Hancher to honor old facility while looking toward future

IOWA CITY - The University of Iowa's Hancher Auditorium's 2011-2012 season will kick off with a farewell to the venue that was destroyed in the Flood of 2008.

Hubbard Street Dance Chicago will perform a free show at 7 p.m. Sept. 4 on the Hancher Green, near the old auditorium. In conjunction with the performance, which falls on the anniversary of the birthday of Virgil Hancher, former UI president (1940-1964), Hancher Auditorium requests community members to share memories of the auditorium. Stories may be emailed to hancher-social@uiowa.edu

“We feel like the time is right to say goodbye to the facility as we move forward on the new facility,” said Rob Cline, Hancher's marketing and communications director. “It's appropriate to gather the community with a dance troupe.”

The auditorium is slated for demolition while plans are under way for a new venue to be built by the fall of 2015.

Until then, Hancher will continue to take its show on the road, with performances at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, Englert Theater and Riverside Casino Event Center, among other venues.

“We continue to feel blessed to live in work in a community that appreciates the arts,” Cline said. “It's a collaborative, rather than competitive, spirit.”

Tickets for season are on sale at www.hancher.uiowa.edu or by calling (319) 335-1160 or 1-(800)-HANCHER.

2011-2012 Hancher season

• Sept. 4: Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, 7 p.m., Hancher Green
• Sept. 15: Bomba Estéreo, 9 p.m., IMU Main Lounge
• Sept. 22-23: Hubbard Street 2, 7:30 p.m., Space Place Theater
• Sept. 29: Joey DeFrancesco Trio, 7:30 and 10 p.m., Club Hancher/The Mill
• Oct. 2: Academy of St. Martin in the Fields Chamber Ensemble, 3 p.m., City High School, Opstad Auditorium
• Oct. 19: National Acrobats of The People's Republic of China, 7:30 p.m., Englert Theatre
• Oct. 20: National Chamber Choir of Ireland, 7:30 p.m., St. Mary's Catholic Church
• Oct. 27: AnDa Union, 7:30 p.m., Englert Theatre
• Nov. 1: Paul Taylor Dance Company, 7:30 p.m., West High School Auditorium
• Oct. 8-9: Roseneath Theatre, “Danny, King of the Basement,” 9 a.m. and 1 p.m., Horn Elementary School
• Oct. 18: American String Quartet with the Maia String Quartet, 7:30 p.m., Riverside Recital Hall
• Oct. 27: Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra featuring Rockapella, 7 p.m., Carver - Hawkeye Arena
• Dec. 8: Catherine Russell, 7:30 p.m., Club Hancher/The Mill
• Dec. 9: American Beauty Project, 7:30 p.m., Riverside Casino Event Center
• Jan. 28: John Oliver, 7:30 p.m., IMU Main Lounge
• Feb. 2: Stew & The Negro Problem, 7:30 p.m., Englert Theatre
• Feb. 10: Chucho Valdés and the Afro-Cuban Messengers, 7:30 p.m., Englert Theatre
• Feb. 23: L.A. Theatre Works, “The Rivalry,” 7:30 p.m., Englert Theatre
• March 2: Tower of Power, 7:30 p.m., Riverside Casino Event Center
• March 6: Los Angeles Guitar Quartet, 7:30 p.m., Coralville Center for the Performing Arts
• March 8: Lucky Plush Productions, “Punk Yankees,” 7:30 p.m., Space Place Theater
• March 27: Soweto Gospel Choir, 7:30 p.m., Riverside Casino Event Center
• April 5: Dave Pietro, 7:30 p.m., Englert Theatre
• April 27-29: Working Group Theatre, “Mayberry”, Friday and Saturday, 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, 2 p.m., Riverside Theatre
• May 4: Enso String Quartet, 7:30 p.m., Zion Lutheran Church
• May 20: The Gizmo Guys, 2 p.m., City High School, Opstad Auditorium