Band live on air. The Band has also appeared on television (most notably for the Queen's 80th Birthday Celebration in Windsor recently), and in films (The Ipcress File starring Michael Caine). Upon retirement from the Service a number of musicians have continued their careers with the National Orchestras, which included the Halle, the BBC Symphony and the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.

In addition to their musical activities, the Irish Guard musicians are trained to give support to the Army Medical Services in the event of mobilization. Three of our musicians served in the first Gulf War of 1990/1991 and in June 1999 the band was deployed to Kosovo as part of a NATO Peace-keeping force.

Brazil’s internationally acclaimed guitarist and vocalist and former Minister of Culture, Gilberto Gil brings his unique sound, incorporating an eclectic range of influences—from reggae, samba and forró to rock and African music—to Houston for one night only.

Gilberto Gil has developed one of the most relevant and renowned careers as a singer, composer and guitar-player in both world and pop music. In a career that has spanned four decades with over 30 albums released, Gil has six gold records, four platinum singles and five million records sold. The Tropicalist genre he introduced, alongside Caetano Veloso, has secured his fame internationally as well as at home in Brazil. His extensive and prolific catalogue of work has been covered and recorded by João Gilberto, Elis Regina, Gal Costa, Sérgio Mendes, Ernie Watts, and Toots Thielmans.

Over the years, his political and environmental activism gained prominence alongside his musical career and reached a new height in 2002 when he was appointed minister of culture for Brazil. As a musician and as a diplomat, Gil possesses a key role in the constant modernization of Brazilian popular music and culture throughout the world. Gil has delved deeply into the vertiginous waters of the digital revolution and its accelerated information highway. He wants his music to use all of these means of communication including mobile phones, the internet, cable, digital TV, ringtones, truetones, downloads, etc.

Since the days of Tropicália, Gil has long demonstrated his interest and fascination with this subject. The most obvious example is the Grammy Award-winning double album Quanta (1997) in which he assembled a large part of his reflections on art/science and new technologies. The album was previewed by the pioneering launch of Gil’s website in April of 1996, and through the on-line broadcast, that same year of “Pela Internet,” the first Brazilian song to be officially released through the internet in real time. “BANDA LARGA” (Broad Band), the album and the tour, reaffirm Gil’s irreversible engagement with the new rules and compasses of the universe of bits and bytes, embracing all of the risks and challenges. This theme that has fascinated him for more than 30 years characterized a previous tour outside of North America, also called Banda Larga, in which Gil made available as much of his work as possible for webcasts, podcasts, cellcasts, etc.

This performance is followed by a NiteSPA party. Only $50 for both! Call 713.632.8113 to reserve your spot!

Legendary Broadway and film artists and former child performers—composer Marvin Hamlisch (The Way We Were and A Chorus Line) and actor Joel Grey (Cabaret)—team up for this one-of-a-kind concert experience.

The composer of the musicals A Chorus Line, They’re Playing Our Song, The Goodbye Girl, and Sweet Smell of Success and films including The Way We Were, The Sting, Sophie’s Choice, Ice Castles, and Bananas, Marvin Hamlisch has become the preeminent pops artist of our time. He has won virtually every major award that exists: three Oscars, four Grammies, three Emmys, a Tony, three Golden Globe awards and the Pulitzer Prize.

Academy and Tony Award-winner Joel Grey takes the audience on a virtual tour of his career – singing, dancing and story-telling – about shows like Cabaret, George M!, and Chicago, tells autobiographical tales regarding his father, the legendary Yiddish comedian Mickey Katz, and sings songs by Kander & Ebb, Rodgers and Hart, Billy Joel, and more. He considers the audience his co-star – in other words, you won’t see a line of dancing girls behind him.

It’s a natural for Joel Grey and Marvin Hamlisch to share the same stage, as their friendship goes back many years to when they worked together on the very first tour Liza Minnelli and Joel Grey tour in 1973. Here is your exclusive chance to join them for one special evening!

Direct from South Africa, the 26-member Soweto Gospel Choir is an awe-inspiring vocal ensemble, performing in six different languages, in a stunning program of tribal, traditional and popular African gospel music as well as other inspiring songs. Earthy rhythms, rich harmonies, a cappella and charismatic performances combine to uplift the soul and express South Africa's great hopes for the future.

Under the direction of notable choirmaster David Mulovhedzi and South African Director and Executive Producer Beverly Bryer, the Soweto Gospel Choir, draws on the best talent from the many churches and communities in and around Soweto. Since the Choir began touring internationally in early 2003, they have performed to nightly standing ovations, sold-out houses and rave reviews.

The choir is particularly concerned for families/establishments caring for orphans in the townships who receive no government or outside sponsorship and in most cases, feed and clothe these orphans from their meager earnings or old age pensions. As a result, the choir has opened its own Aids Orphans foundation called Vukani (Zulu for Get Up, Do Something!). Administered as a joint association by Nkosi's Haven and the Soweto Gospel Choir, the charity supports these families by purchasing food, clothes or products that are needed. The choir takes an active part in meeting the orphans and families as their way of giving back to society.

South African gospel music is indeed unique. It has strong roots in traditional music and conveys a powerful spiritual message. The Soweto Gospel Choir carries forward this rich heritage, celebrating the spirit of South Africa.

Sitting in a semicircle and playing music in a lively conversation, this nine-member string ensemble performs more than 350 concerts a year in Venice at the San Vidal Church, where Vivaldi used to play. Now the group sprinkles Venetian magic wherever they tour. From the Bayreuth Festival to the Tokyo Suntory Hall, audiences and critics alike have applauded the Interpreti Veneziani for the high level of their playing and their expertise as soloists and ensemble musicians. Their Houston debut program features Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons, Paganini’s La Campanella, Handel’s Concerto Grosso, and Preludio e Allegro by Pugnani/Kreisler.

The Interpreti Veneziani made their debut in 1987, immediately gaining a reputation for the youthful exuberance and all-Italian brio characterizing their performances. Their important achievements include appearances in the Bayruth Festival, concerts at Stockholm’s Royal Palace, participation in the World Vision telemarathon at the Kirov Theatre to mark the reinstatement of the name St. Petersburg, a concert at the Osaka Symphony Hall in live broadcast for Japanese radio, concerts at the Tokyo Suntory Hall and Kjoi Hall and appearances in glamorous concert seasons such as those of Sapporo and Yokohama during four tours of Japan.

The Interpreti Veneziani have toured Australia twice and have been invited many times to Mexico and Central and South America. They toured the U.S. for the first time in 2007, followed by tours in 2008 and 2009. For the last 20 years, the Interpreti Veneziani have performed their own season consisting of more than 200 concerts at Venice’s San Vidal Church.

Brilliant Canadian choreographer Aszure Barton has burst on the scene with “works that are quirky, deep, cheeky, and poignant,” says The Globe and Mail. Mikhail Baryshnikov calls her dances “extraordinary” and “uncompromising.” She has choreographed for Sydney Dance Company, Les Ballets Jazz de Montreal, The Juilliard School, films, and the Broadway stage. Now she brings her own company of consummate, dazzling dancers to Houston in her latest work Busk, set to Russian composer Ljova’s gypsy-inspired score, and Blue Soup, a collage of highlights from recent works, including A Travelling Show, Mais Oui, and Come In.

Aszure Barton and Artists is an organization dedicated to the growth of artists and production of contemporary dance performance. Since its founding in 2002, the company has developed its activities as an international contemporary dance project based in New York City. With her intimate ensemble, Aszure Barton continues to develop critically acclaimed productions around the globe. These works have toured to Europe, Brazil, Argentina, Asia, Africa, Canada, and the United States.

Her creative process is rooted in a celebration of music and movement, and a love for collaboration with dancers, filmmakers, designers, photographers and musicians. Her work explores the tragic and comic drives within the human body and psyche, often dramatizing inner thoughts and impulses, using idiosyncratic movements to paint a psychological portrait. Like a danced form of Commedia Dell’arte, the work looks at how our natural peculiarity, gestures and ways of moving can conjure up humor, cacophony, suspense and pathos – revealing a rich, dynamic landscape.

Born and raised in Alberta, Canada, where she studied with Cathy Hauptman, Sandra Gray, and Deborah Morgan, Barton has been dancing and making dances since early childhood. She received her formal training at the National Ballet School in Toronto, where, as a student, she helped originate the ongoing Stephen Godfrey Choreographic Showcase. She also studied at The Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Alberta Ballet School, and the John Cranko Schule in Stuttgart, Germany. She has performed internationally with many celebrated dance companies including The National Ballet of Canada, Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal [bjm_danse], Mikhail Baryshnikov's Hell's Kitchen Dance, Wendy Osserman Dance Company, and her own, Aszure Barton & Artists. She is the Resident Choreographer for Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal [bjm_danse], and has been an Artist-in-Residence at the Baryshnikov Arts Center/BAC for 2005, 2006, and 2008.

Ms. Barton has been commissioned to choreograph new works for Mikhail Baryshnikov, Fang-Yi Sheu, Sydney Dance Company, The National Ballet of Canada, The Juilliard School, Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal [bjm_danse], The Martha Graham Dance Company, American Ballet Theatre II, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, and the UK Laban Institute, among others. Barton choreographed the Broadway production of The Threepenny Opera starring Alan Cumming, Jim Dale, Nellie Mackay, and Cyndi Lauper (in a new translation by Wallace Shawn, directed by Scott Elliott). She also choreographed an excerpt for the production of Salome starring Al Pacino, Kevin Anderson, and Jessica Chastain, directed by Estelle Parsons.

This performance is followed by a NiteSPA party. Only $50 for both! Call 713.632.8113 to reserve your spot!

With sardonic wit and incisive social critiques, David Sedaris has become one of America’s pre-eminent humor writers. The great skill with which he slices through cultural euphemisms and political correctness proves that Sedaris is a master of satire and one of the most observant writers addressing the human condition today.

David Sedaris is the author of the bestsellers Barrel Fever and Holidays on Ice, as well as collections of personal essays, Naked, Me Talk Pretty One Day, and Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, each of which became immediate bestsellers. There are a total of seven million copies of his books in print and they have been translated into 25 languages. He is the editor of an anthology of stories, Children Playing Before a Statue of Hercules: An Anthology of Outstanding Stories. His essays appear regularly in Esquire and The New Yorker. Sedaris and his sister, Amy Sedaris, have collaborated under the name “The Talent Family” and have written several plays which have been produced at La Mama, Lincoln Center, and The Drama Department in New York City. These plays include Stump the Host, Stitches, One Woman Shoe, which received an Obie Award, Incident at Cobbler’s Knob, and The Book of Liz, which was published in book form by Dramatist’s Play Service. His recent collection of essays, titled When You Are Engulfed in Flames, was published in June 2008.

David Sedaris’s original radio pieces can often be heard on This American Life, distributed nationally by Public Radio International and produced by WBEZ. In 2001, David Sedaris became the third recipient of the Thurber Prize for American Humor. He was named by Time magazine as “Humorist of the Year” in 2001. David Sedaris was nominated for two Grammy Awards for Best Spoken Word Album (Dress Your Family in Corduroy & Denim) and Best Comedy Album (David Sedaris: Live at Carnegie Hall). Adult content.