Park City Institute announces 2021-22 Main Stage lineup

The Dance Theatre of Harlem. Photo: Rachel Neville

PARK CITY, Utah — On Wednesday, the Park City Institute (PCI) unveiled eleven acts in the 2021-2022 Main Stage lineup.

More acts are expected to be announced in the coming weeks.

“The upcoming year of programming is a true reflection of what we do best: highlighting talent from around the world and providing the Park City area with world-class entertainment,” said PCI Executive Director Ari Ioannides.

All performances are held at The George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Center for the Performing Arts at 1750 Kearns Boulevard in Park City.

Below is the full schedule of events:

National Geographic Live! Ami Vitale

Saturday, October 9 at 7 pm – Tickets

Nikon Ambassador and National Geographic magazine photographer Ami Vitale has traveled to more than 100 countries, bearing witness not only to violence and conflict but also to surreal beauty and the enduring power of the human spirit.

Throughout the years, Ami has lived in mud huts and war zones, contracted malaria, and donned a panda suit— keeping true to her belief in the importance of “living the story.” In 2009, after shooting a powerful story on the transport and release of one the world’s last white rhinos, Ami shifted her focus to today’s most compelling wildlife and environmental stories.

Danny Seraphine and CTA Take Me Back to Chicago Tour

Friday, November 26 at 7:30 pm – Tickets

Seraphine, as the drummer of the band Chicago, was always the backbone of the operation. It was his job to keep everyone in time and on balance. He set the pace and carried it through to the end, no matter what. In 1990, after 23 years of performing, composing, and recording albums with Chicago, the band parted ways. In 2007, spiritually and creatively reinvigorated, Seraphine returned to the stage with his new jazz-rock powerhouse group, California Transit Authority (CTA) often described as “Chicago on steroids”—and he made peace with his past with the refreshingly candid memoir Street Player: My Chicago Story (Wiley).

The Second City

Saturday, December 4 at 7:3o pm – Tickets

The Second City has been bringing the funny for over 60 years.

Beginning in 1959 as a small comedy cabaret, The Second City has grown to become the first name in improv and comedy, with theaters and Training Centers in Chicago, Toronto, and Hollywood. They’ve also taken improv off the stage, expanding their reach to include creative collaborations with a wide range of creative and corporate partners, wellness and education programs, and TV, film, and digital productions. And their alumni list includes some of the funniest names on the planet.

National Geographic Live! Nizar Ibrahim PhD

Saturday, December 11 at 7 pm – Tickets

Over the last decade, Dr. Ibrahim has led several paleontological expeditions to Africa’s Sahara desert, in search of some of the most enigmatic fossil assemblages. This research has been featured in Nature, Science, National Geographic, The Wall Street Journal, Discover Magazine, and many other high-impact publications. He is passionate about the public understanding of science.

Over the last decade, he has reached millions of people around the globe, using a multitude of formats, including high-profile speaking tours, exhibits, educational videos, and books.

Mark and Maggie O’Connor

Tuesday, December 21 at 7:30 pm – Tickets

Join Mark and Maggie O’Connor for a fantastic evening of music, stories, and more. The husband and wife will share their favorite tunes, swap stories, and tell tales from the road. Their programs will survey a broad and interconnecting collection of American music performed on violin/fiddle, guitar, mandocello, and cello.

Mark O’Connor began his creative journey at the feet of American fiddling legend Benny Thomasson, and the iconic French jazz violinist Stéphane Grappelli. Now, at age 55, he has melded these influences into a new American classical music, and is perpetuating his vision of an American School of String Playing. Mr. O’Connor has won three Grammys, seven CMA awards as well as several national fiddle, guitar, and mandolin champion titles.

Heather McGhee

Saturday, January 8 at 7:30 pm – Tickets

Heather McGhee’s specialty is the American economy—and the mystery of why it so often fails the American public. From the financial crisis to rising student debt to collapsing public infrastructure, she found a common root problem: racism. But not just in the most obvious indignities for people of color. Racism has costs for white people, too. It is the common denominator of our most vexing public problems, the core dysfunction of our democracy and constitutive of the spiritual and moral crises that grip us all. But how did this happen? And is there a way out? Her book, The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How Can We Prosper Together debuted at #3 on the New York Times nonfiction bestseller list.

Part of the PCI Equity Initiative.

National Geographic Live! Terry Virts

Saturday, February 12 at 7 pm – Tickets

Known for taking more than 300,000 photographs of our planet while in space, Virts is one of the key visual contributors to the IMAX A Beautiful Planet film, in which he also stars. His National Geographic book View From Above combines his best photography with personal stories about spaceflight and his perspectives on life on earth and our place in the cosmos. Virts recently directed the record-breaking One More Orbit world circumnavigation flight and documentary.

An Evening with Stephanie Land

Rescheduled for Saturday, April 2 at 7:30 pm – Tickets

New York Times Bestselling Author Stephanie Land’s debut memoir Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother’s Will to Survive recounts her harrowing saga as a single mom navigating the poverty trap. Her unflinching and inspiring testimony exposes the physical, economic, and social brutality that domestic workers face, all while radiating a parent’s hope and resilience.

Land’s work clarifies the systemic class barriers and inequalities, dispelling the myth that poor people are responsible for their own predicament, and just need to try harder. Instead, Land reveals the real culprits of the situation: domestic violence, untenable minimum wages, high housing costs, and government assistance programs that fail the people they ostensibly serve. The book has been adapted for television. In a thoughtful talk, Land will offer insights on what steps might right the wrongs of a system that seems built to reinforce—rather than alleviate—poverty.

Part of the PCI Equity Initiative.

Sō Percussion

Saturday, April 9 at 7:30 pm – Tickets

For twenty years and counting, Sō Percussion has redefined chamber music for the 21st century through an “exhilarating blend of precision and anarchy, rigor and bedlam” (The New Yorker). They are celebrated by audiences and presenters for a dazzling range of work: for live performances in which “telepathic powers of communication” (The New York Times) bring to life the vibrant percussion repertoire; for an extravagant array of collaborations in classical music, pop, indie rock, contemporary dance, and theater; and for their work in education and community, creating opportunities and platforms for music and artists that explore the immense possibility of art in our time.

Dance Theatre of Harlem

Saturday, May 7 at 7 pm – Tickets

The DTH is a leading dance institution of unparalleled global acclaim, encompassing a professional touring company, a leading studio school, and a national and international education and community outreach program. Dance Theatre of Harlem is considered “one of ballet’s most exciting undertakings” (The New York Times). Shortly after the assassination of The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Mitchell was inspired to start a school that would offer children— especially those in Harlem, the community in which he was born—the opportunity to learn about dance and the allied arts.

Now in its sixth decade, Dance Theatre of Harlem has grown into a multi-cultural dance institution with an extraordinary legacy of providing opportunities for creative expression and artistic excellence that continues to set standards in the performing arts.

Groupo Fantasma

Saturday, May 21 at 7:30 pm – Tickets