The 2010-2011 season of Missouri University of Science and Technology’s Campus Performing Arts Series will feature eight professional productions. All performances will be held in Leach Theatre of Castleman Hall on the Missouri S&T campus, 10th and Main streets in Rolla.

The full season is $200 for adults and $160 for youth age 18 and younger. Partial packages including four shows are available for $120 for adults and $100 for youth. Tickets for individual performances will go on sale Aug. 20. For more ticket information call the Leach Theatre Box Office at 573-341-4219.

The series will begin with Ragamala Dance at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 17. Ragamala Dance’s performance provides a bridge between both ancient and modern cultures, creating a unique style of living poetry for the stage. Rooted in Bharatanatyam, a classical dance form from southern India, Ragamala blends dance, music and poetry.

Additional performances to be featured during the 2010-2011 Missouri S&T Campus Performing Arts Series include:

Alpin Hong, 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 8. Whirlwind American tours and performances across the globe have earned pianist Hong his reputation as a modern day Pied Piper. His combination of stunning technique, emotional range and rare humor will bring audiences young and old to their feet.

Monty Python’s Spamalot, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 16. The outrageous musical comedy stage adaptation of the film classic Monty Python and The Holy Grail won the 2005 Tony Award for Best Musical. The tale of the King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table and their quest for the Holy Grail is told with flying cows, killer rabbits, taunting Frenchmen and show-stopping musical numbers.
Christmas from Dublin, with The Three Irish Tenors, 7:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 17. Celebrate the holidays with a genuine Irish Christmas, with songs like “Little Drummer Boy,” “Silent Night” and “O Holy Night.” Full of warmth, charm and golden voices, the tenors have enchanted audiences throughout the world.

The Parker Quartet, 7:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 21, 2011. The quartet sparked international acclaim in 2005 by winning the Concert Artists Guild Competition and the Grand Prix and Mozart Prize at the Bordeaux International String Quartet Competition in France. Most recently, the quartet received the prestigious 2009-2011 Cleveland Quartet Award.

Aquila Theatre’s performance of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, 7:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 28, 2011. Aquila’s imaginative interpretation renews the magic of Shakespeare’s plot in the timeless comedy that has delighted audiences for centuries. The audience will be transported to the heart of an enchanted forest, the injustice of the Athenian court, and the political strife of the fairy kingdom.
River North Chicago Dance Company, 7:30 p.m., Friday, March 18, 2011. Known for its eclectic and sensationally performed repertoire, the company blends contemporary, ballroom, jazz and Broadway dance in works by choreographers Robert Battles, Lauri Stallings and Frank Chaves.

East Coast Chamber Orchestra, 7:30 p.m., Monday, April 25, 2011. With members who are soloists, principals in major American orchestras, and talented chamber musicians, ECCO combines the strength and power of an orchestral ensemble with the personal, intimate nature of chamber music.

Additional funding for the Missouri S&T Campus Performing Arts Series is provided by the Missouri S&T Endowment for the Performing Arts, the Missouri Arts Council, the Mid-America Arts Alliance, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Maxwell C. Weiner Endowment for the Performing Arts, and the James and Vera Olson Fund.

The presentation of River North Chicago Dance Company is made possible by the MetLife Community Connections Fund of the National Dance Project, a program administered by the New England Foundation for the Arts. Major support for the National Dance Project is also provided by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation with additional support from the Ford Foundation and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

In the event that tickets remain for these performances, Leach Theatre will offer discounted tickets through its “Back Row Club.” The seats in the last row of the theater will be sold one hour before each event for $10 each.

For more information about the 2010-2011 Missouri S&T Campus Performing Arts Series, call the Leach Theatre Box Office at 573-341-4219.