With the flare of a Mexican ballet and the groove of a blues guitar, Arts International returns April 12 to Francis Marion University's campus. The all-day event will feature both inside and outside stages, with music, art and exotic food galore.
This year’s event will feature a wide range of musical styles and entertainment. One of the performers, Steve Gryb, will travel from his home in Miami as part of his national tour to share his brand of “edutainment” all across the country.
A music professor for 20 years, Gryb decided to return to his roots as a performer and now spends his time traveling, performing about 150 shows a year.
“I like to tell people that everyone has rhythm, and it’s my job to bring it out of them,” Gryb said. “I started out as a performer, was a professor for 20 years and now it has come full circle because I am a full-time performer again.”
Gryb said that for him, his shows are just as much about informing the audience and getting them involved as they are about the music.
“My show is educational as well as entertaining,” Gryb said. “I am a pioneer of a concept that I call edutainment because during my shows I interject educational qualities as I perform, telling people about the music styles and instruments. People enjoy that because it is interaction. They’re learning something, and they’re having fun.”
Besides having two performances, Gryb also will bring his Perucssion Petting Zoo for event attendees to explore. The exhibit will give people a chance to examine instruments from around the world up close and personal. They also will see such unique instruments as a “wrench-a-phone,” a xylophone made of old wrenches.
“I’ll bring hundreds of instruments that make unique sounds,” Gryb said. “People can come by and they can touch and play the instruments. I have all kinds of instruments that I have collected on my travels.”
Other performers at the event will include the Ballet Folklorico de Mexico, a storytelling group that uses dance instead of words as well as several local groups, including The Plaids and the Florence Men’s Choral Society.
This will be the last year that the Arts International event is held on the Francis Marion campus. Next year, it will be moved to the Performing Arts Center in downtown Florence. Event committee member Cathy Johnson said the hopes are that moving the event will be a boost for the downtown area and get local restaurants and businesses involved.
This article was written by Melissa Rollins and originally appeared on SCNow.com.
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