January 11, Friday

Cyrus Chestnut Trio

8:00 PM, Mahaney Center for the Arts, Concert Hall

Virtuosic and playful, jazz pianist Cyrus Chestnut’s hard-swinging, soulful music blends contemporary jazz, traditional jazz, and gospel, with a taste of Latin and samba. “His brand of crisp articulation and blues inflected harmony evokes another era. . . . multi-faceted and dynamic . . . Mr. Chestnut was the evening’s star and he brought charisma to the role”—New York Times. Sponsored by the Performing Arts Series. Residency activities are made possible by the Rothrock Family Fund for Experiential Learning in the Performing Arts. Reserved Seating. Tickets: $25/20/6.  Go to the Box Office>>

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January 12, Saturday

Percussion & Dance Explosion!

8:00 PM, McCullough Social Space

An interactive performance by Ugandan master drummer/dancer Samuel Bakkabulindi, featuring Damascus Kafumbe of the Music Department and Christal Brown of the Dance Program. Bring your drum and play along, or join the dance in this high-energy, party atmosphere. See associated events January 15 and January 18. Sponsored by the Department of Music, the Dance and African Studies Programs, the Rohatyn Center for Global Studies, the Office of the Dean of the College, the Center for Comparative Study of Race and Ethnicity, and the Academic Enrichment Fund. Free

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January 14, Monday

MYethiOPIA

9:00 PM, Mahaney Center for the Arts, Lower Lobby

A solo performance, written and performed by David Schein, “MYethiOPIA" is based on the author’s experiences forming and directing the Awassa AIDS Education Circus with a troupe of street kids in Southern Ethiopia. The show exposes the neocolonial irony of making “art” in a “developing country,” where the cost of Schein’s safari boots could buy three months of food for a family. MYethiOPIA revolves around an actual event -- when a “condom riot” threatens to erupt and the company is nearly trampled to death by an over-eager audience. Schein has performed MYethiOPIA in San Francisco, LA , Minnesota, Vermont and Chicago. Free

January 15, Tuesday

Sound, Movement, and Ethnicity in Uganda

4:30 PM, Mahaney Center for the Arts, Room 221

Lecture by Ugandan master drummer/dancer Samuel Bakkabulindi, founder and director of the Nanda Music Cultural Organization in Uganda. Besides being a master percussionist, dancer, and drum technician knowledgeable in various East African and West African musical traditions, Bakkabulindi is also a songwriter, music teacher, and research assistant. See associated events January 12 and January 18. Sponsored by the Department of Music, the Dance and African Studies Programs, the Rohatyn Center for Global Studies, the Office of the Dean of the College, the Center for Comparative Study of Race and Ethnicity, and the Academic Enrichment Fund. Free

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January 18, Friday

Doing it the Ugandan Way!

4:30 PM, Mahaney Center for the Arts, Dance Theatre

Ugandan music and dance workshop featuring master drummer/dancer Samuel Bakkabulindi. See associated events January 12 and January 15. Sponsored by the Department of Music, the Dance and African Studies Programs, the Rohatyn Center for Global Studies, the Office of the Dean of the College, the Center for Comparative Study of Race and Ethnicity, and the Academic Enrichment Fund. Free

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January 18–19, Friday–Saturday

The Method Gun
Rude Mechs

8:00 PM each evening, Mahaney Center for the Arts, Seeler Studio Theatre

According to the New York Times, the Rude Mechs are one of three ensemble-theatre companies in the country “making theatre that matters.” Their daring play The Method Gun explores the life of Stella Burden, actor and training guru of the ’60s and ’70s. Her training technique, The Approach (often referred to as “the most dangerous acting technique in the world”), fused Western-acting methods with risk-based rituals in order to infuse even the smallest role with sex, death, and violence. Sponsored by the Performing Arts Series, Theatre Program, and Committee on the Arts. Residency activities are made possible by the Rothrock Family Fund for Experiential Learning in the Performing Arts. Please note this performance includes adult content and nudity. Tickets: $25/20/6.  Go to the Box Office>>

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Photo Alan Simons

 

January 21, Monday

Martin Luther King Jr. Concert: Let Freedom Ring!

8:00 PM, Mead Memorial Chapel

This 15th annual celebration features Middlebury College’s Martin Luther King Choir, Alexander Twilight Artist in Residence François Clemmons, and student dancers and actors—all performing tributes to the Civil Rights leader’s legacy. Free

Photo: Vincent A. Jones ’12

 

 

January 22, Tuesday

Architecture Talk: Merrill Elam

7:00 PM, Johnson Memorial Building, Room 304

Presentation by Merrill Elam of Mack Scogin Merrill Elam Architects. See an associated exhibition of architectural works in the Johnson lobby starting January 18. Sponsored by the Department of the History of Art and Architecture, Architectural Studies Program, and the generous support of the Cameron Family. Free

 

 

January 24, Thursday

Middlebury College Orchestra
Andrew Massey, conductor

8:00 PM, Mahaney Center for the Arts, Concert Hall

The fourth annual J-term Beethoven performance features the Overture Leonore no. 2, and the Fourth Symphony. Sponsored by the Department of Music. Free

Photo Brett Simison

 

January 24-27, Thursday-Sunday

Into the Woods

8:00 PM, Town Hall Theater

What happens after "Happily Ever After," after all?  In Sondheim and Lapine's beloved musical retelling of the Grimm classics, a parade of familiar folktale figures find their way "Into the Woods" and try to get home before dark.  Stage Director, Doug Anderson; Musical Director, Carol Christensen; Band Director/Conductor, Tim Guiles. A co-production of the Department of Music and Town Hall Theater. Post-performance discussion at the Friday night show. Tickets: $12/10/6; on sale January 7. Go to the Box Office>>

 

January 25, Friday

 

“Happily Ever After” Is Unsustainable: Sondheim and the American Musical

 After "Into the Woods," Town Hall Theater

Post-show talk by director Douglas Anderson. Free

 

January 25–26, Friday–Saturday

Dance Company of Middlebury: Simply Light

30th Anniversary Performance and Tour

8:00 PM each evening, Mahaney Center for the Arts, Dance Theatre

This year’s company presents a repertory of diverse and dynamic new works featuring choreographer-composer collaborations by Catherine Cabeen with musician Kane Mathis, Paul Matteson ’00 with Peter Jones, Andrea Olsen with David Darling, and Peter Schmitz with Michael Chorney. Under Olsen’s artistic direction, the seven-member company will tour to San Francisco and the Monterey Institute for International Studies following this Middlebury College premiere. Pre-show talk Saturday at 7:00 PM. Cosponsored by the Dance Program and Committee on the Arts. Tickets: $12/10/6; on sale January 7.  Go to the Box Office>>

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Pictured: Hannah Pierce ’13, photo Alan Kimara Dixon

 

January 29, Tuesday

Informal Showing: Locations

7:00 PM, Mahaney Center for the Arts, Dance Theatre

Join us for a showing of movement experiments from the Winter Term course, Dancing and Dance Making, taught by visiting artist Peter Schmitz.Free

 

 

January 30, Wednesday

Gallery Talk: Black, White, and Beautiful

4:00 PM, Middlebury College Museum of Art

Visiting Professor of Studio Art May Mantell will speak about the current exhibit Black, White, and Beautiful: Silver Prints from the Museum Collection. Made in the darkroom and processed in wet chemistry, gelatin silver prints have an exceptional presence as a consequence of the silver embedded in them. Once ubiquitous, these prints quickly becoming rarer and rarer; currently most photographic printing uses digital ink processes. The exhibition is on view through February 3, 2013. Free

Image: Harold E. Edgerton (American, 1903-1990), Gus Solomons, 1960, gelatin silver print, 17 7/16 x 14 inches. Collection of Middlebury College Museum of Art, gift of Richard F. Young, 1988.077

 

Go to February events>>