Wesleyan University's Center for the Arts announces highlights of 40th anniversary season in 2013-2014
40th anniversary season
Music, dance, theater and visual art highlights of
2013-2014 season include
two world premieres, four New England premieres,
and six Connecticut premieres;
tickets on sale Monday, July 1
Middletown, Conn.— Wesleyan University’s Center for the Arts announces the highlights of their 40th anniversary season in 2013-2014, including two world premieres, four New England premieres, and six Connecticut premieres. "The history of the Center for the Arts has been created by the faculty, students, staff and visiting artists who have worked in its studios, performed on its stages, and exhibited in its gallery," said Pamela Tatge, Director of the Center for the Arts. "We will celebrate this milestone by harvesting stories from the many artists who have come through these spaces, and with an exhibition and a series of celebratory events that both look back and look forward. In the process of programming this season, it has been a joy to rediscover the richness of our past, the continued vitality of our present, and the possibilities of our future."
The highlights of the 40th anniversary season at Wesleyan University's Center for the Arts in 2013-2014 include the following:
September 6 – December 8, 2013: "The Alumni Show II" exhibition in Ezra and Cecile Zilkha Gallery, featuring painting, sculpture, drawing, installation art, video art, performance, and films
September 12 & 13, 2013: "Stripped/Dressed" featuring "Rise" and the Connecticut premiere of "Carrugi" by Doug Varone and Dancers
September 13, 2013; November 16, 2013; and February 15, 2014: "Dine/Dance/Discover," a new event designed to bring audiences closer to the work on stage before and after all three 2013–2014 Breaking Ground Dance Series performances
September 27 & 28, 2013: the Connecticut premiere of "Who’s Hungry" by Dan Froot and Dan Hurlin
September 29, 2013: the first of twelve recitals featuring the complete piano works of Wesleyan John Spencer Camp Professor of Music Neely Bruce, including two world premieres
October 9 – 13, 2013: the 37th annual Navaratri Festival, including the Connecticut debut of dancer Aparna Ramaswamy
October 15, 2013: the New England debut of Netherlands-based pianist Reinier van Houdt
October 25, 2013: Malian guitarist Vieux Farka Touré, the “Hendrix of the Sahara”
November 9, 2013: the Connecticut debut of London-based a cappella trio Juice Vocal Ensemble
November 11, 2013: "Blood, Muscle, Bone," a performative "teach-in" by choreographers Liz Lerman and Jawole Willa Jo Zollar
November 13–16, 2013: Anton Chekhov's "The Seagull" directed by Wesleyan Associate Professor of Theater Yuri Kordonsky
November 15 & 16, 2013: the Connecticut premiere of the dance work "Pavement" by Kyle Abraham/Abraham.In.Motion
January 30 & 31, 2014: the New England premiere of the theater work "HOME/SICK" by The Assembly
February 1, 2014: the Connecticut debut of the Ignacio Berroa Trio
February 14, 2014: the first concert in New England by Ukrainian pianist Vadym Kholodenko after winning the Gold Medal in the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition
February 14 & 15, 2014: the New England premiere of "Times Bones" by San Francisco's Margaret Jenkins Dance Company
March 8 & 9, 2014: the 15th annual DanceMasters Weekend, featuring a Showcase Performance by three dance companies, and twelve Master Classes over two days
March 27—29, 2014: the Society for Electro-Acoustic Music in the United States conference, to be held in New England for the first time since 1998
Please see below for more details about the highlights of the 40th anniversary season of the Center for the Arts.
Tickets for the 2013-2014 season at the Center for the Arts go on sale on Monday, July 1, 2013. Tickets will be available online at http://www.wesleyan.edu/boxoffice; and starting at Noon by phone at (860) 685-3355, or in person at the Wesleyan University Box Office, located in the Usdan University Center, 45 Wyllys Avenue, Middletown. Tickets may also be purchased at the door beginning one hour prior to each ticketed performance during the season, subject to availability. The Center for the Arts accepts cash, checks written to “Wesleyan University,” and all major credit cards. Groups of ten or more may receive a discount – please call (860) 685-3355 for details. No refunds, cancellations, or exchanges. Programs, artists, and dates are subject to change without notice.
Patrons who purchase tickets to four or more Performing Arts Series events can save 15%! This special offer also applies to the Outside the Box Theater Series, the Navaratri Festival, and the DanceMasters Weekend Showcase Performance. This discount will be available starting on Monday, July 1, 2013 by calling 860-685-3355 or visiting the Wesleyan University Box Office.
Subscribe and save! Navaratri Festival subscriptions include all three ticketed performances, and will be available starting on Monday, July 1, 2013. Navaratri Festival subscriptions are $36 for the general public; $29 for senior citizens, Wesleyan faculty/staff, and non-Wesleyan students; and $18 for Wesleyan students.
The Inn at Middletown is the official hotel of the Center for the Arts. Patrons who show their Center for the Arts ticket stub receive 10% off their food bill at the Tavern at the Armory, located at 70 Main Street in Middletown.
The Center for the Arts, an eleven-building complex on the Wesleyan campus that houses the departments of Art and Art History, Dance, Music, and Theater, opened in the fall of 1973. The opening exhibition in the Ezra and Cecile Zilkha Gallery (originally the New Gallery) was "Art Therapy at Danvers" from August 29 through October 11, 1973. The opening event in the Hall (originally the Cinema) was a retrospective of the works of Elia Kazan from September 16 through 29, 1973. The opening event in the World Music Hall was a World Music Festival from October 5 through 7, 1973. The opening dedication event in the Crowell Concert Hall was a production of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's opera "Cosi Fan Tutte" produced by the Theater and Music Departments, with musical direction by Raymond E. Rendall and stage direction by Ralph D. Pendleton, conducted by Richard K. Winslow on October 26 and 27, 1973. The opening event in the Theater was the Nikolais Dance Theater from December 13 through 15, 1973, featuring the suite from "Sanctum" (1964), "Foreplay" (1972), and a preview of the work "Fixations."
Ezra and Cecile Zilkha Gallery
"The Alumni Show II"
Guest Curator: John Ravenal ’81, P’15, Sydney and Frances Lewis Family Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond
Friday, September 6 through Sunday, December 8, 2013
Gallery Hours: Tuesday through Sunday, Noon to 5pm
Closed Wednesday, November 20 through Monday, November 25, 2013
Opening Reception: Tuesday, September 10, 2013 from 4pm to 6pm; Performance by Aki Sasamoto '04 at 7:30pm
Homecoming/Family Weekend Reception: Saturday, November 2, 2013 from 2pm to 4pm; Talk at 2:30pm by Guest Curator John Ravenal; Special Gallery Hours Noon to 6pm
FREE!
In honor of the 40th anniversary of the Center for the Arts, "The Alumni Show II" looks back at four decades of Wesleyan artists. Building on the first Alumni Show held in November/December 2003 in celebration of the 30th anniversary of the CFA, this exhibition features an entirely new selection of seventeen alumni artists. Their work spans a broad range of contemporary practice and media, including painting, sculpture, drawing, installation art, video art, performance, and films. The artists featured in this exhibition are Ian H. Boyden '95, Stephanine Calvert '08, Rutherford Chang '02, Nicolas Collins '76 MA '79, Renée Green '81, Raphael Griswold '06, John N. Hatleberg '79, Gabriela Herman '03, Elsie Kagan '99, Liz Magic Laser '03, Danielle Mysliwiec '98, Ed Osborn '87, Juliana Romano '04, Aki Sasamoto '04, Arturo Vidich '03, Stephanie Washburn '03, and Ben Weiner '03.
"Centrifugal March"—Performance/Installation by Aki Sasamoto '04
Tuesday, September 10, 2013 at 7:30pm
Art Studio North, Center for the Arts
FREE!
"We Buy White Albums"—Performance/Event by Rutherford Chang '02
Saturday, November 2, 2013 from 2pm to 6pm
Ezra and Cecile Zilkha Gallery
FREE!
Browse and listen to a collection of over 750 first-pressings of The Beatles’ "The White Album" (1968), and sell your copy to Rutherford Chang '02.
Films by Liz Magic Laser '03
"Distressed" (2009), "Mine" (2009), "Flight" (2011)
Thursday, October 17, 2013 at 7pm
Powell Family Cinema, Center for Film Studies
FREE!
Performing Arts Series
The Performing Arts Series at the Center for the Arts features a wide array of world-class musicians, cutting-edge choreography, and groundbreaking theater performances and discussions.
Doug Varone and Dancers: "Stripped/Dressed" featuring "Rise" and "Carrugi"
Thursday, September 12 & Friday, September 13, 2013 at 8pm
CFA Theater
$25 general public; $21 senior citizens, Wesleyan faculty/staff, non-Wesleyan students; $6 Wesleyan students
Pre-performance talk by Wesleyan DanceLink Fellow Naya Samuel '14 on Thursday, September 12 at 7:30pm in the CFA Hall
"Dine/Dance/Discover" on Friday, September 13 at 5:30pm in Fayerweather Dance and Theater Studios — add $15 to regular ticket prices (see below for more details about "Dine/Dance/Discover")
“Doug Varone’s choreography is finely drawn and operatically rich, each dancer a thread woven into exactly where it ought to be, into a whole that is luxuriantly textured and dimensioned.”
—Portland Press Herald (Maine)
Founded in 1986 by award-winning choreographer and director Doug Varone, the New York-based company Doug Varone and Dancers has commanded attention for its expansive vision, versatility, and technical prowess. On the concert stage, in opera and theater, and on the screen, Mr. Varone’s thrilling dances make essential connections and mine the complexity of the human spirit.
The company's return to Wesleyan is designed to give the audience an intimate look at Mr. Varone's work. The first half of the program, "Stripped," opens with his masterpiece "Rise" (1993), with music by John Adams, and the dancers in rehearsal clothes under minimal lighting. Mr. Varone then comes onstage to walk through the creative process that gave birth to his most recent work, "Carrugi" (2012), deconstructing the dance and showing how he works with dancers to build the choreography. For the second half of the program, "Dressed," the company returns in costume and performs the fully-produced Connecticut premiere of "Carrugi." Inspired by the winding, narrow streets and alleyways of the Liguria region of the northwest coast of Italy, "Carrugi" is set to the oratorio “La Betulia Liberata” by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
Doug Varone and Dancers previously performed as part of the Breaking Ground Dance Series in September 2003, during the 30th-anniversary season of the Center for the Arts. The company also performed in July 2009 as part of the Summer at the CFA Series. Company members have taught Master Classes during DanceMasters Weekend at Wesleyan in 2002 and 2008.
A Breaking Ground Dance Series event presented by the Dance Department and the Center for the Arts.
Vieux Farka Touré
Friday, October 25, 2013 at 8pm
Crowell Concert Hall
$25 general public; $21 senior citizens, Wesleyan faculty/staff, non-Wesleyan students; $6 Wesleyan students
Pre-concert talk by Wesleyan graduate student Samuel Dickey ’14 at 7:15pm
“[Farka Touré’s] gently twisting melodic lines can acquire intensity with surprising speed, [and leave] both band and audience momentarily breathless.”
—Los Angeles Times
Often called the “Hendrix of the Sahara,” Vieux Farka Touré was born in Niafunké, Mali in 1981. He is the son of legendary guitar player Ali Farka Touré (1939–2006). Vieux Farka Touré started playing guitar when he was 20. He is known for dazzling audiences with his speed and dexterity on the instrument, combining West African music with blues, rock, and reggae. His first performance in the United States took place at Wesleyan in February 2007. He was one of the featured artists at the opening ceremony of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa along with Alicia Keys, Angelique Kidjo, Hugh Masekela, and others; and his recent albums have featured guests such as Toumani Diabaté, Dave Matthews, John Scofield, and Derek Trucks. Mr. Farka Touré’s band includes Wesleyan alumni Tim Keiper '02 on drums and percussion, and Eric Herman '05 on bass.
A Crowell Concert Series event presented by the Music Department and the Center for the Arts.
Juice Vocal Ensemble
Saturday, November 9, 2013, 8pm
Crowell Concert Hall
$22 general public; $18 senior citizens, Wesleyan faculty/staff, non-Wesleyan students; $6 Wesleyan students
Pre-concert talk by Wesleyan John Spencer Camp Professor of Music Neely Bruce at 7:15pm
“Sassy, vibrant and enthralling.”
—The Irish Times (Dublin)
London’s Juice Vocal Ensemble, an experimental a cappella trio that mixes contemporary classical with folk, jazz, world music, pop, and electronica, features sopranos Anna Snow and Sarah Dacey, and alto Kerry Andrew. The group’s influences range from Meredith Monk and the Beach Boys to Camille (France) and Björk (Iceland). Their playful debut album "Songspin" (2011) won an Independent Music Award for “Best Contemporary Classical Album” in May 2012. For their first U.S. tour since an appearance at the South by Southwest Festival in March 2011, the group's Connecticut debut at Wesleyan will include vibrant classical works by U.K. composers including Gabriel Prokofiev, a new work by New York-based composer and Wesleyan alumnus Toby Twining MA ‘06, and unusual arrangements of British folk songs and pop music by Guns N’ Roses, Rihanna, Mariah Carey, Erasure, Kraftwerk, and Donna Summer.
A Crowell Concert Series event presented by the Music Department and the Center for the Arts.
Kyle Abraham/Abraham.In.Motion: "Pavement"
Friday, November 15 & Saturday, November 16, 2013 at 8pm
Patricelli ’92 Theater
$25 general public; $21 senior citizens, Wesleyan faculty/staff, non-Wesleyan students; $6 Wesleyan students
Pre-performance talk by Wesleyan DanceLink Fellow Stellar Levy '15 on Friday, November 15 at 7:30pm in Zelnick Pavilion
"Dine/Dance/Discover" on Saturday, November 16 at 5:30pm in Fayerweather Dance and Theater Studios — add $15 to regular ticket prices (see below for more details about "Dine/Dance/Discover")
“Sourced in contemporary dance and the street, twisting together aggressive male posturing with the kind of hip-hop moves that summon comparisons to ballet, [Kyle Abraham’s distinctive movement language] expresses confusion with searching, eloquence.”
—The New York Times
Choreographer Kyle Abraham was born into hip hop culture in 1977, and his artistic upbringing included classical cello, piano, and the visual arts. He has created works for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, performed with Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company and David Dorfman Dance, and founded the ensemble Abraham.In.Motion in 2006. At Wesleyan, the company reimagines John Singleton’s 1991 film ”Boyz N The Hood” in the Connecticut premiere of the dance work "Pavement" (2012). Kyle Abraham was the 2011 Danspace/Institute for Curatorial Practice in Performance Artist in Residence at Wesleyan, and Abraham.In.Motion demonstrated excerpts of their work in Crowell Concert Hall in July 2011.
A Breaking Ground Dance Series event presented by the Dance Department and the Center for the Arts.
Ignacio Berroa Trio
Saturday, February 1, 2014
Crowell Concert Hall
$25 general public; $21 senior citizens, Wesleyan faculty/staff, non-Wesleyan students; $6 Wesleyan students
Pre-concert talk at 7:15pm
“The only Latin drummer in the world, in the history of American music that intimately knows both worlds; his native Afro-Cuban music as well as jazz.”
—Dizzy Gillespie
A native of Havana, Cuba, Ignacio Berroa has been recognized by many as one of the greatest drummers of our times. Born in 1953, he began his professional career in 1970 and moved to New York in 1980. Since then, he has recorded and played with a wide range of musicians including Dizzy Gillespie, Danilo Perez, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Joe Lovano, Ron Carter, Wynton Marsalis, Jackie McLean, Milt Jackson, and Tito Puente, among many others. Mr. Berroa’s first album as a leader ["Codes" (2006), on Blue Note Records] was nominated for the “Best Latin Jazz Album” Grammy Award in 2007. This concert at Wesleyan will be the Connecticut debut of Mr. Berroa’s trio, which features pianist Luis Perdomo and bassist Ricardo Rodriguez.
A Crowell Concert Series event presented by the Music Department and the Center for the Arts.
Van Cliburn International Piano Competition Gold Medalist: Vadym Kholodenko
Friday, February 14, 2014 at 8pm
Crowell Concert Hall
$22 general public; $18 senior citizens, Wesleyan faculty/staff, non-Wesleyan students; $6 Wesleyan students
Pre-concert talk at 7:15pm
“Besides its illustrious list of laureates, the importance of its prizes, quality of its judges and rigorous selection process sets [the Cliburn Competition] apart.”
—Gramophone (London)
Enjoy an evening of classical and Romantic music at Wesleyan on Valentine’s Day at this concert by 26-year old Ukrainian pianist Vadym Kholodenko, the Gold Medalist of the 2013 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. Mr. Kholodenko competed against 29 other pianists during May and June 2013 in Fort Worth, Texas. This concert will be Mr. Kholodenko's first performance in New England as the Nancy Lee and Perry R. Bass Gold Medalist.
Born in Kiev, Mr. Kholodenko has performed across the globe in Austria, China, the Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Japan, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Russia, Switzerland, and the United States. He has released recordings of the music of Franz Liszt and Sergei Rachmaninov, and he currently resides in Moscow, where he attends the capital city’s Tchaikovsky Conservatory.
The sensational victory by pianist Van Cliburn (1934–2013) at the first Tchaikovsky International Competition in Moscow in 1958 heralded a new confidence in the quality of American music-making, as well as a new era in cultural relations between the Soviet Union and the United States. The Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, dedicated to the discovery of the world's finest pianists, has taken place every four years since 1962.
A Crowell Concert Series event presented by the Music Department and the Center for the Arts.
Margaret Jenkins Dance Company: "Times Bones"
Friday, February 14 and Saturday, February 15, 2014 at 8pm
CFA Theater
$25 general public; $21 senior citizens, Wesleyan faculty/staff, non-Wesleyan students; $6 Wesleyan students
Pre-performance talk by Wesleyan DanceLink Fellow Cynthia Tong '14 on Friday, February 14 at 7:30pm in the CFA Hall
"Dine/Dance/Discover" on Saturday, February 15 at 5:30pm in the Fayerweather Dance and Theater Studios – add $15 to regular ticket prices (see below for more details about "Dine/Dance/Discover")
“The Margaret Jenkins Dance Company revels in motion. You feel that adrenaline high build and build, the dancers blurring in a froth of activity. Their vitality gives you shivers.”
—The Washington Post
The Margaret Jenkins Dance Company is known nationwide for performing highly charged kinetic works that are at once physically rigorous and intellectually demanding. Celebrating the 40th anniversary of her Company, choreographer Margaret Jenkins created "Times Bones" (2013) in collaboration with her dancers, composer Paul Dresher, visual designer Alexander V. Nichols, and poet Michael Palmer. Inspired by the myth of Osiris, Ms. Jenkins, with her dancers and collaborators, gathers the scattered “bones” of her past repertory, finding a new dance at the collision of past and present. Regarded as one of this country’s most influential dance-makers, Margaret Jenkins propels the artists and the audience on a journey forward into a rich and unknown territory.
These performances will be the New England premiere of "Times Bones," and will also be the first performances by this San Francisco-based company in New England since 1998. Margaret Jenkins Dance Company previously performed at Wesleyan in April 1990.
A Breaking Ground Dance Series event presented by the Dance Department and the Center for the Arts.
15th annual DanceMasters Weekend Showcase Performance
Saturday, March 8, 2014 at 8pm
CFA Theater
$28 general public; $24 senior citizens, Wesleyan faculty/staff, non-Wesleyan students; $8 Wesleyan students
DanceMasters Weekend is one of the most anticipated dance events in the Northeast, an opportunity like no other for a two-day total dance immersion, combining inspiring performances by premier companies with Master Classes by expert instructors. Twelve Master Classes on Saturday, March 8 and Sunday, March 9, 2014 will provide an opportunity for intermediate to advanced dance students and dance professionals to explore diverse dance techniques. Master Class fees are $19 per class, $17 per class for four or more classes, or $13 for Wesleyan students. Call 860-685-3355 or e-mail boxoffice@wesleyan.edu to join the DanceMasters mailing list. Please visit www.wesleyan.edu/dancemasters for updates as the three Showcase Performance companies and the twelve Master Class teachers are announced.
"Dine/Dance/Discover"
Designed to bring audiences closer to the work on stage, "Dine/Dance/Discover" is a new event taking place before and after all three 2013–2014 Breaking Ground Dance Series performances:
Doug Varone and Dancers: "Stripped/Dressed" featuring "Rise" and "Carrugi" (Connecticut Premiere)—Friday, September 13, 2013 at 5:30pm
Kyle Abraham/Abraham.In.Motion: "Pavement" (Connecticut Premiere)—Saturday, November 16, 2013 at 5:30pm
Margaret Jenkins Dance Company: "Times Bones" (New England Premiere)—Saturday, February 15, 2014 at 5:30pm
The "Dine/Dance/Discover" package is only a $15 add-on to the regular ticket price for each performance, and it includes all of the following:
Being the first to learn about each company before their performance through exclusive video interviews with the choreographers and their collaborators.
A 45-minute movement workshop (optional) starting at 5:30pm on the evening of the performance in the Fayerweather Dance and Theater Studios. You’ll have the opportunity to embody the vocabulary of the visiting artist, led by a Wesleyan Dance Department faculty member. All ages, no dance experience necessary.
A catered dinner and guided discussion about the visiting artist at 6:30pm.
A Breaking Ground Dance Series performance at 8pm.
Dessert, coffee, and post-performance discussion facilitated by a Wesleyan Dance Department faculty member.
A follow-up e-mail survey about the experience.
Space is limited to 24 people. Call the Wesleyan University Box Office at 860-685-3355 starting at Noon on Monday, July 1, 2013 to purchase a "Dine/Dance/Discover" package.
“Dine/Dance/Discover” is a pilot project made possible by Engaging Dance Audiences, which is administered by Dance/USA and made possible with generous funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.
Outside the Box Theater Series
The Outside the Box Theater Series, presented by the Theater Department and the Center for the Arts, features groundbreaking theater performances and discussions.
Dan Froot and Dan Hurlin: "Who’s Hungry"
Friday, September 27 & Saturday, September 28, 2013 at 8pm
CFA Theater
$23 general public; $19 senior citizens, Wesleyan faculty/staff, non-Wesleyan students; $6 Wesleyan students
“Not only are the stories being told compelling; they are presented in a provoking and imaginative fashion.”
—Culver City Crossroads (California)
The performances of "Who’s Hungry" (2012) at Wesleyan are the Connecticut premiere of a stunning experimental puppet theater work that weaves together oral histories of five very different homeless and/or hungry residents of Santa Monica, California. A 24-foot-long dinner table transforms into a runway-style puppet stage for four puppeteers using a variety of styles including figures inspired by Japanese Bunraku, two-dimensional rod puppets, and shadow puppetry. Written and produced by Los Angeles performance artist Dan Froot, designed and directed by New York puppet artist Dan Hurlin, and featuring music by Seattle composer Amy Denio, "Who’s Hungry" brings communities together, inspires theatergoers to engage with the issues, and supports the efforts of food policy activists.
The stories told in "Who’s Hungry" are those of a former interior designer, an addiction-recovery caseworker and recovering heroin addict, a subsidized housing resident evicted while undergoing a dire health crisis, a Brooklyn native who headed to New York City when the World Trade Center towers collapsed, and an original member of the influential mid-1970s surfing/skateboarding team known as “The Z-Boys” (featured in the 2005 film “Lords of Dogtown”). Following the performances, there will be Skype discussions with the people whose stories are featured in the work.
The first version of “Who’s Hungry” from 2008 was featured at Great Small Works’ 9th International Toy Theater Festival in Brooklyn, New York in 2010. Dan Hurlin brought his work “Disfarmer” to Wesleyan in October 2009 as part of the Outside the Box Theater Series. Dan Froot performed in “Live Sax Acts” with David Dorfman during the first season of the Breaking Ground Dance Series in April 2001. Mr. Froot has also worked with Mabou Mines. Amy Denio has toured with Pauline Oliveros, among others.
Made possible by a grant from the Expeditions program of the New England Foundation for the Arts.
The Assembly: "HOME/SICK"
Thursday, January 30 & Friday, January 31, 2014 at 8pm
CFA Theater
$23 general public; $19 senior citizens, Wesleyan faculty/staff, non-Wesleyan students; $6 Wesleyan students
“['HOME/SICK'] invites us to take a close-up look at the fiery rhetoric of another era’s radical fringe and to measure the distance from our own aspirations. An absorbing, critical-minded narrative.”
—The Village Voice
The Assembly is a Brooklyn-based ensemble theater project of multi-disciplinary performance artists, many of whom are Wesleyan alumni, including Co-Artistic Directors Stephen Aubrey ’06 (dramaturg), Nick Benacerraf ’08 (scenic designer), and Edward Bauer ’08 (actor). Devised and written collectively by the company, the New England premiere of "HOME/SICK" (2011), directed by Co-Artistic Director Jess Chayes ’07 and produced by Ariela Rotenberg ’10, explores the political history of how a handful of student activist leaders, disgusted by the Vietnam War and the U.S. government's repression of those seeking equality domestically, seized control of the Students for a Democratic Society movement in 1969. Believing violence to be the means to a true and lasting peace, these passionate idealists reshaped the group, in the name of overthrowing the government, into the Weather Underground. Fights choreographed by Sean Chin ’09.
The Assembly was founded in 2008 by Stephen Aubrey ’06, Nick Benacerraf ’08, and Edward Bauer ’08. These performances at Wesleyan are the New England debut of the company. Both Mr. Benacerraf and Mr. Bauer have worked with Pig Iron Theatre Company. Mr. Bauer also trained with Ang Gey Pin.
37th annual Navaratri Festival
Navaratri, one of India’s major festival celebrations, is a time to see family and friends, enjoy music and dance, and seek blessings for new endeavors. Wesleyan’s 37th annual Navaratri Festival (Wednesday, October 9 through Sunday, October 13, 2013) celebrates traditional music and dance. Pre-festival activities will be announced. Made possible by the Music Department, the Center for the Arts, the Jon B. Higgins Memorial Fund, the Madhu Reddy Endowed Fund for Indian Music and Dance at Wesleyan University, the Raga Club of Connecticut, and the New England Foundation for the Arts. For more information about the Navaratri Festival, please visit www.wesleyan.edu/navaratri.
Colloquium: Celluloid Classicism—Intertwined Histories of the South Indian "Dance Revival" and Early South Indian Cinema
Wednesday, October 9, 2013 at 4:15pm
CFA Hall
FREE!
Wesleyan University Assistant Professor of Dance Hari Krishnan recasts the making of modern Bharatanatyam (South Indian classical dance)—the period of the so-called "dance revival"—from the vantage point of early Tamil South Indian cinematic history. Staged performances of Bharatanatyam were deeply and irrevocably affected by cinema in the early part of the 20th century, and representations of dance in cinema were constructed in dialogue with the new morality and aesthetics of the reinvented dance. Mr. Krishnan argues for a new, critical reading of dance history in South India that takes seriously the shared registers upon which Bharatanatyam and Tamil film were mutually invented between the 1930s and 1950s. Using archival and ethnographic sources, he focuses on two inter-related historical issues that mark the complex and overlapping relationship between dance and early Tamil cinema—the consistent devadasi (courtesan) presence in early cinema eclipsed by the entrance of non-devadasi, high caste women in the 1940s and 1950s, similar to the new, middle-class world into the modern Bharatanatyam; and the participation of the so-called “dance revivalists” such as Rukmini Arundale (1904-1986) and E. Krishna Iyer (1897-1968) in the making of early Tamil cinema and the moral and aesthetic valences of their contributions to Bharatanatyam.
B. Balasubrahmaniyan: Vocal Music of South India
Friday, October 11, 2013 at 8pm
Crowell Concert Hall
$12 general public; $10 senior citizens, Wesleyan faculty/staff, non-Wesleyan students; $6 Wesleyan students
Vocalist B. Balasubrahmaniyan, Adjunct Assistant Professor of Music, is joined by Artist in Residence David Nelson on mridangam. The concert will open with a performance by their students.
Shashank Subramanyam
Saturday, October 12, 2013 at 8pm
Crowell Concert Hall
$15 general public; $12 senior citizens, Wesleyan faculty/staff, non-Wesleyan students; $6 Wesleyan students
“The notes that emerged from Shashank’s flute were marked by lyrical and tonal beauty. The depth and appeal of his playing sprang from layers of silences and cadences.”
—The Hindu (Chennai, India)
Trained by his father and vocal maestros R.K. Srikantan and Palghat K.V. Narayanaswami, Shashank Subramanyam started performing in 1984 at the age of six. Today, Mr. Subramanyam is considered one of the best bamboo flute artists in Indian classical music. He has collaborated with Zakir Hussain, John McLaughlin, and Ustad Sultan Khan. At Wesleyan, Mr. Subramanyam will be accompanied by violinist Nishanth Chandran and Sai Giridhar on mridangam. Shashank previously performed as part of the Navaratri Festival in September 2003.
Saraswati Puja (Hindu Ceremony)
Sunday, October 13, 2013 at 11am
World Music Hall
FREE!
This religious service, led by A. V. Srinivasan, marks the most auspicious day of the year for beginning new endeavors. The audience may participate and bring instruments, manuscripts and other items for blessing.
Aparna Ramaswamy: "Sannidhi (Sacred Space)"
Sunday, October 13, 2013 at 3pm
Crowell Concert Hall
$15 general public; $12 senior citizens, Wesleyan faculty/staff, non-Wesleyan students; $6 Wesleyan students
“A marvel of buoyant agility and sculptural clarity.”
—Dance Magazine
Born in India, and raised both there and in the United States, Aparna Ramaswamy is a protégé of legendary Bharatanatyam dancer and choreographer Alarmel Valli. Inspired by the philosophy, spirituality, mysticism, and myth of her South Indian heritage, "Sannidhi (Sacred Space)" is an evening of solo choreography accompanied by live music. Her Navaratri Festival performance will be the Connecticut debut of Ms. Ramaswamy, who has toured her work extensively, both as a soloist and as choreographer/principal dancer of Ragamala Dance, of which she is Co-Artistic Director with her mother, Ranee Ramaswamy. In 2010, Aparna Ramaswamy was the first Bharatanatyam artist to be named one of “25 to Watch” by Dance Magazine.
Special Event
"Blood, Muscle, Bone: A Performative Teach-In"
Monday, November 11, 2013 at 7pm
Fayerweather Beckham Hall
FREE!
Conceived by choreographers and visiting faculty members Liz Lerman (founder of Liz Lerman Dance Exchange) and Jawole Willa Jo Zollar (founder of Urban Bush Women) in collaboration with students in their course DANC374 "Blood, Muscle, Bone: The Anatomy of Wealth and Poverty," this performative “teach-in” (a lively and provocative tool of past protest movements) will explore issues surrounding wealth disparity and its impact on the body. The event will culminate in a multidisciplinary performance of the research.
The teach-in will also feature Wesleyan Professor of African American Studies and English Lois Brown; Wilbur Fisk Osborne Professor of Psychology and Professor of Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Jill Morawski; Associate Professor of Economics Wendy Rayack; and William Arsenio, Professor of Clinical Psychology at Yeshiva University.
The Liz Lerman Dance Exchange previously performed as part of the Breaking Ground Dance Series at Wesleyan in the CFA Theater in both February 2006 and October 2010; the company also performed in Fayerweather Beckham Hall in February 2011. Urban Bush Women performed during the DanceMasters Weekend Showcase Performance in March 2006, and on the Breaking Ground Dance Series in February 2008. Jawole Willa Jo Zollar taught a DanceMasters Weekend Master Class in March 2003; and her collaboration with Nora Chipaumire was performed as part of the Breaking Ground Dance Series in October 2012.
Music Department
This Is It! The Complete Piano Works of Neely Bruce: Part I
Sunday, September 29, 2013 at 3pm
Crowell Concert Hall
FREE!
The first of twelve CD-length recitals by Wesleyan John Spencer Camp Professor of Music Neely Bruce of his piano music, to take place every fall, spring, and summer, concluding in the summer of 2017. This recital will feature the world premieres of "A Partita for Wilhelm Gertz" (1927-2007), and "A Fugue for Sophia," written for Sophia Rosoff to celebrate her 92nd birthday. Mr. Bruce will be joined by guest vocalist Christopher Grundy, who will sing "Five Songs on Poems of John Finlay."
Reinier van Houdt: "The Well-Extended Piano"
Tuesday, October 15, 2013 at 8pm
Fayerweather Beckham Hall
FREE!
Pianist Reinier van Houdt presents "The Well-Extended Piano," a concert of electro-acoustic works for piano, including pieces by Jerry Hunt and Robert Ashley. Mr. van Houdt studied piano at the Liszt-Akademie in Budapest and the Royal Conservatory in The Hague. His programmatic choices involve a fascination with matters that escape notation—sound, timing, space, physicality, memory, noise, and environment—and points where interpretation touches improvisation. Mr. van Houdt has worked with John Cage, Alvin Lucier, Luc Ferrari, and Olivier Messiaen. He has premiered music by Robert Ashley, Alvin Curran, Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji, Francisco López, Charlemagne Palestine, Yannis Kyriakides, Maria de Alvear, Jerry Hunt, Michael Pisaro, and John Oswald. This will be Mr. van Houdt’s first performance in New England.
SEAMUS Conference
Thursday, March 27 through Saturday, March 29, 2014
The 28th conference of the Society for Electro-Acoustic Music in the United States, founded in 1984, will be held in New England for the first time since 1998, co-hosted by Wesleyan University Professor of Music Ronald Kuivila and Assistant Professor of Music Paula Matthusen. The conference will feature over a dozen concerts of new work from composers, performers, sound artists, improvisers and scholars from around the country in Crowell Concert Hall, Fayerweather Beckham Hall, and Memorial Chapel. The conference will include performances by the Wesleyan Gamelan Ensemble and Toneburst Laptop and Electronic Arts Ensemble, videos, live-coding performances, installations (including a recreation of David Tudor's 1973 work "Rainforest IV" in Zelnick Pavilion) and new research on a variety of topics related to electro-acoustic music. At the conference the Society will also present works from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers/SEAMUS student commission competition, and the SEAMUS Award for lifetime contribution to the art and craft of electro-acoustic music.
Theater Department
"The Seagull" by Anton Chekhov
Directed by Associate Professor of Theater Yuri Kordonsky
Wednesday, November 13 & Thursday, November 14, 2013 at 7pm
Friday, November 15, 2013 at 8pm
Saturday, November 16, 2013 at 2pm & 8pm
CFA Theater
$8 general public; $5 senior citizens, Wesleyan faculty/staff, non-Wesleyan students; $4 Wesleyan students
“A subject for a short story: a young girl, just like you, has lived all her life by the lake; she loves the lake like a seagull, and is as happy and free as a seagull. But a man happens to come along, sees her, and having nothing better to do, destroys her, just like this seagull here.”
—Anton Chekhov, "The Seagull"
Associate Professor of Theater Yuri Kordonsky directs Anton Chekhov’s once revolutionary and now classic masterpiece, "The Seagull" (1896). The plot of Chekhov’s famous play is seemingly simple: a group of friends gathers at a country estate to see an experimental play written and staged by Konstantin, an aspiring writer who dreams of bringing new forms to the theater. The play is performed by Konstantin’s lover Nina; among the audience are his mother Arkadina, an aging actress, and her lover, famous writer Trigorin. What starts as a casual love affair soon turns into a whirlwind of fatal events, torments of unrequited love, clashes of opposing views on art, betrayals, shattered dreams, denied hopes, and ruined lives. Love and art are the two main themes of this comedy, as Chekhov called it, a tragic comedy of human existence. They intertwine to create a mesmerizing polyphony, a profound and compassionate portrait of fragile human nature.