YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Jens Lee Peterson, a professional dancer and a Ballet Western Reserve alum, will dance the role of Cavalier in BWR’s upcoming production of “The Nutcracker.”
The performance will be Dec. 6-7 at Powers Auditorium. The Youngstown Symphony Orchestra will provide the music for both performances.
Danielle Perrotta, executive and artistic director of BWR, said the school is thrilled to have the “extremely talented” Peterson in the show.
“We are fortunate that his schedule was free,” she said. “Although rehearsals are demanding, the ultimate reward is watching it all come together – especially in the big finale of Cavalier dancing with the Sugarplum Fairy.”
Peterson was discovered by former executive director Anita Lin while he was a student at Youngstown State University.
“I am so thrilled to have been a student at BWR, and now I have the opportunity to dance [again] with my first studio in the area,” he said.
Peterson has been an active member of the dance community for 25 years and has traveled the world with Princess Cruise Lines to Australia, the South Pacific, Thailand and Japan.
As an athlete growing up, Peterson always had the strength and stamina. But he excelled with footwork.
“Dancing in ‘The Nutcracker’ is like a fairytale,” he said. “It will be magical to return to DeYor Performing Arts Center, and I appreciate very much that I have already met some of the dancers in this production and that they are not only very talented but also ready to perform.”
Katie Merrill, vice president of the BWR board of directors, said the school had been fundraising and writing grants to cover the costs of bringing in Peterson and appreciates the efforts of the community.
“The Nutcracker generates interest from schools, families and supporters,” Merrill said.
Performances will be at 7 p.m. Dec. 6 and 2:30 p.m. Dec. 7. For tickets, go to DeyorPAC.org or call 330 259 9651.
Jazz in the Park All-Stars to Play at Theater
COLUMBIANA, Ohio – The Jazz in the Park All-Stars will perform at Columbiana Arts Theatre, 5 N. Main St., at 7 p.m. Nov. 8.
The act consists of regular performers at Jazz in the Park, the long-running outdoor concert series that takes place every summer at Wick Park in Youngstown. The opening act will be the Rick Ward Project, featuring singer Arielle Green Hall and saxophonist Jeff Green.
For tickets, go to AtTheCAT.com.
Model Railroad Display Open Houses
AUSTINTOWN, Ohio – The Youngstown Model Railroad Association will have an open house from noon to 6 p.m. Nov. 8-9 and Dec. 6-7 and 13-14.
Model trains of all shapes and sizes can be seen. The Club is located at the corner of Raccoon Road and Four Mile Run Road.
A donation of $5 per person is requested. Children age 11 and younger will be admitted free with an adult.
Expert to Lecture on ‘Psychology of Misinformation’
NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. – Matthew Facciani of the University of Notre Dame will present “The Psychology of Misinformation: How Our Social Worlds Shape What We Believe” at Westminster College’s annual Psychology and Neuroscience Colloquium at 5:30 p.m. Nov. 6 in the Dietz Sullivan Lecture Hall in the college’s Hoyt Science Center.
Admission is free and open to the public.
The lecture will examine why people can believe in misinformation and how identities, social circles and psychology play a role. Facciani will share insights from his book, “Misguided: Where Misinformation Starts, How It Spreads and What to Do About It,” which explores how social and psychological forces shape how we understand and interpret data.
Facciani’s research focuses on why facts alone aren’t enough to inform society. He illustrates how tools, including media literacy and building trust, can help people make sense of today’s information overload.
Facciani is a researcher at the University of Notre Dame and an interdisciplinary social scientist. He earned a degree in psychology at Westminster and later received his Ph.D. in sociology from the University of South Carolina. He studies media literacy, misinformation, political polarization and artificial intelligence.
“As a psychology major at Westminster, I was fascinated to learn how easily social influence can shape what we believe to be true. For example, in one class experiment, I saw how people often change their answers to a simple task after hearing someone else give the wrong response first,” Facciani said. “That early curiosity has guided my entire career, leading me to study how our identities and relationships shape the way we understand the world.”
Documentary on PBS About Ohio Flood of 1913
KENT, Ohio – A new history documentary from independent producer Fred Endres, “Northeast Ohio & the Great Flood of 1913,” chronicles the story of the Great Flood of 1913 and its devastating impact on northeastern Ohio. It will premiere on PBS Western Reserve at 9 p.m. Nov. 7.
The weather in northeastern Ohio on Easter Sunday in 1913 was supposed to be generally fair and cool, but as folks left church that morning, a steady, chilly rain started. The rain did not stop.
Over a four-day period, up to a foot of rain fell across Ohio – what came to be known as “the great Ohio flood.” The storm remains the worst weather disaster in the history of the state. While the southern part of the state was hit the hardest, northeastern Ohio was not spared from the damage, devastation and death.
Estimates of the number of people killed in the flood vary from about 350 to more than 500, but many historians today believe those numbers are too low. The U. S. Geological Survey put the damage in Ohio at $143 million, about $4.5 billion in today’s money.
“Just about every city and town in Ohio suffered damages during the storm,” Endres said. “We focus on Akron and Kent in the documentary, and they tend to be fairly representative of what happened in other areas in northeastern Ohio.”
The program includes dozens of photographs of the flood and flood damage in Akron, Kent and other nearby towns.
Endres has written and produced several other documentaries that have appeared on PBS Western Reserve. He is also a professor emeritus from the School of Media and Journalism at Kent State University.
Following its broadcast premiere, the show will be available on demand via the PBS Western Reserve website, PBS app and YouTube.
Pictured at top: Jens Lee Peterson with BWR student Maria Wilson, playing the Sugarplum Fairy in “The Nutcracker.”