performing arts

Our Stories – Learning and Dancing with Step Afrika!

Step Afrika

When we experienced Step Afrika! we couldn’t stay in our seats. The energy, the rhythm, and the speed were infectious. We couldn’t wait to get Maine audiences – of all ages – into Merrill for the performance. We had intended for Step Afrika! to be featured live in the 2020-21 season but those plans had to change. While … Read more

Our Stories – The Bridge We’re Building

This year, we’ve been building a Bridge. And now that Bridge, with its strong Towers and gleaming Trusses, is standing solid. The story of this Bridge began last March, when, along with the rest of the world, Ovations found ourselves teetering on the edge of a perilous precipice. On Friday, March 13, 2020, as we … Read more

Our Stories – How Do We Ensure Kids Can Still Experience the Performing Arts?

There’s nothing better than a Merrill Auditorium full of young people chatting and wiggling in their seats as they wait for one of our Family Performances to begin. We so miss these moments. We know it’s important for Ovations to continue to offer young people and their families chances to enjoy the performing arts during … Read more

Program Notes for Paige and Friends! by Sarah Coleman

Dear Friends,   Paige Hernandez returns to Portland Ovations! It just looks a lot different than 2012 when she performed her one-woman show Paige in Full for our School-Time Performance Series. That was before my time at Ovations, but I have known Paige for a long time – almost 20 years. We met at Arena … Read more

Our Stories – Celebrating Our Maine Artists

Last week we held a series of conversations around the five projects Ovations is commissioning by Maine-based artists. From dance to music and theater, from traditional to the contemporary – these five projects deeply explore a wide range of the creativity that makes Maine such a special and innovative place. You can still experience these … Read more

Program Notes for VOCES8 by Aimée M. Petrin

Dear Friends, Over the years, Ovations has presented many holiday concerts with artists such as Chanticleer, Natalie MacMaster, Wynton Marsalis & the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra and others. Earlier this month, we, the Ovations staff, were talking about how much we were looking forward to the concert with VOCES8 and how singing, choral music in … Read more

Program Notes for KENNEDY CENTER ARTS CROSS AMERICA by Marcia Minter & Aimée M. Petrin

Dear Friends, Indigo Arts Alliance and Portland Ovations are delighted to share with you Sacred Resonance, a program of new performance by Maine-based artists conceived as part of Indigo and Ovations’ ongoing partnership. Sacred Resonance is a collection of visual, spiritual, and emotional journeys led by Maine based artists Firefly, Maya Williams and Atiim Chenzira. … Read more

Program Notes for FLEX AVE. by Aimée M. Petrin

Dear Friends,    It’s January 10, 2015 and I’m headed uptown to New York City’s hallowed hall, the Park Avenue Armory. I remember it was a bright winter day and the walk from Midtown to the Upper East Side was glorious. Going to the Armory, an 1880’s Gothic-Revival grand space, is always an experience, but today promises to … Read more

What Resonates With You? Program Notes for “Welcome Home by Aimée M. Petrin

Dear Friends, Portland Ovations started the Seeking Resonance series in 2016 as an exploration and celebration of performance inspired by religious and spiritual life. Over time, the series evolved to embrace a larger desire to find and make meaningful connections. To resonate. Today, Seeking Resonance is about our deep need to find “home”: a space … Read more