The Opera Factory made its debut in 1985 as a presenter of Spanish zarzuela with the full length production, with orchestra, of Los de Aragon by Serrano. Performed with the dialogue spoken in English and the arias sung in Spanish; the Chicago premiere heralded the presentation of zarzuela for the next 18 years. TOF (The Opera Factory) has presented Chicago premieres of Moreno-Torroba's Luisa Fernanda and La Verbena de Paloma (Breton) as well as the USA premieres of Bohemios (Vives), El Barbero de Sevilla (Gimenez), Adios a la Bohemia (Sorozabal) and Los Claveles (Serrano). TOF was awarded grants from the National Endomwnt for the Arts, Illinois Arts Council, Chicago CityArts I, Chicago Community Grant, Spanish Government, the Mexican Government and the Department of Interior of the USA. TOF has toured in Mexico and has appeared in El Paso, Texas at the Festival de la Zarzuela as well as the Siglo de Oro Festival. Other festivals include the Peruvian - American Festival in Milwaukee, Wisconsin as well as Hispanic festivals in and around Chicago.

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Zabava (means 'fun' or 'enjoyment' in Russian. And this is exactly what this authentic Russian dance troupe offers. The company has traveled to India, Africa, throughout Russia, Guatemala, and the midwestern and southern regions of the USA. After winning the International Folk Dance Competition in 1994 the company gave over 30 concerts in Spain alone. They came to the US representing Russia for the World Cup Soccer Championship Games given in Chicago in 1995. They were asked to perform at Disney World in Orlando, Florida and performed on the Main Stage. The dancers perform with their own orchestra. All instrumentalists and dancers were trained at various conservatories in the Soviet Union from the age of six. Each is a master at their respective trade. The hand made costumes are representative of the regional dances. Colorful, energetic, graceful are but a few adjectives describing this awesome group.

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