December 1, Tuesday
Gaga Movement Class
8:00-9:00 AM, Virtue Field House Lounge
Come enjoy end-of-semester stress relief with movement for well-being. Gaga is a training method for movement developed by the artistic director of Batsheva Dance Company, Ohad Naharin. Gaga provides a framework for discovering and strengthening the body while increasing flexibility, stamina, and agility. As part of the Movement Matters Residency, Maree ReMalia will facilitate two Gaga/people classes that are open to the public. No previous experience necessary, all ages 16+ welcome. Wear comfortable clothing and feel free to bring a friend. Also on December 3. Free
Pictured: Gaga class in Israel, photo Ascaf Avraham
December 2, Wednesday (through December 10)
Silkscreen Prints
Johnson Memorial Building, Mezzanine
Students in Hedya Klein’s ART 318 printmaking class exhibit their new work as a culmination of in-depth studio practice. Students addressed various technical and conceptual challenges, resulting in an array of imagery inspired by life and imagination. The silkscreen process involves the application of squeezing ink through mesh onto paper. Students compose complex prints by layering various textures, shapes, lines, values, and colors, and integrating drawing and computer manipulation into their process. Sponsored by the Program in Studio Art. Free
Pictured: Julia Sisson ’14, three-color silkscreen
December 3, Thursday
Gaga Movement Class
4:30-5:30 PM, Mahaney Center for the Arts, Rm. 109
Come enjoy end-of-semester stress relief with movement for well-being. Gaga is a training method for movement developed by the artistic director of Batsheva Dance Company, Ohad Naharin. Gaga provides a framework for discovering and strengthening the body while increasing flexibility, stamina, and agility. As part of the Movement Matters Residency, Maree ReMalia will facilitate two Gaga/people classes that are open to the public. No previous experience necessary, all ages 16+ welcome. Wear comfortable clothing and feel free to bring a friend. Also on December 1. Free
Pictured: Gaga class in Israel, photo Ascaf Avraham
December 3, Thursday
Video Art Screening
7:00 PM, Johnson Memorial Building, Room 304
Students from Gigi Gatewood’s fall class Video Art screen their short original works, illustrating the numerous approaches for expression that this medium allows. Sponsored by the Program in Studio Art. Free
Pictured: Chrissy Ritter ’16 and Celina Cimino Avery ’18; direction by Spencer Watson ’18 and cinematography by Michelle Hwang ‘19
December 3–5, Thursday–Saturday
Clickshare
7:30 PM each evening, plus Saturday at 2:00 PM, Mahaney Center for the Arts, Seeler Studio Theatre
A group of employees at a popular news website live and die by the viral content of their pieces. But when they break a story that’s bigger than anything they’ve ever seen before, their lives hang in the balance. Originally developed at the MIDD-Summer Play Lab, this play by Lucas Kavner ’06.5 (Fish Eye, Carnaval Kids) was further developed during the fall semester to prepare for this premiere. “[Kavner] has a gift for artfully underwritten, unaffectedly colloquial, and often uproarious dialogue”—New York Magazine. Post-performance talk on Friday. Directed by Alex Draper ’88; sponsored by the Theatre Program. Buy Tickets: $12 Public/$10 Middlebury ID holders/$6 Middlebury students; on sale November 16. Box Office Info>>
December 3, Thursday (through December 10)
Landscape Re-Imagined: The Autumn Campus
Johnson Memorial Building
The works created in Jim Butler’s fall class Landscape Re-Imagined: Painting, Drawing, Photography, and Glass are large-scale images of our campus presented in new and surprising ways. Students artistically interact with Middlebury’s natural and built environments while studying the rich history of how humans have depicted landscape. Their results exploit all the fluidly colorful possibilities of pigment to reimagine our everyday world. Sponsored by the Program in Studio Art. Free
Pictured: Katy Rominger ’14, View Of Atwater (detail), oil, spray paint, markers
December 4–5, Friday–Saturday
Fall Dance Concert
8:00 PM each evening, Mahaney Center for the Arts, Dance Theatre
This night of new dance works showcases the choreography of emerging student dance artists at the intermediate and advanced levels, and the annual Newcomers’ Piece, choreographed this year by Maree ReMalia. This dynamic evening of ideas in motion is directed by Scotty Hardwig in collaboration with the choreographers. Sponsored by the Dance Program. Buy Tickets: $12 Public/$10 Middlebury ID holders/$6 Middlebury students; on sale November 16. Box Office Info>>
Pictured: Mandy Kimm ’17, photo Alan Kimara Dixon
December 5, Saturday
Citizenfour
3:00 and 8:00 PM, Dana Auditorium
This Oscar-nominated documentary traces the life of Edward Snowden as he hands over classified documents, raising serious legal questions about privacy and the National Security Administration. “A gripping record of how our rulers are addicted to gaining more and more power and control over us, if we let them”––Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian. Sponsored by the Hirschfield International Film Series. (Laura Poitras, USA/Germany/UK, 114 minutes, 2014) Free
December 5, Saturday
The Sound Investment Jazz Ensemble
Dick Forman, Director
8:00 PM, Mahaney Center for the Arts, Robison Hall (Concert Hall)
The Sound Investment Jazz Ensemble celebrates the wisdom that “it don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that swing,” with a program of contemporary jazz compositions and a special nod to the music of Billy Strayhorn, in honor of his 100th birthday. Sponsored by the Department of Music. Free
Photo courtesy Billy Strayhorn Songs, Inc.
December 6, Sunday
Natasha Koval Paden, piano
4:00 PM, Mahaney Center for the Arts, Robison Hall (Concert Hall)
Middlebury College Affiliate Artist Natasha Koval Paden presents a Sunday afternoon piano performance featuring major works by Frédéric Chopin. Sponsored by the Department of Music. Free
Final week! On view through December 13
The Art of Storytelling: Five Tales from Asia, Then and Now
Middlebury College Museum of Art, Overbrook Gallery
The five Asian tales at the center of this exhibition have inspired artists for centuries and continue to capture the imaginations of writers of comics and graphic designers today. Painted and printed interpretations of these compelling narratives from the 16th century to the present are complemented by contemporary comics, illustrations, and other digital media, as well as a studio space where visitors can view sketches by artists in the show and create their own comics. Free
Anonymous (Indian), Rama, Lakshmana, and Sita Depart from Their Guru’s Ashram in the Forest, illustration from a Ramayana (Epic of Rama) series, early 18th century, watercolor with gold on paper, 10 x 13 3/4 inches. Collection of Middlebury College Museum of Art. Purchase with funds provided by the Arthur and Helen Baer Foundation, 2002.002.
Final week! On view through December 13
Naked Truth: Approaches to the Body in Early 20th Century German and Austrian Art
Middlebury College Museum of Art, Christian A. Johnson Memorial Gallery
Selected prints, drawings, and watercolors by Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele, Otto Dix, George Grosz, Max Beckmann, Käthe Kollwitz, and others—whose work wrestled with the relationship between the nude body and contemporary morality—are featured in this exhibit, which explores the conceptions of the human body and the manner of its visualization in the period leading up to and following the First World War, a time that changed the world’s notions of flesh and blood forever. Presented in conjunction with the 2015 Clifford Symposium, The “good” Body. Free
Otto Dix (German, 1891–1969), Maud Arizona (Suleika, das tätowierte Wunder) [Suleika, The Tattooed Wonder], 1922, etching, 19 5/8 x 16 7/8 inches. Sabarsky Collection.
December 8, Tuesday
The Music of 209
8:00 PM, Mahaney Center for the Arts, Robison Hall (ConcertHall)
A program of original compositions written and performed by students in Professor Su Tan’s fall music course. Sponsored by the Department of Music. Free
December 9, Wednesday
Taking Flight
4:30 PM, Mahaney Center for the Arts, Dance Theatre
A “lightly produced” showing of dance experiments by the new batch of choreographers emerging from the Advanced Beginning Dance course, facilitated by assistant professor Christal Brown. Sponsored by the Dance Program. Free
Pictured: Aoife Duna’15.5, photo Alan Kimara Dixon
December 10, Thursday
Dance Company of Middlebury: Work in Progress Showing
5:00 PM, Mahaney Center for the Arts, Dance Theatre
DCM shares an informal showing of their program From Somewhere, to be premiered in January. Sponsored by the Dance Program. Free
December 11, Friday
Vermont Choreographers’ Showcase
7:00 PM, Mahaney Center for the Arts, Dance Theatre
Enjoy an evening of new dance works by Vermont choreographers Erika Lawlor Schmidt, Paula Higa, The Montpelier Movement Collective, and surprise guests. The evening will feature live music, projected film, innovative improvisation, and dynamic choreography. Curated by Hanna Satterlee with support from the Middlebury College Dance Program. Buy Tickets: $12 Public/$10 Middlebury ID holders/$6 Middlebury students; on sale November 23. Box Office Info>>
December 12, Saturday
To Kill a Man
3:00 and 8:00 PM, Dana Auditorium
Jorge is a tranquil, middle-class family man whose neighborhood has been overrun by a fringe class of street thugs. His comparatively fortunate existence makes him the target of their intimidation one night, and a hulking outlaw robs him of his insulin needle. “A grim, fat-free revenge thriller that extracts an impressive degree of moral equivocation from its exceedingly simple premise”––Guy Lodge, Variety. In Spanish with English subtitles. Sponsored by the Hirschfield International Film Series. (Alejandro Fernández Almendras, Chile/France, 82 minutes, 2014) Free
December 12, Saturday
Vocal Recital
8:00 PM, Mahaney Center for the Arts, Robison Hall (Concert Hall)
Students of affiliate artists Carol Christensen, Susanne Peck, and Beth Thompson cap off a semester of vocal study with an evening of songs and arias. Accompanied by Cynthia Huard, piano. Sponsored by the Department of Music. Free
Pictured: Katie Dunleavy ’12 and Julianne Weiboldt ’14
December 13, Sunday
Lessons and Carols for Advent and Christmas
4:00 and 7:00 PM, Mead Memorial Chapel
Modeled after the long-standing European tradition, this annual program includes Bible readings of Advent and Christmas and carols for choir and congregation. The College Choir performs under the direction of Jeffrey Buettner. Each service is preceded by performances on the chapel carillon. Donations are collected for area charities.
Pictured: Jeffrey Buettner and the College Choir, photo Trent Campbell
Happy Holidays
from the Mahaney Center for the Arts!
We're taking a holiday break between now and the new year.
The MCA Box Office and the Museum of Art will reopen on Monday, January 4.