Guest artists to bring together university, community

Dancers and musicians from UW–Madison and surrounding communities will enjoy a rare opportunity to perform with two world-renowned artists Feb. 19-27.

Danis Perez Prades

Dance auditions Open auditions will be held Friday, Feb. 19 at 3:30 p.m. in B101 Lathrop Hall. Anyone interested in dance who can commit to an intensive, weeklong rehearsal and performance schedule will be eligible to audition.

Afro-Cuban dancer Danis Perez Prades and Afro-Mexican jazz percussionist Francisco Mora Jr. will be guests of honor as part of the inaugural Sin Fronteras Multicultural Winter Showcase, Saturday, Feb. 27 at 8 p.m. in the Humanities Building’s Mills Hall.

The event and residency are sponsored by UW–Madison’s Latin American and Iberian Studies and Dance programs, and the School of Music.

Prades, from Santiago de Cuba, is a teacher, researcher, performer and choreographer who has studied dance traditions from many regions of West Africa. Mora is a student of Sun Ra, Max Roach and Babatunde Olatunji and others.

Open auditions will be held Friday, Feb. 19 at 3:30 p.m. in B101 Lathrop Hall. Anyone interested in dance who can commit to an intensive, weeklong rehearsal and performance schedule will be eligible to audition.

Sin Fronteras, currently in the first of its two years, is a university initiative that provides a framework for the integration of Mesoamerican and Caribbean studies into the community, according to William Ney, LAIS assistant director. He says this residency will add significantly to the Sin Fronteras effort.

“The fact that auditions will be open to the general public is really exciting,” he says. “It means people from the public schools, the university and members of the larger community all will be involved with the residency.”

In addition to the Sin Fronteras Showcase Feb. 27, Prades and Mora also will perform with the UW–Madison Jazz Ensemble Feb. 25, at 7:30 p.m. in Music Hall. They also will work with UW–Madison classes during their week in town.

All events will be free and open to the public. For information, contact Doreen Holmgren, (608) 262-2353.