Fall Faculty Dance Concert to feature premiere of "To Not Forget Crimea" by Katja Kolcio on October 24



Fall Faculty Dance Concert to feature premiere of "To Not Forget Crimea" by Katja Kolcio on October 24

Wesleyan University’s Dance Department and Center for the Arts present
"To Not Forget Crimea: Uncertain Quiet of Indigenous Crimean Tatars"
Panel Discussion and Fall Faculty Dance Concert by
Associate Professor of Dance Katja Kolcio
Friday, October 24, 2014
Premiere of multimedia work in response to political changes in Crimea


Middletown, Conn. — Wesleyan University’s Dance Department and Center for the Arts present "To Not Forget Crimea: Uncertain Quiet of Indigenous Crimean Tatars," a Panel Discussion and the Fall Faculty Dance Concert by Associate Professor of Dance Katja Kolcio.

The evening will begin with a free panel discussion, "Indigenous Ukrainian Perspectives of Crimea Post Russian-Invasion," on Friday, October 24, 2014 from 6pm to 7:30pm in Fayerweather Beckham Hall, located at 55 Wyllys Avenue on the Wesleyan campus in Middletown. The discussion will revolve around the current situation in Crimea, the quest for indigenous status by its Tatar population, and the movement for Tatar rights under Mustafa Jemilev, which through non-violence and interfaith collaboration offers an inspiring model for other oppressed peoples.
Panelists will include Arsen Zhumadilov, Founder and Chairman of the Crimean Institute for Strategic Studies; Ayla Bakkalli, United States Representative of the Crimean Tatar Mejlis at the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues; and Greta Uehling, Lecturer at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Program in International and Comparative Studies, and author of "Beyond Memory: The Crimean Tatars’ Deportation and Return." Alim Aliyev, Co-Founder and Director of Krym SOS—the major support-network, based in Lviv, Ukraine, that is supporting Crimean refugees and helping them find housing—will participate in the discussion via Skype.

The panel discussion will be followed by the premiere performance of "To Not Forget Crimea: Uncertain Quiet of Indigenous Crimean Tatars" at the Fall Faculty Dance Concert on Friday, October 24, 2014 at 8pm in Memorial Chapel, located at 221 High Street on the Wesleyan campus in Middletown. In response to recent political changes in Crimea, the new multimedia work by Associate Professor of Dance Katja Kolcio in collaboration with with New York Crimean Tatar Ensemble Musical Director Nariman Asanov and Yevshan Ukrainian Vocal Ensemble Conductor Alexander Kuzma explores issues of historical memory, cultural narrative, and the quest for human rights, as they relate to the history of Tatars, native inhabitants of Crimea, and their complex relationships with Ukraine and Russia. The performance will incorporate film footage; live music by the New York Crimean Tatar Ensemble directed by Nariman Asanov; the Yevshan Ukrainian Vocal Ensemble conducted by Alexander Kuzma and bandurists (plucked string folk instrumentalists) Olya Fryz, Larissa Krasij, Irene Kytasty Kuzma, Alina Kuzma, Joanna O'Flaherty, Luda Yurkevych, and Stefan Zaets; Julian Kytasty; the Wesleyan University student vocal group Slavei; and Wesleyan student dancers.

The performance will be followed by a talk back and reception with Ayla Bakkalli, Arsen Zhumadilov, and the featured artists.

Tickets for the performance are $8 for the general public, senior citizens, Wesleyan faculty/staff/alumni, and non-Wesleyan students; and $6 for Wesleyan students. Tickets are available online at http://www.wesleyan.edu/boxoffice, 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 the performance, subject to availability. The Center for the Arts accepts cash, checks written to “Wesleyan University,” and all major credit cards. No refunds, cancellations, or exchanges.

This project is co-sponsored by Wesleyan University's Center for the Arts, Dance Department, Government Department, Allbritton Center for the Study of Public Life, and the Ukrainian Selfreliance New England Credit Union. Made possible in part by a grant from Wesleyan University's Creative Campus Initiative, funded by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. This event is also part of "Muslim Women's Voices at Wesleyan."

About Katja Kolcio
Katja Kolcio is Associate Professor of Dance, and core faculty member of the College of the Environment at Wesleyan University. Her primary research interests lie in social somatic theory and research methodology, investigating the role of physical engagement and creativity in practices of knowledge production, as well as in twentieth century dance history. Ms. Kolcio's choreography engages the communities and environments within which it occurs. Her interests include integrating traditional and vernacular arts into contemporary performance. She holds a B.A. in International Relations from American University, an M.A. in Political Science from University of Georgia, and an M.A. in Dance and Ph.D. in Somatics/Cultural Studies from The Ohio State University.

Katja Kolcio has received choreographic fellowships from the New York State Council of the Arts and Meet the Composer, and has been commissioned to create original choreography for Yara Arts Group (New York City), Ukrainian Stage Ensemble, Wittenberg College, Duke University, Ohio State University's Slavic Studies Program, Antioch College, and New York University's Department of Music. Her choreography has been presented at Judson Church, New York University Black Box Theater, St. Marks Church, The Ukrainian Museum of New York, The Bridge for Dance, La MaMa Experimental Theatre, the Ukrainian Institute of America, the Honchar Museum and the Kyiv Mohyla Academy (Kyiv, Ukraine), various community gardens throughout New York City, and in colleges around the United States.

About the Dance Department
The Dance Department at Wesleyan University is a contemporary program with a global perspective. The curriculum, faculty research, and pedagogy all center on the relationships between theory and practice, embodied learning, and the potential dance making has to be a catalyst for social change. Within that rigorous context, students encounter a diversity of approaches to making, practicing, and analyzing dance in an intimate learning atmosphere. The program embraces classical forms from ballet, Bharata Natyam, Javanese, and Ghanaian, to experimental practices that fuse tradition and experimentation into new, contemporary forms.

For more information about the Dance Department, please visit http://www.wesleyan.edu/dance.

About "Muslim Women's Voices at Wesleyan"
During the 2014-2015 academic year, "Muslim Women’s Voices at Wesleyan" will expand awareness, knowledge, and understanding of Muslim cultures through the lens of performance; exploring the work of extraordinary artists from around the globe, each one bringing a distinct set of personal experiences and embedded in a particular place, society, and cultural tradition. Through this journey, audiences will celebrate the complexity of Muslim women today, and the historical and cultural context from which they have emerged. "Muslim Women’s Voices at Wesleyan" is part of the Creative Campus Initiative of the Center for the Arts, and is made possible in part by a grant from the Association of Performing Arts Presenters: Building Bridges: Campus Community Engagement Grants Program, a component of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and the Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art. "Muslim Women's Voices at Wesleyan" is co-sponsored by the Hartford Seminary, the Muslim Coalition of Connecticut, and the Pakistani American Association of Connecticut. The media sponsor of "Muslim Women's Voices at Wesleyan" is WESU 88.1FM.

For more information about "Muslim Women's Voices at Wesleyan," please visit http://www.wesleyan.edu/cfa/mwv.