(upbeat music) - "Our Carnival of the Animals" is a collaborative performance event kicking off the performing arts season, and it features six local arts organizations.

Here to tell us more is Joanne Rowland, who is the Director of Education Outreach at the Gina Bachauer International Piano Foundation.

Hi there, Joanne.

Thanks for being here.

- It's so much fun to be here.

- I'm so glad.

Okay, so I can't believe you've done this for 14 years, this big performance.

14.

- And better and better every single year.

- Wow.

And so tell us like how this collaboration came about and who the groups are you're collaborating with.

- Well, there are two big dance companies, Ririe-Woodbury and Repertory Dance Theatre, and then Stephen Brown Dance, and two acting companies, Plan-B Theatre and Pygmalion Theater.

And the Bachauer Piano always provides a spectacular pianist for the performance.

- All right, all right.

And I know that as a piece called "Our Carnival of the Animals", which I'm assuming you've got the music of Saint-Saëns.

- Yes, indeed.

- Okay, so what's the rest of the performance like?

- Well, we haven't rehearsed yet, but I've seen the script, and there are Tortoises that get to narrate.

We'll use a little bit of the Ogden Nash poetry and Slam poets are joining us this year.

Who knows what they will say, but we want it to be family-friendly and that's, we changed it from eight o'clock to seven, so people will come with their children.

- Oh wow, that's great, that's great.

You told me you've been meeting once a week for like how long to put this all together?

- Well, it's very odd if you ask me for six performing arts companies to like each other so much, but we do.

And so we meet once a month to talk about the building, but mostly to just plan this one night only event.

- I love it.

Well, I hope you get lots of folks there, and thanks for doing it, and thanks for being here.

- Thank you.

- And if you'd like to know more about that huge collaboration coming up, it's the Performing Arts Coalition with six arts groups doing "Our Carnival of the Animals".

It's August 23rd, or 23rd, I said, yeah.

7:00 PM at the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center.

Go to saltlakecountyarts.org.

I'm Mary Dickson.

Thanks for watching "Contact".

(upbeat music) - Local events, arts, culture.

It's what brings us together.

Hi, I'm Mary Dickson.

Here on Contact, we introduce you to local events and organizations that serve your neighborhood.

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