Courtesy Photo

The Emporia Granada Theatre will host the Emporia Arts Council’s feature show, “Tap Kids,” on Feb. 11 at 7 p.m. Through tap dance, the performance tells a story of the last few months of high school for a group of teenagers: the big dance, detention and finally graduation. The show is a New York original.

Tickets can be purchased at the Emporia Arts Council, The Sweet Granada, Granada Coffee Company, the Emporia Granada Theatre or the ticket office in the Memorial Student Union at Emporia State and are $24 for adults, $15 for youth and free for ESU students.

“We look at lots of performers around the country and this happened to be one that other organizations were bringing, it has a wide audience appeal,” said Melissa Windsor, executive director of Emporia Arts Council. “It is a wonderful art opportunity for the community.”

There are eight dancers whose ages range from 16 to 22 and according to their Web site some have experience in other tap shows like “Prodigy,” “Scrooge the Musical,” “Dream” and have competed in competitions such as “American Dance Idol.”

One dancer, Brittany Parks, has danced since age four and “appeared on The Grammy’s with Rihanna, Guy’s Choice Awards with Katy Perry, the ESPY’s with Justin Timberlake, the television series ‘Glee’ and films such as ‘Fired Up,’ ‘Janky Promothers,’ and ‘Fame,’” according to the Web site.

LIZ, studied under famous dance masters Buster Brown, Jimmy Tate, Lynn Schwab, Shea Sullivan and Lady Dianne Walker. She has earned over 75 awards over 13 years and the title of 1996 Jr. Ms. Dance of Ohio.

Windsor said the talent and accomplishments of the dancers are a major reason for selecting the show for the Emporia audience.

“I think it will be a wonderful show and the dancers have wonderful bios, they’re extremely talented,” Windsor said. “There are times when they are tap dancing on school lunch trays and doing different sports, I think it will be a performance with a variety of different aspects that can appeal to just about anybody in the audience.”

Executive Director of The Emporia Granada Theatre Jessica Buchholz said the show will add to the diversity of performances at the theater.

“I think it’s going to be a fun show for the whole community,” Buchholz said. “From what I’ve heard of it, I think it’ll be very energetic. It’s a new, unique form of performing arts to see at the Granada Theatre.”

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The newly remodeled Granada Theatre will offer classic movie nights every first and third Thursday of the month including their presentation of “Guys and Dolls” tonight at 7 p.m.

“Everybody loves coming here,” said Jessica Buchholz, director of the Granada Theatre. “It’s so nice to come in here. People around you are laughing and having a good time. It’s a lot of fun.”

Tickets are $4 and can be purchased at the door, at the Sweet Granada or Granada Coffee Company.

“It’s a great type of entertainment for people of all ages in the community,” Buchholz said. “It’s something fun to do during the week day that’s really low cost. We also offer really inexpensive concessions.”

The classic movies that the Granada plays are movies that originally had opening debuts in the Granada years ago.

“The Granada used to be a movie theater,” Buchholz said. “That is what people remember about growing up or going to school here, going to see movies. We thought it would be a great idea to offer those movies again.”

Marge Trayor, emporia resident, grew up in Cottonwood Falls but still remembers coming to the Granada to watch movies.

“I did go there many years ago, a few times,” she said.

The Granada will always take suggestions.

“We look at what were the great classics,” Buchholz said. “But we always take suggestions from our patrons and people in the community. If it’s a movie that we get a lot of questions about or requests for, we research it to see if there it is a title that we are able to show.”

Some of the movies bring back memories for the attendees.

“I suggested two of the ones they’ve chosen because they had special memories for me,” Trayor said. “And besides that, they were good.”

The Granada can seat over 800 people and usually is about half-full for the classic movie nights.

“It’s an elegant, beautiful theater and I love it,” Trayor said. “I really enjoy attending the wonderful different events there.”

The demand for movie night was so high that The Granada decided to have the showings twice per month instead of one time.

“We had so many people request to have it more than just one time per month that we moved to two,” Buchholz said.

The Granada also offers encore movie nights the fourth Wednesday of each month.

“The encore movies are movies from the ‘80s and ‘90s,” Buchholz said. “We wanted to put a different spin on it and get some of the younger people from the community in the theater.”

The encore movie for this month will be “Top Gun” showing on Wednesday.

“We want to be a real driving force in the arts and entertainment district of Emporia,” Buchholz said. “We want to be able to offer different types of entertainment for the Emporia community. There is something new to do here in town.”

Ashley Peaches/The Bulletin

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COURTESY PHOTO DAVID OAKLEAF

In its first post-summer show, The Granada Theatre will host David Oakleaf and Jared “Pete” Gile at 8 p.m. Saturday.

“They will play music as a combination of vintage country and modern rock,” said Jessica Buchholz, the new executive director of the Emporia Granada Theatre.

Buchholz, an Emporia State graduate, took over The Granada in May after being chosen from a group of 27 candidates, according to the Granada website.

“Both David Oakleaf and (Jared) ‘Pete’ Gile are originally from Kansas,” Buchholz said. “They are both performers that have traveled all around the United States.”

Oakleaf, who moved to Nashville, Tenn. three years ago, was born in Howard, Kan. As described in his Country Music Television profile, Oakleaf picked up playing guitar and singing as a hobby along with roping horses in Howard. At the age of 11, Oakleaf had his first performance in the local Opry House in his hometown.

Oakleaf and Jared Johnson won the fifth place in the first season of the show “Can you Duet” last year, which is produced by FremantleMedia, the same company that is in charge of the production of “American Idol.”

The performer plays an array of instruments including the guitar, harmonica, trumpet and drums and is influenced musically by the likes of George Strait, Keith Urban and Led Zeppelin, according to CMT.

After his Granada performance, Oakleaf will travel to several other cities in Kansas, including Caney, Axtell and Howard, later in September.

The featuring artist Jared “Pete” Gile and Oakleaf met each other when they spent their academic years in Manhattan at the same time. They both played music in a pub, which was full of musicians.

Jared “Pete” Gile, is from Scandia, a small town located in North Central Kansas.

“It is kind of funny,” Gile said in a telephone interview. “Pete is just a nickname. That’s why it is in quotes. I kinda go by Jared ‘Pete’ Gile, but everybody who knows me just calls me ‘Pete’.”

Gile received a degree in biology from Kansas State University. Recently, he started a new business with his father.

“Well, I never actually formally did music,” he said. “It is just always a hobby of mine. As soon as I graduated from college, I went ahead and was trying to make a living from my hobby. So I kinda have been doing that ever since.”

Gile has independently released two albums of his original music, “Modern Day Mountain Man” in 2003 and “More of Me” in 2007. Last week, Gile spent his time in Austin, Texas, recording his new single, which will be released in early October.

Gile will play music in a folk and country style. Oakleaf’s band will play more modern rock. Gile also plans to reveal the stories behind the music to the audience.

“I heard (The Granada Theatre) is very nice,” Gile said. “I’m looking forward to performing there”.

Tickets are available at the Granada Coffee Company, Sweet Granada, or by calling the box office for $15. Doors open at 7 p.m. and the concert begins at 8 p.m.

The Granada will also host movies and other concerts throughout September.

Xinyi Chen/The Bulletin

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“Flashing Lights” is more than a Kanye West song.

It is also the name of an upcoming variety show that will go from 6-9 p.m. April 30 at The Granada Theatre at 807 Commercial St. “Flashing Lights” will be presented by MSQUARED ENT.

“I think that, by having the show at the Granada and showcasing talents, it will improve the view or enlighten people about the local music scene,” said Andre Jfirson Mboule, senior political science major and MSQUARED founder. “Like my ad on the radio said, to show Emporia’s got talent… I’m trying to take it to the next level.”

MSQUARED Entertainment is a company headed by Jfirson Mboule. Among those performing are Anchondo, B. Sharp, ZOIKS!, the ESU Stingers and possible surprise guests. The event is open to students and to members of the community, including children, though Jfirson Mboule said that he would give it a rating of “PG-13.”

“It’s something he wants to do as a career choice,” said Ammie English, ESU alum and MSQUARED member. “He loves doing it and he’s really good at it… I think often a lot of people think that there’s nothing to do in Emporia and that’s given him the motivation to get something that’s kind of different for not only college students, but anyone in the community.”

Tickets are $10 in advance and $15 at the door and seating is limited. Tickets can be purchased at Wheat State Pizza at 1120 Commercial St. and at The Sweet Granada at 805 Commercial St. or through Jfirson Mboule via Facebook. MSQUARED is also selling tickets via their MySpace.com page. KISS 103.1 FM will be present at the event and part of the proceeds will go to Students Taking Action Now: Darfur (STAND).

“The main reason I’ve done this is that I love doing this,” Jfirson Mboule said. “When I was 16, I went and I met a bar owner in France and I told him I want to throw a party. He looked at me and asked me, ‘What do you have in case my bar gets broken?’ So, basically, I gave him a cushion and I had some people co-sign for me and I’ve been doing it since then.”

MSQUARED is an international entertainment group operating in places like Paris, Berlin, Madrid, London and South Africa and they hope that this event will help them become more popular in Emporia.

“Worldwide, the group has almost 3,000 members, but active members are something like 1,000,” said Fabrice Epoh, junior communication major and MSQUARED president. “It’s a non-profit event because we want the local group to be promoted in Kansas and to make our group known to most of the people here.”

For Jfirson Mboule, the music and entertainment business is something that has been present for all of his life. His father was the lead singer in a band in the 1980s in France, which played Rhythm and Blues, French pop, and Zouk, Carribean music. Another important family member who influenced Jfirson Mboule was his uncle, who was also an entertainment manager.

“He used to organize concerts in Europe and in Africa, like huge concerts and stages, bringing in acts from different countries,” Jfirson Mboule said. “I was 12 and I got on stage with a performer. I saw how my uncle liked what he was doing, so that’s how I got into doing this.”

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Jim Lehrer, anchor of Public Broadcasting Service’s “The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer,” speaks to community members about his close ties to Kansas and the Emporia area Friday night at The Granada Theatre in downtown Emporia. Lehrer also took questions regarding the current state and future of journalism in the U.S./PHOTO BY KELLEN JENKINS

Jim Lehrer, anchor of Public Broadcasting Service’s “The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer,” spoke last Friday night at The Granada Theatre to a crowd of about 100 people.

Lehrer, a native Kansan, was hosted by the Center for Great Plains Studies. He discussed with audience members his memories of growing up in Kansas and how his experiences here have helped him give details in his novels, including “Eureka” and “Oh, Johnny,” which are both set in Kansas.

“All of these experiences flow naturally to me as a writer of fiction,” Lehrer said. “I wouldn’t be here tonight if Kansas didn’t mean a lot to me.”

Lehrer spoke about how he decided when he was 16 or 17 years old that he wanted to be a writer.

“I wanted to be a big-time journalist,” Lehrer said. “Except for three years in the Marine Corps, everything I’ve ever done has been to do that and I’ve never looked back.”

At the end of his speech, Lehrer accepted questions from the audience. He also gave his opinion about what American journalism has become today.

“I have a very old fashioned view of journalism,” Lehrer said. “There are three types of journalism – straight reporting, analysis and opinion. It’s all legitimate. But different people should do each of them. What has happened in the last few years is a new version of entertainment has been created. If you want entertainment, go to a circus. I don’t ever want to be confused for one of the clowns.”

Kelsey Ryan/The Bulletin

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At last Wednesday’s press conference, Services Offering Safety (S.O.S.) announced that they will host Denise Brown, sister of the late Nichole Brown-Simpson, at 7 p.m. April 27 at the Granada Theatre.

“We’re bringing her here because this message needs to be heard,” said Sandra Kramer, SOS development director. “There needs to be an awareness of the impact of interpersonal violence in this world and, of ten times, it’s a message that people don’t want to hear. We’re bringing her here because she lends a lot of credibility through personal experience. The tremendous impact this can have on the family and on the individuals throughout their lifetime.”

Brown will speak about ways to detect and prevent domestic abuse.

“And it’s not about someone has been hit or abused or whatever,” said Jodi Ek, program chair for the Denise Brown task force and administration officer at Emporia State. “It’s about how you can become aware of that and I think that’s why it’s good that we’re having all the different age groups because kids can be violent. It starts at a young age and you have to stop it sometime.”

Brown’s personal experience with domestic violence came as a result of her sister Nichole’s murder in 1994. O.J. Simpson, who was the primary suspect in the case, was eventually declared innocent.

“She has a unique voice to bring, because of her experience,” said Lori Moore, SOS community relations director. “She breaks through the stereotypes of what a family dealing with domestic violence looks like and I think that’s an important thing to bring forward because, too often, we stereotype what a victim looks like and certainly, prior to this, no one thought it would look like Nicole Simpson.”

S.O.S. started working to bring Brown to Emporia about six weeks ago and have put together a work force of about 30 volunteers to make sure the event goes smoothly.

“I was very impressed with that she had to say,” Kramer said, who has seen Denise Brown speak on television. “She has a message that, of course, is tied to O.J. Simpson… but she doesn’t concentrate on O.J. Simpson. She concentrates on the message that she has and that’s what’s creating the awareness, the impact of domestic violence and what this whole thing did to her family.”

Brown is speaking not only to call out to battered wives and children, but to end what she considers to be an, “international epidemic,” according to her Web site.

“She’s not just going to come and talk and I think that’s what I’m most impressed about,” Kramer said. “I think you can find someone like this that would just talk about the famous person and she really focuses on the impact of this violence upon not only her sister, but her entire family.”

S.O.S. is an organization dedicated to helping women and children in need. Their mission statement, according to their Web site, states that their mission is “to end sexual and domestic violence, abuse and neglect through service, education, and advocacy.”

“Part of our role at S.O.S. is to bring the message to the forefront,” Moore said. “It doesn’t need to be a secret if it’s happening. There’s no shame in coming forward to say that you need help.”

Presentation tickets are $15 and the event open to all ages.

Alex Pedersen/The Bulletin

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