Swarthmore College (Departments of Music and Dance, Black Studies, Peace and Conflict Studies, Theatre, and the Lang Center for Civic and Social Responsibility) and the William J. Cooper Foundation present a three-week performance residency RADICAL DEMOCRACY AND HUMANISM: INTERSECTIONS BETWEEN PERFORMANCE AND ACTION. Conceived by Professor Sharon Friedler and led by Swarthmore graduate Kate Speer ‘08, the residency centers around engagements with David Dorfman Dance (DDD), a leading American modern dance company known for politically relevant works centered on community responsibility. From February 9 to February 27, 2015, workshops, classes and lectures will address a spectrum of positions and assumptions regarding intersecting issues of race, class, gender, sexuality, religion, politics and the environment. The central performance, David Dorfman’s PROPHETS OF FUNK, for this residency will take place on Friday, February 20, 2015 at 8PM in the Lang Performing Arts Center.

Participating facilitators for the residency include the following scholars and artists: Kate Speer ‘08, who has written and delivered papers on Dorfman’s dances, creative processes, and their connection to radical democracy, Teya Sepinuck, the founder and director of the Theater of Witness model of performance, David Kyuman Kim, a Connecticut College scholar of race, religion, and public life and George Lakey, visiting professor, non-violence advocate and civil rights activist. In the lectures and workshops, selections of David Dorfman’s repertory works will be taught as aids in broadening individual performing range and exposure to these processes will provide a common basis for the study and discussion of different aspects of performance. Discussions will delve into multiple opinions and perspectives in order to encourage participants to begin dialoguing about the questions at stake, effectively employing democratic practices within the concert stage environment. The residency will seek to explore how Dorfman creates dance that de-stigmatizes the notion of accessibility and interaction in post-modern performance and how dance can add a positive challenge to engage audiences in action.

A schedule for these events is available on our home page: http://www.swarthmore.edu/dance-program. These events are free and open to the public without reservations, but space is limited for some of the smaller lectures and workshops. Please contact lpacevents@swarthmore.edu or 610-328-8260 for more information.

Bryn Mawr College Performing Arts Series Closes 2012-2013 Season with Tour-De-Force Performance by Sheetal Gandhi on March 22

 Final performance caps season of virtuosic and adventurous works in the arts

BRYN MAWR, PA – February 27, 2013 – The 2012-2013 season of the Bryn Mawr College Performing Arts Series concludes Friday, March 22 with Bahu-Beti-Biwi, a solo performance by intercultural, multi-disciplinary director, choreographer and performer Sheetal Gandhi. Reviewed as “striking” and “stunning” in The Philadelphia Inquirer, Gandhi incorporates elements of contemporary and traditional dance, dramatic multi-lingual vocalizations and percussive text to comment on the Indian diaspora and the traditional roles of women in India.

In Bahu-Beti-Biwi, which translates to Daughter-in-law, Daughter, Wife, movement and music create the transition between characters inspired by women from Gandhi’s life. The piece is influenced by North Indian musical traditions that are brought into a contemporary context. Humor and tension create a platform for scenes of freedom and compromise, desire and longing, duty and love. Gandhi has performed the work around the globe.

“Bryn Mawr, an all-women’s college, looks forward to presenting Sheetal Gandhi’s important take on the changing roles of women. Gandhi is a mesmerizing performer who both entertains and addresses challenging issues,” says Lisa Kraus, Coordinator of the Bryn Mawr College Performing Arts Series.

Thursday March 21
– 4-5:30 pm Master Class: Sheetal Ghandi (this is the time we traditionally use for this, as a class meets at this hour) – Pem Studio
Contemporary Kathak class which specifically focuses on learning the rhythms and the rhythmic cycles used in North Indian classical music, some technique from this form, and then a short traditional piece.  I show them how I translate the piece into a more contemporary language, and they learn this as well.  It is a speaking/dancing class.  I do this most often with students coming from a dance background. The rhythms can be learned by anyone, but when we get into the real choreography of it, it is better if they have some dance background.

– 7pm Lecture-demonstration   Aspects of  Ms. Gandhi’s experience moving from traditional forms and developing into a multi-disciplinary artist who works in a variety of theatrical contexts (possibly including screening of video clips).

Friday, March 22
-12-1:30 – Lunch in the Dorothy Vernon Room at Bryn Mawr for students of South Asian Women’s club and anyone interested in an informal meeting and discussion

-8 pm Performance: Bahu Beti Biwi – on McPherson Stage

Saturday March 23
-10:30 -12:00 am Community Class in Bollywood Dance (children and adults) – on McPherson Stage

• learn traditional Indian styles based on both folk and classical forms
• learn important story-telling skills through dance
• learn choreography to popular Bollywood and Bhangra songs

-12:30 – 2:30 pm Workshop: These Embodied Voices – on McPherson Stage

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Bryn Mawr’s Campus is located at 101 N. Merion Ave.  Tickets to individual events in the Bryn Mawr Performing Arts Series are $20 for general admission, $18 for seniors, $10 for students with ID and Dance Pass holders, and $5 for children under 12. Tickets and more information are available online at brynmawr.edu/arts/series.html or by calling 610-526-5210.

ABOUT SHEETAL GANDHI

Sheetal Gandhi is a veteran performer whose career has spanned genres and disciplines for the last fifteen years. She worked as a creator and performer in Cirque du Soleil’s Dralion, played a leading role in the Broadway production of Bombay Dreams and is featured on the original American cast album of Stephen Schwartz’s Children of Eden.  Most recently, Gandhi was the choreographer for Los Angeles based Cornerstone Theater Company’s first-ever musical, Making Paradise: The West Hollywood Musical.  Gandhi is a 2011 recipient of the prestigious C.O.L.A. grant, awarded by the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs and a recent APPEX (Asian Pacific Performance Exchange) fellow, participating in a three week international artistic residency in Bali, Indonesia.  Gandhi’s solo and group work has been presented in theaters around the country including REDCAT (Los Angeles), Asia Society (New York), Mu Performing Arts (Minneapolis) and ODC Theater (San Francisco) as well as national and international Festivals including Black Magic Woman Theater Festival (Amsterdam), The National Asian American Theater Festival (New York), Bridges Choreographic Dialogs (Israel), Delhi International Arts Festival (India), Festival of Contemporary Dance (Mexico), and more.