The stage is filled with an array of step dancers draped in cream-colored floor-length skirts. Brightly colored images — abstract streaks of black, blue, red, and yellow — decorate the screens at the rear of the stage as the dancers clap and high-kick in the shifting shadows of the blue-tinged overhead lighting.
Step dancing is a style of performance first developed in the early 1900s by African American college students who, in their movement, aimed to hark back to forms found in traditional West African dance.
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Iowa City Press Citizen - Thursday, October 20, 2016
ou can see a Broadway musical, watch a dance troupe and listen to world-renowned cellist at the new Hancher Auditorium.
Starting Oct. 26, you can also get one-of-a-kind meals from some of Iowa City's finest restaurants served inside Hancher thanks to the auditorium's Culinary Arts series of dinners.
Iowa Theatre - Wednesday, October 19, 2016
A unique experience awaits us tomorrow night at Hancher Auditorium. The Migration, Step Afrika!’s new signature work, is based on Jacob Lawrence’s iconic series of paintings charting the African-American movement from south to north in the early 1900s. Each piece incorporates the images, color palette, and motifs of one or more of the paintings to tell the migration story through body percussion and dance.
Daily Iowan - Wednesday, October 19, 2016
The book Invisible Hawkeyes works as a centerpiece for the Fields of Opportunity Event, which will last from today to Friday.
The first event during the three days will feature Dora Martin Berry, who became the first African-American Miss State University of Iowa in 1955.
Iowa City Press Citizen - Friday, October 14, 2016
Few works of art find a perfect balance between laughs, profundity, vulgarity and musicality. The smash Broadway hit "The Book of Mormon" is one of the few that does.
Little Village - Friday, October 14, 2016
When I first heard that Trey Parker and Matt Stone had written a full-on Broadway musical, I was intrigued — and also a bit scared. I mean, I’ve seen Baseketball, so I know for a fact that not everything they touch is gold. Perhaps it was their third collaborator, Robert Lopez, composer and lyricist of Avenue Q fame, who kept them in check and held them to the standard I believe they’ve now set for irreverent comedic musicals. If so, I hope they never let him get away, because this show was pert near freaking perfect. The tone is wickedly funny. The script is clever and tightly constructed. And the social commentary is acerbic, poignant and timeless.
Daily Iowan - Thursday, October 13, 2016
The Book of Mormon begins with a doorbell, sitting there, waiting to be rung.
As the lights go up, the audience is greeted with what is, to some, an all-too-familiar sight: an eager and beaming missionary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, commonly known as LDS, standing in the doorway.
Iowa Theatre - Thursday, October 13, 2016
I have many fond memories of the original Hancher Auditorium from my time as a student at the University of Iowa in the 1990s. I first saw Rent at Hancher and it was a life changing experience for me. The devastating flood that destroyed the original Hancher was more than painful – it was a wound on the artistic soul of our city. Well, I am thrilled to tell you that Hancher is back and better than ever. You have to give the Hancher administration kudos for keeping the fire burning in the eight years between the flood and the creation of the new Hancher by performing shows in many different venues all over town, but it is beyond delightful to have this premier performance space in our city again. It is a perfect venue for excellent touring Broadway shows like The Book of Mormon (books, lyrics and music by Trey Parker, Robert Lopez and Matt Stone), which runs through this weekend.
BDC Network - Wednesday, October 12, 2016
The Iowa flood of 2008 ruined many buildings beyond repair, including four structures on the University of Iowa’s campus. One of these structures, Hancher Auditorium, was the leading performing arts presenter in the state and was known for commissioning many national and international artists to create and perform dance and theater.
After the floodwaters receded, FEMA determined the auditorium could not be salvaged and needed to be replaced. FEMA funded a substantial portion of the auditorium’s rebuilding with Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects receiving the sought after commission.
The Gazette - Wednesday, October 12, 2016
I was not a virgin when I stepped into Hancher Auditorium on Tuesday night — I had experienced the rapture of “The Book of Mormon” in 2013 in Des Moines. I knew this opening night, full-house crowd was in for an evening of heavenly, devilish fun.
Still, I was in for a few surprises.