Overture Offers Families Indoor Entertainment and Activity At 'Kids In The Rotunda'

Kids in the Rotunda, Madison's favorite family-friendly Saturday arts performance series, presents four local performance groups on Overture Center's Rotunda stage next month, including returning favorites Monkey Business Institute and Limanya Drum and Dance Ensemble as well as newly featured groups/artists: Panchromatic Steel and L.E.X.

Featuring toe-tapping rhythms, mind-blowing magic, incredible dancing, engaging cultural arts performances, silly sing-alongs and more, our popular Kids in the Rotunda series for families is sure to engage, educate and entertain your whole family. Enjoy a diverse lineup of local, regional and national performers selected exclusively for children ages nine and younger and their families.

The Rotunda Café will be open during shows to offer coffee, juice and snacks for sale with part of the proceeds benefiting Overture Center for the Arts. Little Om Big Om Yoga will lead youngsters in family-friendly yoga sessions at 10:30 a.m. on Jan. 21.

A livestream option will be available once a month. Visit the Kids in the Rotunda Facebook page or follow Overture's Kids in the Rotunda web page for updates.

Free 45-minute performances will be held at 9:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. All virtual performances and the 1 p.m. performance will be American Sign Language interpreted. Please call 608.258.4447 if you need to be seated within sight of the interpreter for live performances.

JANUARY 'KIDS IN THE ROTUNDA' LINEUP

Saturday, Jan. 7 - Monkey Business Institute

Get ready for a serious case of the giggles! The Monkey Business Institute features the best improvised comedy in the region. With no set, props, scripts or line memorization to fall back on in this special performance for youngsters, the Monkey Business Institute uses their super strong imaginations to create spur-of-the-moment, seat-of-their-pants improvisational comedy. Specializing in interactive improv comedy, the Monkey Business Institute works with the audience to create the fun all while teaching valuable lessons about teamwork, listening, storytelling, emoting, pantomime and how to use you mind and body to express your creativity!

Saturday, Jan. 14 - Panchromatic Steel

Panchromatic Steel has blazed an entirely new trail in the city's music scene, fusing island styles with pop hits, rock and jazz into a high-energy blend that is hard to categorize but easy to love. With top-shelf multi-instrumentalism and wide-ranging appeal, Panchromatic's music brightens any day, transports listeners to their happiest moments in the sun, and threads the needle by being artful yet accessible to virtually everyone. At the heart of Panchromatic's sound is the steeldrum, or "steelpan" as it's known in its native Trinidad & Tobago.

Saturday, Jan. 21 - Limanya Drum and Dance Ensemble

Limanya Drum & Dance Ensemble performs traditional music and dance from Guinea, West Africa. By incorporating song, dance, drum and theater, Limanya's performances are high-energy entertainment for all audiences. Limanya is composed of a diverse group of dancers and drummers from the U.S. who share a love of African tradition, celebration and culture. Limanya's performances are exciting, engaging and highlight a variety of Guinean arts traditions.

Saturday, Jan. 28 - L.E.X.

L.E.X. (also known as "Mr. Alexis") is a clean hip-hop artist, author, poet, DJ and educator from Milwaukee, Wis. While combining all these skills, he's been a performer for Summerfest, the author of Music Theater of Madison's musical children's book "Finding Me" and the country's "AmeriCorps Member of the Year" for his service in the state of Wisconsin. Poetry and music were positive outlets for L.E.X as a child in Milwaukee, and he's dedicated his teaching and music career to showing the youth how powerful it can be for everyone. He wants to show everyone that dreams start young and can continue to grow like we do.

Kids in the Rotunda is sponsored by the American Girl Fund for Children, Madison Gas & Electric Foundation and UnityPoint Health Meriter. Additional funding provided by Kuehn Family Foundation, Ian's Pizza on State and contributions to Overture Center for the Arts.

OVERTURE CENTER FOR THE ARTS in Madison, Wis., is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit arts organization that features seven state-of-the-art performance spaces and four galleries where national and international touring artists, nine resident companies and hundreds of local artists engage people in nearly 700,000 educational and artistic experiences each year. With the vision to provide "Extraordinary Experiences for All," Overture's mission is to support and elevate our community's creative culture, economy and quality of life through the arts. overture.org

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