Brooklyn based jazz and ambient trio Alaara explores the relationship between their longform improvisations and the visual worlds of renowned Russian director Andrei Tarkovsky. The trio will perform a pseudo “live score” alongside immersive, haunting visuals taken from his films. Alaara’s sounds echo the words of Tarkovsky himself: “Give a shot enough time and meaning will be formed of its own accord.” The group features Sonya Belaya on piano and synthesizers, Grey McMurray on guitar and Nicole Patrick on drums. Free with museum admission.

Tala Mela Jathi means unified beats in rhythmic harmony, and this performance of original music and dance celebrates unity, lifts hearts, and connects souls. Led by composer Mark Stone and choreographer Lalitha Ramamoorthy, Stone Sound Collective merges African and Indian percussion with wind instruments and dance to create a mesmerizing experience. This dynamic performance will inspire curiosity and is perfect for families.

Featuring:

Mark Stone - array mbira, gyil xylophone, and karimba

Matt Dufresne - saxophones, bass clarinet, flutes, and nadaswaram

Sam Jeyasingham - mridangam, tabla, kanjira, thavil, and morsing

Lalitha Ramamoorthy - dance

Suvarna Pappu - dance

Free with museum admission. Capacity is limited and seating begins 30 minutes prior to performance start.  

Created and directed by Hamid Rahmanian with an original music score by Ramin Torkian, Song of the North is a large-scale, cinematic performance combining the art of shadow puppetry with projected animation to tell the classic Persian tale of Manijeh. This performance tells of a heroine who must use all her strengths and talents to rescue her beloved from a perilous predicament (of her own making) and help prevent a war. This epic love story is adapted from The Shahnameh, an ancient collection of myths that are a historical and cultural touchstone in Iran. A cast of 500 handmade puppets and a talented ensemble of nine actors and puppeteers come together to create a spectacular live experience that advances the themes of unity, collaboration, and experimentation through performance and story.

While at the museum, be sure to visit the DIA’s special exhibition The Art of Dining: Food Culture in the Islamic World on view from September 22, 2024, through January 5, 2025, which features pages from beautiful illuminated manuscripts of The Shahnameh.

For all ages (80min.) This program is free with museum admission. Capacity is limited and seating begins 30 minutes prior to performance start.

The Adventures of Dimitri and Banana Sandwich, a puppet comedy/mystery for all ages, is a whimsical journey into Detroit's contemporary art world with Dimitri and Banana Sandwich, two fictional young artists on a mission. When Dimitri's prized scooter vanishes, suspicions point to a mysterious sculptor, setting off a zany escapade through Detroit's vibrant neighborhoods. Meet puppet versions of real-life Detroit artists like Tyree Guyton and his iconic Heidelberg Project.

Flying Cardboard Theater’s distinctive hand and rod puppets, live music and handmade scenery is performed on a traditional puppet stage, inviting the audience to join the adventure and interact with the puppet characters firsthand.

For all ages. This program is free with museum admission. Limited capacity seating begins 30 minutes prior to performance. Presented with live American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation.

Martin Bresnick is an American composer of opera works, chamber music and film scores that are regularly performed around the world. His delight is in bringing together repeating themes derived from minimalist traditions, with harmonic palettes that encompasses both highly chromatic sounds, and raw power reminiscent of great rock. Bresnick’s works will be performed by the Mammoth Trio, with Lisa Moore (piano), Elly Toyoda (violin) and Ashley Bathgate (cello). 

Free with museum admission.

Jenny Scheinman is an acclaimed violinist and composer who spent years on the downtown NYC music scene, leading both her own bands, as well as working alongside artists ranging from Lucinda Williams to Lou Reed. The New York Times praised her “distinctive vision of American music, suffused with plainspoken beauty and fortified by country, gospel, and melting-pot folk, along with jazz and the blues.” Moving back to the Pacific Northwest, Scheinman was reawakened to the extraordinary biodiversity of the region known as “The Lost Coast” where she was raised, a stretch of earthquake-prone coastline cut off from the main thoroughfares. This would ultimately inspire Scheinman to write and record All Species Parade, an epic double album featuring guitarists Bill Frisell, pianist Carmen Staaf, and bassist Tony Scherr.

Capacity is limited – seating begins 30 minutes prior to performance start.

The Detroit Film Theatre will end its 50th Anniversay Season with a holiday gift for DIA visitors; a special matinee screening of Charlie Chaplin’s classic silent film The Circus, presented with a live score composed and performed by virtuoso silent film pianist David Drazin. 

Chaplin’s extraordinary blend of comedy and heart shines as his iconic Tramp stumbles into the ring of a traveling circus and soon becomes the star of the show and falling for a charming equestrian artist along the way. This perfect comedy ranks among Chaplin’s most iconic, with audacious set pieces, close brushes with a lion and a climactic tightrope walk with a company of monkeys. For all ages.

“There's an edge to The Circus that suggests a man gazing deep into the void, laughing at the darkness and urging us to do the same.” -Keith Uhlich, Time Out

Featuring Vijay Iyer, piano
Detroit Chamber Winds & Strings

Holi is known around the world as a joyful, chaotic, and colorful Indian celebration of springtime. In response to Stravinsky’s own famously chaotic Le Sacré du Printemps. pianist and composer Vijay Iyer, and filmmaker Prashant Bhargava were intrigued by the possible connection with Holi. Radhe, Radhe: Rites of Holi is a journey of devotion for the goddess Radha, where Iyer and Bhargava answer back to the Sacré score and with a new work for chamber ensemble and film. This performance will be an encounter between live music and film, lived experience and myth. 

Travel across the varied and beautiful regions of Mexico with Ballet Folklorico de Detroit, a Detroit based community group of passionate dancers who dedicate their time and talent to preserve Mexican culture and traditions through dance. With each style of dress, music and footwork showcased in every performance, these dancers hope to delight and ignite a spark of interest and respect of Mexican culture.

For families of all ages. (60min.) This program is free with museum admission. Capacity is limited – seating begins 30 minutes prior to performance start.

After the performance, be sure to see the 12th installment of Ofrendas: Celebrating el Día de Muertos, running through November 4, 2024. Free with museum admission.

Detroit Dance City Festival's Dance & Celebration program brings together world-renowned dancers and choreographers to provide a fitting end to a weekend full of dance. Featuring works by inventive choreographers who play with movement, light, and sound to create expressive works that emotionally impact the audience, this showcase is truly a celebration of dance and is not to be missed!

This year’s celebration features the works of:

• ArtLab J I
• Norberto Collazo
• Young Soon Kim
• ArtLab J for Grown-Ups
• DDCF 2024 Best Dance on Screen

This program is free with museum admission. Limited capacity seating begins 30 minutes prior to performance. Ticket reservations are required from detroitdancecityfestival.com

Detroit Dance City Festival (DDCF) is an annual community building event curated by ArtLab J that celebrates dance in its various forms and disciplines. DDCF brings the work of renowned local, national, and international performing artists, choreographers, and companies to the stage in a weekend full of performances, master classes and networking events. For full festival lineup, please check out detroitdancecityfestival.com