Articulations

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Love Is Sweeping the Country

Yes, yes, I know that as an arbiter of culture for Austin and the Greater Central Texas area, I should be focused on the imminent arrival of the two titans of classical music who will be descending upon us Sunday, but I've caught a whiff of romance on the wind (in between the blasts of cedar) and can't help thinking about the weekend after, when love will rule. Oh yes, St. Valentine's Day is right around the corner, and this year the cultural community is paying tribute to the day in some uncommon ways. First and foremost among these is the Pop-the-Question contest conducted by Ballet Austin. The dance company is soliciting expressions of love from local Romeos and Juliets who are on the verge of proposing to their significant other, for the purpose of offering those sweethearts with the most compelling desire to ask for their beloved's hand the opportunity to do so on the stage of the Bass Concert Hall during one of the performances of the ballet's Valentine weekend production of Kisses. Three couples will be given a pair of director's circle tickets, one for each of the show's three performances. At each show, one of the winners will pop the big question to his or her companion and, if the reaction is what everyone hopes for, the newly engaged couple will move to a pair of seats of honor onstage, where they'll watch the remainder of the show. Then, later, the lucky couple will be whisked away to the Four Seasons, where they'll be treated to an evening of pre-connubial bliss. While the idea of proposing under a spotlight and the focused stares of a couple of thousand people you don't know seems to me to flavor the moment with the kind of pressure typically reserved for sudden-death overtime, I must acknowledge that it is certainly a memorable way to mark the occasion. Perhaps this sounds like the way you would like to propose to your loved one; if so, you need to tell Ballet Austin in 50 words or less why you want to propose to your sweet babboo and fax it (472-3073), e-mail it ([email protected]), or snail-mail it to the company (3002 Guadalupe) by noon, Tuesday, February 9. If, however, you're more interested in seeing someone else propose to their beloved this way, or would just like to catch the company's affair d'amour, which features not only choreography by artistic director Lambros Lambrou and Stephen Mills, but standards sung by the exquisite Karen Kuykendall and music by the swingin' Naughty Ones, call the BA box office for tickets: 476-2163.

Another Saint V's affair that has me swooning is the gala whipped up by Austin Musical Theatre. In support of the company's new performing arts academy, as well as its slate of exhilarating revivals of classic musicals, AMT is staging "A Broadway Romance," a cabaret starring Donna Marie Asbury, known to company fans as Anita in AMT's version of West Side Storyand currently knocking 'em dead (so to speak) as Velma Kelly in the Chicago company of the musical Chicago, and one of our own musical treasures, Jacqui Cross. Other performers from AMT shows are said to be on the bill, too (didn't we hear the names Fred Barton and Joe York bandied about?), as well as the ACC Swing Band which will provide music for your dancing pleasure. The romance begins at 6pm on Sunday, February 14, at the Hyatt Regency on Town Lake. Cost is $125 per and may be had by calling 428-9696. And while we're touting AMT, here's a reminder that the company offers classes in every aspect of musical theatre you can name -- from dance to voice to tap -- for kids, youth, and adults. To register, call 428-9696.