The Globe wants to make theatre matter to more people! The Old Globe's Arts Engagement department invites friends, flappers, jitterbugs, and all of San Diego to our latest free AXIS event, Swing Out at the Globe, on Saturday, July 22 from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., on the Globe's Copley Plaza, part of the Conrad Prebys Theatre Center in Balboa Park, preceding the 2:00 p.m. matinee of Guys and Dolls. The event, which is family-friendly and free to all, will begin with an open dance led by Swing Dancing San Diego's Hang Ten Hoppers to the beat of The Mad Hat Hucksters. The Hang Ten Hoppers will then offer brief group dance lessons in various styles, followed by a chance to perfect your moves on the dance floor! The schedule: 11:00 a.m. Open Dancing, 11:30 a.m. 1920s Charleston; 12:00 noon 1930s Lindy Hop; 12:30 p.m. 1940s Lindy Charleston; 1:00 p.m.1950s Jitterbug; and 1:30 p.m. Open Dancing.
Swing Dancing San Diego is a great local asset and a great place to learn swing dancing. They offer classes for all levels, fun social dances, and performances in all the swing era dances. The Mad Hat Hucksters play a mix of New Orleans-style jazz and swing from the 1930s and 1940s, with influences ranging from Sidney Bechet, Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, Clarence Williams, and Slim Gaillard to Benny Goodman, The Harlem Hamfats, and Artie Shaw. The Globe welcomes them!
"AXIS creates a unique opportunity to engage with our audience in a cool way," said Director of Arts Engagement Freedome Bradley-Ballentine. "This free event celebrates both music and dance from an exciting era and connects us to Guys and Dolls in a fun and interactive way. The Hang Ten Hoppers will be leading workshops and performing live with The Mad Hat Hucksters, so it's going to be a real treat for all. Grab your dancing shoes and come enjoy a great free party in the park."
AXIS is supported by a grant from The James Irvine Foundation. Financial support is provided by The City of San Diego.
LOCATION and PARKING INFORMATION: The Old Globe is located in San Diego's Balboa Park at 1363 Old Globe Way. There are numerous free parking lots available throughout the park. Guests may also be dropped off in front of the Mingei International Museum. The Balboa Park valet is also available during performances, located in front of the Japanese Friendship Garden. For additional parking information visit www.BalboaPark.org. For directions and up-to-date information, please visit www.theoldglobe.org/plan-your-visit/directions--parking/detailed-directions.
PLEASE NOTE: To look up online or GPS directions to The Old Globe, please do not use the Delivery Address above. There is only a 10-minute zone at that physical address. For GPS users, please click here for the map coordinates, and here for written directions to The Old Globe and nearby parking in Balboa Park.
About AXIS: One of the ways The Old Globe's Arts Engagement team exemplifies our mission to make theatre matter to more people is through a program called AXIS, where free cultural programs on the Globe's Copley Plaza are led by local artists and craftspeople. 9.5 million visitors pass through Balboa Park each year. The Old Globe strives to engage this population as we transform our non-performance space into a participatory art venue, utilizing the Globe's unique physical location as an opportunity for connectivity and creative placemaking. AXIS is an effort to broaden our concept of audience, extending beyond regular ticket-holders and encompassing diverse, multigenerational constituencies from communities across San Diego County.
CALENDAR: King Richard II (6/11-7/15), Guys and Dolls (7/2-8/13), Ken Ludwig's Robin Hood! (7/22-8/27), Hamlet (8/6-9/10), Pam Farr Summer Shakespeare Studio Showcase (8/14), AXIS Saturday Morning Salsa (8/19), Benny & Joon (9/7-10/22), The Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey (9/30-10/29), AXIS Day of the Dead Celebration (10/29), Globe for All Tour: Twelfth Night (10/31-11/19), Dr. Seuss's How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (11/4-12/24), M.F.A.: Romeo and Juliet (11/11-11/19), The Importance of Being Earnest (1/27/18-3/4), Uncle Vanya (2/10-3/11), American Mariachi (3/23-4/29), The Wanderers (4/5-5/6), A Thousand Splendid Suns (5/12-6/17), Native Gardens (5/26-6/24), Dr. Seuss's The Lorax (7/2-8/12).
The Tony Award-winning Old Globe is one of the country's leading professional regional theatres and has stood as San Diego's flagship arts institution for over 80 years. Under the leadership of Erna Finci Viterbi Artistic Director Barry Edelstein, The Old Globe produces a year-round season of 15 productions of classic, contemporary, and new works on its three Balboa Park stages: the Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage in the 600-seat Old Globe Theatre and the 250-seat Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre, both part of The Old Globe's Conrad Prebys Theatre Center, and the 605-seat outdooR Lowell Davies Festival Theatre, home of its internationally renowned Shakespeare Festival. More than 250,000 people attend Globe productions annually and participate in the theatre's artistic and arts engagement programs. Numerous world premieres such as the 2014 Tony Award winner for Best Musical, A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder, Bright Star, Allegiance, The Full Monty, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, and the annual holiday musical Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! have been developed at The Old Globe and have gone on to enjoy highly successful runs on Broadway and at regional theatres across the country.
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