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April arts events include innovative dance, music performances

The world-renowned Trisha Brown Dance Company presents “In Plain Site,” an evening of site-specific work performed at various locations across Emory’s campus. Performances are April 7-8. Photo by Kat Schleicher.

Arts at Emory celebrates warmer spring weather with lively April events including performances from world-class visiting artists such as Trisha Brown Dance Company and electronic music composer Sam Pluta with trumpet virtuoso Peter Evans. 

Innovative dance events

The Emory Dance Program closes out its 2017-2018 season with a busy month of performances. The world-renowned Trisha Brown Dance Company presents “In Plain Site,” an evening of site-specific work performed at various locations across Emory’s campus. Performances are Saturday, April 7, at 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. and Sunday, April 8, at 2 p.m. and begin at the quad.

Emory and Atlanta community members are also invited to an intermediate level master class focusing on Trisha Brown’s canon of work, Friday, April 6, at 7 p.m. in the Dance Studio of the Schwartz Center for Performing Arts. Both events are free and open to the public, no reservations required.

On Wednesday, April 18, at 7 p.m., the Emory Dance Program in partnership with CORE DANCE presents “Empowering Creativity: Bridging Life and Art,” a conversation and participatory workshop introducing the Tamalpa Life/Art Process. This ground-breaking approach to movement/dance connects somatics, psychology and artistic practices for personal, group and community development. This event is free and open to the public; reservations are requested.

Finally, the Emory Dance Company presents its annual spring concert featuring new works by student choreographers April 26-28 in the Schwartz Center’s Dance Studio. Tickets for this event are $10, $8 for discount category members and $6 for students and can be purchased now through the Arts at Emory Box office online or at 404-727-5050.

Film series continues 

Emory Cinematheque’s spring series “Black Lives on the Small Screen” culminates this month with three screenings of television created for, targeted toward and most often written by African Americans. 

Curated by Beretta E. Smith-Shomade, the series concludes with episodes of “Being Mary Jane” (April 4), an evening of sit-coms including “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air” and “black-ish” (April 11), and “Queen Sugar” (April 18). All screenings are free and open to the public and take place at 7:30 p.m. in White Hall 208.

Multiple options for music lovers

Music lovers will be happy this month with many opportunities to catch Emory’s talented ensembles. Swing into spring with the Emory Jazz Combos (April 3), Jazz on the Green (April 12  and 26), and the Emory Big Band conducted by Gary Motley (April 24).

Also this month, the Emory University Symphony Orchestra joins the Emory University Chorus for “An American Celebration” (April 20 and 21), the Emory Wind Ensemble performs an evening of music from Broadway (April 27) and the Emory Concert Choir performs “Come to the Woods” (April 29).

The Emory Chamber Music Society of Atlanta (ECMSA) brings some of the area’s finest pre-college musicians to campus for “Atlanta’s Young Artists” on Sunday, April 8, at 4 p.m. in the Michael C. Carlos Museum. On Saturday, April 14, ECMSA presents “The Rite of Spring,” a celebration of the season featuring the Vega String Quartet, Robert Spano and choreography by Staibdance and ImmerseATL. ECMSA takes audiences off campus to the High Museum of Art Saturday, April 21, for “Pictures at an Exhibition,” a collaboration with the High Museum and the Highlands-Cashiers Chamber Music Festival. All ECMSA events are free and open to the public.

Finally, this month Music at Emory brings Chicago-based composer, laptop improviser, electronics performer and sound artist Sam Pluta and trumpet virtuoso Peter Evans to Emory for “Super Collisions: Live Electronic Music,” Wednesday, April 25, at 8 p.m. in the Performing Arts Studio. Prior to the performance, Pluta and Evans will take part in a Rosemary Magee Creativity Conversation. Both events are free and presented as part of the Schwartz Artist-In-Residence Program.

Museum happenings

The Carlos Museum brings Betsy Bryan, Alexander Badawy Professor of Egyptian Art and Archaeology at Johns Hopkins University, for the annual Nix Mann Endowed Lecture, “Mut-Sekhmet-Bastet and Festival of Drunkenness in the New Kingdom,” Thursday, April 5, at 7:30 p.m.

Enjoy a wine and cheese reception followed by an in-depth look and discussion of some of the prints in the Early Netherlandish print collection donated in 2017 by Walter Melion and John Clum. “Print Matters” is Tuesday, April 10, at 7:30 p.m. in the Carlos Museum and costs $20 for Carlos Museum members and $30 for nonmembers.

This month, the Carlos Museum also presents free screenings in the museum’s Ackerman Hall, including the first episode of new PBS series “Civilizations” (April 17) and award-winning film “Sita Sings the Blues” (April 26).

Celebrating writers 

Emory University Libraries presents a free reading by Irish poet, Sinéad Morrissey on Tuesday, April 3, in the Rose Library. Also at the Rose Library, on Wednesday, April 11, “This Tank Full of Dreams: Buddhism, Poetry, and the Beats” celebrates the rich connections and intersections between Eastern traditions and American poetry. This event is free and open to the public and is presented in conjunction with the Emory Libraries exhibition “The Dream Machine: The Beat Generation & the Counterculture, 1940-1975,” on view in the library’s Schatten Gallery until May 15.

On Wednesday, April 18, at 7:30 p.m. in the Jones Room of Woodruff Library, the Creative Writing Program and English Department close out the year by celebrating the voices of Emory’s budding young writers in their annual Awards Night. Readings by this year’s winners of student writing contests and scholarships will be followed by a reception and open mic.


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