DCDC DANCE EVENT
SPONSORED BY QBASE
Nov. 14, 2007, 7:30 p.m. - Kuss Auditorium
“Man has created boundaries for race, religion, and culture. If we can get past that, we can realize that there is much more in life, which connects us.” – Jeraldyne Blunden
Rooted in the African American experience, DCDC's mission is to deliver contemporary dance of the highest quality to the broadest possible audience. Founded in 1968 by Dayton, Ohio native, Jeraldyne Blunden, recipient of a MacArthur "genius" fellowship, the company has earned national and international acclaim for artistic excellence and its outstanding repertoire of both classic and new works. Throughout its history, the company has consistently sought to build its of collection of works by the most significant modern dance creators and holds the largest collection in the world of classic works by African American choreographers. In the last four years, DCDC has commissioned new works by Bill T. Jones, Doug Varone, Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, Bebe Miller, Dwight Rhoden and Ronald K. Brown.
SECOND CITY TOURING COMPANY
Jan. 17, 2008, 7 p.m. & 10 p.m.
Chakeres Memorial Theatre
“One Nation Under Blog”
The Second City Touring Company has been bringing laughter and joy to packed houses throughout North America for more than 40 years. Funny and fast-paced, Second City performs a medley of classic scenes, songs and improvisation, which is original, daring and hilarious.
POET BILLY COLLINS
PRESENTED IN MEMORY OF DR. ALLEN J. KOPPENHAVER
March 12, 2008, 7:30 p.m.
Bayley Auditorium,
Barbara Deer Kuss Science Center
“Luring his readers into the poem with humor, Mr. Collins leads them unwittingly into deeper, more serious places, a kind of journey from the familiar to quirky to unexpected territory, sometimes tender, often profound.” - The New York Times
Billy Collins is an American phenomenon. No poet since Robert Frost has managed to combine high critical acclaim with such broad popular appeal. His work has appeared in a variety of periodicals including The New Yorker, The Paris Review, and The American Scholar, he is a Guggenheim fellow and a New York Public Library “Literary Lion.” His last three collections of poems have broken sales records for poetry. His readings are usually SRO, and his audience – enlarged tremendously by his appearances on National Public Radio – includes people of all backgrounds and age groups. The poems themselves best explain this phenomenon. The typical Collins poem opens on a clear and hospitable note but soon takes an unexpected turn; poems that begin in irony may end in a moment of lyric surprise. No wonder Collins sees his poetry as “a form of travel writing” and considers humor “a door into the serious.” It is a door that many thousands of readers have opened with amazement and delight.
In June 2001, Billy Collins was appointed United States Poet Laureate 2001-2003. In January 2004, Collins was named New York State Poet Laureate 2004-06. Billy Collins is a professor of English at Lehman College of the City University of New York.
BEAUX ARTS TRIO
sponsored BY The Ruth B. & Thomas F.
Mackey Charitable Trust
April 8, 2008, 7:30 p.m. - Weaver Chapel
The great musical tradition of the Beaux Arts Trio began with its public debut on July 13, 1955 at the Berkshire Music Festival, known today as the Tanglewood Music Center, where the Trio celebrated a highly successful 50th Anniversary Season in 2004-2005 with a sold out recital in Seiji Ozawa Hall, of which the the Boston Globe said on July 14, 2005:
" From the very start, the Beaux Arts Trio elevated the standard of playing this genre of chamber music, and it's still doing so today. In fact, the current lineup of players may be the strongest in its history. These are three powerhouse soloists... But they also have the ears and sensibilities of chamber-music players... There is a distinct Beaux Arts identity, too, chameleon-like in its ability to merge with the identities of composers and their many moods."
Pianist and founder, Menahem Pressler, British violinist Daniel Hope, who joined the Trio in 2002, and Brazilian born cellist Antonio Meneses, who joined in 1998 have consistently garnered reviews of unanimously ecstatic praise for their superb artistry, exacting musicianship, comprehensive repertoire, expansive discography and distinguished history.