An Insider’s Tour of the Mahaney Center

MIDDLEBURY, Vt. – Capping off a year of celebration for the 25th anniversary of the Mahaney Center for the Arts, Middlebury has released a new short video tour of the center that gives viewers a taste of the many activities that fill the venue during the academic year.

To anyone who has set foot in the Mahaney Center, much of the video feels familiar—the outside courtyard, sculpture garden, museum entrance, soaring lobby, and concert hall stage. But then we go deeper into the building to areas that visitors seldom see. New artwork arrives at the museum’s loading dock, set builders work on a production of Glengarry Glen Ross, students in a music course learn to play African instruments. The creative process behind countless artistic ventures comes to life.

Throughout the past year, the campus community has enjoyed special events recognizing the center’s anniversary. In September, the aerial dance troupe Bandaloop kicked off the celebration with a gravity-defying performance on the side of the Mahaney Center. The year ended with a nightlong series of performances and events in and around the center, including a rousing performance by Brazilian percussionist Cyro Baptista and the first-ever “Nocturne,” a student-run arts festival.

The Kevin P. Mahaney ’84 Center for the Arts opened in 1992 as the Middlebury College Center for the Arts, serving the College and surrounding communities. Its primary purpose is to provide an environment for the creation of art and to invite audiences to experience the work of local, national, and international artists. Known on campus as the “MCA,” the Mahaney Center is home to the Middlebury College Museum of Art, the black-box-style Seeler Studio Theatre, the dance theatre, and Robison Hall, a 370-seat recital hall.