Dance on Film, Sundance Shorts, and Seraphic Fire

The Complete List: Week of January 15th-21st

Author

Susan Bannon
January 14, 2024

"The year dance became the coolest art form" is how The New York Times described 2023, and this week features two dance happenings that are notably high on the cool factor: the return of ScreenDance Miami at venues around town and the arrival of Dance Theater of Harlem for two performances at the Moss Center in South Dade.

Let's get planning...

Wednesday, January 17th

Forbidden Pages: Art, Activism, and Banned Books

Oolite Arts presents an evening of rich discussion, personal stories, and actionable strategies to combat censorship, while celebrating the power of art and activism. Panel and discussion moderated by artist and activist, Rosa Naday Garmendia.

Rosa's exhibition, Forbidden Pages, is currently on view at the 73rd Walgreens Windows. Blind Date with a Banned Book giveaway, in partnership with Books & Books.

7-9pm, Oolite Arts, Free

Neighborhood: Lincoln Road

Nearby Eats: Mister 01, Lincoln Eatery, Joliet | Drinks: MILA, Medium Cool

Thursday, January 18th

Screen Dance Miami: Once is Not Enough!

Opening Night for ScreenDance Miami, presented by Miami Light Project, and awarded Best Festival by the Miami New Times. The festival offers feature length films and programs of shorts from across the globe and locally, supporting the development of dance for the camera. 5 short works, duration: 37 minutes.

7:30pm, Miami Theater Center, Free

Neighborhood: Miami Shores

Nearby Eats: The Citadel, EntreNos, Phuc Yea | Drinks: Low Key, ZeyZey, Rooftop at The Citadel

New Music Miami ISCM Festival 2024

Expand your listening horizons by catching leading contemporary classical musicians at The Wolfsonian in the next installment of the New Music Miami ISCM Festival, featuring Amernet String Quartet & Rachel Calloway. Championing and presenting cutting-edge performers and compositions over its 27 years of existence, the festival includes pieces for soloists, chamber ensembles, and music with video and electronics.

7pm Pre-Concert Talk, 7:30-9pm Concert, The Wolfsonian-FIU, Free

Neighborhood: Miami Beach

Bass Third Thursdays | Featuring White Elephant Group

Join The Bass Museum and award-winning film collective the White Elephant Group (WEG) for a nuanced conversation on the responsibilities and contributions of film collectives in South Florida and around the world. Learn about the inner workings of a film collective and how they have long played a key role in developing and elevating cinematic voices and the art of filmmaking—reflecting the social and cultural landscapes they call home—weaving together intricate networks of artists and filmmakers along the way. RSVP required. Limited seating. Complimentary beverages by Dry Farm Wines.

6:30pm artist talk, 7:30pm networking, Bass Museum, Free

Neighborhood: Miami Beach

Artist Talk with AIRIE Fellow Morel Doucet

AIRIE stands for Artists in Residence in Everglades. It's a fascinating project that puts artist fellows in a cabin out in Everglades National Park for a month by themselves to see what art comes out. It does double duty fostering art and raising awareness for the Everglades, and it has hosted some pretty impressive artists. January Fellow, Morel Doucet, will discuss his time in residency and share an intimate look at his practice, process, and month-long stay in the Florida Everglades.

6-7pm, Green Space Miami, Free

Neighborhood: Little River / Little Haiti

Nearby Eats: Rosie's, The Citadel, Walrus Rodeo | Drinks: ZeyZey, Low Key

New World Symphony Fellows Live on Lincoln Road

The New World Symphony Fellows, some of the most gifted young classical musicians found anywhere in the known universe, present free pop-up performances at the Euclid Oval on Lincoln Road three times a year, and January 18th is the last until next fall. The program will be a mystery box of classical and popular music that, like all of their community concerts, will no doubt be fun, high-energy, and crowd-pleasing.

7pm, Lincoln Road Euclid Oval, Free

Neighborhood: Miami Beach

Friday, January 19th

Dance Theatre of Harlem

Dance Theatre of Harlem is a singular presence in the ballet world that tours nationally and internationally, presenting a powerful vision for the 21st century. The 18-member, multi-ethnic company performs as a forward-thinking repertoire that includes treasured classics, neoclassical works, and innovative contemporary works that use the language of ballet to celebrate African American culture.

Performances Friday and Saturday, 8pm, Moss Center, $26-$66

Neighborhood: Cutler Bay

Nearby Eats: This is a tough one! Try El Rinconcito Superlatino III and Golden Rule Seafood | Drinks: Hole in the Wall Tavern

In Her Own Voice

Seraphic Fire, Miami's renowned vocal ensemble, kicks off the year with In Her Own Voice. Guest Conductor Elena Sharkova returns for a concert highlighting the creative expressions of women composers and poets. Enjoy a diverse program of music where the lives, experiences, passions, and pains of women are described in their own voices. University of Miami Ensemble Artist Program students join the professional ensemble for this concert for a cappella chorus. 

8pm, Church of the Little Flower, $53

Neighborhood: Coral Gables

Screen Dance Miami: Films You Gotta See BIG!

What could be cooler than dance films showing on New World Center’s huge Projection Wall at Soundscape Park? Catch this free outdoor evening of films from ScreenDance Miami's Florida Focus program, plus invited International films. It will include exciting shorts by filmmakers working in Miami, France, Lebanon, and Vietnam. Duration 1 hour, 7 minutes

7pm, SoundScape Park at New World Center, Free

Neighborhood: Lincoln Road

Nearby Eats: South Beach Food Hall, MILA, Sweet Liberty | Drinks: Water Lion at the Sagamore, Medium Cool

Sundance 2023 Film Shorts

O Cinema brings us The SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL SHORT FILM TOUR 2023, presented by Shutterstock is a 90-minute theatrical program of seven short films curated from the 2023 Sundance Film Festival short film program, including two Festival Award-winning titles. Considered the premier showcase for short films and the launching pad for many now-prominent independent filmmakers, the Festival includes fiction, documentary and animation from around the world.

7pm and 9pm, O Cinema, $12.50

Neighborhood: South Beach

Saturday, January 20th

Nu Deco at the Bandshell with Joy Oladokun

Nu Deco Ensemble kicks off 2024 with a return to the Miami Beach Bandshell! This performance features a special collaboration with rising superstar, singer-songwriter Joy Oladokun. Inspired by the genres of folk, R&B, rock, and pop, Oladokun’s music is heavily influenced by her experience as a queer person of color in the U.S. The night will also include Igor Stravinsky’s “Dumbarton Oaks Concerto,” an original work by the ensemble, and a reimagination of the music of The Police.

8pm, Miami Beach Bandshell, $60-$95

Neighborhood: North Beach

New World Symphony: Denève and Isabel Leonard

New World Symphony Artistic Director Stéphane Denève conducts Ravel's Shéhérazade, with Grammy-winning soprano Isabel Leonard, making her much anticipated NWS debut. New animations by artist Grégoire Pont will project across the sails of the New World Center. *This concert will also be projected as a WALLCAST concert in SoundScape Park next to New World Center. If the weather's nice, bring a chair and a cooler and settle in for a free performance!

7:30pm, New World Center, $40-$100, but WALLCAST Concert is Free!

Neighborhood: Lincoln Road

Nearby Eats: Casa Tua, Zaytinya, South Beach Food Hall | Drinks: MILA, Water Lion at the Sagamore

Sundance 2023 Film Shorts

O Cinema brings us The SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL SHORT FILM TOUR 2023, presented by Shutterstock is a 90-minute theatrical program of seven short films curated from the 2023 Sundance Film Festival short film program, including two Festival Award-winning titles. Considered the premier showcase for short films and the launching pad for many now-prominent independent filmmakers, the Festival includes fiction, documentary and animation from around the world.

1pm, 3pm, & 5pm, O Cinema, $12.50

Neighborhood: South Beach

Dance Theatre of Harlem

Dance Theatre of Harlem is a singular presence in the ballet world that tours nationally and internationally, presenting a powerful vision for the 21st century. The 18-member, multi-ethnic company performs as a forward-thinking repertoire that includes treasured classics, neoclassical works, and innovative contemporary works that use the language of ballet to celebrate African American culture. Presented by the Dennis C. Moss Cultural Arts Center.

Performances Friday and Saturday, 8pm, Moss Center, $26-$66

Neighborhood: Cutler Bay

Nearby Eats: Cutler Bay could use some fancier options, but you'll at least get quality food at El Rinconcito Superlatino III and Golden Rule Seafood | Drinks: Hole in the Wall Tavern

Hander Lara: Nothing is Abstract Anymore

Pan American Art Projects opens three exhibitions in their new space in the Design District this Saturday. First up, Hander Lara: Nothing is Abstract Anymore, a solo show of the artist's most recent body of paintings. They will also be exhibiting work by represented artist Marlon Portales through February 18th. The third exhibit is a collective show, Mid-Century Cuban Abstract Art from the Paul and Maggie Cauchi Collection: Los Once and Diez Pintores Concretos, with an important selection of works from these iconic movements of the 1950s in Cuba.

Opening reception 6-9pm, 21 NE 39th Street, Free

Neighborhood: Design District

Ana Won: The Immortality of Affections

KDR Gallery presents a solo exhibition by Argentinian artist Ana Won, marking her debut in the United States. Won's show, The Immortality of Affections, will be on view January 20th-February 18th, 2024.

Opening reception 5-8pm, 790 NW 22nd St., Free

Neighborhood: Allapattah

Screen Dance Miami: 2024 Official Selections

Join Miami Light Project at Perez Art Museum Miami for the ScreenDance Miami Open Call Official Selections featuring two programs of short films selected by the ScreenDance Miami Festival curator and panelists. 

1pm, Perez Art Museum Miami, Free with PAMM admission, Conversation after the screening

Neighborhood: Downtown Arts & Entertainment District

Sunday, January 21st

In-Person: An Afternoon with Crissa-Jean Chappell

Books & Books presents an afternoon with Crissa-Jean Chappell to discuss her book Sun Don't Shine (Fitzroy Books, $18.95). Crissa-Jean Chappell was born in Miami and now lives in Brooklyn, New York. She holds a PhD and MFA from the University of Miami and has taught creative writing and cinema studies for over fifteen years. When she misses South Florida, she talks to the parrots in Green-Wood Cemetery.

4pm, Books & Books Coral Gables, Free

Neighborhood: Coral Gables

New World Symphony: Denève and Isabel Leonard

New World Symphony Artistic Director Stéphane Denève conducts Ravel's Shéhérazade, with Grammy-winning soprano Isabel Leonard, making her much anticipated NWS debut. New animations by artist Grégoire Pont will project across the sails of the New World Center.

2pm, New World Center, $40-$100

Neighborhood: Lincoln Road

Nearby Eats: Joliet, Barceloneta, South Beach Food Hall | Drinks: MILA, Water Lion at the Sagamore

In Her Own Voice

Seraphic Fire, Miami's renowned vocal ensemble, kicks off the year with In Her Own Voice. Guest Conductor Elena Sharkova returns for a concert highlighting the creative expressions of women composers and poets. Enjoy a diverse program of music where the lives, experiences, passions, and pains of women are described in their own voices. University of Miami Ensemble Artist Program students join the professional ensemble for this concert for a cappella chorus. 

4pm, All Souls Episcopal Church, Miami Beach, $53

Neighborhood: Mid Beach

GableStage Gone Solo: Two One-Man Short Plays

Straight from the Edinburgh and Atlanta Fringe Festivals, local playwrights and performers Brandon Urrutia and Luis Herrera perform two solo performance pieces that are each as comic as they are poignant.

7pm, Gablestage, Free

Continuing This Week:

Wicked Child

Zoetic Stage and Adrienne Arsht Center present a World Premiere by David Rosenberg. When Ben leaves his lucrative associate’s job at a New York law firm to join the Israeli Defense Force, his family must reexamine its secular Jewish identity and positions on the state of Israel. Wicked Child is a play about how politics can test familial bonds and what we owe our community.

Performances January 11-28, Adrienne Arsht Center, $55-$60

Neighborhood: Downtown Arts & Entertainment District

Miami Jewish Film Festival

The Miami Jewish Film Festival, America’s largest Jewish film festival, will host a hybrid program for its 26th Edition featuring more than 70 in-theater screenings at seven venues across Greater Miami at a variety of locations, including Miami Beach, Coral Gables, and North Miami. Running from January 12-26, 2023, the festival will screen 88 feature and 17 short films representing 25 countries, including 9 world premieres, 12 international premieres, 12 North American premieres, and 4 US premieres. The lineup holds 33 first-time feature filmmakers and an unprecedented 34 films directed by women.

Old Wicked Songs

GableStage presents the Miami premiere of Old Wicked Songs. As this play unfolds through the poetry of Heinrich Heine and the music of Robert Schumann, secrets are revealed, and two men from different generations find they have much more in common than they think. Directed by playwright Jon Marans, this 1996 finalist for the Pulitzer Prize is a play with music that stars two actors who are classically trained pianists.

Performances January 12 - February 4, GableStage, $30-$70

Neighborhood: Coral Gables

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