Zoellner Arts Center 2025-2026 School Show Brochure

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Dear Educators,

We are thrilled to share our 2025–2026 School Shows with you—a dynamic way to bring worldclass artists to the Lehigh Valley and connect them meaningfully to your classroom curriculum.

Our season opens with Noli Timere, a stunning fusion of contemporary dance, circus artistry, and engineering. Featuring eight performers soaring up to 25 feet within a custom 40 x 40 foot net sculpture, this powerful production explores the fragility of ecosystems and the ripple effects of change.

Travel the globe through music with performances by Sphinx Virtuosi, Kurbasy, and Sangjaru. Dive into rich theatrical storytelling that brings history, science, and literature to life with The American Revolution, Doktor Kaboom, and Click, Clack, Moo.

Get your students moving with exciting dance works including Nai-Ni Chen’s Red Firecracker and Mosaic Dance Theater’s Caravan to Cairo

We extend our heartfelt thanks to our long-standing supporters Richard Johnson and Anne Kline, and to our generous corporate education partners: Air Products, PPL, Just Born, Capital Blue Cross, Waste Management, Embassy Bank, Truist Bank, and Customers Bank.

There is so much more in store for students of all ages, and we can’t wait to welcome you and your students to Zoellner Arts Center.

With Appreciation,

HOW TO BOOK TICKETS

Reserving tickets for Zoellner School Show performances is simple and easy using the on-line School Show reservation forms! Simply follow the link on the show(s) you are interested in to request tickets.

There is a separate form for each show. The main contact for your group should be filling out the form as this is who will receive all communications about the performance and tickets. We fulfill requests on a first come, first served basis, and may require a deposit to hold your order if an event is popular.

CAPACITY

Baker Hall: 900 Diamond Theater: 300

Questions about the ordering process? Contact the Ticket Manager 610-758-2787, ext. 0 or inzschtx@lehigh.edu

Questions about content and grade levels? Contact the Education Engagement Coordinator 610-758-5774 or inzschtx@lehigh.edu

School Shows: Season at a Glance

Noli Timere Contemporary dance/theater

Click Clack Moo

Children’s

CIRCUS AND WORLD DANCE

Caravan to Cairo Middle Eastern/ Egyptian-themed dance

Nai-Ni Chen Red Firecrackers: The Story of Chinese New Year

STORYTELLING AND CHILDREN’S LITERATURE

NOLI TIMERE

Friday, September 19, 2025, 10:00am

Baker Hall

Suggested Grades: 6-12

Estimated performance runtime is 60 minutes plus a 10 minute Q&A.

Artist Q&A: Following the performance, students can ask the artists questions, gaining further insight into the creative process.

PENNSYLVANIA STATE STANDARDS:

Academic Standards for Arts and Humanities

9.1 Production, Performance and Exhibition of Dance, Music, Theatre and Visual Arts

9.2 Historical and Cultural Context

9.4 Aesthetic Response

Academic Standards for Science, Technology and Engineering Education

3.4 Technology and Engineering Education

Academic Standards for Mathematics

2.3 Geometry

A stunning blend of contemporary dance, circus artistry, and engineering, NOLI TIMERE features eight performers soaring up to 25 feet in the air within a custom 40 x 40 foot net sculpture. The show explores the fragility of ecosystems and the ripple effects of change.

The culmination of a 5-year collaboration between award-winning director and choreographer Rebecca Lazier and world-renowned sculptor Janet Echelman, NOLI TIMERE is a soaring aerial performance featuring a custom-designed, voluminous Echelman net sculpture and eight outstanding, multidisciplinary performers. NOLI TIMERE, Latin for ‘be not afraid,’ uniquely renders interconnectedness visible, making tangible how a change in one element has cascading effects on its surroundings. This seamless interaction between movement and sculpture creates symbiotic relationships where choreography and sculpture continually transform and reshape one another. The work is a fusion of contemporary dance and avant-garde circus, art installation and advanced engineering, public sculpture and social practice, exploring how we navigate the uncertainties of an ever-changing world.

Created with an original score by acclaimed Québécois composer Jorane.

CLICK HERE TO RESERVE TICKETS

SPHINX VIRTUOSI

Friday, October 3, 2025, 10:00am Baker Hall

Suggested Grades: 6-12

Estimated performance runtime is 60 minutes plus a 10 minute Q&A.

Artist Q&A: Following the performance, students can ask the ensemble questions, gaining further insight into the music and the musicians’ creative process.

PENNSYLVANIA STATE STANDARDS:

Academic Standards for Arts and Humanities

9.1 Production, Performance and Exhibition of Dance, Music, Theatre and Visual Arts

9.4 Aesthetic Response

Sphinx Virtuosi is a dynamic and inspiring professional self-conducted chamber orchestra and serves as the flagship performing entity of the Sphinx Organization – the leading social justice non-profit dedicated to transforming lives through the power of diversity in the arts. Comprised of 18 accomplished Black and Latinx artists, Sphinx Virtuosi aims to evolve and transform the face of classical music through a rhythm of artistic excellence, pioneering programming, and impassioned community engagement.

Now in its 27th year of programming, Sphinx envisions a day where every young person has the opportunity to express themselves and learn classical music, where audiences reflect the people we see on our streets, and where leadership - onstage and off – includes all deserving voices.

CLICK HERE TO RESERVE TICKETS

KURBASY

Songs of the Ukrainian Forest

Monday, October 6, 2025, 10:00am

Baker Hall

Suggested Grades: 6-12

Estimated performance runtime is 40 minutes plus a 10 minute Q & A.

Artist Q&A: Following the performance, students can ask the band questions, gaining further insight into the music and the musicians’ creative process.

PENNSYLVANIA STATE STANDARDS:

Academic Standards for Arts and Humanities

9.1 Production, Performance and Exhibition of Dance, Music, Theatre and Visual Arts

9.2 Historical and Cultural Contexts

9.4 Aesthetic Response

Academic Standards for Geography

7.3 Human Characteristics of Place and Regions

Kurbasy is an avant-garde musical project of the renowned progressive Les Kurbas Theatre in Lviv, Ukraine. Founded in 2008 as an informal vocal gathering of singer-actresses, the group has performed across Europe – from the front lines of occupied Eastern Ukraine to concert halls in Western Europe and the USA.

The ambient approach of Kurbasy gives life to the indigenous polyphonic sounds of Ukraine’s rich traditional music heritage. Created by actor-vocalists Natalia Rybka-Parkhomenko and Maria Oneshchak, the sonic-theatrical explorations of Ukraine’s rich trove of calendar songs, lullabies, and legends, conjure the natural world, beliefs, and rituals, channeling contemporary connections to an archaic past. The song cycle spans Eastern, Central, and Western Ukraine, with lyrics in regional dialects, such as the Lemsky dialect, blending themes of love, joy and war.

SANGJARU

Friday, February 6, 2026, 10:00am

Baker Hall

Recommended for Grades 4-12

Estimated performance runtime is 45 minutes plus a 10 minute Q&A.

Artist Q&A: Following the performance, students can ask the group questions, gaining further insight into the music and the musicians’ creative process.

PENNSYLVANIA STATE STANDARDS:

Academic Standards for Arts and Humanities

9.1 Production, Performance and Exhibition of Dance, Music, Theatre and Visual Arts

9.2 Historical and Cultural Contexts

9.4 Aesthetic Response

Academic Standards for World Languages

12.5 World Languages in the Community Academic Standards for Geography

7.3 Human Characteristics of Place and Regions

To celebrate the Lunar New Year, Sangjaru, a dynamic Korean folk fusion band, invites students to experience the vibrant blend of traditional Korean instruments and modern musical genres such as gypsy swing, funk, rock, and improvisation. The program is designed to engage students in an interactive exploration of Korean culture through music. The name “Sangjaru” originates from the combination of two Korean words, “sangja” (box) and “jaru” (sack). While a box retains a fixed form, a sack adapts to its contents. Inspired by this analogy, the band offers a rich cultural and musical experience that deepens understanding and appreciation of Korea’s artistic traditions. Students will also explore Korean culture through traditional attire, including the band’s signature farmer’s hat, creating a visually immersive experience. Singing and moving along with the music, they’ll gain a deeper appreciation for Korean traditions and the joy of cultural exchange.

RED FIRECRACKERS Story of Chinese New Year Nai-Ni Chen

Dance Company

Wednesday, February 25, 2026, 10:00am & 12:30pm Baker Hall

Suggested Grades: K-9

Estimated performance runtime is 50 minutes plus a 10 minute Q&A.

Artist Q&A: Following the performance, students can ask the dancers questions, gaining further insight into the creative process.

PENNSYLVANIA STATE STANDARDS:

Academic Standards for Arts and Humanities

9.1 Production, Performance and Exhibition of Dance, Music, Theatre and Visual Arts

9.2 Historical and Cultural Contexts

9.4 Aesthetic Response

Academic Standards for World Languages

12.5 World Languages in the Community

Learn how you can Celebrate the Chinese New Year! A spectacular production of dazzling props, colorful costumes, mesmerizing music, fantastic acrobatics and lively dance by top notch performers telling the story of the origin of the Chinese Lunar New Year. In this legend, a group of villagers, working, dancing and praying together, defeated a terrifying monster of the ages. A heartwarming story that highlights the intrinsic value of coming together, courage, hard-work and ingenuity. It also explains some of the origin of the tradition of the Chinese Lunar New Year when everyone is wearing red, giving red envelopes to children, putting up red decorations, and lighting up all the dark corners with the red firecracker to make loud noises.

PENNSYLVANIA STATE STANDARDS:

Academic Standards for Arts and Humanities

9.4 Aesthetic Response

Academic Standards for Science, Technology and Engineering Education

3.2 Physical science, Chemistry Physics

Be amazed by the power of pressure - and what it can teach us.

Equal parts interactive science, comedy, and personal empowerment messages, Doktor Kaboom returns with a new show. Doktor Kaboom: “Under Pressure!” illustrates physical science concepts, which are also metaphors for real-life mental and emotional pressures.

Wednesday, March 11, 2026, 10:00am & 12:30pm Baker Hall

Suggested Grades: 3-8

Estimated performance runtime is 60 minutes.

Praised for keeping crowds riveted with interest and rolling with laughter, Doktor Kaboom is also known for empowering volunteers from the audience to be the heroes of the moment. In “Under Pressure!” Kaboom validates the pressures some students may feel, and shares tools and life lessons as resources for dealing with the difficulties that face us all.

A Kennedy Center Commission

Monday, March 30, 2026, 10:00am & 12:30pm Baker Hall

Suggested Grades: K–3

Estimated performance runtime is 60 minutes.

PENNSYLVANIA STATE STANDARDS:

Academic Standards for Arts and Humanities

9.1 Production, Performance and Exhibition of Dance, Music, Theatre and Visual Arts

9.4 Aesthetic Response

“Cows that type? Hens on strike! Whoever heard of such a thing!”

When his granddaughter Jenny comes for a visit, Farmer Brown declares the farm a tech-free zone. He takes her laptop in the cold barn with the shivering cows who use her computer to type messages requesting blankets. “No way,“ replies Farmer Brown. “No blankets!” The cows go on strike and the chickens join them in solidarity. No blankets? No milk! No eggs! Will Farmer Brown give in to the animals’ demands? Will Jenny get her computer back? Find out in a hilariously moving musical about negotiation and compromise, based on the Caldecott Honor Book by Doreen Cronin and Betsy Lewin.

THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION Celebrate America’s 250th Anniversary

Wednesday, April 15, 2026, 10:00am & 12:30pm

Baker Hall

Suggested Grades: 6-12

Estimated performance runtime is 50 minutes.

Artist Q&A: Following the performance, students can ask the group questions, gaining further insight into the creative process.

History in 50 minutes—seven actors, two feet off the ground, share 21 square feet of space and recreate the entire American fight for independence from Lexington to Yorktown.

Using only the actor’s bodies, voices, and (pantomimed) cannons, the show evokes an epic time period in American history. Combining tongue-in-cheek humor with a dash of derring-do. The American Revolution displays the company’s rowdy brand of bareboned and imaginative physical theater. The most entertaining history lesson you’ve probably ever had.

Created by Marc Frost, Theater Unspeakable of Chicago, IL.

PENNSYLVANIA STATE STANDARDS:

Academic Standards for Arts and Humanities

9.1 Production, Performance and Exhibition of Dance, Music, Theatre and Visual Arts

9.2 Historical and Cultural Contexts

9.4 Aesthetic Response

Academic Standards for History

8.3 United States History

8.4 World History

Tuesday, May 5, 2026, 12:30pm Baker Hall

Suggested Grades: K-5

Estimated performance runtime is 55 minutes plus 10 minute Q&A.

Artist Q&A: Following the performance, students can ask the group questions, gaining further insight into the creative process.

PENNSYLVANIA STATE STANDARDS:

Academic Standards for Arts and Humanities

9.1 Production, Performance and Exhibition of Dance, Music, Theatre and Visual Arts

9.2 Historical and Cultural Contexts

9.4 Aesthetic Response

Academic Standards for Geography

7.3 Human Characteristics of Place and Regions

Helene Ducharme‘s play “Baobab“ uses multiple kinds of puppetry not to mention many types of percussion to bring a West African fable to life. In a drought ridden, West African village an ancient Baobab tree gives birth to a boy who is key to restoring the water sources, he embarks on a quest that has the potential to change history. As traditional instruments produce lively rhythms four performers don colorful masks and operate towering constructions to become a crocodile, a python, a crane, a marabou a dancing witch and a sly monkey. Drums, masks, puppets and magical beings.

CLICK HERE TO RESERVE TICKETS

CARAVAN TO CAIRO

Mosaic Dance Theater Company

Wednesday, May 13, 2026, 10:00am & 12:30pm

Diamond Theater

Suggested Grades: K-4

Estimated performance runtime is 60 minutes plus 10 minute Q&A.

Artist Q&A: Following the performance, students can ask the dancers questions, gaining further insight into the creative process.

PENNSYLVANIA STATE STANDARDS:

Academic Standards for Arts and Humanities

9.1 Production, Performance and Exhibition of Dance, Music, Theatre and Visual Arts

9.2 Historical and Cultural Contexts

9.4 Aesthetic Response

Academic Standards for Geography

7.3 Human Characteristics of Place and Regions

Mosaic Dance Theater Company’s Caravan to Cairo transports you to the exotic realms of the Arabian Nights, bringing you authentic unique folkloric dances from North Africa to the Middle East. This delightful dance journey through the Near East, choreographed by Samara, one of today’s finest international performers of Middle Eastern dance, offers a diversity of engaging styles and rhythms, lavish, colorful costumes, and a charming story theater adaptation of a timeless Arabic folktale. A brief, participatory dancing instruction and a Q&A session round off the entertainment.

STORYFACES

Tuesday, May 19, 2026, 10:00am & 12:30pm

Diamond Theater

Suggested Grades: K-4

Estimated performance runtime is 50 minutes.

PENNSYLVANIA STATE STANDARDS:

Academic Standards for Arts and Humanities

9.1 Production, Performance and Exhibition of Dance, Music, Theatre and Visual Arts

9.2 Historical and Cultural Contexts

9.4 Aesthetic Response

Academic Standard for English Language Arts

1.5 Speaking and Listening

This interactive experience engages the audience with uniquely animated tales from world cultures and our shared humanity. Christopher Agostino shares captivating folktales, ranging from new interpretations of familiar stories like Aesop’s Fables to heroic tales such as Punia and the King of the Sharks and The Tail of the Dragon. He also features comic characters and surprising faces in his original stories, including The Tiger that Went to the House of the Sun, When A Man Met a Crocodile, The Adventure of 2 Lizards on 4 Faces, and The Amazing Face Story

PENNSYLVANIA STATE STANDARDS:

Academic Standards for Arts and Humanities

9.2 Historical and Cultural Contexts

9.3 Critical Response

9.4 Aesthetic Response

A Virtual Reality Experience

Select Fridays in February, March and April 2026, 10:00am

Installation Begins Friday, February 13, 2026

Recommended for grades 9-12.

Academic Standards for Science and Technology and Engineering Education

3.4 Technology and Engineering Education

Traveling While Black transports viewers to historic Ben’s Chili Bowl Diner in Washington, D.C. Viewers share an intimate series of moments with several of Ben’s patrons as they reflect on their experiences of restricted movement and race relations in the United States. Traveling While Black highlights the urgent need to not only remember the past but to learn from it.

Traveling While Black is a cinematic virtual reality experience that immerses viewers in the long history of restriction of movement for Black Americans and the creation of safe spaces in our communities.

This film by Academy Award winner Roger Ross Williams and Emmy Award-winning Felix & Paul Studios transports viewers to historic Ben’s Chili Bowl restaurant in Washington, D.C. Viewers share an intimate series of moments with several of Ben’s patrons as they reflect on their experiences of restricted movement and race relations in the United States. Confronting the way we understand and talk about race in America, Traveling While Black highlights the urgent need to not only remember the past but to learn from it, and to facilitate a dialogue about the challenges minority travelers still face today.

Participants will wear Oculus GO virtual reality headsets that will be cleaned and disinfected between each showing.

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Zoellner Arts Center 2025-2026 School Show Brochure by Zoellner Arts Center at Lehigh University - Issuu