Ballet is an art form – it can tell a story through movement of the body; it can be magical and exciting. When MCM chatted with Tara Gragg, Artistic Director of the Flint Youth Ballet (FYB), the dance students were busily preparing for their parts in the upcoming performance of “The Nutcracker”, a Flint Institute

On October 14, Ashoka Rao, Founder and Artistic Director of Nrityanjali, a school of classical Indian dance, was a recipient of the prestigious Michigan Heritage Award. She was recognized for her dedication and lifelong commitment to preserving and passing on the traditional Kathak Dance of India. “Ashoka Rao is a maverick. She rose to the

Since its inception in 1967, the Greater Flint Arts Council (GFAC) has been a part of Flint culture. The non-profit organization is responsible for much of what we love about Downtown life – bringing to us the Flint ArtWalk, Jazz Festival, Tunes at Noon, wonderful art exhibitions of all mediums, creative workshops and education, local

This past spring, Lake Fenton High School senior, Meghan Smith, entered the 2023 Congressional Art Competition. Every year, members of the U.S. House of Representatives sponsor a nationwide, high school arts competition to recognize and encourage the artistic talent in the nation, as well as in each Congressional District. Smith was notified in May that

After four grueling weeks of rehearsals, months of design and more than a year of imagining the production, the Flint Repertory Theatre will raise the curtain on its first performance of “Ragtime” this month. “Yes! It’s very exciting!” exclaims Producing Artistic Director, Michael Lluberes. “It will be unique – it won’t look like any other

Earlier this spring, the Prison Creative Arts Project (PCAP) concluded its 27th Annual Exhibition of Artists in Michigan Prisons at the James and Anne Duderstadt Center Gallery in Ann Arbor. The PCAP brings the art and talent of those impacted by the justice system to local communities for collaboration, mutual learning and growth. “We see

The door opened and in walked a man wearing a face of determination. Rugged and ready, like a gunfighter he stood urging me to make the first move, daring me to try to make the first joke, to get the first laugh. As soon as I opened my mouth to speak, it was already too

“Water color is a swim in the metaphysics of life … a mirror of one’s own character. Let it be unpredictable and colorful.” ~Anonymous To Jim Ames of Flint, color is everything. At 86, the graphic designer, illustrator, fine art painter and watercolor artist teaches watercolor and acrylic painting at the Flint Institute of Arts.

“All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances, And one man in his time plays many parts …” – Jaques, “As You Like It” As “Jaques,” one of her most cherished roles performed with the Michigan Shakespeare Festival, Janet Haley was honored to

Whenever and wherever you meet Michael D. Melet, you can be sure of two things: 1) He’s got something special in the works, and 2) In his coat pocket or his bag is a small sketchbook and a pencil – his steady traveling companions. “I take a pad of paper with me and I draw

Since 1976, Charles Winfrey has been passionate about the McCree Theatre. “I got addicted to the creativity and the artform,” he admits. “You have to experience it to truly appreciate it.” Founded in 1970, the “old” McCree Theatre was born from the Genesee County Model Cities Program and named after Flint’s first African American Mayor,

If you have a budding interest in anything artistic, Greater Flint holds a few places of opportunity. One often overlooked school, sitting off of Vienna Rd. just west of Downtown Clio, may be just what you are looking for. Clio Center for the Arts (CCA) was founded in 1989 with the mission “to enrich the