http://swarthmorephoenix.com/2015/02/12/theater-of-witness-covers-new-ranges-of-emotional-spectrum/
Category Archives: Dance
The Phoenix reviews PROPHETS OF FUNK
The Phoenix reviews PROPHETS OF FUNK
Sharon Friedler to speak at Princeton (3/12 @ 4:30PM)
At 4:30 pm on March 12, 2015 in the Stewart Theatre, Lewis Center for the Arts, Princeton University, 185 Nassau Street, Princeton, New Jersey, Professor Sharon Friedler of the Swarthmore College Department of Music and Dance and Director of Dance at Swarthmore College from 1985-2014 will join a panel of directors of college and university dance programs in a discussion entitled “Debating the Role of Dance in Higher Education”. This event, sponsored by the Princeton University Program in Dance, is free and open to the public. No advance reservations are required.
Sharon Friedler to speak at Princeton (3/12 @ 4:30PM)
At 4:30 pm on March 12, 2015 in the Stewart Theatre, Lewis Center for the Arts, Princeton University, 185 Nassau Street, Princeton, New Jersey, Professor Sharon Friedler of the Swarthmore College Department of Music and Dance and Director of Dance at Swarthmore College from 1985-2014 will join a panel of directors of college and university dance programs in a discussion entitled “Debating the Role of Dance in Higher Education”. This event, sponsored by the Princeton University Program in Dance, is free and open to the public. No advance reservations are required.
“GET ON YOUR FEET” a workshop for organizing peaceful protest with George Lakey
When: Thursday, 2/26, 7 p.m.
Where: Lang Center/Keith Room
George Lakey’s workshop is the final event in the RADICAL DEMOCRACY AND HUMANISM residency sponsored by the William J. Cooper Foundation. The workshop will offer attendees some models for organizing and information regarding preparation for peaceful protest. What questions is it important to answer, individually and as a group, regarding purpose and practice? What tools for action are useful to groups in differing situations? What models from past and current movements can be adapted to a variety of purposes? In this session, George Lakey will show that you *can* go beyond the boring limits of choosing between a march or a rally by coming to this workshop and learning about:
– action logic
– edgy actions
– using actions leadership development
– maximizing the empowerment potential of the actions you design
– one-offs vs. campaigns.
The workshop includes question time on the use of nonviolent direct action compared with other techniques for social change.
George Lakey’s first arrest was in the ‘sixties for a civil rights sit-in; in 2013 he was arrested in a protest against mountaintop removal coal mining in Appalachia. He co-founded a number of social change groups including Movement for a New Society, the Pennsylvania Jobs with Peace Campaign, Men Against Patriarchy, Training for Change, and Earth Quaker Action Team. He has led over 1500 social change workshops on five continents, for a wide variety of groups including homeless people, prisoners, Russian lesbians and gays, Sri Lankan monks, Burmese guerrilla soldiers, striking steel workers, South African activists, Canadian academics, and leaders of indigenous peoples brought together by the United Nations Institute for Training and Research in Geneva.
“GET ON YOUR FEET” a workshop for organizing peaceful protest with George Lakey
When: Thursday, 2/26, 7 p.m.
Where: Lang Center/Keith Room
George Lakey’s workshop is the final event in the RADICAL DEMOCRACY AND HUMANISM residency sponsored by the William J. Cooper Foundation. The workshop will offer attendees some models for organizing and information regarding preparation for peaceful protest. What questions is it important to answer, individually and as a group, regarding purpose and practice? What tools for action are useful to groups in differing situations? What models from past and current movements can be adapted to a variety of purposes? In this session, George Lakey will show that you *can* go beyond the boring limits of choosing between a march or a rally by coming to this workshop and learning about:
– action logic
– edgy actions
– using actions leadership development
– maximizing the empowerment potential of the actions you design
– one-offs vs. campaigns.
The workshop includes question time on the use of nonviolent direct action compared with other techniques for social change.
George Lakey’s first arrest was in the ‘sixties for a civil rights sit-in; in 2013 he was arrested in a protest against mountaintop removal coal mining in Appalachia. He co-founded a number of social change groups including Movement for a New Society, the Pennsylvania Jobs with Peace Campaign, Men Against Patriarchy, Training for Change, and Earth Quaker Action Team. He has led over 1500 social change workshops on five continents, for a wide variety of groups including homeless people, prisoners, Russian lesbians and gays, Sri Lankan monks, Burmese guerrilla soldiers, striking steel workers, South African activists, Canadian academics, and leaders of indigenous peoples brought together by the United Nations Institute for Training and Research in Geneva.
RADICAL DEMOCRACY series – a few more lectures left!! (2/23-2/27)
FUNKY CHARISMA AND PROPHETS OF FUNK, a lecture with Kate Speer ’08
When: Monday, 2/23 at 10:30AM
Where: Lang Music 204
A PERsentation that presents an inside reading of David Dorfman’s PROPHETS OF FUNK, revealing how the work positions Funk composer and musician Sly Stewart as a charismatic prophet and transfers that charisma to the audience. By using the rhythms of Funk, Dorfman and the cast draw upon Pentecostal practices of testifying and transcendence, which are modes of receiving God on a personal level. Additionally, the work suggests that if charisma can be caught, like catching the spirit in Pentecostal worship, then there is the possibility for the audience to leave the theatre with their own charisma. Thus, this dance serves as an example for activists and artists alike that charisma is a potent and palatable method to shift their audience’s perspective so that it is in line with their message and to potentially ignite social change.
Kate Speer ’08 says of herself: “I am a dance artist who relishes a good beat that sends my sweaty, exhausted body into motion, who choreographs huge landscapes that crescendo into mountains and dissolve into streams, and who writes in order to open my mind to the body’s subtle, hidden meanings. Within the discipline of dance, I identify as a scholartist, a term that evokes a synthesis of choreography, performance, and scholarship. As a choreographer, I live at the intersection of social activism and artistic production by merging theatrical storytelling with athletic, momentum-based movement in order to engage the audience’s visceral and emotional capacities.”
Plus
BETWEEN APATHY AND ACTION, a lecture/discussion with Kate Speer ’08
When: Tuesday, 2/24 2:40 p.m.
Where: Lang Music 407
For this lecture in the RADICAL DEMOCRACY AND HUMANISM residency, Kate Speer ’08 will address how David Dorfman Dance uses dance as political activism. Since its formation in 1985, David Dorfman Dance has become one of the leading American modern dance companies known for politically relevant and community based works. By analyzing the choreographies of Disavowal (2008) and underground (2006) through the lens of activist art and protest theories, Dorfman’s work reveals a set of beliefs that are distinctly American, including democracy, individualism, and activism. Additionally, his works strive to encourage the audience to begin dialoguing, effectively employing democracy within the concert stage environment. Consequently, David Dorfman’s work aims to create active American citizens who are more critical of their actions in the world, perhaps even inspired to act after leaving the theater.
Kate Speer says of herself:”I am a dance artist who relishes a good beat that sends my sweaty, exhausted body into motion, who choreographs huge landscapes that crescendo into mountains and dissolve into streams, and who writes in order to open my mind to the body’s subtle, hidden meanings.
Within the discipline of dance, I identify as a scholartist, a term that evokes a synthesis of choreography, performance, and scholarship. As a choreographer, I live at the intersection of social activism and artistic production by merging theatrical storytelling with athletic, momentum-based movement in order to engage the audience’s visceral and emotional capacities.” http://www.katespeerdance.org/about.html
RADICAL DEMOCRACY series – a few more lectures left!! (2/23-2/27)
FUNKY CHARISMA AND PROPHETS OF FUNK, a lecture with Kate Speer ’08
When: Monday, 2/23 at 10:30AM
Where: Lang Music 204
A PERsentation that presents an inside reading of David Dorfman’s PROPHETS OF FUNK, revealing how the work positions Funk composer and musician Sly Stewart as a charismatic prophet and transfers that charisma to the audience. By using the rhythms of Funk, Dorfman and the cast draw upon Pentecostal practices of testifying and transcendence, which are modes of receiving God on a personal level. Additionally, the work suggests that if charisma can be caught, like catching the spirit in Pentecostal worship, then there is the possibility for the audience to leave the theatre with their own charisma. Thus, this dance serves as an example for activists and artists alike that charisma is a potent and palatable method to shift their audience’s perspective so that it is in line with their message and to potentially ignite social change.
Kate Speer ’08 says of herself: “I am a dance artist who relishes a good beat that sends my sweaty, exhausted body into motion, who choreographs huge landscapes that crescendo into mountains and dissolve into streams, and who writes in order to open my mind to the body’s subtle, hidden meanings. Within the discipline of dance, I identify as a scholartist, a term that evokes a synthesis of choreography, performance, and scholarship. As a choreographer, I live at the intersection of social activism and artistic production by merging theatrical storytelling with athletic, momentum-based movement in order to engage the audience’s visceral and emotional capacities.”
Plus
BETWEEN APATHY AND ACTION, a lecture/discussion with Kate Speer ’08
When: Tuesday, 2/24 2:40 p.m.
Where: Lang Music 407
For this lecture in the RADICAL DEMOCRACY AND HUMANISM residency, Kate Speer ’08 will address how David Dorfman Dance uses dance as political activism. Since its formation in 1985, David Dorfman Dance has become one of the leading American modern dance companies known for politically relevant and community based works. By analyzing the choreographies of Disavowal (2008) and underground (2006) through the lens of activist art and protest theories, Dorfman’s work reveals a set of beliefs that are distinctly American, including democracy, individualism, and activism. Additionally, his works strive to encourage the audience to begin dialoguing, effectively employing democracy within the concert stage environment. Consequently, David Dorfman’s work aims to create active American citizens who are more critical of their actions in the world, perhaps even inspired to act after leaving the theater.
Kate Speer says of herself:”I am a dance artist who relishes a good beat that sends my sweaty, exhausted body into motion, who choreographs huge landscapes that crescendo into mountains and dissolve into streams, and who writes in order to open my mind to the body’s subtle, hidden meanings.
Within the discipline of dance, I identify as a scholartist, a term that evokes a synthesis of choreography, performance, and scholarship. As a choreographer, I live at the intersection of social activism and artistic production by merging theatrical storytelling with athletic, momentum-based movement in order to engage the audience’s visceral and emotional capacities.” http://www.katespeerdance.org/about.html
Design class opportunities are not just for Theater majors!
Looking for a break from writing papers? Interested in learning more about lighting? The Lighting Design class is now open and available to all!
In this hands on class you will learn the hows and whys to help you design lights for theater, dance, art, or music events. This knowledge is also useful for gallery installation, architecture, engineering and fashion! Your enrollment can lead to design opportunities and steady employment on campus with the LPAC, Olde Club, and beyond.
Meets Mondays 1:00PM – 6:15PM (break halfway through class for coffee).
NO PREREQUISITES!!
Email jmurphy2@swarthmore.edu, or enroll in THEA 004B.
Are you missing some basic skills of drafting and architectural model making? Want to make exciting interior and exterior spaces?
Explore scenery design from concept to production and how it relates to other elements in performance spaces and beyond. A lab component of this class will include an introduction to computer drafting, model making and additional information about materials used for basic construction. The course is designed to serve all students regardless of prior experience in theater production.
Meets Mondays 4:15PM – 6:15PM and Wednesdays 1:00PM – 3:45PM! NO PREREQUISITES! Fulfills a general requirement for all theater majors and minors.
Enroll in THEA 004A or email Prof. Saunders at msaunde1@swarthmore.edu for details.
If you are looking for a broad spectrum class in design processes, look no further! This course offers an introduction to creative aspects of designing scenery, costumes, lighting, and sound for theater and performance with emphasis on the correlation of text, imagination, and space. In a collaborative classroom setting, the students will have the opportunity to explore individual ideas and transform these into a design that is cohesive and relevant to a production. The lab component of the course will provide a broad introduction to the technical aspects of theater production. No prior performance experience necessary!
Meets Thursdays 4:15PM – 6:15PM and 7:15PM – 9:45PM.
NO PREREQUISITES! Fulfills a general requirement for all theater majors and minors.
Enroll in THEA 003 or email lswanso@swarthmore.edu for more info.