Monthly Archives: April 2012

New classes for Fall 2012 in Dance!

Sign up now for new offerings for the Fall 2012!

CREATIVITY AND PERFORMANCE with visiting Cornell Professor, Kumudini Lakhia. (DANC 007, 1 credit, MW 1:15PM – 2:30PM, Papazian 324) Eligible for Asian Studies credit.

This course taught by visiting Cornell Professor Kumudini Lakhia from India will explore the relationship between creativity, performance, and improvisation.  Padmashri Kumudini Lakhia is one of the foremost Gurus and Kathak Choreographers in India. Credited with many innovations in Kathak, she is the Founder & Director of Kadamb, a renowned Kathak institution in Ahmedabad, India. Her teaching and choreography is admired not only in India but the world over. Based on pedagogical and choreographic experiences with the classical Indian Kathak dance for six decades, the course will engage how traditional knowledge can be the spring board for innovation in thought and action.  The course will situate performance at the intersection of interdisciplinary studies on religion, Asian studies, dance, theater, and music.

DANCING DESIRE IN BOLLYWOOD FILMS with Pallabi Chakravorty. (Dance 016, 1 Credit, Lang Music 204, TTH 11:20AM-12:35PM) This course may be counted toward a minor in Gender and Sexuality Studies & Asian Studies

Bombay films have played an important role in fashioning the narrative of Indian women as symbols of tradition and spirituality in the public imagination. They represent the convergence of art, entertainment, female sexuality, nation building, and commodity production. However, recent shifts in the depiction of the “erotic” in Bollywood dances are transforming the past representations of women. This course will explore the shifts in sexuality and gender constructions of Indian women from national to transnational symbols through the songs and dances in Bollywood.  We will examine the place of erotic/desire in reconstructing gender and sexuality from past notions of romantic love to desires for commodity. The course will   analyze the aesthetic shifts from traditional/classical song and dance repertoire to contemporary MTV inspired moves by focusing on Bombay films and related fields such as television dance reality shows. The primary focus will be centered on cross-cultural approaches to the body, desire, subjectivity, and affect drawing on anthropology, performance, film, media, and gender studies. In addition to the readings, students will be asked to view a list of Hindi films and television dance reality shows.

DANCE LAB I: MAKING DANCE with Jumatatu Poe.  (Dance 011, 1 Credit, TTH – 2:40PM to 4:00PM, LPAC 2) Prerequisite: Any dance course or permission of the instructor.  A  course in dance technique must be taken concurrently.

A study of the basic principles of dance composition through exploration of the elements of time, space, and energy, movement invention, and movement themes to understand various choreographic structures. Principles explored are applicable to dance making in a wide variety of styles and students are encouraged to create in their range of vocabularies. Reading, video and live concert viewing, movement studies, journals, exposure to a graphic animation tool for dance, and a final piece for public performance in the Troy dance lab are required.

REPERTORY BALLET with Jennifer Chipman-Bloom. (Dance 049.5, 049.5P, 0.5 Credit or PE Credit, LPAC 3, Monday 1:15PM – 4:00PM) Open to advanced ballet students. Auditions will be held during the first class.

This class will offer students experience with learning and performing classical ballet, while also being a part of the creative process of new choreography.  Choreography will be performed in December.

DANCE AND DIASPORA with Pallabi Chakravorty.  (Dance 025A (cross listed with SOAN 020J), 1 Credit, TTH 1:15PM – 2:30PM, Lang Music Bldg. 204) This is a reading and writing intensive course. Open to all students without prerequisite.

Dance is an unconventional but powerful device for studying migration and social mobility. This course will explore the interrelated themes of performance, gender, personhood, and migration in the context of diasporic experiences. By focusing on specific dance forms from Asia, Africa and Latin America, we will examine the competing claims of place-ness, globalization, and hybridization on cultural identity and difference. Students will engage with theories on nationalism, transnationalism, and globalization, as well as embodiment and experience. Broadly, the course will investigate the interlocking structures of aesthetics and politics, economics and culture, and history and power, all of which inform and continue to reshape these cultures and their dance forms.

 

 

Join us for the Honors Acting Thesis: David Mamet’s AMERICAN BUFFALO

The Department of Theater will present David Mamet’s AMERICAN BUFFALO, the Honors Acting Thesis of Jessica Cannizzaro (’12), Lori Barkin (’12) and Michelle Fennell (’12), Directed by Alex Torra.  Performance times will be Saturday and Sunday, April 21st and 22nd at 2 PM and 8 PM in the Lang Performing Arts Center’s Frear Ensemble Theatre. Set design by Marta Roncada (’14), Costume design by Matthew Saunders, Sound design by Scott Burgess, Lighting design by Josh Schulman.

David Mamet is best known as a playwright, but has received Oscar nominations for his screenplays, directed films, taught acting and written several books. Mamet’s 1975 play premiered at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago and opened on Broadway in 1977.  Don, Teach, Bob, and the mysterious Fletcher, conspire to steal a priceless coin collection from a well-to-do man.  The plot takes place in Don’s junk shop and the conspiracy centers around a rare nickel. Told with Mamet’s typical vernacular of vulgarity, the characters attack their environment, both literally and with lexicon, until the final events leave the audience pondering over the nature of good and evil, two sides of the same coin.

Director Alex Torra is a Philadelphia-based director and performer whose work focuses on ensemble-generated, original performance and contemporary interpretations of classics.  He is an Associate Artist with Pig Iron Theatre Company, where he has worked as a Performer in Twelfth Night, Cankerblossom, Welcome to Yuba City, Pay Up, 365 Days/365 Plays, and Anodyne; as Assistant Director on Chekhov Lizardbrain and Sweet By-and-By; and as Director of Come to my Awesome Fiesta, it’s Going to be Awesome, Okay? He also serves as the Resident Director for the Philadelphia ensemble Team Sunshine Performance Corporation, for which he directed Punchkapow, and with whom he is developing a handful of new works, including JapanAmerica Wonderwave, Zombie Defense Consultation, and Cityscape. Alex has also worked closely with Shakespeare in Clark Park over the last few years, directing Much Ado About Nothing and Comedy of Errors. His work with classical text has included linguistic work on “Original Pronunciation”, the dialect in which Shakespeare’s plays were originally performed. Last year, Alex served as a Fellow at the Philadelphia Live Arts Brewery, where he began the development of a self-produced piece entitled The Sincerity Project. He has received the Grace LeVine Theatre Award from the Princess Grace Foundation as well as fellowships from the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and NY’s Drama League. He received his B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania and his M.F.A. in Directing from Brown University.

For more information please contact Tara Webb at 610.328.8260 or email lpacevents@swarthmore.edu. Swarthmore College encourages persons with disabilities to participate in its programs and activities. If you or anyone in your party anticipate needing any type of special accommodation or have questions about the physical access provided, please let us know or contact Susan Smythe, ADA Program Manager at 610-690-2063 in advance of your participation or visit.

David Kennedy ’80 to speak on violence prison and race

David Kennedy ’80, author of Don’t Shoot: One Man, a Street Fellowship, and the End of Violence in Inner-City America, will give a public lecture, free and open to the public:

“From Swarthmore to the Streets: Learning to Understand and Undo America’s Worst Problems of Violence, Prison, and Race”

David KennedyWednesday, April 18th, 7 p.m., Science Center 101

A book signing will follow the talk —

Some of you might recall David Kennedy’s talk at Commencement last year, when the College awarded him an honorary Doctor of Laws degree. He is one of the country’s most well-known criminologists, credited with creating the “Boston Miracle,” through which gun violence among people under the age of 24 was reduced by 60 percent. He accomplished this by staging what was essentially a giant intervention, bringing together beat cops, gang members, families, and community members who all demanded with one voice that the violence stop. He has gone on to advise dozens of cities, both nationally and internationally, as well as senators, the Department of Justice, and Presidents Clinton and Bush. More complete biographical information follows.

Sponsored by the President’s Office, Communications Office, and the Lang Center for Civic and Social Responsibility.

ABOUT DAVID KENNEDY ‘80

David Kennedy is changing the way cities police, dispense justice, and prevent crime. A criminologist, teacher and activist, David is an expert in gun violence, neighborhood revitalization, and deterrence theory. In the 1990s he directed the Boston Gun Project, a groundbreaking initiative aimed at reducing youth violence; and he implemented Operation Ceasefire, which resulted in a 60 percent reduction in violence among people under age 24. His work in that city came to be known as the “Boston Miracle.” He has since helped other cities successfully implement similar programs, and become an advisor to national and international leaders.

Don't Shoot bookDavid is the author of several books, including the most recent Don’t Shoot: One Man, a Street Fellowship, and the End of Violence in Inner-City America, an autobiographical account of public policy. An earlier book, Deterrence and Crime Prevention: Reconsidering the Prospect of Sanction, was called “a landmark rethinking of public policy” and “a primer on 21st-century policing.” He has written for The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Boston Globe and has published numerous case studies in policing and public policy.

David was profiled in The New Yorker and Newsweek and interviewed by NPR and 60 Minutes . He has won numerous awards including two Webber Seavey Awards from the International Association of Chiefs of Police, two Innovations in American Government Awards, a Herman Goldstein Award for Excellence in Problem-Oriented Policing, and the Hatfield Scholar Award for scholarship in the Public Interest.

David graduated from Swarthmore College in 1980 with high honors in philosophy and history. He worked as a case writer, lecturer and senior researcher in the Program in Criminal Justice Policy and Management at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. He is currently the director of the Center for Crime Prevention at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City and co-chair of the National Network for Safe Communities. In recognition of his creativity, innovation, and public service, Swarthmore awarded David an honorary Doctor of Laws in May 2011.

Exhibition of dance drawings in the LPAC lobby April 14-15!

The girls of the Chester Children’s Chorus have been working on some exciting new projects including drawings of their dances.  They have been learning to draw dance with artist Anthe Captian-Valais (www.artworksbyanthe.com) and have even helped come up with costumes for their final performance on April 21st.

Please check out an exhibition of the drawings in the upstairs lobby of the LPAC during Arts Weekend!

For more information about the mission of the CCC:

http://www.swarthmore.edu/Humanities/music/ccc/

Exhibition of dance drawings in the LPAC lobby April 14-15!

The girls of the Chester Children’s Chorus have been working on some exciting new projects including drawings of their dances.  They have been learning to draw dance with artist Anthe Captian-Valais (www.artworksbyanthe.com) and have even helped come up with costumes for their final performance on April 21st.

Please check out an exhibition of the drawings in the upstairs lobby of the LPAC during Arts Weekend!

For more information about the mission of the CCC:

http://www.swarthmore.edu/Humanities/music/ccc/

CHIMERA in the Frear for Arts Weekend!

A couple of years ago, Suli Holum ’97 called Deborah Stein ’99 and pitched an idea for a solo show: a play about chimerism, a medical phenomenon whereby two sets of DNA exist in one body. They created Chimera, a performance event about a woman who is her own twin, and enlisted Tara Webb ’94, who works with the intersection of costume design and technology. The result is a dynamic interchange between a live performer and her audience against a backdrop of inventive staging and creative digital technology.

Chimera made its debut to critical acclaim at the art space HERE in New York City. Developed with support from the Swarthmore Project in Theater, Chimera launches its road tour during Arts Weekend.

What critics say:

“Delivers on its ambitious promise…. Chimera has many different stories nestled in its austere, deceptively chilly-seeming frame. And they’re all good.”  —The New York Times

“Chimera only needs a minute to make you question your grasp on reality…. By refusing to stay literal, Holum and Stein invite us to consider large questions.” —TDF Stages: A Theater Magazine

“Outrageously good … Chimera simultaneously revels in and knowingly dissects the nature of theater without forgetting its primary mission: to entertain.” —Backstage

Swarthmore College performances

Chimera will be performed twice on Saturday, April 14, in the Lang Performing Arts Center Frear Ensemble Theatre. The matinee performance will run from 3-4:15 p.m., followed by a panel discussion with the artists, and an evening performance from 7-8:15 p.m. Alumni, parents, and friends must reserve tickets in advance when registering for Arts Weekend.

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