Top Performances of 2010 at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center

The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center is one of the area's most prized hubs for arts and culture. Each semester, the center curates loads of performances, concerts and events for the enjoyment of students and community members alike.

So, as we look back on 2010, we here at Patch decided to ask the kind folks at the performing arts center to pull together a list of the most popular performances from the year.

In this case, we are gauging "most popular" by highest ticket sales, although Andrew Zender, the center's communication coordinator, notes that there were many free performances that were also extremely well-attended. The explanations that accompany each entry were written by Zender.

Behold, the top ten performances of 2010:

September 10-November 30

Liz Lerman Dance Exchange – The Matter of Origins (two performances and five engagement events)

"In addition to two sold-out performances in the Kay Theatre, The Matter of Origins explored the central ideas of physics, consciousness and the meaning of existence through five free engagement events at the Center as well as in sites throughout the community, including the Dance Exchange studios, the UM Observatory and the Howard B. Owens Planetarium. Physics faculty from the University and other institutions were involved in the project and the performances."

 November 5-13

UM School of Theatre, Dance and Performance Studies – Am I Black Enough Yet? (eight performances)

"During the eight-performance run of this production, attendance ranged from 85% to 100% capacity in the 140-seat Kogod Theatre."

 October 28 & 29

Laurie Anderson – Delusion (two performances)

"The Center's presentation of Delusion was the first theatre-related work produced by Anderson in nearly a decade and a DC-area exclusive.  High demand resulted in a second show being added; both shows old out."

 October 22

UM Symphony Orchestra and UM Concert Choir – Paradise and the Peri (one performance)

"This concert was the grand finale of the UM School of Music's four-day Robert Schumann Bicentennial Conference and Festival, which celebrated the composer's life through nearly two dozen concerts, recitals, workshops and lectures, a number of which were free to the public."

 October 14-16

IBEX Puppetry – Panther and Crane (four performances)

"Heather Henson's ecological tale, told through puppetry, kitework, music and dance, garnered an average of 88% attendance in the 210-seat Dance Theatre. Because of high demand, a fourth performance was added after the season was announced."

 September 21 & 24

Post-Classical Ensemble – The Russian Gershwin (one performance plus one engagement event)

"The Russian Gershwin concert on September 24 achieved 62% percent capacity in the 1100-seat Dekelboum Concert Hall. A free Take Five event on September 21 played to a capacity crowd in the 300-seat Gildenhorn Recital Hall."

April 23-May 2

UM School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies – Gilgamesh

"Featuring ancient and modern Japanese movement, masks and puppetry, this avant-garde interpretation of the 4,000 year old Mesopotamian epic averaged 96% capacity in the 140-seat Kogod Theatre."

 April 17-25

Maryland Opera Studio – Shadowboxer: An Opera Based on the Life of Joe Louis

"Commissioned by the Center and the School of Music, Shadowboxer generated a high level of buzz in the media and the community, and drew an average of 70 percent capacity in the 650-seat Kay Theatre during its five-performance run."

March 25-27

Gesel Mason – Women Sex & Desire: Sometimes You Feel Like a Ho', Sometimes You Don't

"Commissioned by the Clarice Smith Center, Women, Sex & Desire was an 18-month residency project that involved members of the UMD and outside community in generating material. It was initially programmed for three performances.  A fourth was added due to high demand."

March 4 & 5

School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies - MFA Thesis in Dance: Geminuspace | Remnants and Rituals (2 performances)

This presentation by MFA candidates Diedre Dawkins and Betty Skeen averaged 92% capacity in the 210-seat Dance Theatre.

* Zender notes that "the Center's six spaces are available to rent for performances, meetings and receptions, and a number of highly successful, high-capacity rental events were presented this year.  However, because they are not Center productions, they are not included in the above list."