SARATOGA SPRINGS — The National Museum of Dance will begin Session 3 of the Ageless Dancer series the week of April 12. This six-week session, designed for participants ages 55+, will include a new offering, “Swingin’ Ballroom,” taught by Johnny Martinez. Martinez’s class will teach ballroom and Latin dance moves to the music of swing and salsa. No partner is necessary. Fitness attire, sneakers or soft soled dance shoes are recommended. The class will be held 1-2 p.m. Wednesday, April 14 to May 19. The cost is $36 for six classes.

Mary Anne Fantauzzi will teach Ballet Barre & Balance on Mondays from 1-2 p.m. from April 12 – May 17. Classical ballet technique designed for all level participants will develop core stabilization, fluidity of movement and balance. Fitness attire and ballet slippers are recommended. Participants will need a sturdy high back chair or barre. The cost is $36 for six classes.

The registration form may be accessed at nationalmuseumofdance.org/calendar.

Questions may be directed to Fantauzzi at tours@dancemuseum.org beginning April 5.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The work continues at the Oklahoma Training Track where an approximate-$1 million project is underway. 

The New York Racing Association received approval from the New York State Franchise Oversight Board in January to proceed with improvements of the training track in advance of the anticipated 2021 racing season. 

The upgrades will include a new base, improved drainage, a width expansion of the track where possible, and a plan for new safety railings – which specifically accounts for about $350,000 of that estimated $1 million cost. 

Members of the Franchise Oversight Board said in January they were working with Saratoga preservationists related to the width expansion of the track, as the project will likely impact existing pine trees that were planted alongside the track in the mid-1980s. The training track has not had any significant renovation in 40 years. 

The Oklahoma Training Track signals the start of “spring training,” in advance of the summer racing meet at the main track located across the street at Union Avenue. It typically opens in April, although in the pandemic-affected year of 2020, a delayed opening pushed the opening to the first week of June. Last year’s summer meet was held without fans in attendance.   

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Skidmore College Men’s Ice Hockey Team had their first and only games this past weekend on Friday, March 26 and Saturday, March 27 against Hobart College. 

All of the games prior for the Thoroughbreds had been cancelled due to other colleges’ COVID protocols, or their own COVID protocols – varying reasons every game. 

“It’s great to be back on the ice in a game setting, after many trials and tribulations,” said Rob Hutchison, Head Men’s Ice Hockey Coach. “We just couldn’t get over the hurdles to get to a game until Hobart.” 

The home/away weekend series were exhibition games. Skidmore lost 1-0 on Friday. Hobart’s Zach Tyson scored the lone goal in the first period of the game, with assists from Travis Schneider and Aaron Maguyan. Skidmore’s goalie Brian Kowalski had 42 saves, 19 of them in the third period. 

They lost again on Saturday at Hobart, the final score being 4-1. Tyler Hall scored the only goal for the Thoroughbreds in the third period, with assists from Everett Wardle and Mike Gelatt. Danny Lassman had 18 saves in goal for Skidmore. Kowalski had 14, and Tate Brandon had 20. 

 The team had been practicing like it was a regular season right along. After about eight weeks of practice in the fall, they had a two-month break from Thanksgiving until January, instead of their usual 10-day rest. Although there were no spectators allowed at the games this past weekend, they still honored their five seniors – Danny Lassman, Matt Muzyka, Misha Mrotchek, Tyler Hall, and Brian Kowalski. 

“They are awesome people on and off the ice,” said Coach Hutchison. “In terms, of leadership, they kept the team motivated and excited to get out on the rink. They put a positive spin on things.”

Next season, the team is looking forward to a fresh start after an exhausting season this year. Coach Hutchison is hopeful that they will be able to go into summer training with some sense of normalcy. 

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Hyde Collection, Ellsworth Kelly Studio, National Museum of Racing Museum and Hall of Fame, Saratoga Arts, Saratoga County History Center, Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Shaker Museum, and Yaddo have partnered with the Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College for a regional collections sharing project called All Together Now.    

The project is supported by a $275,000 grant from the Henry Luce Foundation.

Each of the All Together Now partner institutions will offer special public visiting hours during the course of the exhibitions, which begins May 1 and continues through the fall.

 All Together Now exhibitions of artwork from the Tang collection at partner institutions: 

•The Hyde Collection, Glens Falls: Summer Bomb Pop: Collections in Dialogue, May 1 through October, brings together sixteen works of contemporary abstract painting from the Tang collection by artists such as Sarah Braman, Jeffrey Gibson, Rashid Johnson, Mindy Shapero, and Chuck Webster with several twentieth-century works from The Hyde’s renowned Feibes & Schmitt Collection by artists such as Grace Hartigan, Alfred Jensen, Ellsworth Kelly, Bridget Riley, and Andy Warhol. The exhibition is organized by the Tang in collaboration with Jonathan Canning, Director of Curatorial Affairs and Programming at The Hyde Collection. 

•Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Saratoga Springs: Chromatic Scales: Psychedelic Design from the Tang Teaching Museum Collection, June 26 through October, features more than thirty recently acquired 1960s San Francisco psychedelic rock concert posters designed by artists such as Jim Blashfield, Lee Conklin, and Bonnie MacLean, and the Big Five’s Wes Wilson and Victor Moscoso. The collection, which will be on view in SPAC’s new “The Pines” facility lobby, features major bands such as The Doors, Jefferson Airplane, and Van Morrison, and the era’s legendary venues The Matrix, Avalon Ballroom, and Fillmore Auditorium. Chromatic Scales is curated by the Tang in coordination with Christopher Shiley, Senior Director of Artistic Planning at SPAC. 

•Saratoga County History Center, Ballston Spa: The Social Lives of Hats, June 26 through October, pairs more than twenty-five hats in wide-ranging styles from the SCHC collection with several of Alfred Z. Solomon’s wood hat forms, which are part of the Tang collection. The exhibition is organized in conjunction with a Skidmore College class, The Social Lives of Hats, taught by Professor and Chair of the History Department Tillman Nechtman and Associate Professor Erica Bastress-Dukehart, in collaboration with Field Horne, Vice President and Chair of the Museum Committee at SCHC, and the Tang. 

•Saratoga Arts, Saratoga Springs: Brighten the Corners: Art of the 1990s from the Tang Teaching Museum Collection, July 1 through Aug. 14, features more than fifteen works of contemporary art including painting, sculpture, and photography from the Tang collection with a focus on identity and storytelling, by artists such as Nayland Blake, Kate Ericson and Mel Ziegler, Wendy Ewald, Glenn Ligon, Kerry James Marshall, Frank Moore, Lorna Simpson, and Tim Rollins and K.O.S. The exhibition is curated by the Tang in collaboration with Louise Kerr, Executive Director of Saratoga Arts. 

•National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, Saratoga Springs: Muybridge and Motion: Selections from the Tang Teaching Museum Collection, July 1 through Jan. 2, 2022, features a series of groundbreaking animal locomotion photographic studies from the late nineteenth century by Eadweard Muybridge (1830 –1904) exhibited with equestrian paintings by American artist Henry Stull (1851 – 1913) from the National Museum of Racing collection. The exhibition is organized by Victoria Reisman, Curator, National Museum of Racing. 

•Yaddo, Saratoga Springs: Carl Van Vechten On Dance: Photographs from the Tang Teaching Museum Collection, August through October 1, features more than eighty photographs of dancers and choreographers such as Alvin Ailey, Carol Channing, Carmen de Lavallade, Melissa Hayden, Geoffrey Holder, Alicia Markova, Arthur Mitchell, and Paul Taylor by the prolific photographer and writer Carl Van Vechten (1880 – 1964). The exhibition is curated by Lisa Kolosek in coordination with Elaina Richardson, President of the Corporation of Yaddo. 

All Together Now exhibitions at the Tang showcase hidden gems from the Shaker Museum, the Tang collection, and Ellsworth Kelly Studio: 

•Energy in All Directions, on view now through June 13, and Ellsworth Kelly: Postcards, July 10 through Nov. 28: the Tang presents a comprehensive survey of postcard collages by American artist Ellsworth Kelly. The exhibition marks the first time Kelly’s lifelong practice of collaged postcards will be the focus of a major museum exhibition. tang.skidmore.edu/exhibitions/275-ellsworth-kelly-postcards.

Details about each exhibition, special public hours and related events will be announced in an All Together Now section of the Tang website at tang.skidmore.edu/exhibitions/356-all-together-now.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Saratoga Performing Arts Center unveils “The 2021 Adirondack Trust Company Festival of Young Artists” Online Gallery, featuring 80 inspiring student creations from the Capital Region’s brightest young dancers, musicians, singers, poets, and visual artists. 

Following the success of the Festival’s first virtual exhibit, “Self-Portrait,” in 2020, the new gallery is entitled “Metamorphosis” and explores the process of transformation. The 2021 experiential website is now available online at spacfoya.org. 

“Last year we completely re-configured our signature education festival into a virtual format as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Although we look forward to celebrating these incredibly talented artists, poets, dancers, and musicians in person this June, we are delighted that our innovative online gallery will continue as an artistic home all year long,” said Elizabeth Sobol, president & CEO of Saratoga Performing Arts Center, in a statement.

 Additionally, for the first time in the Festival’s four-year history, SPAC and The Adirondack Trust Company have awarded three students with the distinction of “FOYA 2021 Outstanding Artist” along with a $500 check to support the further development of their craft. 

The Online Gallery will feature a curated collection of student creations in visual art, literary art, and the performing arts from middle school and high school students hailing from Albany, Fulton, Montgomery, Saratoga, Schenectady, Rensselaer, Warren, and Washington Counties. 

SARATOGA SPRINGS — After a year of virtual concerts, Caffe Lena was given the green light to open its doors to the public, and opening weekend will be topped by a special performance by Michael Jerling. Show time is 8 p.m. on Saturday, April 3. 

Jerling, a singer-songwriter with four decades of poignant, poetic, wry songs, has a special genius for touching, timeless ballads that continue to sound fresh down through the decades.

Currently Caffe Lena cannot offer refreshments. A mask must be on at all times. Full Safety Protocols will be delivered to ticket purchasers with their e-ticket. “Please read them carefully,” the café informs. 

One ticket provides seating for one person. Single-ticket purchasers may expect to potentially share a table.  For more information, go to: caffelena.org.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Congregation Shaara Tfille and The Jewish Community Center of Saratoga Springs shares a virtual program through the 92 St. Y in New York City. The Great Thinkers Gloria Steinem and Professor Amanda Tyler: The Legacy of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, April 6. 

Open to the entire community, the production is complimentary, but donations are encouraged to benefit Congregation Shaara Tfille and The Jewish Community Center for future programming. For reservations and information, contact bopitz@skidmore.edu prior to April 5.  This program is sponsored by a generous grant from the Jewish Federation of Northeast New York. 

Join women’s rights icon Gloria Steinem and Berkeley School of Law Professor Amanda Tyler for a deep examination of the life and work of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. As Justice Ginsburg argued for gender equality in the courtrooms, Steinem was on the front lines — two lifelong allies in a joint pursuit. Tyler is a former Ginsburg law clerk and co-author with the Justice on her final book, Justice, Justice Thou Shalt Pursue. Together they look at Justice Ginsburg’s trailblazing legacy, exploring the landmark cases and barrier-breaking achievements that resulted in transforming not only the American legal landscape but American society itself.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Home Made Theater presents “On the Fly: An Interactive Improv Night,” on Saturday, April 10. Show time is 7:30 p.m. 

On the Fly will be a “Whose Line Is It Anyway” style performance. It will consist of a panel of three performers who must put their comedic skills to the test through a series of spontaneous improv games, prompted by random ideas supplied by the streaming audience through the chat function, and a host. 

The host for On the Fly will be Capital District actor, director, and producer Michael McDermott. The panel will consist of Mike Bellotti, last seen at Home Made Theater in Young Frankenstein, Home Made Theater veteran Robin Leary, and newcomer Eric Shovah. 

Home Made Theater is a non-profit Community Theater based in Saratoga Springs whose goal is to enrich the cultural life of the Capital Region and beyond, by offering a range of programming created by professionally minded artists, providing the opportunity for exciting and rewarding participation in all aspects of theater created by and for the diverse community in which we live. 

The audience can enjoy this virtual event, streamed live from the stage of the Spa Little Theater, from the comfort of their homes. There will be no seating at the theater. Donations of any size are welcome, but a minimum donation of $15 is suggested. For more information on how to access this online event visit www.homemadetheater.org or call 518-587-4427. 

HUDSON FALLS — A staged performance of “Live at the Strand: Johnny Morse and Friends,” will take place 8 p.m. Saturday, April 3 at the Strand Theater, 210 Main St., Hudson Falls. There will be a very limited in-house seating -plan employed, organizers say, with only 100 tickets available. Wearing masks and social distancing will be required. Tickets are $10 general admission. Call the Strand Theatre to reserve tickets at 518-832-3484. For more information, go to: www.mystrandtheatre.org.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — A Zoom panel discussion of “A Yiddish World Remembered” will be held at 7 p.m. on April 11. 

The 2002 Emmy-award winning documentary by Andrew Goldberg originally aired on Connecticut PBS. It interviews elderly survivors who remember the shtetls from their childhood and includes vintage photos and archival films from various sources.

Saratoga Jewish Community Arts, with a grant from The Jewish Federation of Northeastern New York and co-sponsored by Temple Sinai of Saratoga Springs, will present the discussion. 

The documentary takes a realistic and enlightening look at this unique and all-but-vanished way of life, both the wistful memories and the abject poverty and peril. For those in rural communities, there was often no running water or electricity. For many, anti-Semitism was a part of daily life. But for everyone, crowded conditions and poverty seemed to prevail. Despite these trials, through the eyes of individuals interviewed, we learn that Jewish communities were close-knit and often even joyous places to live. 

“As the world was changing during a rapid period of modernization and industrialization in the late 19th century,” said Phyllis Wang, Coordinator of Jewish Community Arts, in a statement. “The political and economic climate became gravely impactful and their shtetl world began to break apart. Close to two million Jews left Eastern Europe and went to the U.S. and other places in search of opportunity. However, for many others, who could not or would not abandon the old country, the fragile shtetl life continued, finally disintegrating in the throes of the Holocaust.”

Registration required for Zoom discussion. Please email  sjca.sjcf@gmail.com.