The Austin Symphony Orchestra is the oldest performing group in Austin, Texas, USA. It was founded…read morein 1911. The mission of the Austin Symphony Orchestra is to bring live symphonic music to the people of the Austin area through community orchestra concerts, to provide enjoyment and enhanced musical appreciation and knowledge, to provide an avenue of artistic growth for regional performers, and to encourage continual musical study for area musicians. The symphony hosts entertainers who specialize in jazz, swing, and other brass supported musical disciplines. Thing Two and I have been here on multiple occasions to support the orchestra. Each performance is unique and timeless. Patrons who attend the symphony are allowed to bring in their own food/picnic baskets to enjoy while in attendance. The alcoholic drinks served here are at premium costs, but that is to be expected at venues such as this one. Thing two and I have also had the pleasure to meet Peter Bay (Music Director and Conductor of the Austin Symphony Orchestra since 1998) on several occasions. I appreciate the time he has taken with Thing Two and others who have stopped him after shows to educate them and get them more involved in music. If you are looking for a fun night out with family or for looking for date ideas, Austin Symphony Orchestra should definitely be a consideration.

Best bet is to get season tickets. I've found more and more the shows that focus less on the…read more"greatest hits" and more on the "off the beaten path" selections.

Stephen and Mardi are outstanding Argentine Tango teachers that really focus on tango as it's…read moredanced in a social setting (milongas, or tango dance parties). From the very first lesson, they emphasize the beauty and versatility of dancing that is graceful, comfortable, and sensual, while still appropriate for the social dance floor. Their teaching style is very accessible and encouraging. Plus, they really focus on the essentials of dancing with musicality, elegance, and confidence. I'm not only very happy with the workshops and classes I've taken directly from them, but it's a joy to dance with their students at milongas.

Mardi and Stephen are probably the most influential Argentine tango teachers I have had. They are…read moreclearly the best teachers of social tango in the Austin/Georgetown area. In a word -- "excelente"!

Since no one has provided commentary for the last year, I would like to contribute my personal…read moreexperiences with NKL. First of all, I am a newbie--and after a year and a half of wandering around Austin trying to find a local hang out where I could meet people, I happened to stumble into Egos on a Thursday night in desperate search for Karaoke and a good time. With me was my friend Patrick. We look around, there's two people at the bar with afro wigs. Another patron walks in with chaps on. I look at Patrick and say, "I guess we missed the notice that it's wig night..." and then I look over and notice Master Shake in the corner. After being rebuffed by the Karaoke Jocky with a snort, "Karaoke's only for NKL until 10!" we decided to grab a booth and watch. We snag someone in a white lab coat (now my teammate) and ask what is going on: "It's National Karaoke League! It's the last night of the regular season. We're all on teams and we take turns singing--it's a lot of fun. Excuse me, I have to go." The young man runs up to the stage and proceeds to strip off his lab coat--and is wearing a full S&M harness underneath. As he hoods himself and unzipps his mask to let his voice be heard on the mike ("I wanna sex you up" I believe), Patrick reminds me to close my mouth (my unhinged jaw is on floor in shock). We watch the rest of the performances in awe--"Maniac" from flash dance, where I wait to see a nip slip as she bounces up and down on the stage in a full run-in-place with only a bandeau bra and a homemade leotard, a full corseted drag performance of "No More I Love Yous" where the man singing has a full beard and the best Annie Lenox voice I've ever heard. Then we are treated to "Thriller" replete with zombie costumes and of course, the signature dance. After that number I run to the ladies room, and when I open the door, I find the bartender (who I now know as Laura) mopping up the floor covered in water and muttering, "fucking zombies." As Patrick mounts the stage at 10 to sing his signature number "I want it that way" the zombies break out into their dance at his feet, and I look at him from the crowd, and he looks at me, and we both know. We have to join. My first season at NKL has not disappointed in the least. From seeing "The Human Centipede" in front of my eyes, to witnessing two "births", and spending countless hours with Patrick and 7 other people I didn't know, I have made wonderful friends--and even better memories. There's a picture of me dressed as a little boy, munching on a cupcake while the creepy old Herbert from Family Guy croons "Somewhere that's Green." There's pictures of teammembers half naked--almost totally naked--cross dressed, in the throes of passionate performance that we will have to one day explain to our kids. There's been drama and paranoia and politics and a whole lot of laughter. And I cannot wait for next season.

I've been involved in the NKL for several years now, and it's one of the most fun activities around…read morewith an amazing community of people involved in it. Well worth your valuable time. The basic idea is that you get on a team with people and, as a team, do three songs each week. You can have a team already, or come in as an individual and let them set you up on a team. It's very friendly to newcomers, and each team generally has a few new people on it. The audience will vote for their favorite performances, and over the course of the season, eventually a champion is crowned. But it's way more than just singing. In fact, singing ability isn't even a major factor. There's costumes, performances, and choreography in addition to the singing, and it's an environment where enthusiasm counts for more than ability. They have two divisions in town: one up north at the Canary Roost and the other down south at Ego's, so you have options as to where you want to go. There are three seasons a year, each lasting about two and a half months with weekly competition. But as much fun as it is to perform and see what everyone else comes up with (and, believe me, it's really amazing to see what gets done), what I really love about NKL are the people involved. It's a really diverse crowd where you really can't predict what kinds of folks you'll encounter. The quality that unifies them, though, is that they all like to perform and they all like to have a good time. The folks that I've met through NKL are insanely fun and interesting and awesome. Bottom line is that there's really never anything boring in NKL, and you're sure to meet a ton of cool people. Participating has been one of the best things I've done.

I haven't been to much theater in Austin (except the big productions) because I never know which…read moreones to go to. And i loathe sitting in shows that are bad because I've paid $15 a ticket and feel compelled to wait and see whether it will improve. Luckily, the show I saw here was funny and well done. Part of the Frontera Fest (long fringe) and the whole process was quite efficient. You're on the guest list? Great. Here's a program and a seat. In fact they were nice enough to provide me with a chair so I didnt have to traipse about the chairs on the risers. They've got sodas for sale but it may be BYO (check first) and they've got plenty of bathrooms. All good things to know when you're headed to a performance. If you get the chance to see a show here, do. Its a small theater so there are no bad seats and if you make sure you're not seeing bad theater, well then you're most likely in for a treat.

A fucking puppet show? Are you kidding me?…read more That's what I went to see at Salvage Vanguard Theater, and I liked it so much I went back for another show. I'll be back again. Now, I've only seen their puppet shows, I have no idea if they do other things. The puppet shows are different from anything you've seen: excessively dark, and no strings attached. The puppeteers wear dark beekeeper like suits and hold the brightly painted puppets up and manipulate them from behind. You can see everything that's going on, but within a minute or two, you forget the puppeteers are there and the characters take a life of their own. And what characters! It's obviously all-original and all home made, but they do such a good job of creating compelling characters and stories for them to tell that you'll wonder why they aren't more successful. My girlfriend and I still endlessly quote the shows we've seen and we keep trying to describe the characters and stories in a way that makes sense. It seems we utterly fail at that, and it's why I'm going to keep my review short. This place doesn't make sense. The show doesn't make sense out of context. It doesn't look like much from the outside ... or the inside. But trust me. I give it five stars for a reason, and this isn't even ordinarily my scene. I've tried to convince all my friends to go with varying levels of success, but no one has been disappointed and they all want to come back for more. If you've found it, go experience it.

This is the best, most Authentic hula group this side of Hawaii. It's definitely Ohana here …read more.. Keito is very accommodating and can do any scenario from a couple dancers for a kids birthday party to a full blown Hawaiian luau with a full Hawaiian band, your old standard Don Ho type singer, traditional hula dancers, modern Hollywood style hula dancers and Tahitian drum sets and Tahitian hula dancers and fire dancers. They will even do catering for authentic luau food and activities like lei making stations for the kids and vendor tents with authentic island merchandise. So if you are looking for entertainment for a small gathering or a huge corporate event, you found the right place... y'all are awesome! Aloha and Mahalo

Keito, the "teacher", sits in the back of the room while his mom sits in front showing hand motions…read moreand trying to explain. He rarely demonstrates the footwork and everything combined together. He hangs out back there not fully engaged in what's going on. The dancers yell at him to show the moves but he just uses his voice and occasional arm movements. He's told other dancers to show me instead of doing it himself. Keito and his mom argue about what moves should come next. It's all very disorganized and frustrating. Dancers looking to each other a lot of the time. When bringing this to him he said I'm not a fast learner (even though him and his mom said I was) and he became very defensive. This is not the Hālau for you if you'd like the "teacher" to lead the class by demonstration as well. Getting this kind of help is like pulling teeth. Keito showed his true colors when I told him I wasn't returning. Very sad.

What a wonderful local gem! I had no idea there was a theater scene in Round Rock. It's a very…read moresmall and intimate venue. The staff were extremely friendly and accommodating. Snacks and drinks were available for purchase before the show and it was cash only. Overall, I had a great time and I look forward to the next event.

So glad I got to visit this place and see Clue. The venue itself is quaint and cozy with a small…read morelobby, long hallway decorated with art where half way down is the entrance to the theater and at the end were two single stall restrooms. Restrooms were pretty tidy, nothing fancy. Their concession stand had a few items for purchase, I got a bottle water. Theater itself was very intimate and allowed for a good seat anywhere in the house. I was in the second row and absolutely loved the intimacy with the cast. The show start time was set for 7:30 however didn't actually start until about 7:40. The cast was amazing and I believed all of their characters. The stage props were also cleverly made to transport you to different rooms of the house. Such clever use of the space! I was engaged until the end of the show and surprised how fast the time went. Highly recommend seeing before it closes on Oct 11.

I came here for a beginners class as I explore my dance adventure. I took a beginner bachata class…read moreand fell in love. They offer all kinds of dance classes and packages. I am looking into signing up for a package soon. Great location and they have a small parking lot. You can easily park on the street at least when I came there on a Saturday morning.

It makes me incredibly happy that places like this still exist in Austin!…read moreI've been to Esquina Tango twice, for two different styles of dance, and I had an absolute blast both times. The energy from the instructors is unmatched and the environment is so welcoming! I highly recommend checking them out. There's so much that is offered at Esquina Tango, even Spanish language conversations for speakers of all proficiencies.

We hired them for our company Christmas Luau. It was amazing. The lei greeting, drums, singers, and…read morethe hula show - all of it was amazing. They even got our people up and dancing. I would for sure recommend them for any tropical themed party.

I booked them for a work event. KEITO stayed in touch in the months before. Offering suggestions…read morefrom food vendors to decor. During the event he made sure that everything ran smoothly. His dancers were upbeat and engaging. Two of them waited at the entrance greeting my guests and several commented on how nice they were. We were back and forth on changing venues becauE of weather and through it all he was patient and worked with me. The show itself was AWESOME! My guests had a great time learning to hula and they made sure everyone got pictures after. I would recommend them to anyone needing entertainment. Their musician was excellent. His voice was amazing and he played throughout our cocktail hour as well.