The simple movement that members of the audience made at the end of last week’s performance by the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company demonstrated an audience engagement unusual in modern dance performance. Jones initiated the gesture, a fisted hand uncurling to an outstretched palm, and as the audience mirrored it, they signified their willingness to be alert and actively engaged with the material and questions posited by the company.
When it comes to art, Assistant Professor of History Magda Teter is a woman not easily deterred. While on sabbatical in Israel a few years ago, Teter was intrigued by a glowing review of an art exhibition by Hagit Molgan at the Kibbutz Be'eri. Since public transportation would be closed on a Saturday in Israel she decided to bike the fifty miles to the gallery.
In the Russell House on Tuesday, poet Alice Notley gave more than just a reading. The author of over 25 books of poetry, Notley exposed both work and emotion in an appropriately intimate space. During her reading Notley shared mostly unpublished manuscripts. Before beginning she warned the audience that she had a cold, but it was only apparent after she had finished.