Arizona Arts Live announces its 2024-2025 year of new and incredible experiences with the world’s best artists, dancers, storytellers, illusionists, musicians, and acrobats.
Highlights included the U.S. premiere of the visually stunning spectacle of propulsive dance, powerful music, and dazzling lighting of Frontera; an evening of Wonders with world-renowned illusionist and mentalist Scott Silven; and MOMIX, a company of dancer-illusionists of exceptional inventiveness in the fall; and an immersive theatrical party with Indian Ink Theatre’s Mrs. Krishnan’s Party; a celebration 100 years in the making with the Martha Graham Dance Company; a musical journey across the globe with Grammy-winning Silkroad Ensemble; and the return of Australia’s revolutionary contemporary circus company CIRCA in the spring.
“Arizona Arts Live celebrates its fourth year with new, world-class works exploring our humanity and what’s to come,” said Chad Herzog, executive director of Arizona Arts Live, official performing arts presenter at the University of Arizona.
“We’re helping set Southern Arizona as the gateway to thrilling, unforgettable moments in the extraordinary. Expect to experience astonishing spectacles to awaken your senses with the world’s best performing at the University of Arizona and in the heart of Tucson.”
Pueblo Vida
Arizona Arts Live is also proud to announce the University of Arizona’s second collaboration with Pueblo Vida. Following the release of Wildcat Cerveza, Experience Unexpected with Arizona Arts Live is a Hazy IPA infused with hibiscus flavor. The beer release event is Oct. 13, 5pm, at Centennial Hall.
Student Ticketing
Thanks to the generous support of the Marshall Foundation, Arizona Arts Live will continue its student ticket initiative. K-12 through university students can engage and participate in cultural experiences for just $10 regardless of seat.
Tickets are on sale now with more experiences added throughout the year. Visit ArizonaArtsLive.com for updates.
This Fall
Relics and Their Humans
Sept. 19-20 | Centennial Hall Stage
Commissioned by Arizona Arts Live, the Krannert Center for Performing Arts and the Wexner Center for the Arts
A family’s moving story told through visual and musical relics featuring three-time Obie Award-winning writer/director Ain Gordon and composer Josh Quillen of Sō Percussion, a group that presents adventurous new work. Relics and Their Humans frames a story from Quillen’s family following his father’s ALS diagnosis and is guided by three family relics: a recorded interview, journal entries, and a 17-track playlist.
Learn More | Ain Gordon | Josh Quillen
MOMIX: Alice
Sept. 27 | Centennial Hall
Presented together with MOMIX
Known for presenting work of exceptional inventiveness and physical beauty, MOMIX is a company of dancer-illusionists under the direction of Moses Pendleton. Inspired by Lewis Carroll’s classic “Alice in Wonderland,” as a “taking off point for invention,” ALICE blends illusion, acrobatics, magic, and whimsy. Although not a retelling of Alice in Wonderland, Alice does encounter time-honored characters and other surprises.
Audiorama
Sept. 30-Nov. 12 | Eastside Centennial Hall
Inspired by the Audioramas of Mexico City, our Ts-iuk-shan Audiorama will be located on the east side of Centennial Hall on the Historic University of Arizona Mall. Read, nap, and daydream; the Audiorama is a place for people to rest in the company of nothing but trees and music. It is an open-air concert auditorium, and there are several places to sit surrounded by speakers that play the music all day long — the type of music differs by the day of the week. Bring a book or borrow one, escape the noise and craziness around us, and sit with nature. Ts-iuk-shan Audiorama was designed by Arzate Designs of Tucson and built by CAPLA Students and Arizona Arts Live.
Kavita Shah & Cape Verdean Blues
Oct. 4 | The Century Room
Presented together with the Century Room
Kavita Shah is an award-winning jazz vocalist, composer, researcher, polyglot and lifelong New Yorker of Indian origin, hailed for possessing an “amazing dexterity for musical languages” (NPR). In her latest project, Cape Verdean Blues, she explores the sounds and stories of São Vicente, an island of Cape Verde, off West Africa, and the birthplace of world music legend Cesária Évora.
On the Far End
Oct. 11-12 | Tornabene Theatre
Presented together with the U of A Office of Native American Advancement & Tribal Engagement
In a captivating one-woman performance, playwright, actor, and attorney Mary Kathryn Nagle (Sovereignty; Manahatta) recounts the pivotal moments in the life of Muscogee (Creek) Nation activist Jean Hill Chaudhuri who founded the first off-reservation Indian Health clinic in Tucson and was inducted into the Arizona Women’s Hall of Fame posthumously in 2013. From the Trail of Tears to the Supreme Court’s landmark opinion in McGirt v. Oklahoma, Nagle sheds light on her mother-in-law’s relentless pursuit of justice.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse in Concert
Oct. 13 | Centennial Hall
Presented together with Broadway in Tucson
Miles Morales, your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, embarks on an interdimensional journey across the Multiverse. Watch this Oscar-winning film, with a full orchestra performing the film’s iconic score and soundtrack live. Plus, a DJ on turntables, percussion, and electronic instrumentalists.
Coco: Live-to-Film Concert
Oct. 24 | Centennial Hall
Catch a full screening of this beloved film as the 20-member Orquesta Folclórica Nacional de México, known for their ability to fuse pre-Hispanic instruments with instruments from the colonial era, performs Oscar®-winning composer Michael Giacchino’s musical score live. This family-friendly experience also features “Remember Me” by Oscar-winning songwriters Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez.
Animals of Distinction: FRONTERA
Nov. 1 | Centennial Hall
In this visually striking spectacle, choreographer Dana Gingras asks, what space remains for the unruly, ungovernable body in a world consumed by monitoring technologies? Watch 10 dancers navigate a spectacular world of light-based scenography by United Visual Artists in a visual conversation between choreography, architecture, and live music by Fly Pan Am.
Scott Silven: WONDERS
Nov. 20-23 | Tornabene Theatre
World-renowned illusionist, mentalist, and performance artist Scott Silven brings his unique form of theatrical enchantment to Tucson in Wonders. Following a sold-out international tour, Silven creates immersive theatrical experiences that draw audiences in through artful storytelling, a little patron participation, and a captivating bit of mystery. “Wow. Wow. Wow.” – The New York Times.
Avatar: The Last Airbender in Concert
Nov. 24 | Centennial Hall
Presented together with Broadway in Tucson
The global phenomenon comes to Tucson for one night only! Avatar: The Last Airbender presented with a live orchestra performing the series’ soundtrack by award-winning composer Jeremy Zuckerman. Enjoy a two-hour special recap of the animated series’ three seasons featuring original dialogue and sound effects for a truly immersive concert experience.
For the complete season, including the spring semester schedule, read the full press announcement at ArizonaArtsLive.com.