Salem-News.com Entertainment articles Page 30

It`s Salem....And We Dance

(SALEM) - The "It's Salem...And We Dance," dance event series kicks off Tuesday night at the Reed Opera House Trinity Ballroom in downtown Salem.

The July 11th event will begin with a one hour beginner Zydeco dance lesson by Debra Seeck, aka Mz Jitterbug, followed by two hours of open dancing and socializing. No-host drinks and appetizers will be available by Alessandro's and Trinity Vineyards will be offering wine tasting during the night. Dance demonstrations by other local instructors in Lindy Hop, Balboa, Country Two-Step, West Coast Swing and Night Club Two-Step will complement the night.

The renewed public interest in dancing sparked by television shows, "Dancing with the Stars" and "So You Say You Can Dance," prompted Ms Seeck’s vision of starting a regular dance event in Salem.

Salem`s World Beat Festival, Crowning Event for the Start of our Summer Season (VIDEO)

The 9th annual event at Salem`s Riverfront Park was recently voted the best cultural heritage event by the Oregon Festivals and Events Association.

(SALEM) - Always held in the last weekend of June in Salem`s beautiful Riverfront Park, World Beat is a good way to kick off a family weekend adventure and educate children in the meaning of cultural tolerance.

Saturday Evening at The World Beat Fest

The 9th annual Salem World Beat Festival at Salem's Riverfront Park happens June 24th-25th, 2006.

(SALEM) - Headlining this year`s World Beat Festival is Leroy Thomas and the Zydeco Roadrunners. A native of Lake Charles, Louisiana, Thomas and his band play authentic, Louisiana-style Zydeco.

Zydeco combines French dance melodies and elements of Caribbean music and blues into high-energy rhythms played on accordion, harmonica, washboard and guitar.

Celtic Culture and Zydego Music Take Center Stage at World Beat 2006

(SALEM) - Oregon`s capital city hosts the 9th annual Salem World Beat Festival at Salem Riverfront Park June 24th-25th, 2006.

Recently voted Best Cultural Heritage Event by the Oregon Festivals and Events Association, Organizers say World Beat is an international festival celebrating the cultures, customs, traditions and heritage that make Oregon such a wonderful place to live and visit.

Music, food, dance, arts and crafts of people from throughout the world are showcased in five themed World Villages.

Throughout the weekend, visitors can enjoy more than 125 performances, workshops and...

Western Oregon Dance Students to Perform at The National College Dance Festival

The seven WOU student performers are Latoya Shantia Lovely of Belleglade, Fla.; Michael Coleman of North Bend; Samuel Hobbs of Beaverton; Corale Lamont of Monroe; Jessica Sanford of Salem; Brynn Sylvester of Newberg and Jessica Evans of North Bend.

(MONMOUTH) - Seven Western Oregon University dance students have been selected to perform as part of the National College Dance Festival at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington D.C. from May 16 to 18.

Country Music Show Debuts on Salem TV Station

KWVT Channel-52 is Salem's only locally owned broadcast television station, it can be viewed over the air on UHF Channel-52 with an antenna throughout the Mid-Willamette Valley.

(SALEM) - The television show Country Comfort is making it Salem debut on KWVT, Salem, Oregon`s only locally owned and operated broadcast TV station.

Country Comfort is a locally produced hour-long country music video show featuring today`s hottest country music stars like Garth Brooks, Reba McIntyre, Brooks & Dunn and Kenny Chesney.

Salem Concert Band Presents Songs of the American West

(SALEM) - The Historic Elsinore Theatre, the Salem Concert Band will present a musical showcase at 3:00 PM on Sunday, May 7th entitled `Songs of the American West` under the direction of conductor John Skelton.

Classic `cowboy` tunes, such as Home on the Range and Turkey in the Straw, will be presented by the band, as well as Western-themed pieces written during the 1950s and `60s, such as Santa Fe Saga (1955) by Martin Gould and Laredo Paso Doble (1963) by Clifton Williams. Another special work on the program is Barn Dance and Cowboy Hymn by Philip Sparke, which transports the listener to a scene wherein a rowdy dance and a church service have been seemingly double-booked in the same barn on the same evening, and the experience is at once entertaining and lively, spiritual and serene.

The Salem Concert Band is also pleased to present Haboo, a Native American-inspired piece by Pacific Lutheran University professor and composer Gregory Youtz, which received its world premiere last year at the University of Washington...

Gyllenhaal Connects to Oregon by Portraying an Oregon Marine

(Salem) - Did you know that the Marine portrayed by Jake Gyllenhaal in Jarhead is an Oregonian? I had the great opportunity of meeting the author of Jarhead and interviewing him in his Portland apartment right after the book hit the shelves. Anthony Swofford, portrayed by Gyllenhaal as a frustrated Marine in Desert Strom, is a nice guy who was very excited at the time about the book`s immediate success.

Willamette Choirs Honored

Willamette auditioned against universities in Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Montana, Idaho and Wyoming

(Salem) - The Willamette University Chamber Choir and Willamette Singers have been selected by the American Choral Directors Association to perform at the organization`s Northwest Regional Convention in Portland in March.

Willamette`s Chamber Choir will perform its convention program at the Winter Choral Concert Saturday, February 25th, at 7:00 PM in Hudson Hall on the Willamette campus.