GR Ballet opens Romeo and Juliet for the weekend

The Grand Rapids Ballet opened its rendition of the famous ballet, “Romeo and Juliet.” The show opened over the weekend, with the company performing on Feb. 17, 18 and 19.

Artists Director James Sofranko composed the choreography for the show based on the iconic classic play written by Shakespeare in 1597. The music variations and scores were composed by Sergei Prokofiev and were set to complement the tragic scenes and drama of the ballet.

The Grand Rapids Ballet company performed this rendition of Romeo and Juliet exclusively, only performing the ballet for three shows the weekend after Valentine’s Day.

For more information about Romeo and Juliet, photos of the ballet and details of upcoming performances from the Grand Rapids Ballet, visit the GRB website.

Four Star Theater in GR coming back to life

The Four Star Theater in Grand Rapids hosted their first open house on Saturday, Feb. 11. The theater had previously operated from 1938 to 1969. The Four Star was last owned by B&J Theaters in Grand Rapids, also operating the Wealthy Theater and the Eastown Theater at the time.

The nonprofit organization, “Friends of Four Star,” are behind the renovations and re-opening of the Four Star Theater. The organization is turning this previously unused theater into its own, believing in the potential for the space to bring the community together.

Friends of Four Star hosted the open house on Feb. 11, showing the movie Black Panther and featuring live music from local bands. The nonprofit hopes to raise more money to continue their renovations, with goals to fix the marquee, update accessibility for the theater and add a green room space.

To follow the story about the Four Star Theater, visit the Four Star Theater website or read the Fox17 article online.

GV features Adam Khalil in three-day art celebration event

Grand Valley State University Art Celebration presents a three-day informative series with renowned artist and filmmaker Adam Khalil, focused on “Segaajigewin.” The word Segaajigewin translates to the way of expression in art, in Ojibwe dialect Anishinaabemowin.

This public series includes a lecture, open classroom visits with Khalil and discussions with students, faculty and community members. The series includes multiple events, starting on Monday, Feb. 20 with a lecture by Khalil titled “How to Commit Crimes Against Reality” at the Wealthy Theater.

Other events located at the BlackBox Theater on the Grand Valley State University campus will continue over the following Tuesday and Wednesday.

This event was curated by multiple representatives from GVSU Administration and student leaders across the Visual Media Arts Department, as well as the Multicultural Affairs Office and the Native American Student Association.

More information on the Arts Celebration series, individual events around Adam Khalil’s visit, and other GVSU events visit the GVSU events calendar.