Holiday love, anyone? This Johnson County center brings music, dance to brighten year

For Emily Behrmann, general manager of Carlsen Center Presents, 2020 has been a year of canceled concerts, disappointed patrons and lost money. Her meticulously laid-out plans through the end of the 2021 season have been completely upended. It’s enough to make anyone consider giving up.

But Behrmann is known for her pluck. She’s made the best of a bad situation by recording the Carlsen Center’s popular Ruel Joyce lunchtime concerts and making them available to patrons any time. She’s also planned a blockbuster December to end this “annus horribilis” on a hopeful and joyous note.

Four virtual concerts will take place in December: a program of new works from New Dance Partners;, a recital by Chaeyoung Park, featuring the Carlsen Center’s booming Steinway concert grand piano; a shadow puppet version of a Dickens classic; and a rafter-raising holiday concert by Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Darlene Love.

For every arts presenter in town, this year has been one of the most exhausting ever.

“Everyone is so tired of undoing and redoing things,” Behrmann said.

One of the things Behrmann was loathe to undo was the Carlsen Center’s weekly Ruel Joyce concert series. These free weekly concerts are popular with jazz and classical fans looking to recharge and escape during their lunch hours.

“The classical recitals feature many performers that are with the Kansas City Symphony, and the jazz recitals feature local jazz musicians that you might see playing gigs in a club or theater setting,” Behrmann said. “So we were really happy that last August we were able to record all of the concerts we planned for the rest of the year. We’ve been releasing one each week through the fall and they are still available on our website through the end of December.”

Another project near and dear to Behrmann is New Dance Partners. This annual collaboration of national cutting-edge choreographers and local dance companies usually takes place in September.

“This year, we knew by summer that we weren’t going to be able to hold live events in the theater in September,” Behrmann said, “but the choreographers were already working on their pieces.”

Two of the choreographers chose to come to the Carlsen Center and work with the dancers in person, then they filmed their work on the stage of Yardley Hall. The other two choreographers stayed in New York and Chicago and worked virtually with the dancers who were here in Kansas City. One of the works was choreographed by renowned flamenco dancer Julia Hinojosa.

“Julia’s flamenco piece is danced by Melinda Hedgecorth,” Behrmann said. “That performance features original music written by Beau Bledsoe and performed by his ensemble, Ensemble Iberica.”

The New Dance Partners film will debut Dec. 4 and be up that entire weekend.

On Dec. 5, Carlsen Center Presents will livestream a concert from Sony Hall in New York City starring Grammy Award-winner Darlene Love.

“In the past several years, Darlene has gotten a lot of acclaim and recognition that she was missing out on earlier,” Behrmann said. “‘Love for the Holidays’ is her annual show, which she tours around the country. It’s an exciting performance and you’ll know every single song. It’s all music she’s performed over the years. We’re looking forward to offering that to people as a holiday gift.”

South Korean-born pianist Chaeyoung Park has filmed a recital of Bach, Beethoven Brahms and Tchaikovsky, which will be available online from Dec, 11 to Jan, 31, 2021. For the recital, Park performed on a piano she knows intimately.

“A few years ago when we purchased our new Steinway grand piano, she actually went to the Steinway factory in Queens, New York and helped us select that instrument,” Behrmann said. “She feels a real connection to the instrument. This will be another opportunity to have her seated at that wonderful Steinway.”

To wrap up the year, it’s a distinctly 2020 version of a perennial holiday classic. Manual Cinema — an Emmy Award-winning “performance collective” that uses vintage overhead projectors, puppets, actors and a live music ensemble — will present “Christmas Carol.”

While it’s based on the traditional Charles Dickens tale, Manual Cinema will use hundred of puppets, props, scenery and original music to update the story, Behrmann said.

“In this rendition, the story is told by Aunt Trudy, who is celebrating Christmas with her family on Zoom because they’re all staying socially distanced. As she tells the story, some strange things start to happen with the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future.”

All performances of “Christmas Carol” will be broadcast live.

▪ Dec. 4-6: New Dance Partners 2020: The Ultimate Collaboration (virtual program). Free.

▪ Dec. 5 at 7 p.m. Darlene Love “Love for the Holidays” (livestream). $35.

▪ Dec. 11 -Jan. 31, 2021: Chaeyoung Park, piano (virtual piano recital). Free.

▪ Dec. 16 at 10 a.m., Dec. 17 at 7 p.m. and Dec. 18 at 7 and 9 p.m. Manual Cinema’s “Christmas Carol” (livestream) $20.

For tickets and more information, call 913-469-4445 or www.jccc.edu/carlsen-center-presents.

You can reach Patrick Neas at patrickneas@kcartsbeat.com and follow his Facebook page, KC Arts Beat, at www.facebook.com/kcartsbeat.