EMAV 10 Bites: Benjamin Tucker, Dancer & Choreographer

In every neighborhood, there is someone who makes the Arts a part of their life, and our community. You'd be surprised to discover how many different people use the arts to improve the quality of life in our hometown. EAT MORE ART! VEGAS will feature them regularly in our series "10 Bites."

What kinds of art do you enjoy, create, or perform in?

Ever since my first class, I have always loved dance. The discipline of a ballet class and the comradery I feel with the other dancers in the room is something very special. I also love the creative process of choreography. With my company Ballet120, we have a strong focus on the creation of new work and I love the collaboration that thrives in that environment.

Why do you do it?

As a dancer and performer, I did it because of the challenge, both physically and mentally. Now as the director of a company, my inspiration comes from all the dancers. Their work is incredible and my job is to make sure it is seen. I believe there is a place for dance and ballet here within the greater Las Vegas community and my goal is to make it an integral part of our community.

Ballet 120 collaborated with Henderson Symphony Orchestra and the City of Henderson in Oct 2020

What’s your favorite production/performance experience so far?

To date, my favorite experience has been when Ballet120 performed our first ever live-streamed show at The Space lv in October of 2020. When the pandemic hit, it obviously changed everyone's world. And the dance community was no exception. I am very proud we were able to find a way to evolve and keep going.

What jobs have you done other than being an artist, or what do you do when you are "at work?"

I enjoy refurbishing vintage bicycles and have had that as a side job throughout my dancing career. I enjoy the restoration of it. Taking something that might be viewed as worthless and transforming it into something seen as beautiful is something I take pride in.

What is an Arts experience that you will never forget or a memorable response to your work?

A response that I've often heard after a Ballet120 performance is how people are stunned at the versatility of the dancers. The dancers often go from one extreme in the art form to the next in a "gala style" show. I take that as a huge compliment and something I strive for within building a show and the choreography I choose.

What would you be doing if you weren't performing, creating, or enjoying the Arts in Las Vegas?

This is the hardest question because quite frankly I'd be lost without all of these aspects of the arts. I guess I would put more time into bicycles. Perhaps I would travel more.

Name something you love about Las Vegas, and why.

I love the possibilities that are here. Las Vegas is a constantly evolving city. I feel I have a lot of freedom here when it comes to creating new work and finding performance spaces. As an example, Ballet120's upcoming show is going to be at MEET Las Vegas. MEET isn't a performance venue per say but everyone there has been beyond accommodating and so supportive in making the performance happen. I don't know if you find that in other cities.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given?

Some of the best advice I received in my career was being told not to be afraid to try new things/ don't back down from uncharted territory. If it doesn't work out, it's ok. Then you know for next time and you can change course. But you'll never know unless you go for it. That has been hard to live by but when I'm able to, I'm able to live without regrets.

What superpower would you have and why?

Anyone who knows me knows I am perhaps the biggest Superman fan of all time! If I were to have a superpower, I would pick to the ability to fly. I think flying would make me better at dancing, allowing me to turn more and jump higher.

@ballet120 - ballet120.org - info@ballet120.org

What future projects are you looking forward to?

I am most looking forward to Ballet120's upcoming show at MEET Las Vegas. This is the largest undertaking for the company to date and it is going to be a full evening celebration of live performance, which is something so many people have been craving.

Click here to get tickets to Ballet 120 at MEET on May 21st: A unique dance experience that you will not get anywhere else in Vegas!

Are you a local artist of any discipline? Do you work with a company as a designer, stagehand or administrative staff? Do you love to experience it as the audience? We'd love to get your 10 Bites to share. Fill out a form here, and you might be featured in a post!

CHECK OUT OUR 10 BITES FEATURE GALLERY HERE

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Spread the Word Nevada - Changing Lives One Book at a Time

Reading is an important part of a child’s development, but not all children have equal access to literacy. That’s why one local organization is working hard to close the literacy gap for kids here in Nevada.

Spread the Word Nevada (STWN), the state’s largest children’s literacy nonprofit, is dedicated to advancing childhood literacy in low-income communities and actively serves at-risk families who are at or below the poverty line. Founded in 2001 and nearing their 20th anniversary, the organization has helped more than 650,877 at-risk children by providing them 5.8 million books and counting, and by providing resources that fill in educational gaps and help improve literacy achievement.

Samantha Picazo, STWN’s Events and Marketing Manager, spoke of the co-founders, Laurie Hartig and Lisa Habighorst, and their inspiration for the organization and how it began.

“I have learned that a simple dream can turn into something extraordinary,” she said. “Laurie and Lisa started with a garage full of books, and now we're in a 5,000 square foot warehouse serving over half a million children since 2001.”

“[They] knew that children should not be without the magic of books and sought to change that.”

Collecting books for preschool up to the fifth-grade, STWN, with the help of their volunteers, takes the donated books, cleans them, and then sorts them by grade level. With the funds collected from generous donors, the organization is also able to purchase new books as well.

Boxes are then packed with enough books to accommodate each student at the 62 schools that they delivered to on a monthly basis. Since the pandemic, however, these deliveries are now contact-less and are done quarterly instead of monthly, but still reach the same number of students.

Picazo shared that books at all levels they collect are always needed, chapter books for the fourth to fifth grade levels are sometimes in short supply.

“We accept book donations at our Henderson and Reno warehouse year-round, Monday through Friday, 9 AM to 4 PM,” Picazo added. “We also have a handful of book collection sites throughout the valley.”

Despite the obstacles the pandemic has thrown at STWN, they are successfully continuing the delivery of their programs.

“Now more than ever Nevada students need books to stay engaged and learning which is why we were determined not to interrupt our services while distance learning is in place,” Picazo said. “Donations help keep the flow of books going and may help add more schools from our waiting list.”

According to Picazo, the organization quickly adapted when schools switched to distance learning, having already made a contingency plan to be ready to include any health and safety restrictions that would be implemented and continue to serve children here in the community.

“With students at home, we were faced with limited distribution points for our students to receive books,” she said. “We adjusted all of our programs to comply with safety protocols and school district restrictions.”

When the schools closed in March, STWN partnered with Communities In Schools of Nevada and The Public Education Foundation to form the “Direct Care to Kids" program.

“This initiative distributed over 25,000 kits to children and their families,” Picazo said, adding that Three Square and the Boys and Girls Club have both been strong friends, and have been helpful in reaching kids not physically in school. “Our community supporters have been amazing in locking arms and getting the work done for the children of Nevada,” she said.

She went on to say “Our family literacy program, Breakfast and Snack Time with Books, was modified to a virtual program. We offer our stories to the public via Facebook Live as well as directly to classrooms.”

Picazo then discussed a major misconception about children’s literacy. “ It is assumed that all children have books. We know that they do not,” she said. “Children living in low-income neighborhoods and attending at-risk schools seldom own books and don’t have these necessary tools to learn and become confident readers.”

“We often ask people to imagine not having books when they were growing up and it’s difficult to fathom but so many of the children in our community know that as reality,” she added.

Regarding ways to help, Picazo shared that there are many ways to get involved with STWN.

“We LOVE book drives—they're super easy to organize and it brings the community together,” she said, adding that they also collect adult books that help the organization in another way.

According to Picazo, those books are resold on their Amazon store, where the proceeds are then put right back into their children’s literacy programs.

To organize a drive, or make a book donation, please visit https://spreadthewordnevada.org/book-drives-and-donations/

Picazo also spoke of how people can help by volunteering. “Our volunteer room hosts book cleaning sessions twice a week,” she said. “Every children's book we distribute should feel as good as new, so volunteers make sure they are free of dust, stickers, torn pages, [and so on].”

Learn more about volunteering at https://spreadthewordnevada.org/volunteer-options/.

“Knowing that children in need rely on our programs even more than ever before, we urge community members to visit our website and volunteer to clean books or donate,” Picazo said, adding “Just two dollars can purchase a brand new book for a child. You can even become a monthly donor and make sure that a child receives a book every month!”

To make a monetary donation, please visit https://spreadthewordnevada.org/donate-today/.

Lastly, Picazo spoke of STWN’s signature fundraising event - The Storybook Gala.

“This past February we hosted the 18th annual event at the Bellagio with over 500 guests, raising much-needed funds for our programs,” she said, adding that even though things are always changing, “we have a few tricks up our sleeves that we can’t wait to share.”

On the importance of the work STWN is doing, Picazo stated, “I can't imagine working with another organization that can deliver the life-changing programs STWN offers with the same amount of heart and passion I see every day.”

“The magic of books is something no child should be without, so I’m elated that after 20 years, we continue to keep the spark alive during this difficult time.”

Get more information on STWN at www.SpreadtheWordNevada.org, or call (702) 564-7809.

No Intermission: Opera Las Vegas Continues to Strike a Chord in the Community Despite Pandemic

Cast members from OLV's 'Rigoletto'. Photo by: Richard Brusky.

Bringing opera to the community in creative ways, Opera Las Vegas has put a spotlight on new works, while continuing to grow the community’s interest and curiosity in opera during the pandemic.

Opera Las Vegas (OLV) is a local nonprofit professional opera company that produces full-scale productions with a goal of “Celebrating Life’s Grandest Stories on Stage”. They also provide innovative outreach to the local community and educational programs to local schools. Founded in 1999, the company promotes the production of professional opera here in Las Vegas, and creates opportunities for young singers to train and have opportunities to perform it.

The company just celebrated its 20 year anniversary last season in 2019 and holds the prestige of being Nevada’s professional company member of Opera America - the national association for opera companies and artists.

Jim Sohre, General Director of OLV, shared that the company produces many of the classic opera titles, such as Carmen, Madame Butterfly, and The Magic Flute, and does so through shared venues with local area partners.

“Through these productions, Opera Las Vegas works to give people the opportunity to experience professional opera in the valley and the region,” Sohre said.

OLV casts rising stars on the national opera scene, such as Cecilia Violetta Lopez, who starred in a full stage production of The Elixir of Love in the company’s last season. Sohre shared that Lopez will be giving a recital on Saturday, October 17th through a virtual event where she will be performing with accompanist Nathan Salazar. Tickets are available through the company’s website.

Opera Las Vegas recently received its first National Endowment for the Arts grant, which provided $10,000 in funding for its Living Composer and Librettists Initiative. The impetus for the award was their April 2019 West Coast premiere of an original piece created by composer Ricky Ian Gordon and librettist Royce Vavrek, titled 27 - which premiered in 2015 in St. Louis - and was co-produced with the Vegas Theatre Company.

Company members from the regional premiere of '27'.

Sohre shared that they wanted to start bringing new works to the stage and expand their productions to include more than just the classics.

“We started doing these West Coast premieres of new operas to let new artists and librettists get an opportunity to learn and to perform,” Sohre said.

Another contemporary piece that the company plans to produce for the coming 2021 season is The Ghosts of Gatsby. Created by Evan Mack and Joshua McGuire, this production won an award through the National Opera Association’s competition for the 2018-2019 season.

According to Sohre, there have been student performances, but this would be the first professional production. “We don’t know if it will be live or virtual yet, but we have permission to stream it if that’s the only thing we can do,” Sohre said.

The opera will otherwise be performed at the Charleston Heights Arts Theatre, if a live performance is safe to do. “We may do a combination of both, if we can socially distance the event and ensure everyone’s safety, but we are ready to go fully online.”

The Ghosts of Gatsby will premiere in April of next year.

Jim Sohre, General Director of OLV.

Another production of interest that is planned for the upcoming 2021 season is Derrick Wang’s Scalia/Ginsburg, an acclaimed work based on the words of the two former Supreme Court justices, with a theme of “We are different. We are one”.

“Even though they were philosophically divided, Scalia and Ginsburg shared a love of the opera, so this is a clever opera piece that talks about their friendship,” Sohre said.

The sight-specific experience is scheduled to take place in July 2021 in a real courtroom at the Thomas and Mack Moot Court at the University of Nevada Las Vegas’s Boyd School of Law.

Given Justice Ginsburg’s recent passing, the opera will have even more meaning and importance in the telling of the story.

to bring fairy tales adapted into operas for kids and their families. These popular events offer young audiences exposure to the world of opera through familiar, classic tales that are performed live music, just with different words. “We might even have some cool prizes for families”, he said.

Another outreach program impacted by the pandemic, Sohre shared, is ‘Opera with Class’ which is focused on finding students who might be afraid of opera, and teaching them the basics of it like singing without a microphone.

Accompanist Alexandria Le records music at Vegas PBS for 'Who's Afraid of Opera'.

Until it’s safe to conduct in-person events, the company is finding other ways to continue this program. On October 21st, Opera Las Vegas will film a 30-minute presentation at the local PBS station and make it available through CCSD’s ‘Classroom Cast’ service along with a study guide and quiz for teachers to support the lesson. There is also the possibility of it reaching beyond Las Vegas, depending on the distribution of the network.

The company has also been working on a program through the local libraries where they hope

to bring fairy tales adapted into operas for kids and their families. These popular events offer young audiences exposure to the world of opera through familiar, classic tales that are performed live music, just with different words. “We might even have some cool prizes for families”, he said.

Opera Las Vegas plans to record these fairy tale operas for the schools and libraries. This way,

even during the pandemic while school is online, students and their families can still have the

experience.

“There’s a lot of outreach going on right now,” Sohre said. “We’re trying to find ways to get out into the community at this time.”

He went on to share how the company is also recreating their concert tribute, ‘Opera Legends in Black’, which will be presented online through a one-hour program in the coming months to honor “superstar African-American singers and composers”, Sohre said.

Two hosts will introduce the stories of these Black artists represented by a cast of four to celebrate their accomplishments in life. “We’re hoping ‘Opera Legends in Black’ will have great resonance with the community and support social justice efforts by showing how artists of color overcame adversity through the quality of their talent.”

Addressing the impacts of the pandemic and its effects on the company, Sohre shared how, just like everyone else in the performing arts world, they are shut down for live performances. Many of the largest arts companies are not currently scheduling events in the coming season.

“We have to consider the audience's safety, as well as the performers’ safety,” he said. “Backstage, they are in tight quarters, and that needs to be addressed.”

In the summer months, it was too hot to perform outdoors, but Sohre touched on how outdoor performances are one of the ways to safely work with the restrictions, where they can socially distance themselves and the audience.

The finale of 'Cinderella'.

The company is also reducing the size of their casts. Usually having around 25 cast members, they will instead have four or fewer principal singers and only 10 people in the orchestra.

They are also looking at recording a live video performance in a concert hall with the stage far away so the singer and the technicians will have ample distance between them. For that, Sohre said that the quality of the venue’s circulation system is a concern. “We’re going to be very fastidious about making sure to not have anyone too close together.”

Sohre spoke on the frustration that artists and audiences are having right now, related to the pandemic and the effects on the industry.

“We all want to perform, and [audiences] want to see performances in person, but it’s just not possible right now,” he said, adding that the biggest issue with the restrictions is the loss of revenue and the funding shortfall for everyone in the art community.

“If someone has a theatre or other musical organization or company they love and can support them, this is the time to do it,” he said. “Funding is critical to all arts organizations right now, especially those with physical locations and full-time staff.”

In April of this year, The National Endowment for the Arts received funding from the CARES Act, which was distributed to each state in an allotment in which nonprofit arts organizations could apply to receive a grant through the program. Most of the funding was used to help preserve jobs in the arts and “preserve jobs and help support organizations forced to close operations due to the spread of COVID-19,” (NEA).

However, those funds have been exhausted and there has yet to be additional funding approved by Congress. “A block grant is currently being held up in budget discussions right now in Washington,” Sohre said. “The talent and will is there, but the opportunities aren’t available.”

Because Opera Las Vegas has freelance contract positions, they couldn’t apply for the small business loans through the Paycheck Protection Program, but added that they nonetheless are “grateful to the Nevada Arts Council for its support and its part in helping arts organizations all across Nevada.”

Sohre said that the best way people can help Opera Las Vegas is by donating directly to the company. “Not all of our events can be monetized to cover the cost of events,” he said. “There is a chance for some small amount of income from some ticketed events, but mostly we aren’t going to make much at this time.”

Ticket sales only cover 25% of the company’s annual operating expenses, so they rely primarily on donations to fund their productions and their outreach programs.

“Our programs cost money to run, and with funding, we can increase our reach and impact,” he explained. “We have to find an income stream that will keep up with producing opera”.

Opera is presently the most expensive discipline, Sohre added, given the complexity and detail of everything that goes into it: the singers, the orchestra, the scenery, the attire - which is all very costly to bring together to put on a performance.

He concluded by saying, “We’re all in this together. We wish all of our sister arts organizations the very best in coping with these times, and if Opera Las Vegas can be part of it and be helpful, we’d like to do that.”

To learn more about Opera Las Vegas and get news and updates from the company, please visit their website www.operalasvegas.com, and follow them on their Instagram and Facebook.

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