UH Hilo PAC Begins 2018-19 Season

The University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo Performing Arts Center begins its 2018-19 season with the third annual Dance Collective on Friday, Sept. 28, 2018, at 7:30 p.m. Directed and produced by UH Hilo’s Dori Yamada, this special event features an exciting and diverse showing by Hawaiʻi Island choreographers and dancers.

The Harold López-Nussa Trio performs Cuban jazz on Friday, Oct. 19, at 7:30 p.m., followed by the Performing Arts Department’s “Scary Scenarios,” which will have audience members creeping through the halls of the Performing Arts Center to experience four Halloween-themed one-act plays performed in four different locations. Written by UH Hilo students, the plays are Trust Issues, Come Home, Lattes, and Ignorance is Bliss, and will be performed Oct. 26 through 31 at 7:30 p.m.

The Fall 2018 Great Leaps Dance Concert presents a preview performance on November 30, and performance Dec. 1, at 7:30 p.m. Over 150 UH Hilo, Hawaiʻi Community College and community dancers will perform ballet, jazz, modern and aerial dance pieces choreographed by instructors Celeste Staton, Annie Bunker, and Kea Kapahua, as well as guest choreographers. Graduating students’ senior projects will also be featured.

Another crowd favorite, the UH Hilo Jazz Orchestra performs its 6th annual Frank Zappa Tribute concert on Dec. 5 and 6, at 7:30 p.m. Proceeds from this concert will help the UH Hilo Jazz Orchestra travel to Europe to perform at Zappanale in Bad Doberan, Germany in 2019.

Holiday Card to Hilo: Come Back Home closes 2018 and will be on Sunday, Dec. 9, at 2 p.m. The concert features the UH Hilo Kapili Choir and University Chorus under the direction of Amy Horst, the Orchid Isle Orchestra under the direction of Cathy Young, and the Hilo Community Chorus under the direction of Tom McAlexander.

The spring half of the season kicks off Friday, Jan. 25, 2019, with Giordano Dance Chicago (GDC) at 7:30 p.m. Often touted as America’s original jazz dance company, GDC has been captivating audiences worldwide with performances showcasing the diversity and wide appeal of its repertoire.

Giordano Dance Chicago will be followed by Derek Gripper on Jan. 30 at 7:30 p.m. Gripper is a South African classical guitarist who embarked on a journey through different musical styles when he found classical guitar music too limiting. He explores diverse musical styles from India, Cape Town and West Africa.

On Feb. 13, PAC welcomes Tomáš Kubínek: Certified Lunatic & Master of the Impossible at 7:30 p.m. Kubinek has declared himself, “… a fool, clown, visual poet, solo performance artist, multi-talented vaudevillian, comic genius and charming huckster.”

The season continues in March with a second dance performance, Jacob Jonas The Company (JJTC), March 2, at 7:30 p.m. JJTC presents a mix of contemporary ballet, breakdance and acrobatic movement and named one of “12 standout companies of 2018” by The Los Angeles Times and “25 to Watch” by Dance Magazine in 2018.

On March 7, at 7:30 p.m., On Ensemble returns to the PAC stage. Recognized for infusing the powerful rhythms of taiko with a wide range of musical influences from jazz and rock to central Asian overtone singing, On Ensemble was the first American taiko group to be invited to perform at the National Theater of Japan for the prestigious Nihon no Taiko concert series.

The PAC production of Rent closes the season. The production will be directed by Assistant Professor Justina Mattos with musical director Trever Veilleux and choreography by Celeste Staton and Kea Kapahua. An inspiring musical about friends and artists struggling with addiction, poverty, AIDS, and, most of all, love, Rent received a Tony Award for Best Musical and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Show dates are Fridays and Saturdays, April 5, 6, 12 and 13 at 7:30 p.m., and Sundays, April 7 and 14, at 2 p.m.

The Big Island Taiko Festival 2019 is another special event, and will be held June 8 and 9, at 7:30 p.m, bringing together Taishoji Taiko, Puna Taiko, Hui Okinawa, Kona Daifukuji Taiko, and Ryukyukoku Matsuri Daiko.

Season subscription packages ranging in price from $68 to $152 are available by calling the UH Hilo Performing Arts Center Box Office at (808) 932-7490 or by ordering online.