Chutzpah! Festival 2012 (Feb 11th-Mar 4th)

The Lisa Nemetz International Showcase of Jewish Performing Arts, aka the Chutzpah! Festival (in its 2012 edition) started on February 11th, and somehow I managed to miss it. Despite the fact that, you know, I write about the arts quite substantially. But, you still have plenty of time to catch it, and I cannot recommend it enough, it’s one of those arts festivals that has a lot of variety for just about every taste.

In their 12th year of showcasing world-renowned artists in a vibrant celebration of the performing arts, the Chutzpah! Festival presents a line-up of electrifying music, riveting theatre and breath-taking dance scheduled for presentation from February 11 – March 4, 2012. Chutzpah! Plus (March 6-11), offers an additional opportunity for audiences to experience outstanding theatrical performance.

This popular, multi-faceted festival includes, in 2012: four extraordinary dance productions including Monger, choreographed by Barak Marshall and performed by L.A.’s Body Traffic, and performances by Noord Nederlandse Dans from Holland; three brilliant theatre productions including a music-theatre adaptation of Joseph Skibell’s A Blessing on the Moon featuring the Warsaw Village Band and Hollywood insider Larry Blum’s Blink and You Might Miss Me at the River Rock Theatre; and internationally-celebrated music, including top-selling Israeli artists Hadag Nahash at the Commodore, and the world music– cantor fusion of New York’s hip The Sway Machinery at Main Street’s Electric Owl.

Chutzpah! continues to expand, opening up the Festival to include more Lower Mainland venues, several of them near and dear to my heart, like the Firehall Arts Centre and now including The Electric Owl. This year Chutzpah! returns to the Commodore Ballroom in addition to ongoing residence at the Norman and Annette Rothstein Theatre, and will also be presenting shows in new venues – the Electric Owl on Main Street and in Richmond’s River Rock Theatre, one of the region’s best theatre spaces.

I have tickets to HADAG NAHASH at the Commodore Ballroom, with Vancouver’s Santa Lucia as the opening band on February 25th. As this is a short contest, I will be drawing winners on February 23rd at 7pm. All you need to do is drop a comment on this post telling me who would you take to the concert were you the lucky reader to win the ticket.

One additional entry can be earned by posting the following on Twitter:

I entered to win tickets to Hadag Nahash at @commodorevcr http://is.gd/1vMZWT from @hummingbird604 and @chutzpahfest

More info on the bands and the concert itself:

HADAG NAHASH
Opening band Vancouver’s Santa Lucia
One night only!
Saturday February 25
Doors open @ 8pm

Commodore Ballroom
868 Granville Street

Bursting out of Jerusalem, Hadag Nahash is simply the hottest band Israel has to offer, with multi-gold and -platinum awards to their credit. Now, they’re busy taking the international music scene by storm.

This powerhouse sextet performs a sonic melting pot of hip hop, rock, jazz, reggae and electro-funk, with hard-driving grooves and a Middle Eastern flavour. Their music is uplifting and supremely dance-ready, but they’re much more than a just a good-time party band. Outspoken musical activists, their songs call for peace, tolerance and equality and include provocative and controversial left-leaning lyrics of political protest. Hadag Nahash’s music has become part of the soundtrack for progressive struggles within and beyond Israel.

In recent years, the band’s international fan base has grown exponentially as they share stages with the likes of The Black Eyed Peas, Cypress Hill, The Streets, Speech from Arrested Development, Matisyahu and Leeroy (Saian Supa Crew). They’ve toured the UK and the United States several times, contributed their music to Adam Sandler’s movie You Don’t Mess With The Zohan, the TV show NCIS and the soundtrack for the ultra-hip game The Sims 3. They perform in both English and Hebrew and have released their fifth studio album, 6, with internationally-acclaimed producer Yossi Fine.

Vancouver’s Santa Lucia has a sound that evokes the early days of Latin Funk and the likes of Carlos Santana, but with their own blend of rock and funk grooves. This 7-member band plays an addictive combination of Nuyorican boogaloo, West Coast funk and sizzling Cuban rhythms with a horn section, driving percussion and lyrics in both English and Spanish.