Updates and reflections from Wesleyan's Center for the Arts in Middletown, Connecticut
Dancer/choreographer Eiko Otake, Visiting Artist in Dance and East Asian Studies, presented a series of intimate performances in the Davison Art Center’s Alsop House as part of her solo project A Body in Places on Sunday, October 4, 2015.
Click here to view the full album on flickr. Images by Sandy Aldieri of Perceptions Photography.
The Center for the Arts is one of the rare places in the state where you can consistently experience arts from around the world. This semester is no exception. In January and February, the Ezra and Cecile Zilkha Gallery hosts the work of ten contemporary Chinese artists born after the Cultural Revolution who are challenging traditional notions of Chinese identity and inventing new ways to shout out in the global arena. In February, Syrian singer Gaida brings her band to Crowell Concert Hall. At a time when her country is under siege, her soulful voice will remind us of the beauty and power of Syrian music and culture. And playwright Guillermo Calderón will discuss his award-winning works about Chile in the aftermath of the dictatorship.
The CFA is also the home of countless premieres. In April, you’ll be the first to hear Harlem Heiroglyphs, a new album by composer, vibraphonist, and Adjunct Professor of Music Jay Hoggard, both in concert and as the music for Storied Places, directed and choreographed by Dance Department Chair Nicole Stanton with text by Center for African American Studies Professor Lois Brown.
Finally, the Music Department will host a March symposium on the work of the legendary experimental music composer David Tudor and, in April, the Theater Department offers Wes Out-Loud, a site-specific work created by Assistant Professor Marcela Oteíza and her students.
The semester ends on May 7 with Feet to the Fire: Riverfront Encounter, the second annual eco-arts festival featuring world music bands, educational exhibits, and site-specific performance works by area organizations at Middletown’s Harbor Park, located on the bank of the Connecticut River.
I look forward to seeing you soon.
Pamela Tatge
Director, Center for the Arts
Wesleyan University DanceLink Fellow and CFA Arts Administration Intern Sonya Levine ’17 talks to Associate Professor of Dance Hari Krishnan about internationally acclaimed Indian dancer and choreographer Alarmél Valli, who makes her Connecticut debut on Sunday, October 11, 2015 at 3pm in Crowell Concert Hall as the conclusion of the 39th annual Navaratri Festival. Mr. Krishnan will also have a conversation with Ms. Valli following the free screening of the film “Lasya Kavya: The World of Alarmél Valli” on Saturday, October 10, 2015 at 2pm in CFA Hall.
How does Alarmél Valli bring the forms of music, dance and poetry together?
Seamlessly and with great sophistication and accessibility! As a dancer who embodies the word “articulate” in every fiber of her being, Alarmél Valli is also trained extensively in music, and has an innate love for literature and poetry. So, her dance is literally visual music in the highest order. She is acclaimed as an artist who sings with her body. She has often been described as a painter who uses her body as an empty canvas, painting upon it all the glorious colors, hues, and tints of life.
What are the stories that she tells?
Her stories are always about the sensual and spiritual coming together in a complex, integrated manner. Her stories give great hope and affirmation of life and humanity. Her stories have the unique ability to cut across linguistic, social, political, and cultural boundaries. Alarmél Valli is a rare, one-of-a-kind artist whose dance touches everyone universally.
Why is Alarmél Valli important to the dance world?
Alarmél Valli is an internationally acclaimed superstar Bharatanatyam dancer. She has been a leading light in the industry for the past 40 years, touring major theaters, festivals, and opera houses from Europe to Asia. She has transformed the traditional solo dance of Bharatanatyam into a vibrant, dynamic, and engaging solo dance style—current and relevant for a 21st century global audience. This is why she is much sought after by the most avant-garde theaters and festivals in Europe to the most conservative classical arts-friendly venues in India. On a personal level, it has been a long-awaited dream of mine to have Alarmél Valli’s appearance at Wesleyan. Her dance teacher and my dance teacher were cousins. She is also a dear friend, and I have followed her work since the late 1980s.
Why is Wesleyan an ideal site for this performance?
Wesleyan University is a major site for the performance of Indian dance and music for the past 50 years, and that is why all the great artists of India consider it an honor to perform on this campus. From a dance perspective, Wesleyan is also a major historical site for the preservation of an important strand of courtesan-style Bharatanatyam, so to have someone like Alarmél Valli, who intersects tradition and modernity, is a natural progression as a testimony to this great institution. The audiences are in for a treat on Sunday afternoon where an iconic dance artist who has been compared to [Rudolf] Nureyev and [Mikhail] Baryshnikov will grace the stage.
Alarmél Valli
Connecticut Debut
Sunday, October 11, 2015 at 3pm
Crowell Concert Hall, 50 Wyllys Avenue, Middletown
$18 general public; $15 senior citizens, Wesleyan faculty/staff/alumni, non-Wesleyan students; $6 Wesleyan students
Drew Cameron, an Iraq war veteran, is co-founder of Combat Paper Project, a project in which veterans and the non-veteran community use traditional hand papermaking techniques to transform military uniforms into paper, prints, books, and art. He writes “All of our experiences are encoded within the material items we carry about. With clothing, and military uniforms, our personal geographies, memories, and accomplishments are carried in the woven threads. Through the hand papermaking process, the clothing is deconstructed, transformed, and altered into paper sheets that accentuate those individual and collective stories.”
His talk on Monday, September 28, 2015 at 4:15pm in the Usdan University Center, Room 108 covered the history of the project, the collaborative art-making process, and how the work generates both art and conversation about collective responsibilities and shared understanding of war. Additionally, he held an Interactive Workshop on Saturday, September 26 and Sunday, September 27, 2015 in the Usdan University Center Multipurpose Room as well as an Interactive Demonstration on Saturday, September 26, 2015 at Corwin Stadium on Andrus Field.
Click here to view the full album on flickr. Images by Sandy Aldieri of Perceptions Photography.
After devoting 30 years to studying and performing tap dance, Michelle Dorrance founded Dorrance Dance / New York in 2011, and has become a contemporary tap sensation; pushing the tradition rhythmically, aesthetically, and conceptually. During their Connecticut debut, the company performed selections from three of their acclaimed, percussive works: SOUNDspace, an a cappella segement from ETM: The Initial Approach, and The Blues Project with live music performed by the dancers. Each work is a ringing testament to tap dance as both movement as music. These photos are from a workshop at the Green Street Teaching and Learning Center.
Click Here to view the full album on Flickr. Photos by Sandy Aldieri of Perceptions Photography.
Five Wesleyan Theater Department alumni—producer Roberta Pereira’03, director Michael Rau ’05, playwright MJ Kaufman ’08, producer Rachel Silverman ’09, and scenic and properties designer Emmie Finckel’14—talked about their work and careers in theater after Wesleyan. The talk was moderated by Associate Professor of Theater Cláudia Tatinge Nascimento on September 24, 2015 in CFA Hall.
Click Here to view the full album on Flickr. Photos by Sandy Aldieri of Perceptions Photography.
Grammy Award-winning trumpet virtuoso and multi-instrumentalist Nicholas Payton was born into a musical family in New Orleans. After touring with Elvin Jones, Mr. Payton made his major-label recording debut as a leader in 1994. Since then, Mr. Payton has consistently committed himself to developing his distinct voice and forging new musical frontiers. At Wesleyan, Mr. Payton performed on trumpet, piano, and Fender Rhodes with his Trio featuring bassist Gerald Cannon and drummer Herlin Riley on September 17, 2015 in Crowell Concert Hall.
Click Here to view the full album on Flickr. Photos by Sandy Aldieri of Perceptions Photography.
Dancer/choreographer Eiko Otake, visiting Artist in Dance and East Asian Studies, presented an intimate performance this fall. In this dance of solitude and fragility, Eiko explored the characteristics of each specific place and exchanged an intimate gaze with each viewer. Audience members were welcome to stay and speak with the artist.
Click Here to view the full album on Flickr. Photos by Sandy Aldieri of Perceptions Photography.
Genre-defying composer, artist, and performer R. Luke DuBois utilizes data to create maps, scores, and videos that explore subjects including the Iraq War and the census; and that raise questions of artistic agency, privacy, and fair use. Organized as a database of his projects and concerns, the exhibition R. Luke DuBois: In Real Time is the first major gallery presentation of his work and includes recent and commissioned pieces that take as their basis real-time data flows, topical statistics, and contemporary media footage. The gallery opened on September 16, 2015 in the Main Gallery, Ezra and Cecile Zilkha Gallery.
Click Here to view the full album on Flickr. Photos by Sandy Aldieri of Perceptions Photography.
Artist in Residence and University Organist Ronald Ebrecht’s sixth annual opening of the Wesleyan concert calendar featured a lively recital of works by Johann Sebastian Bach, César Franck, Felix Mendelssohn, Charles-Marie Widor, and John Spencer Camp Professor of Music Neely Bruce on Friday, September 11, 2015 at 8:30pm in the Memorial Chapel. The concert also featured percussionist Anthony DeQuattro. The concert was preceded by a dinner with the artist co-sponsored by the American Guild of Organists. Click here to view the full album on flickr. Images by Sandy Aldieri of Perceptions Photography.
