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Andrew ChatfieldSeptember 3, 20249min
The Class of 2028 gathered on Andrus Field for a joyful celebration on Aug. 30. More than 600 first-year students took part in the 17th annual “Common Moment” as part of new student orientation. The celebration also included new transfer students from both the Class of 2027 and the Class of 2026. Joshua Lubin-Levy 06, director of the Center for the Arts, said the “Common Moment” is an opportunity during orientation for new students to get out of their heads and into their bodies, feeling and sensing the world around them through dance as they reflect on the kind of…

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Andrew ChatfieldSeptember 6, 20235min
The day after arriving on campus, the Class of 2027 gathered on Andrus Field for a celebration of embodied practice—using your body to know the world. On Thursday August 31, over 700 first year students took part in the 16th annual “Common Moment” as part of new student orientation. The celebration also included new transfer students from both the Class of 2026 and the Class of 2025. Five faculty members from the Dance Department gave new students an opportunity to learn the eclectic and diverse world dance traditions taught at Wesleyan, and then to have fun performing those energetic dances…

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Andrew ChatfieldSeptember 6, 20227min
The Class of 2026 began its first week at Wesleyan moving into the dorms and finished it congregating at the base of Foss Hill, moving to a calypso groove to break the ice. On the Friday evening before courses began, over 700 students from Wesleyan’s Class of 2026 took part in the 15th annual “Common Moment,” held on Andrus Field as part of new student orientation. The celebration also included new transfer students from both the Class of 2025 and the Class of 2024. Six faculty and staff members gave new students an opportunity to learn the eclectic and diverse…

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Editorial StaffSeptember 9, 20212min
The Class of 2025's New Student Orientation concluded on Friday, Sept. 3 with a celebratory return to an in-person "Common Moment" which was held on Andrus Field. The annual shared participatory arts event is one of the culminating experiences of students' first week on campus. The movement experience for incoming students, which has been held since 2008 starting with the Class of 2012, featured both faculty and alumni choreographers from Wesleyan’s Dance Department. The event had pivoted to an asynchronous event last summer. The Class of 2024 participated virtually (view performance) from their residence halls on Aug. 28, 2020 due…

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Olivia DrakeSeptember 7, 20182min
New Student Orientation for the Class of 2022 concluded Aug. 31 with the annual Common Moment, an event where members of the incoming class are brought together through music and performance. This year, the students worked with choreographer Heidi Latsky to create her installation ON DISPLAY, a performance art investigation of the body and the gaze. In a large-scale, participatory version of Latsky’s touring work, the first-year students performed the roles of both seer and seen on Andrus Field and discussed their personal experiences of these roles. Students were challenged to commit to the exercise without judgment, to trust both…

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Olivia DrakeSeptember 12, 20171min
On Sept. 1, drummers and dancers representing several cultures led the incoming Class of 2021 in a performance on Andrus Field as students embodied dances from different world cultures during the “Common Moment” of New Student Orientation. This year’s first-year students learned Caribbean, modern, Brazilian, Indian, and West African dances from Iddi Saaka, Dance Department artist-in-residence, and other master teachers. The event culminated with a performance by Prometheus, Wesleyan's fire-spinning group. The Common Moment is sponsored by the Center for the Arts. A video and photos of the Common Moment are below: (Photos by Sandy Aldieri of Perceptions Photography) (more…)

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Olivia DrakeSeptember 15, 20161min
The Center for the Arts hosted the Common Moment Sept. 2 on Andrus Field. As one of the culminating experiences of New Student Orientation, the Common Moment brought the Class of 2020 together as they experienced cultures and dance from around the world. Prometheus, Wesleyan's fire-spinning group, also performed during the Common Moment. Photos of the event are below and in this Wesleyan Center for the Arts photo gallery. (Photos by Sandy Aldieri of Perceptions Photography) (more…)