Crimea, Tatar Rights Explored at Panel Discussion, Multimedia Performance

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"),…

Artist-in-Residence Hari Krishnan’s dance company inDANCE presented the Canadian premiere of Fallen Rain Oct. 1-2 at the Robert Gill Theatre in Toronto, Canada. The dance troupe performs Indian classical dance style bharatanatyam with Western contemporary eroticism. Under the artistic direction of Krishnan, inDANCE performed the 60-minute premiere as part of the Festival of South Asian Literature and the Arts and the University of Toronto’s The Centre for South Asian Studies. Initially choreographed as a series of solos and duets, the Canadian premiere of Fallen Rain features seven lyrical dancers and six musicians. It includes rare genres of dance that have never been presented on…

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Pam Tatge, director of the Center for the Arts, received a $20,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to support the Breaking Ground Dance Series July 2011-June 2012. The series features cutting-edge choreography and virtuosic dancing by world-renowned companies. This is the 11th anniversary season of the Breaking Ground Dance Series at Wesleyan.

The Center for the Arts received six grants worth a total of $30,300 from the New England Foundation for the Arts (NEFA) to support five visiting dance engagements and a jazz performance in 2011-12. NEFA is supporting Vincent Mantsoe; the Liz Lerman Dance Exchange’s “The Matter of Origins;” Eiko & Koma; Viver Brazill; the San Francisco-based hula company Halau ’o Keikiali’i; and jazz musician Charles Lloyd.

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

Krishnan’s Dance Troupe Presents Canadian Premiere

Dewey Dell Ends CFA Residency with Debut Performances

Dance Students Improvise Performance on Campus (with VIDEO)

NEA Supports Breaking Ground Dance Series

NEFA Supports Dance Engagements, Jazz Performance