dance – Page 2

The Center for the Arts hosted a West African Drumming and Dance Concert Dec. 2 at Crowell Concert Hall. The performance featured master drummer Emmanuel Attah Poku; choreographer and artist-in-residence Iddi Saaka; and more than 90 Wesleyan students. In addition, the Kiniwe African Dance Ensemble from Tufts University also performed at the concert. The event showcased the vibrancy of West African cultures through their music and dance forms. (Photos by Will Barr '18) (more…)

A Connecticut dance event offered Associate Professor of Dance Katja Kolcio an additional way to explore her ongoing dance/movement project highlighting the effect of political forces at work in Ukraine. Last summer, Kolcio invited colleague and Associate Professor of Dance Nicole Stanton to join with two other dancers, both with ties to Ukraine, to create a dance. This event, Dance for Peace, was sponsored by Artists for World Peace, an organization founded and led by Wendy Black-Nasta P’07, with music director Robert Nasta MA ’98, P’07. Kolcio, who holds a doctorate in somatics, places the dance they created, “Steppe Land,”…

Building off research she did for her work "Body in Places" at Wesleyan in fall 2015, Visiting Instructor in Dance Eiko Otake will present a major platform at Danspace Project in New York City on March 11. The free talks include those by Wesleyan faculty members William Johnson, professor of history, professor of East Asian Studies, professor of science in society, professor of environmental studies, and Katja Kolcio, associate professor of dance, associate professor of environmental studies. March 11 marks the fifth anniversary of the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster in Fukushima, Japan. A photo collective by Eiko and Johnston will be…

On Nov. 7, Adjunct Professor of Music Abraham Adzenyah and Artist in Residence Iddi Saaka taught a joint Homecoming/Family Weekend workshop for students, families and friends on Ghanian drumming and dance. Participants performed in Crowell Concert Hall with alumni accompanying on drums. Current Wesleyan students also performed. The event was one of three held that day in honor of Adzenyah's 46 years at Wesleyan. Wesleyan is working to raise $300,000 to establish an Abraham Adzenyah Endowed Wesleyan Scholarship after his retirement. Find more information or make a donation here. (Photo by John Van Vlack) (more…)

Hari Krishnan, assistant professor of dance, recently received the Choreomundus Scholars in Residence Award, which will support a three-week residence at the University of Roehampton in London, beginning May 18. During his residency, Krishnan will teach and mentor Choreomundus students who are working on their final project. Krishnan expressed excitement over his award: "I am delighted and honored to be one of two recipients of the prestigious Erasmus Mundus grant for visiting scholars to the "Choreomundus International Masters in Dance Knowledge, Practice and Heritage" at the University of Roehampton’s Department of Dance in London." (more…)

On Oct. 24, the Dance Department and Center for the Arts present "To Not Forget Crimea: Uncertain Quiet of Indigenous Crimean Tatars," a panel discussion and the Fall Faculty Dance Concert by Associate Professor of Dance Katja Kolcio. While international media and political leaders are ignoring the situation in Crimea, this event draws public attention to the widespread violation of the Tatars' human rights and the degree to which the Russian Occupation has forced them out of their ancestral homeland. The evening will begin with a free panel discussion, "Indigenous Ukrainian Perspectives of Crimea Post Russian-Invasion," from 6 to…

Assistant Professor of Dance Hari Krishnan has been nominated for the Bessie Award for Outstanding Performer for his solo performance of "The Frog Princess," which he performed as part of the La Mama Moves! Dance Festival in New York City in June and July. Forty nominees for the 2012-13 Bessies, formally known as The New York Dance and Performance Awards, were announced at a press conference at the Gina Gibney Dance Center in New York on July 17. The 29th Annual Bessie Awards will be held on Oct. 7 at the Apollo Theater in New York. Krishnan was one of…

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Wesleyan's annual West African Drumming and Dance concert, which took place on the Center for the Arts Green, was recently featured by the Middletown Patch. The article, published on May 15, notes: "The exhilarating performance featured the work of Ghanian choreographer Iddi Saaka, Wesleyan world dance artist-in-residence; and master drummer Abraham Adzenyah, whose energetic and spirited students gave a sampling of what they've learned in West African dance courses this semester, accompanied by guest artists and drummers. " Read the article and see the video of the performance here.

Hari Krishnan, artist-in-residence in dance, received widespread media attention for his dance company's performance season in Canada. Positive reviews and articles appeared in the Toronto Standard, Toronto.com, Xtra!, To Live With Culture, Mooney on Theatre, and Fab Magazine. In other exciting news, Krishnan's dance company, inDANCE, was invited to present "Quicksand" and a new solo (commissioned for Jacob's Pillow) at the Canada Dance Festival, the country's most prestigious contemporary dance festival, on June 11.

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In The Dance Claimed Me (Yale University Press), Peggy MALS ’77 and Murray Schwartz provide an intimate perspective on the life of Pearl Primus (1919–1994) who made her mark on the dance scene in 1943 with impressive works incorporating social and racial protest into their dance aesthetic. Friends and colleagues of the dancer, the authors explore her influences on American culture, dance, and education. The Schwartzes trace Primus’s journey from her childhood in Port of Spain, Trinidad, through her rise as an influential international dancer, an early member of the New Dance Group (whose motto was “Dance is a weapon"),…

More than 90 Students Perform in West African Drumming and Dance Concert

Kolcio, Stanton Create, Perform “Steppe Lands” as Freedom Dance Ukraine

Eiko Otake to Present Major Platform at Danspace in NYC, March 11

Adzenyah, Saaka Teach West African Dance, Drumming

Krishnan Receives Choreomundus Scholars in Residence Award

Crimea, Tatar Rights Explored at Panel Discussion, Multimedia Performance

Krishnan Nominated for Dance Performance Award

Javanese Dance Class Prepares for Spring Recital

West African Drummers, Dancers Perform on CFA Green

Krishnan’s Dance Performance Praised in Canadian Media

CFA Hosts Music, Dance from Pacific Atolls

Schwartz MALS ’77 Co-Writes Life of Dancer Pearl Primus