David Hallberg Talks Ballet and How Collaborations Fuel Creativity

David Hallberg, principal dancer with both American Ballet Theatre in New York City and the Bolshoi Ballet in Moscow, returns to Phoenix this April to teach master classes, coach emerging dancers, and help raise funds for his eponymous scholarship at The School of Ballet Arizona. The scholarship helps boys receive…

Ballet Arizona Presents Today’s Masters, Premières Two New Works

It’s been more than a decade since Ib Andersen, artistic director for Ballet Arizona, wowed us with his choreography and set design for Mosaik, which premièred here in Phoenix in 2004, and was performed again in 2006. It featured not only Andersen’s choreography, but also sculptural set pieces of his…

Comedian Paul Rodriguez Opens Scottsdale Laugh Factory This Weekend

Scottsdale’s about to get a whole lot funnier, as the newest location of the Laugh Factory opens in Scottsdale presented by the self-proclaimed “George Lopez of [his] day,” Paul Rodriguez. The 398-seat venue will be the largest comedy club in Scottsdale and Rodriguez says he plans to draw nationally recognized…

15 Must-See Plays in Metro Phoenix This Spring

They can sing, they can dance, after all this is — well, okay, it’s not France, but Phoenix will get its fair share of talented actors taking to the stage for the spring season. Between Broadway musicals, Shakespearian adaptations, and centerstage comedies, we’ve found 15 good reasons to start buying…

Julie Akerly on the State of the Arts in Metro Phoenix

When Jackalope Ranch issued a 10-question survey asking Phoenicians (and anyone with an opinion of Phoenix) to sound of on the state of the arts in the Valley of the Sun, dozens provided insights on what’s happening in the city’s creative realm. We’ll present a selection of survey responses here…

Dave Chappelle Is Coming to Phoenix

The man, the myth, the legend Dave Chappelle is coming to Phoenix. Live Nation announced on Thursday, March 5, that the comedian, who visited the Valley on the final stop of the 2013 Oddball Comedy Tour, will return for one night only this month…

Eddie Izzard Is Coming to the Orpheum Theatre in Phoenix

It would seem Eddie Izzard has taken a page from the Miley Cyrus playbook. The stand-up comedian can’t stop and won’t stop touring. The comedian, actor, and writer, known for his free-association delivery and roles on The Riches and Hannibal, announced this week that he’ll follow up his 32-city 2014…

Ballet Arizona Debuts August Bournonville’s Napoli at Phoenix Symphony Hall

We love plenty of things that hail from Denmark: Carlsberg beer, Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Bang & Olufsen sound systems, Hans Christian Andersen tales, sleek modern furnishings, Kierkegaard’s existentialism, and LEGO bricks. But we’re not sold on Napoli, a ballet first performed in Denmark in 1842. It imagines the road from wooing…