Named in tribute to Harriet Tubman (whose childhood nickname was Minty), Minty Fresh Circus brings to the stage a raucous, playful reimagination of circus and dance that infuses African performance rituals, ceremonies, and cultural traditions.

Conceived by Monique Martin, Minty Fresh Circus is a U.S.-based circus show performed by an all-Black cast, with a majority-Black creative team, celebrating the healing power of Black music and movement. The acrobats perform a range of movement sourced from the African Diaspora, including percussive dance, ritual movement, Lindy, hip-hop, poppin’ and lockin’, jukin’, hand games, and physical theater.

Eileen Ivers continues to push traditional fiddling boundaries from a folk music staple to a fiercely fresh, powerfully beautiful, intensely driving world stage experience. Over a career spanning more than 40 years, Ivers has performed and/or toured with such diverse artists as Sting, Patti Smith, Al Di Meola, Hall and Oates, and The Chieftains, and was a founding member of Cherish the Ladies.

Grammy-winning and Emmy-nominated, Ivers has guest-starred with the London Symphony Orchestra, Boston Pops, over 60 symphony orchestras to date, and was the groundbreaking musical star of Riverdance. The daughter of Irish immigrants, her love of connecting her musical roots in both Ireland and the U.S. is palpable.

Recipient of Les Prix de la Danse de Montréal 2017 for performance as a solo with bang bang, Manuel Roque returns to the piece with a new energy, performed as a duet. This is a work that pushes artist and audience to the limit. Involving a repetition of jumps and athletic patterns counted in 11, bang bang demands exceptional concentration and physical commitment from the performers. This work gradually drips with combativeness and resistance, revealing the human-performers’ flaws. As a pair, the ordeal becomes a sharing of strengths and weaknesses, where continuing becomes at once absurd, poetic, and political.

“Manuel Roque does more than dance for us; he dances us, embodies our inability to dance, and generously restores dance to us, illuminating that precise place where the body becomes spirit and finds its illuminated unity.” – Jean Louis Perrier, Revue Movement, Montréal (translated from French)

Stamford’s Orchestra Lumos, led by music director Michael Stern, brings their Sunday encore performance to the Quick Center.

As part of their season dedicated to celebrating America’s 250th birthday, the March program of Orchestra Lumos is titled American Gems. It features the work of original American voices including Aaron Copland, old-world émigré Igor Stravinsky, and Scott Joplin, all composers who were inspired by the genius of J.S. Bach.

Soak in the sounds of the velvety melodies and smoky rhythms of incomparable vocalists like Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, and Bobby Darin, when Jazz at Lincoln Center celebrates the golden age of jazz with a program called Great American Crooners.

Three remarkable young singers – Benny Benack III (Downbeat Magazine #1 Rising Star), Robbie Lee, and Shenel Johns – perform favorites like “I’ve Got You Under My Skin,” “Misty,” “I Only Have Eyes for You,” and “Moon River.” Expect a dazzling concert of swoon-worthy hits and sentimental serenades.

For over three decades, Jazz at Lincoln Center has been a leading advocate for jazz, culture, and arts education globally. Under the direction of Wynton Marsalis, Jazz at Lincoln Center has brought the art form of jazz from the heart of New York City to over 446 cities in more than 40 countries.

The JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER PRESENTS touring initiative provides an affordable opportunity to present great jazz programming, featuring up-and-coming musicians who have been identified as rising stars by JALC. The initiative also allows for expansion of the mission of JALC “to entertain, enrich, and expand a global community for jazz through performance, education, and advocacy.”

George Gershwin was at home in many different musical worlds, from Broadway and Hollywood musicals to opera and symphonic works. He was also a terrific pianist who amused and amazed his friends at parties with fascinating piano versions of his songs. This concert shines a light on Gershwin’s many achievements, including performances of many of Gershwin's songs in his own arrangements, including highlights from Porgy and Bess in a stunning arrangement by pianist legend, Earl Wild, and, of course, his most famous composition, Rhapsody in Blue.

Janoah Bailin’s delightful meSSeS features precarious unicycling, shimmering puppetry, jaw-dropping juggling, and mesmerizing motions. Janoah the Jester tosses together a tale of learning and labor, emerging ecstatically from a haphazard pile of props. Part performance, part workshop, entirely entertaining – YOU learn to juggle while watching this (optionally interactive) all-ages experience. In between acts, Janoah engagingly guides the audience through the essentials: throwing, catching, and messy-ing up!

This 60-minute family-friendly solo circus-theater performance was the winner of “Spirit of the Fringe” at the 2022 Elgin Fringe Festival.