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The Hylton Center Announces Engagement Activities with Acclaimed Dance Company PHILADANCO!

Zoe Harr — Wed, 28 Feb 2024 19:28:42 +0000

The Hylton Center Announces Engagement Activities with Acclaimed Dance Company PHILADANCO! Zoe Harr Wed, 02/28/2024 - 14:28

PHILADANCO! dancer

The Philadelphia Dance Company, better known as PHILADANCO!, is widely recognized for its artistic integrity, superbly trained dancers, and electrifying performances. On March 15, PHILADANCO! will perform a dynamic program at the Hylton Center and, as a Hylton Center Artist-in-Residence.

Formed in 1970 by Joan Myers Brown, a barrier-breaking African American ballet dancer, PHILADANCO! launched to provide artistic opportunities for Black dancers who were denied membership in local dance schools. In the company’s Hylton Center debut, PHILADANCO!’s “impressively skilled dancers” (New York Times) will present Francisco Gella’s Seasons, set to Max Richter’s reimagining of Vivaldi’s "The Four Seasons;" Ephrat Asherie’s out-side-in, an exuberant, theatrical version of breaking and house dancing; Ray Mercer’s This Place, a festive and technically challenging work set to Bongi Duma’s music; and Anthony Burrell’s Conglomerate, which he calls “a rich history of Black Dance in Philadelphia.”

PHILADANCO!’s Artistic Director, Kim Y. Bears-Bailey, expands upon the company’s excitement to be a 2023–24 Artist-in-Residence. She notes, “PHILADANCO! is thrilled to have an opportunity to connect with the Hylton and ��AV communities of all ages through the Art of Dance & Conversations. These interactions will have a long-lasting effect on all. PHILADANCO!’s performance will indeed be an exciting culmination of this amazing interactive week."

“PHILADANCO! is a legendary dance company with a strong and longstanding commitment to education. We are looking forward to the company sharing their expertise and artistic vision with our community members.”
-Hylton Center Education Coordinator, Marit Majeske

As an Artist-in-Residence, the artists will work with the community through classes and workshops surrounding their Hylton Center performance, which includes the following engagement highlights:

Lifelong Learning Institute of Manassas (LLI) Lecture Demonstration

Company members will lead a class about the history of the company, along with a discussion of the repertoire that will be part of their Hylton Presents performance on March 15. This class will also include gentle movement for those who wish to participate.

Masterclass with ��AV School of Dance

Dance majors from Mason School of Dance will participate in masterclasses with members of the company.

Visit to Hunters Woods Elementary School

First grade students from Hunters Woods Elementary School in Reston will participate in an interactive movement session and watch a short demonstration from members of the company. Students will also have the opportunity to ask questions from the artists.

Colgan High School Dance Masterclass

Dance students from Colgan High School’s Center for Fine and Performing Arts program will participate in a masterclass with members of the company.

Masterclass at the Dance Institute of Washington

The Hylton Center and Dance Institute of Washington (DIW) will collaborate to offer a masterclass with members of the company for Intermediate to Advanced D.C. dancers as part of DIW's Community on 14th programming—an initiative that provides networking and training opportunities through dance classes, seminars, workshops, talkbacks, and discussions that facilitates creative careers in dance and the arts for D.C. talent.

Conversation with the Northern Virginia Black Chamber of Commerce

PHILADANCO! founder and Artistic Advisor Joan Myers Brown will participate in a moderated conversation with members of the Northern Virginia Black Chamber of Commerce.

Get your tickets today for PHILADANCO!’s electrifying Hylton Center performance on March 15, plus enjoy watching their talented group of dancers below:

A pre-performance discussion with PHILADANCO! Artistic Director Kim Y. Bears-Bailey and Rehearsal Director Tracy Vogt, moderated by Mason School of Dance Professor Lawrence M. Jackson, will take place one hour prior to the performance.

Learn more about the Hylton Center's Artist-in Residence program and how these residencies create spaces for transformational experiences to happen.

In This Story

Marit Majeske

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Learn More About Artist-in-Residence Program

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Hylton Center

Small Island Big Song Residency Showcases Indigenous Artists with Earth Day Message

Zoe Harr — Mon, 26 Feb 2024 17:17:52 +0000

Small Island Big Song Residency Showcases Indigenous Artists with Earth Day Message Zoe Harr Mon, 02/26/2024 - 12:17

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Honor Earth Day weekend with Small Island Big Song on April 20 at ��AV's Center for the Arts for a moving musical experience that combines music, spoken word, and stunning projections to showcase the sounds of various island nations of the Pacific and Indian Oceans, while shining a light on the devastating effects of climate crisis on our world’s ocean.

Small Island Big Song is the brainchild of Australian filmmaker and music producer Tim Cole and Taiwanese theater producer BaoBao Chen (pictured left), who traveled to 16 island nations to capture unique sounds and cinematic sights while working with over a hundred indigenous local artists, elders, community groups, and grassroots musicians. The result of this inspiring research and storytelling yielded two award-winning albums, a feature film, and a world-touring concert. For Small Island Big Song’s April performance, panoramic visuals will work alongside live musicians to highlight a shared seafaring ancestry with interconnected musical traditions.

Small Island Big Song establishes a contemporary musical dialogue between cultures as far afield as Madagascar, Aotearoa, Taiwan, Mauritius, Marshall Islands, Papua New Guinea, Tahiti, and Rapa Nui.
(Photo Credit: Small Island Big Song)

To learn more about Small Island Big Song’s creation and its many artists involved, please visit the project’s website.

As a Mason Artist-in-Residence, Small Island Big Song will also work with the community through classes and workshops during the week surrounding the performance, including an Artists in Conversation event and schooltime matinee, both of which are free offerings and detailed below.

Small Island Big Song performs at the Center on April 20. (Photo Credit: Tony Tsai)

Co-presented by the City of Fairfax and Center for the Arts, Small Island Big Song will host an Artists in Conversation titled “Our Shared Seafaring Heritage, Alive in Rhythm and Song” on April 2 at the Stacey C. Sherwood Community Center in Fairfax, Virginia. This free, open-to-the-public lecture-demonstration will provide context prior to the April 20 performance with geographical and historical background about the great oceanic migrations that affected the featured island nations. Additionally, the evening will consist of conversation and musical demonstrations from Small Island Big Song artists, followed by an interactive Q&A session with audience members. This event is free, but registration is required; additional information can be found on the event webpage.

On April 19, Small Island Big Song invites local students to experience a schooltime performance that includes participatory dance and rhythmic activities, as well as an open Q&A with students. In addition to this special truncated performance with participatory activities, Small Island Big Song offers a free Study Guide that includes an introduction to the project, useful links, and relevant historical information. This performance is free, but registration is required; additional information can be found on the field trips webpage.

Get tickets today and join “one very big, very happy family doing what they do best while helping get the word out on a most serious issue” (RootsWorld [US]), Small Island Big Song on April 20.

This engagement of Small Island Big Song is made possible through the ArtsCONNECT program of Mid Atlantic Arts with support from the National Endowment for the Arts.

The Mason Artist-in-Residence program is supported in part by the Wendy Frieman and David Johnson Fund. The Artist-in-Residence program for this performance is sponsored by Eloise Stinger.

Thank you to the City of Fairfax Parks and Recreation Everybody Plays Grant program for making free tickets possible for the schooltime matinee program. This grant was funded by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).

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Mason Artists-in-Residence

Sustainability

Mason Artist-in-Residence A.I.M by Kyle Abraham Leads Events Across Campus and Community

Zoe Harr — Mon, 08 Jan 2024 20:40:32 +0000

Mason Artist-in-Residence A.I.M by Kyle Abraham Leads Events Across Campus and Community Zoe Harr Mon, 01/08/2024 - 15:40

A.I.M by Kyle Abraham performs at the Center on February 17. (Photo credit: Steven Pisano; Dancer: Donovan Reed).

On February 17, A.I.M by Kyle Abraham presents works by acclaimed choreographers, as well as its artistic director and MacArthur Genius Award-winning choreographer Kyle Abraham, in an evening of visionary works using various dance and music styles that uncover the relationships between identity, history, and geography.

In a 2023 New York Times article, the company’s goals are emphasized, stating, “Kyle Abraham has a mission—and it’s bigger than himself. He likes to spread the love with his company, A.I.M., and, in doing so, broaden the viewer’s experience of what a dance concert by a choreographer-led company can be."

This Black-led contemporary dance company aims to create a body of dance-based work that is galvanized by Black culture and history while promoting the power of dance and diverse perspectives.

“As an artist born in the late 1970s, I’ve experienced a change in society that brings me hope. My choreography is a reflection of that hope, but also lives in the reality of my experiences and the cultural work that still needs to be done,” says Kyle Abraham, artistic director.

Want to learn more about A.I.M by Kyle Abraham’s mission and core values? Read more on the company’s official website.

As a Mason Artist-in-Residence, A.I.M by Kyle Abraham company members will also work with the community through classes and workshops surrounding the performance, which are detailed below.

In a classroom visit to Mason School of Dance’s “Senior Synthesis” course taught by instructor Susan Shields, senior dance students will be joined by A.I.M company members and discuss career opportunities, professional development, and advice, through the lens of A.I.M company members lived experiences.
The company will engage with the students of Mason’s African and African American Studies (AAAS) program.
City of Fairfax Theatre Company members and A.I.M artists collaborate in a workshop titled “Unifying Uniqueness.” Part conversation and part movement workshop, “Unifying Uniqueness” investigates the ideologies surrounding uniqueness and likenesses in each participant. Led by A.I.M company members, students of all levels will learn phrases of material from A.I.M repertory; engage in a dialogue centered around early memories; and integrate movement with ideas of perception, family, and freedom.
A.I.M. company members will lead an A.I.M Movement Workshop with local high school students at Fairfax Academy and Colgan High School, as well as Mason School of Dance students and Washington, D.C.’s Dance Place adult students of both intermediate and advanced skill level.

In addition to these special residency events, a pre-performance discussion with A.I.M by Kyle Abraham Rehearsal Director Jessica Tong will take place on Monson Grand Tier prior to the performance on February 17. The discussion will be moderated by School of Dance faculty member, Lawrence M. Jackson.

Get tickets today and experience “one of the most consistently excellent troupes working today” (New York Times), A.I.M by Kyle Abraham on February 17.

In This Story

Susan Shields

Lawrence M. Jackson

Learn About Mason's Artist in Residence Program

Black History Month at the Center for the Arts

The A.I.M by Kyle Abraham residency is part of February Black History Month events at the Center for the Arts. Read more about the offerings.

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Mason Artists-in-Residence

College of Visual and Performing Arts School of Dance

College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA)

Black History Month

Course collaborates with Mason artists-in-residence to transport students across the globe

Shayla Brown — Mon, 30 Oct 2023 13:44:21 +0000

Course collaborates with Mason artists-in-residence to transport students across the globe Shayla Brown Mon, 10/30/2023 - 09:44

HNRS 360: The Silkroad and the Railroad is the kind of course that could only happen at ��AV. With artists-in-residence Silkroad Ensemble as partners, 25 Honors College students from 17 majors are exploring cultures and histories, music and narratives, impacts and legacies of the Transcontinental Railroad.

CVPA Dean Rick Davis teaches the HNRS 360 course. Photo by Cristian Torres/Office of University Branding.

It was a natural fit for Rick Davis, the dean of the College of Visual and Performing Arts.

“Transportation is my lifelong passion and obsession—railroads, planes, ships, anything that moves people or objects,” said Davis, who as a young boy, would ride his bike to the closest train station several miles away from his home.

As far as the development of the United States, the transcontinental railroad was a game changer, said Davis, but “there are also undercurrents that were devastating to certain groups and all of it created art— paintings, photography, poetry, and other narratives—and the beauty of the Silkroad Ensemble’s insight is that you can make a concert by readapting old songs and creating new material.”

Alexandra Tyler is a junior forensic science major and second year captain on Mason’s Swim and Dive team.

“I've really enjoyed having Dean Davis as a professor,” said Tyler. “We started off the first class with singing and it caught me off guard at first, but it was a pleasant surprise. It was something new and definitely a different form of learning that I haven't been exposed to before.”

The class is split into two teams—Eastbound and Westbound, mirroring the way the transcontinental railroad was constructed. Each student is responsible for a research vector, some aspect of the transcontinental railroad or its impacts that they will present as a final project.

“The range of topics is phenomenal,” said Davis. Some students choose to follow their vocational training, and others are looking into areas that simply interest them. For example, there are economics and government majors who are researching the financing of the transcontinental railroad, including hardball politics and credit fraud scandals.

Music alumna and Mason staff member Caitlyn Loweth Rivero playing guitar for the HNRS 360 students. Photo by Cristian Torres/��AV.

“The most interesting parts of the class are the artist visits over Zoom. They all came to us from different parts of the world,” said Nafisa Weeks, a junior double majoring in government and international politics and Korean language. “Mazz [Swift] who is from an African American background and Pura Fé, who is a part of the native indigenous Taino community—we got to hear their different styles of music and that experience made me really happy. I love seeing what they're doing and how it connects to what we're doing in class.”

“[This course] really allows us to step out of our comfort zones, and I feel like this is another way to get a global perspective,” she added.

The Silkroad Ensemble will perform their current project, American Railroad, at Mason’s Center for the Arts on Nov. 5.

“The theme behind this concert is uplifting the voices of the folks who built the transcontinental railroad as well as other railroads within the United States; what those interactions were like and what those heritages are,” said Mazz Swift, a Silkroad Ensemble performer. “We are really focusing on Irish, Indigenous, Black Americans and Chinese communities, and so there is representation from all of those countries and communities.”

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Get to know Silkroad Ensemble Cellist/Composer, Karen Ouzounian

Zoe Harr — Thu, 12 Jan 2023 17:23:28 +0000

Get to know Silkroad Ensemble Cellist/Composer, Karen Ouzounian Zoe Harr Thu, 01/12/2023 - 12:23

Mason Artist-in-Residence Program

Karen Ouzounian joins Silkroad Ensemble at the Center on January 29 at 4 p.m.

The GRAMMY Award-winning Silkroad Ensemble debuts their newest program Uplifted Voices at the Center for the Arts on January 29. This program highlights previously under-recognized voices from across the globe to change our perspective of the history and migration of music.

Through a stunning collaboration of global instrumentation and strings, Silkroad's newest project champions women and nonbinary members of the Silkroad Ensemble alongside special guest Tuscarora/Taíno musician Pura Fé to tell a musical journey that connects the music of indigenous North America to the World. Drawing inspiration from the folk and ancestral music of Japan, China, Armenia, Ireland, and the Hebrides, and native populations across North America, Uplifted Voices brings together this collection of distinctive and powerful musical origins within a contemporary musical tapestry.

This concert kicks off Silkroad Ensemble's three-year residency with the Center for the Arts, during which they will engage the community through a variety of events. On Monday, January 30, the ensemble will lead three residency events at Mason.

Get to know Silkroad member and cellist/composer Karen Ouzounian, whose playing The New York Times has described as “radiant” and “expressive.”

As a member of Silkroad Ensemble, what are some of the things you've enjoyed most about performing and collaborating with them?

The members of the Silkroad Ensemble are each so unique as musicians, and they each bring such an incredible level of creativity and energy to rehearsals and performances. We all are involved in many different types of music-making outside of the ensemble, but when we do get to play together, the joy of performing together is electrifying.

As this will be the "Uplifted Voices" program's area premiere, what piece from the program are you looking forward to playing most? In what ways do you hope it will speak to our community?

There are so many pieces on this program I am looking forward to playing, but perhaps somewhat selfishly, I am particularly nervous and excited about a piece I wrote called "Der Zor." This is the first piece I’ve written for a Silkroad Ensemble live performance and it is a particularly meaningful one for me. It is based on archival recordings of an Armenian folk song (my family is Armenian) called "Der Zor Chollerende," a song sung in Turkish by the victims of the Armenian Genocide while on the forced marches into the Syrian desert of Der Zor. In 1915 and 1916, hundreds of thousands of Armenians were marched to their deaths in Der Zor by the Ottoman Turkish government. The principal recording I was inspired by was made by Armenians in 1939 in Fresno, California, but I subsequently found other recordings of the song made over the last 100 years from across the world, mapping out the spread of the Armenian diaspora. It’s a haunting and devastating song, but the fact that these recordings exist, and that we as musicians can share this music for you live, carries with it a hopeful message.

You've mentioned that you find great importance in supporting the next generation of artists which is a goal of Mason's Artist-in-Residence program, which Silkroad Ensemble is a part of in a three-year residency. What do you hope to bring to the table for students in Northern Virginia's local community?

One of the things I love most about our Uplifted Voices program is how it highlights the individual and particular creativity of each of the members of the ensemble, and it showcases all of us in different relationships with each other. There are full ensemble pieces as well as pieces for small groups and duos. We all take turns playing in lead and accompanying roles. Many of us have also written pieces for the program and we are each stretching ourselves and trying new things in one way or another. I hope that this program gives every student the inspiration and encouragement to explore and experiment with ways to express themselves artistically, in whatever medium they are drawn to.

Tell us about your history with the cello. When did you discover your love for the instrument? What makes it stand out amongst other stringed instruments?

I began playing the cello around age 7 and felt like I connected with the instrument very early on. But growing up it was always a struggle to balance cello practice with school and everything else, so it wasn’t until I started studying at Juilliard that I had the chance to focus my life around the cello. I’m so grateful to have studied with my teacher there, Timothy Eddy—he’s a profound musician and thinker, a person with the utmost integrity, and he really opened the door to music, and essentially to life, to me. Playing the cello and studying music have given my life meaning and even the sense that life can feel limitless.

You have many musical projects under your belt, including the GRAMMY-nominated Aizuri Quartet and an experimental theater work with director Joanna Settle. What is something you always try to feature and emphasize in projects you are involved in?

For me the success and joy of collaboration always comes down to the people. I am constantly looking for artists I not only see eye-to-eye with, but artists that I can learn from, who push me out of my comfort zones and help me grow. I also love projects that combine a sense of history and storytelling with a modern aesthetic and a contemporary sense of the world.

Collaboration is something you've noted to be important to you. If you could collaborate with any musician in the world, who would you choose and why?

This is a difficult question! I am at a stage in my career where I am thinking a lot both about creating work that is true to my identity as an artist, but also about continuing to learn new things. I am particularly interested in learning from and working with performers from the world of my ancestors: Armenia, Turkey, and the Arab world, artists ranging from oud players to jazz musicians like Tigran Hamasyan.

Purchase your tickets now for Silkroad Ensemble at the Center for the Arts (1/29), and in the meantime, enjoy a video of Karen Ouzounianin action with the Greater Bridgeport Symphony.

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Mason School of Dance students collaborate with Doug Varone and Dancers in upcoming performances

Shayla Brown — Wed, 30 Nov 2022 19:18:42 +0000

Mason School of Dance students collaborate with Doug Varone and Dancers in upcoming performances Shayla Brown Wed, 11/30/2022 - 14:18

In This Story

Karen Reedy

Mason School of Dance students rehearsing for upcoming performance of "Double Octet." Photo by Jessie Ferguson

Dancing is in Morgan Olschewske’s blood. “I was dancing around the house since I could walk. My mom is a dance teacher, and she also went to school for dance.”

The ��AV junior and 16 of her peers were selected by esteemed Doug Varone and Dancers, one of Mason’s artists-in-residence, to participate in the upcoming performances. Eight of the students will perform alongside the company in February, and all 17 will perform at the Center for the Arts at the annual Mason Dance Company Gala in the spring. The students will be performing a version of the piece, “Double Octet."

Auditions took place in October, and all 70 School of Dance majors participated.

“Casting is completely up to the artist who comes in. We try to make this as real-world as possible for our field,” said Karen Reedy, director of Mason’s School of Dance. “All of the students would give anything to be in that room working, so it’s a real highlight for these dancers who were selected.”

Morgan Olschewske (front) and Michael Cherry rehearsing for "Double Octet." Photo by Jessie Ferguson

Guest artist residencies are intense and invaluable artistic experiences for our dancers, said Reedy.

Sophomore Joseph Schuman has been dancing for 16 years and was cast by Doug Varone and Dancers as a cover in the performance.

“I am covering two main roles in the work. So, in the case of injury or any other issue that pulls one of those dancers out of the performance, I would go in for them,” Schuman explained. “It’s a hugely important and integral part of choreographic work, especially now after what we’ve seen through COVID. Things change quickly, and it’s better to have more bodies than less.” 

Olschewske and Schuman said they both admire Varone’s creative process, particularly his style of movement and composition. They found mentors in company dancers Daeyana Moss and Ryan Yamauchi who led the students through the audition process.

“They were so kind and down to earth. I loved just watching them move because they’re professionals in the company,” said Olschewske. “That was a highlight for me in the lesson of what kind of dancer I want to be.”

“I think what makes instructors and auditioners special is when they offer you the same vulnerability that they expect from you. Some people can be cold and unfeeling and still ask you for this very sensitive part of yourself,” said Schuman. “As artists, we’re meant to offer these parts of ourselves, and it’s comforting to have them offer that same level of being vulnerable with us, and making it a space where we can really dive into what we need to.” 

Mason School of Dance students rehearsing for "Double Octet." Photo by Jessie Ferguson

"The fact that Doug Varone has invited our dancers to perform with his company is a big deal," said Reedy, who is also a Mason alum with an MFA in Dance. "It says a lot about the respect he holds for our School of Dance and the professional level of our incredibly talented young artists."

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Dance

College of Visual and Performing Arts School of Dance

Dance Gala Concert

Students

Mason Artists-in-Residence Nrityagram Dance Ensemble and Chitrasena Dance Company Lead Campus & Community Events

Laura Mertens — Mon, 24 Oct 2022 17:41:56 +0000

Mason Artists-in-Residence Nrityagram Dance Ensemble and Chitrasena Dance Company Lead Campus & Community Events Laura Mertens Mon, 10/24/2022 - 13:41

In This Story

Boris Willis

Mason Artist-in-Residence Program

As part of an extensive residency leading up to their November 5 performance in the the Center for the Arts at ��AV, 2022/2023 Mason Artists-in-Residence Nrityagram Dance Ensemble and Chitrasena Dance Company will participate in 10 events over the course of a week, including the following:

Artists in Conversation: Nrityagram Dance Ensemble and Chitrasena Dance Company

Co-presented by the City of Fairfax and the Center for the Arts at ��AV

Tuesday, November 1 at 7 p.m.

Stacy C. Sherwood Community Center
3740 Old Lee Highway
Fairfax, VA 22030

Nrityagram Dance Ensemble of India and Sri Lanka’s Chitrasena Dance Company will perform excerpts from Āhuti and engage the audience in conversation about their one-of-a-kind community where students and teachers live and train together, their artistic inspirations drawn from Sanskrit poetry, as well as their efforts to preserve and maintain cultural tradition while growing it to larger audiences around the world. This event is also an open-to-the-public presentation of the Friends of the Center for the Arts Artists in Conversation Series.

The event is FREE, but registration is required as capacity is limited.

Masks are requested, but not required, as a courtesy and in consideration of the artist’s health and safety while on tour.

Wednesday, November 2:

A lecture/demonstration with Fairfax County Public School system fourth-graders at Hunters Woods Elementary School
Classroom discussion with ��AV Game Design Program’s “Digital Game Design” course, taught by Prof. Boris Willis, exploring how technology including virtual reality plays a part in Nrityagram Dance Ensemble’s work
A classroom discussion and performance with the ��AV Dewberry School of Music “World Music” course taught by Prof. Christopher Troiano, featuring the musicians who perform onstage as part of Nrityagram Dance Ensemble and Chitrasena Dance Company’s collaborative work Āhuti

Thursday, November 3:

A class at Dance Place in Washington, DC, (registration fee required). To register, click on November 3 on the adult classes calendar and sign up for the 9:30 a.m. Odissi Dance Class with Nrityagram Dance Ensemble.
A livestreamed lecture for the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at ��AV, (for registered OLLI members)
A movement-based workshop and discussion with ��AV’s Sri Lankan Student Association, and other Indian and South Asian student groups on campus. Open to Mason students, faculty, and staff: register on Mason 360.

Friday, November 4:

Two masterclasses with Mason School of Dance students

Nrityagram Dance Ensemble
In collaboration with Chitrasena Dance Company
Āhuti

Saturday, November 5 at 8 p.m.

Center for the Arts at ��AV
4373 Mason Pond Drive
Fairfax, VA 22030

Set to the sounds of live flute, violin, harmonium, manjira, and drums onstage, Āhuti is a mesmerizing performance and collaboration between Nrityagram Dance Ensemble and the Chitrasena Dance Company. Through the classical movements of Odissi dance, Nrityagram Dance Ensemble brings stories of the Hindu epics to life with their bodies. Chitrasena has been leading the development of Kandyan dance in Sri Lanka, being a key proponent to opening this dynamic style to women, whilst also preserving it as a cultural tradition. Nrityagram Dance Ensemble has been on The New York Times’ “Best Dance of the Year” list for two consecutive years. This performance is appropriate for all ages.

Tickets: $50, $43, $30; half-price for youth through Grade 12. Free tickets are available for Mason students, and faculty, staff, and alumni receive a 10% discount. Read more about Mason discounts.

Before the Performance
A pre-performance discussion will be led by Arpita Sabud, Odissi dancer and teacher at the India International School and Cultural Center and KalpaVriksha Center for Performing Arts, and will take place in Monson Grand Tier, which is located on the third level of the Center for the Arts Lobby, 45 minutes prior to curtain.

After the Performance
The artists will participate in a post-performance discussion from the stage.

This engagement of Nrityagram Dance Ensemble is made possible through the ArtsCONNECT program of Mid Atlantic Arts with support from the National Endowment for the Arts.

This project is also supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.

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Center for the Arts

Indigenous Perspectives Honored with Performances from Silkroad Ensemble and Indigenous Enterprise

Zoe Harr — Wed, 05 Oct 2022 15:17:46 +0000

Indigenous Perspectives Honored with Performances from Silkroad Ensemble and Indigenous Enterprise Zoe Harr Wed, 10/05/2022 - 11:17

Indigenous Enterprise

��AV Land Acknowledgement

On October 10, the Center for the Arts honors Indigenous Peoples’ Day, and looks forward to upcoming performances this season by Pura Fé with Silkroad Ensemble and Indigenous Enterprise. In addition to their respective Great Performances at Mason events this spring, the companies will participate in the Mason Artist-in-Residence program, working closely with the community through classes, workshops, and discussions.

Lap-steel slide guitarist Pura Fé joins Silkroad Ensemble at the Center on January 29.

On January 29, the GRAMMY Award-winning Silkroad Ensemble, founded by cellist Yo-Yo Ma, debuts their newest program Uplifted Voices at the Center, the first performance as part of their three-year arc as a Mason Artist-in-Residence. Championing women and non-binary members of the Silkroad Ensemble alongside special guest Tuscarora/Taíno musician Pura Fé, Uplifted Voices weaves a musical tapestry connecting the sounds and rhythms of indigenous North America to the World. The San Francisco Chronicle said of artist and activist Pura Fé, whose name means “Pure faith”: “Fabulous ... astonishing ... playing searing, slicing, lap-style bottleneck guitar, Tuscarora tribe descendant Pura Fé blends world beat rhythms with Southern blues and her own powerful vocals.”

Drawing inspiration from the folk and ancestral music of Japan, China, Armenia, Ireland, the Hebrides, and native populations across North America, the Silkroad ensemble shines a light on previously under-recognized voices from across the globe with this program, to change our perspective of the history and migration of music. Silkroad Ensemble’s radical cultural collaboration seeks to build bridges of understanding to combat fear and build a more hopeful and inclusive world. Today, under the artistic direction of celebrated singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Rhiannon Giddens, the Silkroad Ensemble leads social impact initiatives and educational programming alongside the creation of new music that celebrates the exchange of ideas, tradition, and innovation across borders.

Indigenous Enterprise performs at the Center on April 29.

Concluding the Center for the Arts’ Great Performances at Mason 2022-2023 season, Indigenous Enterprise performs on April 29. Indigenous Enterprise is on a mission to proudly share their heritage and culture through explosively joyous authentic dance and song. Comprised of champion dancers from Native American and Canadian tribes and Nations, this group first stunned crowds at the Sydney Opera House in 2018 and has been on the rise since. “Indigenous Enterprise is rooted in tradition but also has hip-hop influences, discernible in footwork, bounce, and especially attitude,” writes The New York Times. They have appeared in music videos, NBC’S World of Dance, and President Biden’s virtual inauguration parade. The group’s newest work, Indigenous Liberation, recently debuted at The Joyce Theater to glowing praise. “In their traditional regalia, these dancers freestyle as the young people they are,” says The New Yorker. Indigenous Liberation invites its audience to revel in the pageantry, history, and kaleidoscope of colors in a celebration of what lies at the heart of these powerful traditions.

Originally proposed by Indigenous peoples at the 1977 United Nations conference, Indigenous Peoples’ Day has become a crucial part of American culture and identity. The Center for the Arts looks forward to promoting the legacy and history of Indigenous peoples now and always.

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Syrian calligrapher is Mason’s 2022 Artist-in-Residence

Colleen Rich — Tue, 02 Aug 2022 17:08:39 +0000

Syrian calligrapher is Mason’s 2022 Artist-in-Residence Colleen Rich Tue, 08/02/2022 - 13:08

Abdulrahman “Abi” Naanseh studied interior design at Damascus University in Syria, but his true passion is art, specifically Arabic calligraphy.

“It’s lines, it’s abstract,” he said. “You make shapes and people try to understand those shapes.”

Abi Naanseh's exhibit moves to the Gillespie Gallery in the Art and Design Building on Mason’s Fairfax Campus, in late August. Photo by Cristian Torres/Strategic Communications

In 2017, Naanseh left Syria and relocated to Lebanon to escape the violence of the Syrian civil war. Two years later, he applied for an Artist Protection Fund (APF) fellowship in order to pursue his art freely. He was accepted to APF in 2020, but his residency was delayed due to the pandemic.

That same year, Naanseh witnessed the accidental explosion of a large amount of ammonium nitrate at the Port of Beirut that reportedly killed at least 200 people and injured thousands.

Abi Naanseh learned about calligraphy from his father and has been practicing this skill for 22 years. Photo by Cristian Torres/Strategic Communications

Today, Naanseh is an APF Fellow and the 2022 Artist-in-Residence in ��AV’s School of Art, where he is able to practice his craft without the dangers he would face if he were to do so in his home country.

His exhibit, Pressure/Movement/Effect, has calligraphic themes and can be seen through August 6 at Mason Exhibitions on the university’s Mason Square campus in Arlington. His show moves to the Gillespie Gallery in the Art and Design Building on Mason’s Fairfax Campus, where it will run from August 22 to October 14.

Naanseh learned about calligraphy from his father and has been practicing this skill for 22 years. Arabic calligraphy goes back thousands of years and, unlike other forms of art, is not banned in the Islamic culture.

He now uses it throughout his artistic process along with Arabic haiku poetry. His writing, and the symbolism it represents, are hidden within the calligraphy.

Naanseh enjoys practicing art from other cultures as well, but the challenges that people in his homeland face every day are still at the forefront of his mind.

“The troubles with the wars in Syria, the community, and everything with the government, pushed me to make something new. That’s what I’ve started to work on,” he explained. Naanseh said he uses layers and colors in hopes of iterating the idea of freedom because he, like many others from Syria, felt pressured by the government to submit to dictatorial ways.

He said of the three words—pressure, movement, and effect—that are used to describe his exhibit: “In Syria, in 1970, there was something called the Correction Movement, and it was the worst movement in the history of Syria. It destroyed the country, and I make these pieces to remember this movement.”

Naanseh said he tries to simultaneously bring awareness to the political issues going on in Syria while also comforting those who are most affected by it.

Don Russell, university curator at the School of Art, has guided Naanseh throughout his time at Mason, providing support through resources and a sense of community.

“We have a couple of programs that bring artists here,” Russell said. “We do research residencies where artists come to research a certain topic, and we connect them with resources at the university or in Washington, D.C.”

Naanseh, who has been hard at work since he arrived at Mason, has created 90 pieces for his current exhibit. Although only 51 of those pieces are featured, the exhibit shows the talent and dedication that Naanseh has put into his art.

“Everyone is different… and I try to translate that with my work,” Naanseh said. “I always try to be free, and this way I can make my own rules.”

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