Arts + Entertainment 11.17.22

ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT

DEPARTMENT OF COLLECTIONS

You’re standing, craning your neck and looking through a simple, square skylight. Or maybe you’re even lying down and looking straight up. But one thing’s for certain: You’ve never seen the sky like this before.

“Joseph’s Coat,” a skyspace designed by James Turrell, provides a figurative and literal entry to the latest exhibition, “A Decade of Collecting,” at the John & Mable Ringling Museum of Art, and that’s because it represents a changing of eras.

“I always thought the completion of this space revitalized and energized our con temporary program,” says Stephen High, executive director of the Ringling Museum of Art. “It energized our acquisition pro gram altogether. So that’s why I start here.”

The museum’s first director, Arthur Everett Austin Jr., was a baroque scholar who was also engaged in contemporary art. But then around 1996, says High, there was a change of direction at the Ringling, and contemporary art fell out of favor.

That brief interlude lasted more than a decade. “Joseph’s Coat” was commis sioned in 2008 or 2009, says High, and later completed in 2011. And that’s right when another era of the Ringling began. For the first 50 years of the museum’s existence, says High, the Ringling added just 8,000 works to the collection.

But over the past 11 years, the Ringling has added more than 12,500 pieces, and the “Decade of Collecting” exhibit cel ebrates both its depth and breadth.

There’s sculpture and painting, photog raphy and tapestry involved.

Only 100 pieces of the collection are on display. And of course there’s Turrell’s Skyspace, which mixes LED lights with the setting sun for natural eye candy.

High says the LED aspects of Joseph’s Coat are temporarily down for mainte nance because of complications from Hurricane Ian, but when it’s functioning, it’s a perfect place to watch the sunset.

“The lights are mixing with the sky and gradually reducing light in the sky. The darker it gets, the harder it has to work,” says High. “It starts off with lots of lighter colors. You get into mid or late in the hour and it uses really strong colors — dark blues and reds — to bring more texture out of the sky. Then you get to a point where it’s all white. And it’s over.

“But there’s another point where the roof and the sky become exactly the same

color, like almost a dark gray. And at that moment in time, that entire roof sort of disappears.”

What was the artist going for?

He actually wants you to make your own experience. According to his web site, Turrell says of his skyspace projects, “My work has no object, no image and

“I always thought the completion of this space revitalized and energized our contemporary program. It energized our acquisition program altogether. So that’s why I start here.”

FROM

ART FROM ALL OVER High walks through the exhibit and points out a piece purchased in Lon don and another found right here in Sarasota. Some came from generous donations by philanthropists like Howard Tibbals and Howard Coville. But High says the “Decade of Col lecting” didn’t necessarily begin with an impulse. It was just a natu ral step to get back into contempo rary art.

“Every piece we acquire has to go through a pretty rigorous process,” says High. “We look at it from a conservation perspective: Is it going to cost us a lot of money to care for it? Is it in good enough condition to exhibit? It goes through me about whether this is something we want in our collection or not and then ulti mately goes to our board, which has a state-legislated authority to accept or reject anything that we add in the collection.”

One purchase, a sculpture by artist Vanessa German, had been part of an exhibition at the Ringling.

Another, a study of a painting by Joshua Reynolds, is an early work of a piece that is already in the Ring ling collection. The study had been in private hands for many years, says High, but the Ringling found it at auction and was able to acquire it.

“This is a proof of concept,” he says of the study. “So this is what your portrait is going to be like only the portrait is going to be 10 times larger. You see all the figures are there, but it’s just less defined.”

SEND IN THE CLOWNS

You can’t really have a Ringling exhibit without some circus arti facts. “A Decade of Collecting” doesn’t disappoint.

Tibbals, who died earlier this year, had a gigantic collection of circus posters, says High, perhaps the larg est of any known.

IF YOU GO

‘A DECADE OF COLLECTING’

When: Runs through Jan. 22, 2003

Where: John & Mable Ringling Museum of Art, 5401 Bay Shore Road

Tickets: Free with museum admission Info: Visit Ringling.org.

And some of them defy descrip tion.

High motions to one that advertis es the appearance of a flock of “giant racing pelicans.”

“Who wouldn’t want to go to see that?” he asks.

But there’s another Tibbals con tribution that really makes you won der about its origins.

It looks like a giant circus poster of Buffalo Bill that may have been sawed off a barn wall.

And that’s because that’s exactly where Tibbals found it.

“It’s a 12-bent panel. That’s how they do a barn-sized poster,” says High. “This is another one that Har old gave us. Literally he would find old barns with stuff still on them, he’d buy the wall and then get it removed and then restore it.

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You may have seen this image before. And you may have a lot of questions.

Performance artist Li Wei is stand ing on his head, arms held straight down at his sides, perfectly bal anced on top of the David statue in the museum of art’s courtyard. How the heck did he get there? And how did cameras capture the exact moment? If you ask High, it’s actually a pretty funny story.

No, the artist did not shimmy into that position and hold himself there. He was hoisted into place.

“The crane was totally out of the frame. So it’s way over here,” says

High, gesturing just off camera. Another thing you might not see is a somewhat disappointed crowd of onlookers. How can that be?

Why are they disappointed watching something that yielded an incredible picture?

They were expecting a perfor mance, not really performance art.

“It kind of backfired on us. We thought that people might be inter ested in coming in and watching,” says High, recalling the event. “So we announced that he was going to do this performance piece at the Ringling. We get all these people coming in and we set up some chairs for people if they wanted to watch. They were coming to see a perfor mance. And so they just stood there.

“Every setup would take like two to three hours to get it right and get him up there and get it positioned just right. Get the camera right. So it was really boring 90% of the time, so they all kind of ended up leaving.”

wasn’t impressed.

“Every setup would take like two to three hours to get it right … So it was really boring 90% of the time, so they all kind of ended up leaving.”

A Different Sensibility

Kate Hamill’s stage adaptation of Jane Austen’s “Sense and Sensibility” is the FSU/Asolo Conservatory’s latest production.

Hamill’s play is a comedy; Austen’s novel is not.

That double vision is the comic engine driving the play.

The playwright’s comic strategy assumes you know the source material. Based on audience reactions, many people did. With the alacrity of a “Rocky Horror” crowd, they reacted to the tale’s twists and quotes in advance. They knew the story cold.

In case you skipped your Jane Austen reading assignment, here’s the gist. England is the place; 1811 is the time. Mr. and Mrs. Dashwood and their three daughters, Elinor (Rebecca Rose Mims), Marianne (Sharon Pearlman) and Margaret (Brielle Rivera Headrington), live happily on a grand estate in Sussex. Then Mr. Dashwood abruptly drops dead. Their happiness dies, too.

Thanks to primogeniture, John (Rickey Watson Jr.), the sisters’ henpecked, little half-brother, inherits all. His uncharitable wife (Brooke Turner) tells him to keep it. He says, “Yes, dear.”

And evicts the family females. Apart from a miserly stipend, Dashwood’s widow and three daughters lose everything.

A family friend provides lodging in a cramped Cornwall cottage.

Margaret’s still a kid. But Elinor and Marianne are marriageable.

Snagging a suitable husband (i.e.: “rich”) is their only way out of the cottage. As fortune would have it, the sisters meet two suit-

able suitors.

Marianne finds the rakish Willoughby (Trezure Coles). Elinor finds the soulful Edward Ferrars (Isayah Phillips). Love blooms!

Then, without explanation, the suitors dump the sisters.

Will true love reunite them?

Most of you probably know. If not, read the book or see the play.

That may sound like a love story, but it’s not. At least not to the gossipy fops keeping tabs on the Dashwood sisters’ misfortune.

In their materialist minds, the fortune’s the real story.

Their chatter about the matrimonial stakes resembles a stock market report ... Lord X is in for a huge inheritance when his mum croaks. (Uptick!)

The Dashwood sisters lose their fortunes. (Massive sell off!)

These nosy upper-class twits are fully aware of the sisters’ lost love—and utterly indifferent.

Marry for love? What’s love got to do with it? Sensible ladies marry for money. Sensible gentlemen are equally calculating.

These gossips giggle at the sisters’ story. But they’re blind to the story of the heart.

For Elinor and Marianne, that inner story is sad as hell.

Hamill tells the story. Her play is still hilarious. How does she do it? I’ll get back to you on that.

Director James Dean Palmer kicks Hamill’s farce into overdrive. His physical comedy owes a huge directorial debt to Monty Python. Men in drag speak in the shrill “Pepperpot” manner.

Other actors simulate horses by banging coconuts together.

Thanks to Palmer’s direction, the audience alternates between belly laughs and sobs. But he’s just being true to the script.

Hamill’s play is more like two plays. One is a ridiculous romp; the other is a weepy tragedy.

They don’t belong together. But they’re stuck in the same theatrical elevator.

The conservatory actors make the most of this schizoid saga. Some play it straight. Mims’ Elinor is a rational being who keeps her heart on a short leash and her thoughts to herself.

Pearlman’s Marianne is a free spirit who follows her heart and speaks her mind.

As to their heartthrobs, Phillips’ Ferrars is a nice fella. Coles’ Willoughby is a cad, but still a good lad. Neither meant to hurt the ladies. Both did. They blame wills, inheritances and hormones.

Taking a walk on the silly side, Mrs. Jennings is a relic of the sentimental Georgian age. She feels and gushes and shares.

The 30-somethings of the sensible Regency generation roll their eyes.

Headrington’s childish Margaret provides periodic comic relief, but doesn’t overplay it. She’d be irritating as a full-on brat.

Hamill’s comedy/tragedy comes to life in Jeffrey Weber’s versatile set. It’s part tree fort, part M.C. Escher dream and utterly free of

IF YOU GO

‘SENSE AND SENSIBILITY’

As the saints have always said, none of that matters.

In the minds of England’s elite, it was all that mattered.

That’s what Hamill is mocking.

She loves the story. She hates the society. Get it? Without reading Austen’s novels, probably not.

It’d be like watching “Blazing Saddles” if you’d never seen a Western.

Jane Austen superfans will definitely get the joke.

historical realism. Jordan Jeffers’ whacky costumes are equally ahistorical. All this madly creative genre-bending, gender-bending and rule-breaking adds up to a very funny play.

I laughed, but didn’t know why. And what kind of play is it anyway? It isn’t a parody of Austen’s novel. Hamill takes the tale seriously and cares about its characters. But she wraps it up in a fluffy ball of superficial silliness. Why is that funny?

And who’s she making fun of? My best guess?

Regency England’s ruling class was mad about keeping up appearances. Vanity, illusion, flash and filigree, outward show, illusion, pose and pretension.

They’ll come to Hamill’s play with granular foreknowledge of the Regency society the story satirizes. They know it so well, they don’t even have to think about it.

Good thing. Regency society was downright nasty.

If you think about it too much, it starts to spoil the fun.

The England of 1811 was a dystopia for 50% of its inhabitants.

Women had no property rights — upper class women included. They were totally dependent upon powerful men for their lives and livelihoods. It was a man’s world and a woman’s nightmare.

That’s not funny at all.

But don’t listen to me, gentle reader.

Don’t think. Just laugh and enjoy the play.

That’s the sensible thing to do.

THIS WEEK

THURSDAY

‘KEYED-IN: A PIANO PERFORMANCE AND CONVERSATION’

6 p.m. at Oak Street Stage, 2050 Oak St. $5, registration required Visit HermitageArtistRetreat.org.

Hermitage fellow Conrad Tao will both discuss classical piano and play it at this event at Oak Street Stage. Tao has appeared as a soloist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, New York Philharmonic and Boston Symphony. As a composer, his pieces have been performed by orchestras throughout the United States.

FRIDAY

‘MELODIES THAT CAPTURE THE HEART’ 10:30 a.m. at First Presbyterian Church of Sarasota, 2050 Oak St. Free Visit SarasotaMusicClub.org.

Flautist Rick Aaron will play on compositions by Rachmaninoff, Ravel, Bach and Fauré, and he’ll also break into a number of Broadway tunes. Lee Dougherty Ross will accompany Aaron on piano. The performance was originally scheduled to be held in First Presbyterian’s sanctuary, but it is now slated for the church’s Fellowship Hall.

JAZZ AT TWO — PATRICIA DEAN TRIO

2 p.m. at Unitarian Universalist Church of Sarasota, 3975 Fruitville Road

$15-$20

Visit JazzClubSarasota.org.

Patricia Dean will star on drums and vocals, and she’ll be supported by Jeff Phillips on keyboard and Dave Trefethen on bass. Dean won’t just be keeping time behind the drum kit; she’ll also be filling in the spaces with her expressive voice.

‘HAMLET P.O.V.’

7:30 p.m. at Venice Theatre, 140 Tampa Ave. W. $26; youth $15 Visit VeniceTheatre.org.

What if Hamlet, one of the world’s most famous dramatic experiences, was streamlined into a one-woman play? That’s the conceit of this show, which stars Vera Samuels, who will tell the story completely through Hamlet’s perspective. Hamlet in other formats can easily surpass four hours, but Samuels will deliver the whole story in 54 minutes. Runs through Nov. 20.

‘TCHAIK STRIKES!’

7:30 p.m. at Venice Performing Arts Center, 1 Indian Ave., Venice $33-$61

Visit VenicePerformingArtsCenter. com.

The Venice Symphony will treat you to an evening of Glinka, Weber and Tchaikovsky. The first piece they’ll play will be the overture from Mikhail Glinka’s opera “Ruslan and Lyudmila,” and the second piece will be Paul Hindesmith’s “Symphonic Metamorphosis on Themes by Carl Maria von Weber.” The evening will close with Tchaikovsky’s “Symphony No. 4 in D Minor.” The performance will be reprised on Saturday.

SATURDAY

‘THE ELVIS PRESLEY EXPERIENCE’

2 and 8 p.m. at Manatee Performing Arts Center, 502 Third Ave. W., Bradenton $30-$55

Visit ManateePerformingArtsCenter. org.

You’re never too young to appreciate the classics. Eighteen-year-old Matt Stone has emerged as one of the nation’s most exciting Elvis Presley tribute acts, and he’ll transport you back in time for a seminal concert experience unequalled since Presley died in 1977. Love him tender. Love him true.

‘INSIDE “IN C’” 8 p.m. at PepsiCo Arcade, 5313 Bay Shore Road $15 Visit NewMusicNewCollege.org.

The students at New College will play on Terry Riley’s “In C” experimental composition, which never sounds the same a second time. The piece consists of 53 short segments that each performer will progress through, and all performers are synchronized to a repeated pulse. Each player decides how

many times to repeat each segment and how long to rest.

SUNDAY

JAZZ ON THE WATER

2 p.m. at Marina Jack Plaza, 2 Marina Plaza $30-$35

Visit JazzClubSarasota.org.

Take to the seas with the Sarasota Jazz Club. The Tom Carabasi Quintet will be the musical guests of honor, and boarding will begin at 1:30 p.m. at Marina Jack Plaza. Then you’ll hit the water on the Marina Jack II for an afternoon cruise on Sarasota Bay, and the quintet will provide all the entertainment you’ll need outside of watching the water and the horizon.

THE BLUE RIDGE

3 p.m. at Northminster Presbyterian Church, 3131 61st St. $5 Visit SuncoastConcertBand.org.

The Suncoast Concert Band will play the music of Appalachia at this Sunday concert at Northminster Presbyterian Church.

‘THE RAT PACK NOW’

3 p.m. at Venice Performing Arts Center, 1 Indian Ave., Venice $35-$60

Visit VenicePerformingArtsCenter. com.

Rub your eyes and peek again. No, that’s not Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr. back from the dead. But this Rat Pack tribute show — starring Art Poco, Ben Bagby and Bob Hoose — will amp up the nostalgia and take you back to a simpler time. The trio have taken

DON’T MISS

‘EXPRESSIONS’

Make way for Barry Wordsworth, the Royal Ballet’s principal guest conductor, as he leads Sarasota Ballet through classic routines choreographed by Frederick Ashton and Kenneth MacMillan. Two of the three ballets — MacMillan’s “Dances Concertantes” and Ashton’s “Dante Sonata” — have never been performed by Sarasota Ballet before. The third ballet, Ashton’s “Rhapsody,” was created for the Queen Mother’s birthday in 1980 and Mikhail Baryshnikov danced in its premiere.

IF YOU GO

When: 7:30 p.m., Nov. 18; 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., Nov. 19 Where: Sarasota Opera House, 61 N. Pineapple Ave. Tickets: $35+ Info: SarasotaBallet.org.

OUR PICK

PAUL REISER

This is not his office! Everyman Paul Reiser will bring his comedic schtick to the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, and he’ll be trying to remind you why you’re Mad About him. Helen Hunt will not be part of this performance, but who knows, maybe Mr. Reiser will hold forth about his former co-star. The comedian is famous for his roles in “Beverly Hills Cop” and “Aliens.” More recently, Reiser has turned up in “Stranger Things” and in the 2014 film “Whiplash.”

IF YOU GO When: 7 p.m., Nov. 20 Where: Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, 777 N. Tamiami Trail Tickets: $27-$67 Info: VanWezel.org.

their act all around the country in the past 17 years, but they’re just warming up.

JOHN KANEKLIDES AND JOSEPH

HOLT

4 p.m. at Fischer/Weisenborne Residence, 7459 Cabbage Palm Court $55 Visit ArtistSeriesConcerts.org.

North Carolina native John Kaneklides is an acclaimed tenor who has sung in a number of operas and musical theater performances, and he’ll sing for an intimate group of listeners as part of this Artist Series Concert. Joseph Holt, the artistic director of Choral Artists of Sarasota, will accompany Kaneklides on piano.

HANDBELL SOLOIST DANNY LYONS IN CONCERT

5 p.m. at Pine Shores Presbyterian Church, 6135 Beechwood Ave. Free Visit PineShoresPres.org.

Hear the bells a-ringing! Danny Lyons, the inventor of a method that allows him to play eight bells in hand, will bring you a holiday concert as a solo artist. Lyons, a former piano technician and rebuilder, is now semi-retired, and he has even more time in his life now to wow you with his bell-ringing.

MONDAY

MONDAY NIGHT JAZZ AT THE FST

CABARET

7:30 p.m. at FST’s John C. Court Cabaret, 1265 First St. $34-$39 Visit JazzClubSarasota.org.

Join Ella & The Bossa Beat, a fatherdaughter duo consisting of Magrus and Ella Borges, for an evening of Brazilian jazz and pop. Ella Borges, born in Miami and raised in Brazil, sings in Portuguese, Spanish and English. The duo released their first album in 2020 and expect to release another one soon.

TUESDAY

‘CABARET’ 7 p.m. at FSU Center for the Performing Arts, 5555 N. Tamiami Trail $35-$95 Visit AsoloRep.org.

“Cabaret’s” opening night is on Nov. 19, and the beloved musical will run all the way through New Year’s Eve. Director and choreographer Josh Rhodes has taken an innovative look at the classic and given it his own spin, and Iris Beaumier and Lincoln Clauss star as Sally Bowles and the Emcee, respectively.

4420 South Tamiami Trail, Sarasota 941.260.8905 www.shellysgiftandchristmasboutique.com Open 7 Days a Week Until Christmas 372868-1

An Artful Embrace

The scope of the project has expanded over the years, but the 20th edition of Embracing Our Differences is all about kindness.

It’s a big round number anniver sary for Embracing Our Differ ences. And it’s a massive expan sion of the chances for people to digest its message.

The 20th anniversary of the art advocacy project will kick off in Jan uary, and this year, the exhibit will take its act on the road.

First, it will be installed at Bay front Park from Jan. 22 to March 12, and then it will also have a multiweek run at Butler Park in North Port and at State College of Florida.

The project has grown expo nentially over the years, and Sarah Wertheimer, the executive direc tor of Embracing Our Differences, said the call for artistic statements of diversity, respect and acceptance have fallen on receptive ears.

“This universal message is a mes sage of action,” she says. “It’s coming together and not closing our eyes to people in need.

“Each one of us holds the key to open the door to kindness, compas sion and understanding. Now, more than ever, it’s time to work together to eliminate the barriers of preju dice that hold back the full range of human potential.”

People are listening, and they’re figuring out how they can make a difference. For its first year, Wert heimer says, Embracing Our Differ ences only received 124 submissions.

But last year, there were more than 13,000 pieces of art submitted from more than 119 countries.

Only 50 pieces of artwork will ulti mately be selected to get the full bill board treatment, and then they’ll be displayed from mid-January all the way to late May.

Wertheimer says more than

IF YOU GO EMBRACING OUR DIFFERENCES

When/Where: Jan. 18 to March 12 at Bayfront Park; March 22 to April 19 at Butler Park in North Port; April 26 to March 29 at State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota

Tickets: Free Info: EmbracingOurDifferences. org.

370,000 visitors saw the exhibit last year, and over the years, more than 4 million people have visited.

Perhaps more impressive, though, is the reach Embracing Our Differ ences has exhibited in schools.

The first edition of Embracing Our Differences reached 1,200 students with its educational programming, but last year, that number jumped to more than 52,000 students.

“All of these milestones were achieved with the support of our extended family of educators, stu dents, volunteers, board mem bers, community foundations and donors,” says Wertheimer. “They have stayed with us every step of the way and made our journey possible.”

Song, Dance & Sitar

that is unfamiliar to them.”

Yes, in this case, that even means the dancers. Caulkins says one piece on the program, Margaret Bonds’ “Ballad of the Brown King,” was pre miered in 1954 but not recorded until 2018 or 2019.

The composition, set to poetry by Langston Hughes, will take the dancers through a number of styles including jazz and calypso.

“The longest movement might be five or six minutes,” says Caulkins. “But for the dancers and for the musicians, it just gives us a lot of diversity and a lot of contrast to show in a very short amount of time.”

In another piece on the program, “Luminosity” by James Whitbourn, sitarist Kanada Narahari will join the musicians and chorus to provide an unlikely ballet backdrop.

Caulkins says Narahari will play not just the sitar but also the tanpura over the course of the performance.

Some of the trainees are still in high school, but they’re working through a program that starts at 9:30 every morning and sometimes lasts until 7 p.m.

Noah Rodenberger, a 16-year-old from Marietta, Georgia, says he’s been dancing for five years and that he’s going to school while training with the Margaret Barbieri Conser vatory. He catches up on schoolwork via laptop in his dance breaks during the day, and he has a little extra work to do when he gets home.

There are long days, he says, but it’s nothing unmanageable.

“unbelievable talent,” and he says Fischer’s work on “Luminosity” is so inventive because of the irregu lar rhythms. Bond, who recently choreographed a piece for the Sara sota Ballet’s “Premieres” program, crafted a pas de deux to the opening number of Mystics and Kings, “Sing Wearing the Sky,” by Jake Runestad.

“That was really exciting for our studio company because she’s a hugely sought after choreographer,” says Hird. “She works with American Ballet Theatre, Royal Ballet. All over the world now, actually. That was really a great experience for them.”

oseph Caulkins had a chorus, an orchestra and a company of dancers.

So why not throw in the sitar? Caulkins, the artistic director of Key Chorale, has always taken his artistic marriage with the Sarasota Ballet’s Studio Co. to unprecedented places.

But this year, he may have outdone himself with his selections for the “Mystics and Kings” program.

“Almost everybody other than me will have never heard these pieces before,” says Caulkins. “For me, programming is about discovery and adventure. This is one of those opportunities for the audience, because they’re going to hear music

“It’s an instrument that most of us haven’t heard, and certainly not in a concert hall,” says Caulkins. “This music just washes over you. It’s so beautiful and spiritual and moving.

“And yet you’re going to hear these instruments interacting with the choir.”

And not just the choir, but also the dancers.

Choreographers Gemma Bond, Arcadian Broad and Lindsay Fischer had the challenging job of making the music work and Christopher Hird, education director of the Sarasota Ballet, says the dancers have been working for a few months now.

The dancer corps consists of 33 trainees from the Margaret Barbieri Conservatory and 12 members of the Sarasota Ballet Studio Co., and Hird says they all come to Sarasota Ballet with years of training.

“It’s not too bad,” he says. “I would say that it definitely is more of a grind than what your average student will do. But in a way, I think that you’re not missing out on as much because not only is it a job in the future, but it’s a passion as well. So you’re miss ing out on things that other people get to do. But at the same time you’re doing what you enjoy.”

Hird says many of the dancers are accustomed to working on clas sical ballet and that working with live choreographers on brand new steps is something completely new for them. Hird also says that it’s an especially busy time for the danc ers because they’re also prepping for an upcoming performance of “The Nutcracker” in December.

With irregular music, says Caulkins, the choreographers had even harder work to do than usual.

Caulkins praised Broad as an

For Rodenberger, this will be his first time dancing in the Sarasota Opera House, and his first time working with a choreographer to a new ballet.

It’s his first time working with an orchestra and a chorus, and he says it’s definitely his first time dancing ballet to the sitar. Here he is, a couple hundred miles from home, and he’s absolutely got schoolwork to do.

But for one Sunday, he’ll have a chance to be part of something unique.

“It’s definitely cool,” he says. “It’s fun to be able to meet people from everywhere, from all backgrounds of life, and everyone has this shared experience of wanting to dance and looking for more opportunities to dance.

“That’s why we’re all here. That’s how we all came together.”

IF YOU GO

MYSTICS AND KINGS

When: 4 p.m., Nov. 27 Where: Sarasota Opera House, 61 N. Pineapple Ave. Tickets: $20-$55 Info: KeyChorale. org.

DISTINCTIVE DISHES

WHAT’S THE DISH: Greg Camp bell, the executive chef at Grove and Pier 22, had tried it all in preparing pork for his customers.

He’d made longbone pork shanks, pork tenderloin scallopini, grilled pork tenderloin, stuffed pork.

And still it wouldn’t sell.

Then, about eight years ago, he got a call from a panicked vendor.

They had 80 cases of one-pound pork shanks and no idea what to do with them.

Campbell decided to take a look, and when he started experimenting, his pork osso buco dish was born.

HOW IT’S MADE: Traditional osso buco is made of veal, but Campbell says his pork shank is prepared just like the veal would be.

The chef says pork shanks come in different sizes because pigs are born with different sized thigh bones.

But generally speaking, there’s about a pound of meat on each one.

Grove takes the thigh bone and braises it with a vegetable mirepoix that includes water, garlic, celery, onions, carrots, some chicken stock, salt, pepper and bayleaf.

The shank cooks for four hours at about 350 degrees, and when it comes out of the oven, Campbell separates it from the sauce.

He macerates the braising liquid through a chinois, and the dish is served over mashed potatoes and asparagus.

Campbell says it rests in about six ounces of sauce.

“We double ladle it,” he says. “If we didn’t put it in a bowl, the sauce would just cover the whole plate. And it’s great because of the pota toes. You take a scoop of the sauce, the pork and the mashed potatoes; that makes a real mouthful.”

SCRATCH KITCHEN: Campbell says his kitchen makes everything from scratch including baking bread and making its own sauces.

But sustainability is a huge endeavor. Grove does not compost, but it tries to make the most out of its materials. Campbell says his kitch

PORK OSSO BUCO AT GROVE

Address: 10670 Boardwalk Loop, Lakewood Ranch

Ambiance: Happy hour, date night, special events Price: $15-$26 entrees and sandwiches Info: GroveLWR.com.

en has what might be referred to as a “trash shelf” that contains items that can be re-used in other dishes.

“If I need diced celery for a menu item, we cut the heel off and most of the time that goes in the trash can,” he says. “But it’s great for a mirepoix. The leaves of the celery are great for stock. When you’re peeling carrots, what do you do with the peels?

“It goes in the stock. What do you do with onion tops or onion skins? You save those aside and they go in the stock too.”

FLAVORING: That pound of pork might look like a great dish to share, but Campbell says that’s not hap pening as far as he can tell.

People are buying it for themselves, and if they can’t finish it, they’re taking it home to make it into a sand

wich the next day.

Campbell says the pork has a con sistency like dark meat chicken, but it’s tastier and falls right off the bone.

He also says it has a sweetness due to the carrots in the mirepoix and he would recommend white wine over red.

“A pinot noir is probably the red dest I’d get. Or maybe a lighter zin fandel,” he says. “Any type of white wine would work. A good oaky char donnay, maybe. You could prob ably get away with a chenin blanc or something super light.

NO BONES ABOUT IT: The staff at Grove has heard it all. They’ve had customers compare

the shank to a “piece of a dinosaur” and to a turkey leg at a medieval fair. One jokester said that it looked like “the largest chicken wing I’ve ever seen.”

Campbell teases that you could even use it as a weapon, but it might have unintended consequences.

“You can probably take a few peo ple out with that bone,” he says. “The only problem is when they’re swing ing it, the meat will fly off the bone.

You’re more likely to give someone a black eye from a flying slab of pork.”

NOT FOR FIDO: The shank may look like something you’d feed your best canine friend. But the staff at Grove implores you not to do that. Pork bones are known to splin ter and they can create stomach or intestinal issues for your pet.

“You can probably take a few people out with that bone. The only problem is when they’re swinging it, the meat will fly off the bone.”

— Executive Chef Greg Campbell

Groovin’ On The Soul Train Gala

Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe embraced the funk with its groovy 23rd Anniversary Gala on Nov. 12.

The Circus Arts Conservatory’s Sailor Circus Arena was refashioned into a funkadelic event space for the “Groovin’ On The Soul Train” gala celebrating the organization’s 23 years of music and performance.

Guests put on some funky attire and met for an hour of mingling before sitting down for the program, which started with words from board Chair Doris Johnson.

This year’s Heart and Soul Philanthropy award was presented to Andrew and Judith Economos.

The night ended with a live auction hosted by Michael Klauber followed by a “Groovin’ On The Soul Train” performance created by WBTT Artistic Director Nate Jacobs and choreographed by Donald Frison.

Monday, Nov. 7, at Michael’s on East | Benefiting Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida

Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida invited its many supporters to Michael’s on East for its annual fundraiser on Nov. 7.

The “Meet The Moment” fundraiser had hundreds of the organization’s supporters and staff mingling during social hour before heading to their seats for the program to start.

Board Chair Mary Braxton-Joseph first took to the stage to welcome the assembled guests and thank them for their

continued support for Planned Parenthood before lunch was served.

President and CEO Stephanie Fraim later joined Kait Thomson, director of government relations and community engagement with Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida, and outreach educator and community liason Kira-Lynn Ferderber in a panel discussion followed by a Q&A.

BLACK TIE & TALES

10th Annual Rockin’ Lobster

Children First always has a particularly busy week in November.

While many nonprofits focus their efforts on a signature fundraiser each year to help with programs and initiatives, Child First opts for two events both held at Sharky’s on the Pier in Venice.

Typically the first event has been Flip Flops and Fashion, which raises funds from guests while they enjoy a colorful fashion show. But for the following Rockin’ Lobster event, held this year at Sharky’s on the Pier on Nov. 5, the dinner is the main attraction.

The 10th annual lobster showcase brought more than 200 guests to the beach for the evening. Guests mingled before sitting down for the much-anticipated dinner consisting of fresh Maine lobster and prime rib.

CEO Philip Tavill took the podium and highlighted the impact donors have had on Children First’s programs for vulnerable children and families and later had Children First parents speak on their experiences.

The night ended with s’mores and a fireworks show on the beach.

Farm to Tableaux

The Haven nonprofit has spent decades helping children and adults with disabilities through education and community education programs at its 37-acre campus in Sarasota.

It was the first time recently, though, that the nonprofit hosted a gala on a baseball field.

The Haven’s “Farm to Tableaux” fundraiser brought more than 300 of the nonprofit’s supporters to an evening dinner with tables spread across Ed Smith Stadium on Oct. 29.

Guests mingled before hearing from event co-chairs Hallie Peilet, Alison Thomas and Sheryl Viera. Rapper Arik Ancelin, who has down syndrome, served as musical guest for the night and quickly got the crowd jumping.

The gala brought in $308,000 for the Haven’s programs.

Haven staff have kept busy as well — you might have most recently

caught them waving and cheering on a float as part of the UTC Holiday Parade.

Artful Lobster

Every nonprofit and aid organization is dependent upon the funds raised at the various functions each year, but few have had the conditions the Hermitage Artist Retreat has been working through over the past months.

The arts organization’s beachside campus on Manasota Key took a fair amount of damage from Hurricane Ian in early October, with several buildings receiving damage and the campus grounds being affected.

This year’s Artful Lobster, an everpopular lobster meal fundraiser held at the art organization’s campus on Nov. 12, benefited repairs for the grounds in addition to supporting its artist residency programs.

More than 200 supporters met at a tented space for the annual luncheon where they sat and heard from Hermitage Artistic Director and CEO Andy Samberg. Eventually they dug into fresh lobster provided by Michael’s On East.

Entertainment for the day was provided by Hermitage fellow Adam Gwon and musical theater composer as well as folk musician Reggie Harris.

Final numbers are being tallied, but Samberg believes the event pulled in more than $265,000.

BLACK TIE

Perfect Pitch Luncheon

Key Chorale paid tribute to music and music makers during its annual Perfect Pitch luncheon on Nov. 7.

More than 200 guests arrived at the Sarasota Yacht Club in support of the performing arts group where they mingled during social hour and eventually took to their seats.

Artistic Director Joseph Caulkins welcomed the crowd before they enjoyed music from Key Chorale’s student scholar ensemble. Lunch was served soon after.

Caulkins later presented Daniel Jordan, who serves as concertmaster for Key Chorale and Sarasota Orchestra as well as director of artist programs for Artist Series Concerts of Sarasota, with this year’s Perfect Pitch award.

Key Chorale chamber singers and student scholars then performed a tribute to Jordan.

SAYER