‘Disruption’ is the guiding philosophy behind the programming for the 2019-2020 season at the Autorino Center for the Arts at the University of Saint Joseph in West Hartford.

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The Autorino Center for the Arts and Humanities at the University of Saint Joseph announces an upcoming season featuring artists who distill our world of constant change and disruption into enlightening, heartfelt, and insightful performances.

“Disruption,” the guiding philosophy behind this year’s programmatic lineup, has become a popular aim in business, technology, medicine, and other fields. This forward-thinking world view comes from disruptive leaders, such as computing pioneer Alan Kay, who said, “The only way to predict the future is to invent it.” The 11 public events on the Autorino Center’s 2019-2020 season were selected to give audiences a new and unexpected vision of modern life through the performing arts.

Artistic Director Steve Raider Ginsburg says about the season, “Inventors, change-makers, and disruptors are the creators of our future. We have a season that is alive and engaged in thinking forward, while remembering our past. We hope you join us at every opportunity!”

Autorino Presenting Series – 2019-2020

The Wondertwins present BLACK – Sept. 27, 2019

Boston hip-hop dance duo The Wondertwins make their Autorino Center debut with a dance/audio/video collage of policing, violence, and racial bias in communities of color.

11^th Annual Noche Latina featuring Congabop – Oct. 4, 2019

Hartford’s own Ed Fast and Congabop will have audiences dancing in the aisle at one of the region’s most popular Latinx events.

Dan Froot and Company present Pang! – Oct. 25, 2019

Performing amidst a forest of microphones and sound effects, award-winning performance artist Dan Froot & Company present a triptych of live radio plays based on the oral histories of three families hungering for change in Miami, Cedar Rapids, and South Central Los Angeles.

  

17^th Annual 5×5 Dance Festival – Nov. 2, 2019

The 5×5 Contemporary Dance Festival brings together professional and collegiate choreographers, performers, educators, and dance-lovers to learn, perform, and create new work.

Shaking the Core – Dec. 5, 2019 in USJ’s Connor Chapel of Our Lady

Connecticut artists connect ancestral struggle, resistance, and resilience. This artistic event, which blends spoken word, rap, and dance in a sacred space, is guided by the questions: What connects us to our humanity? What fills and speaks to our soul? What shakes us at our core? A collaboration between the Autorino Center, The RapOet Self Suffice, Sageseekers Productions, and USJ Campus Ministry.

Daniel Salazar Jr. presents Romance de la Guitarra – Feb. 14, 2020

Legendary classical guitarist Daniel Salazar, Jr. returns to the Autorino Center for a Valentine’s Day concert heavy on virtuoso musicianship, guest performers, and romance.

Samite presents The Story of Mutoto – Feb. 22, 2020 at 1 p.m.

Ugandan musician Samite transports children of all ages to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, the home of the endangered Silverback mountain gorillas. He weaves stories, songs, and images to entertain and educate about his homeland, its flora and fauna, and the threats of deforestation and extinction.

Samite in Concert – Feb. 22, 2020 at 7:30 p.m.

Samite and his band bring African music to audiences around the globe. You will hear kalimbas, a litungu (African harp), and a variety of other traditional instruments – flutes, percussion, guitars – in an experience that reminds us that music really is the universal language.

Lee Mixashawn Rozie presents An American Songbook – March 7, 2020

Hartford’s own Mixashawn is known for his eclectic musicianship and gripping performances.  An American Song Book embraces the music of the Americas from Indigenous to Bebop, Stomp to Funk, Ragtime to no time – music that freely spans styles and labels, driven by the inner pulse of creativity that we call jazz.

Raphael Xavier presents Sassafrazz – March 20, 2020

Award-winning dancer-choreographer Raphael Xavier returns to the Autorino Center with an all new show! Sassafrazz focuses on three stages of Breaking life: birth, life, and death/infinity. Four break dancers and four jazz musicians perform together to create a structured, yet improvised and intricate, dance and music composition.

Sámi Blood – April 8, 2020

In this moving dramatic film, we meet Elle Marja, a reindeer-breeding Sámi girl. Exposed to Swedish racism of the 1930s and race biology examinations at her boarding school, she starts dreaming of another life. To achieve this dream, she has to become someone else and break all ties with her family and culture.

Tickets for all performances are on sale now and can be purchased by visiting autorino.usj.edu, by calling 860.231.5555, or visiting the Frances Driscoll Box Office at the Autorino Center. The Autorino Center for the Arts and Humanities is located on the campus of the University of Saint Joseph, 1678 Asylum Ave. in West Hartford.

Additional Information:

This year, the Autorino Center and the University of Saint Joseph has created more ways for audiences to deepen and engage with their programs. Especially exciting is the implementation of a new USJ Faculty Fellows Program. Faculty Fellows, experts in their fields, will share reading lists and writings relating to all upcoming performances. Attendees can access these materials online at autorino.usj.edu/faculty fellows.

In an ongoing effort to make the performing arts accessible to everyone in the Greater Hartford community, the Autorino Center’s popular Pay-It-Forward Series will continue for the second year in a row. Pay-It-Forward (PIF) allows guests to self-select how much they would like to pay for a ticket with all money going toward underwriting future free performances. Pay-It-Forward performances for the 2019-2020 Season include The Wondertwins in BLACK, Pang!, Shake the Core, and Sámi Blood. Tickets for PIF performances can be secured in advance via autorino.usj.edu.

Many of the 2019-2020 season performances include lecture programs, workshops, and master classes. For a full lineup of the Autorino Center’s educational opportunities, visit autorino.usj.edu.

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