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The Stephen F. Austin State University College of Fine Arts will open its 2017-18 University Series with a performance of New York City-based dance company Taylor 2 at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 14, in W.M. Turner Auditorium on the SFA campus.

A younger sibling to the Paul Taylor Dance Company, Taylor 2 brings the work of the modern dance world’s leading choreographer to life for audiences of all backgrounds. At 87, Taylor is the last working member of the generation of luminaries that launched modern dance in America.

“This is dance for everyone: accessible, athletic, emotionally powerful and really sexy – with a sense of humor, too,” said Scott Shattuck, associate dean of the College of Fine Arts and director of the University Series. “His smaller company brings us a more intimate performance but still delivers the same knockout excitement that Paul Taylor is well known for worldwide.”

Taylor 2 was established in 1993 to ensure that audiences all over the world could see Taylor’s works, unhindered by economic or technical limitations. The renowned choreographer worked with longtime colleague Linda Hodes to create a company that could perform at the highest level as well as teach and provide community outreach.

Taylor 2’s performance is sponsored in part by Cataract, Glaucoma & Retina Consultants of East Texas/Benchmark Optical/Medical Arts Surgery Center.

Prior to the performance, Heather Samuelson, assistant professor and co-coordinator of dance in the SFA Department of Kinesiology and Health Science, will present an informative talk at 7 p.m. in Griffith Gallery. The gallery is located across the hall from Turner Auditorium, which is inside the Griffith Fine Arts Building, 2222 Alumni Drive. The audience is invited back to the gallery for a post-performance reception to meet the dancers and to honor the event’s corporate sponsor.

Single event ticket prices for the University Series are $25 for adults, $20 for seniors and $10 for non-SFA students/youth. Tickets for SFA students are $3.

For more information or to purchase tickets, visit finearts.sfasu.edu, stop by the Box Office in Room 211 of the Griffith Fine Arts Building, or call (936) 468-6407 or (888) 240-ARTS.

Other upcoming University Series performances include Christmas with the Annie Moses Band on Dec. 12; Chanticleer on Jan. 19; The Mountaintop on Feb. 3; and The Barefoot Movement on March 8. Season tickets for the five-event series are $100 for adults, $80 for seniors and $40 for students/youth. A special Encore Event, the Moscow Ballet’s Great Russian Nutcracker, will kick off the holiday season on Nov. 16 and 17. Call for prices and discounts.

The Children’s Performing Arts Series at Stephen F. Austin State University will once again bring fun, educational shows that entertain and inform East Texas youngsters.

The series, presented by the College of Fine Arts, features five nationally touring shows designed to engage audiences of all ages. Careful consideration is given to show topics, which always include teachable classroom elements, according to Diane Peterson, Fine Arts Box Office manager and director of the series.

“CPAS shows are a great way to supplement class curriculums, and our in-depth study guides provide suggestions for pre- and post-performance activities and discussions,” Peterson said.

CPAS shows bring hundreds of students from schools throughout East Texas to the SFA campus to enjoy the productions.

“Our shows are often sell-outs, so we encourage teachers to book their classrooms early to take advantage of these great field trips that provide fun and educational outings for children,” Peterson said. “We also offer great discounts for large groups.”

This year’s lineup taps into four children’s shows offered by the Virginia Repertory Theatre, and it brings back the action-packed Super Scientific Circus.

The 2017-18 series opens Friday, Oct. 13, with “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.” This musical adaptation of the classic Grimm’s fairy tale comes to life with a talented ensemble of actors and wonderful puppets. Follow along as Snow White meets her pint-sized friends, takes the apple from the Evil Queen, receives a kiss from the Prince, and lives happily ever after. This faithful rendition of the fable will inspire young audiences to read the original. This performance is for children in kindergarten through fifth grade.

Perhaps the best loved holiday story of all time, Virginia Repertory’s adaptation of Charles Dickens’ classic “A Christmas Carol” on Friday, Dec. 1, is particularly suited to children. Watch Mr. Scrooge have a change of heart from stone to gold as he is visited by the ghosts of Christmas, transforming him into a kinder, gentler man. All the joy, sentiment and meaning are here, without being too scary for young audiences. The play is for children in kindergarten through fifth grade.

Children can learn more about black history with a performance of “Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad” on Thursday, Feb. 1. This stirring drama with music is a classic tribute to the great American who freed herself and hundreds of her people from the bonds of slavery. Traveling by night and in extreme secrecy, her courage helped to change the world. Share her inspiring and adventurous life with students in this factual and deeply moving musical history lesson written for children in second through eighth grade.

The longtime favorite Super Scientific Circus returns to the SFA campus on Wednesday, March 7, with Mr. Fish and Trent the Mime once again proving that science can be fun and funny. They use amazing circus skills involving boomerangs, bubbles, beach balls, bullwhips and magic to introduce the principles of friction, inertia, centripetal force, aerodynamics and more. The show targets students in kindergarten through 12th grade.

The series concludes Friday, April 27, with “The Ugly Duckling,” the fable of the swan who grows up ‘ugly” in a family of ducks, later to find his appearance changing as he discovers his true identity. Virginia Rep unites Hans Christian Andersen’s classic ugly duckling with other animal “misfit” heroes from the folk traditions of other cultures who work together to earn their home on the King’s estate and find the self-confidence that only friendship and accomplishment can provide. The musical targets children in kindergarten through fifth grade.

Performances are at 9:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. on show dates in W.M. Turner Auditorium on the SFA campus. Tickets are $7.50 for individuals and $6 per person for groups of 20 or more.

To order tickets, call (936) 468-6407 or (888) 240-ARTS. Visit the CPAS website at www.cpas.sfasu.edu for additional information.

The Alazan Trio at Stephen F Austin State University will perform romantic piano trios when the faculty ensemble presents a recital at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 8, in Cole Concert Hall on the SFA campus.

Comprised of School of Music faculty members Jennifer Dalmas, violin; Evgeni Raychev, cello; and Ron Petti, piano, the trio will perform the music of German composers Clara Schumann and Johannes Brahms.

Formed in 2005, the Alazan Trio has typically performed and promoted music primarily by American composers, according to Dalmas.

“For this concert, the trio will explore the music of Romantic composers Clara Schumann and Johannes Brahms, going effectively on a ‘European Vacation,'” she said.

The two pieces on the program are Schumann’s Piano Trio in G minor, Op. 17 and Brahms’ Piano Trio in C minor, Op. 101. The piano trio by Schumann is considered to be one of her finest works, and is her only published piece written in four-movement form.

“Elegant and lyrical, this work was admired by her contemporaries, particularly Mendelssohn,” Dalmas said.

His third and last piano trio, Brahms’ Piano Trio in C minor, Op. 101 is also composed in four movements and is more tautly conceived than his other more lengthy chamber works, Dalmas explained.

“Of the three piano trios he composed, this is the most powerful and dramatic, and Clara Schumann admired it greatly,” she said.

The performance is part of the Calliope Concert Series of the School of Music, made possible by the Wedgeworth-Wright Endowment for the Arts, the James E. and Beth Kingham Performance Fund and the Kennedy Recital Fund. Cole Concert Hall is located in the Tom and Peggy Wright Music Building, 2210 Alumni Drive.

Tickets are $8 for adults, $6 for seniors and $3 for students and youth. For tickets or more information, call the SFA Fine Arts Box Office at (936) 468-6407 or visit www.finearts.sfasu.edu.