The University’s dance, visual art, and music schedule this semester is promising, offering a new opportunity to engage with student art around every corner.
In regard to dance, Saturday, Feb. 20 and Sunday, Feb. 21 will see “‘dArK oXyGen,’” a performance by mayfield brooks, an artist featured significantly in the Ezra and Cecile Zilkha Gallery, centered around the concept of breath and the reliance on oxygen in the deep sea as explored through choreography.
On Friday, March 27, the “Spring Senior Thesis Dance Concert” will be held as the dance major’s cumulative exhibition.
On Friday, April 3 comes the “Spring Faculty Dance Concert: The FAB Dance Party!,” held in the Fries Art Building. This is the first of two shows. The second, Wes Arabesque’s “Alice in Wonderland,” will be held on April 3 and April 4.
On Saturday, April 4 is the Wes Latin and Ballroom showcase, featuring performances of salsa, bachata, cumbia, merengue, and more. The Wes Latin and Ballroom Club holds classes on Thursdays from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m., open to anybody.
Friday, April 17 is the “Spring Dance Concert,” featuring various students from different dance disciplines.
Friday, April 24 brings the seventh event in the “AFTERWORDS: entanglement” series. “AFTERWORDS” is an annual program at the University, and the 2025–26 year focuses on the theme of entanglement, inviting various artists and curators to speak on art’s responsibilities, dependents, and connective properties. The event features artist Jonathan Gonzalez and Assistant Professor of Music Darius Jones, who will discuss Black practices of dance and music.
The “Worlds of Dance Spring Showcase” on Sunday, May 3 offers a cumulative showcase of student dance classes on campus, featuring Wesleyan classes such as “Introduction to Dance” (DANC111), Afro-Brazilian of varying levels (DANC205, DANC210, and DANC310), and Bharata Natyam of varying levels (DANC261 and DANC382).
The University’s music agenda proves just as exciting with a sizable lineup. On Sunday, Feb. 1 was the “Seventh annual Wesleyan FluteFest Concert” by the flute chamber ensemble, and Sunday, Feb. 8 features the shihan (master) of the 13-string koto, Satoko Takemoto, in “Works for the Koto by Wesleyan Composers”.
On Friday, Feb. 13 comes “The Modern Tuba” at the Crowell Concert Hall by Tuba Instructor Steven Wilkinson and pianist Elisabeth Tomcyzk, featuring original music by Wilkinson and contemporaries such as Kevin Day, Alexandre Arutiunian, Øystein Baadsvik, Cait Nishimura, and Mica Redden.
On Sunday, Feb. 15, Gavin Cui ’26 begins the senior and graduate recitals, followed by graduate student Ameen Mokdad M.A. ’26 on Tuesday, Feb. 17. We take a break from individual recitals with the “Wesleyan Experi-Pop Guitar Ensemble Concert” by guitar instructor Tom Crean M.A. ’04 on Saturday, Feb. 21, which combines classic selections with contemporary reimaginations of Kanye West, Morgan Wallen, and Olly Alexander.
On Saturday, Feb. 21 is “Jubilee,” a collection of performances to celebrate Black History Month including the University’s on-campus group, Black Raspberry. The collection will include music, dance, poetry, and song. Sunday, Feb. 22 sees “All Nature Sings” by Piano Instructor Carolyn Halsted M.A. ’87 with soprano Sarah Armstrong and baritone Dylan Armstrong, a concert collection inspired by nature.
A return to individual student performances sees graduate student Chuntary Hatten on Tuesday, Feb. 24 with a conceptual concert. Following this performance, is the “Toneburst Sampler” by the University’s Toneburst Laptop and Electronic Arts Ensemble on Wednesday, Feb. 25.
Friday, Feb. 27 is Stephanie Monard’s ’25 recital, and Saturday, Feb. 28 sees both the “Wesleyan University Orchestra Children’s Concert” and Stuard Conard’s ’26 senior recital.
Sunday, March 1 is “The Elizabeth Verveer Tishler Keyboard Laureate Recital” featuring the Elizabeth Verveer Tishler Keyboard Competition participants, and on Saturday, March 28 is graduate student Carl Testa’s ’06 recital.
“Noah Baerman Plays the Music of James Williams,” on Sunday, March 29, features Director of the Jazz Ensemble Noah Baerman, bassist Henry Lugo, and drummer Dennis Mackrel.
Thursday, April 2 sees the senior recitals of Phoenix Libsch ’26 and Orlando Osgood ’26, while the following day is Kate Lyman’s ’26 senior recital. Chuntay Hatten’s and Calla Paleczny’s graduate recitals are on Saturday, April 4.
On Friday, April 10 is Omri Riss Chbarbi’s ’26 senior music recital. Saturday, April 11 will feature the “Methods of Improvisation Ensemble Spring Concert,” and on Sunday, April 12 there will be a senior recital by Austin Halsey ’26. Lola Cortez’s ’26 senior recital is the following weekend, on Saturday, April 18, with senior Liam Calhoun ’26’s recital on Sunday, April 19.
On Friday, April 24 is the “Wesleyan Jazz Orchestra and Wesleyan Jazz Ensemble Concert,” directed by Professor of Music Jay Hoggard ’76, M.A. ’91 and Director Noah Baerman, and on Saturday, April 25 comes the “Wesleyan Jazz Faculty Concert.”
Wednesday, April 29 sees the “Students of Yvonne Troxler Spring Piano Recital” at Crowell Concert Hall, and on Thursday, April 30 is the “Beginning Javanese Gamelan Ensemble Spring Concert” directed by University Professor of Music I.M. Harjito with PhD student Ethan Schwartz’s M.A. ’22 contribution.
Friday, May 1 brings the “Chamber Music Ensemble Spring Concert,” the “Central Asian Music Ensemble Spring Concert: Voices of Nature,” and the “Wesleyan University Orchestra Spring Concert.”
Saturday, May 2 is “Viva La AV” by the Toneburst Laptop and Electronic Arts Ensemble and the “Advanced Javanese Gamelan Ensemble Spring Concert.”
On Sunday, May 3, also in the Belzberg World Music Hall, is the “Taiko Japanese Drumming Ensemble and Korean Drumming and Creative Music Ensemble Concert.”
May 3 also sees “Songs of Songs, Old and New: Celebrating 25 Years of the Wesleyan Collegium Musicum” in Memorial Chapel. Inspired by the biblical Song of Songs, Mesopotamian poetry about the union of gods Inanna and Dumuzi will be interspersed in the concert.
On Monday, May 4 is the “Ebony Singers Spring Concert” under Marichal Monts’ ’85 direction.
Tuesday, May 5 is a busy day for Wesleyan music, with the “South Indian Music Student Recital” at 6 p.m., the “WesWinds Spring Concert” at 8 p.m., and the ”Wesleyan Organ Studio Spring Concert: Piping Performance” from “Piping Performance: An Exploration of Artistic Expression through the Pipe Organ” (MUSC441) at 9:30 p.m.
Wednesday, May 6 features the “Chinese Music Ensemble Spring Concert” under Chia-Yu Joy Lu and the “Toneburst Electroextravaganza” under Director of Graduate Studies and Professor of Music Paula Matthusen.
Friday, May 8 sees the “West African Drumming and Dance Spring Concert,” and Sunday, May 10 sees the final University spring semester music performance with John Spencer Camp Professor of Music Neely Bruce performing American chamber music.
Wesleyan’s visual arts sector is similarly busy! On Tuesday, Feb. 3, the Zilkha Gallery will show Robert Lostutter and Kristi Cavataro’s paintings and stained glass sculptures, as well as mayfield brooks’ “Whale Fall with Me,” a multimedia project about the life cycle of the whale. Years of study have led to the cumulative project “Whale Fall with Me,” a study of the romance and entanglement of the whale species. Wednesday, Feb. 4 will be a book arts workshop for the mayfield brooks exhibit, while on Saturday, Feb. 7, there will be tours of the exhibits from 2–3 p.m.
These tours will occur weekly until Saturday, Feb. 28, while on Monday, Feb. 9, there will be a“Lunch and Learn” session featuring conversations about both artists’ works.
On Tuesday, Feb. 10 the artist Kristi Cavataro will give a talk, and on Friday, Feb. 13 there will be an “Art and Donuts” walkthrough of the University’s Public Art Collection led by Vansh Kapoor ’26 and Irene Tatsi ’26.
Wednesday, Feb. 18 brings the Opening Reception and presentation of “The Blooming Mirror,” an exhibition featuring works from the College of East Asian Studies Art and Archival Collection, and on Wednesday, Feb. 25 there will be another book arts workshop inspired by the mayfield brooks multimedia project.
On Thursday, Feb. 26, the exhibition “Collecting China: Missionary Assemblages of a Distant World, 1844-1911” will be hosted in the Olin Library.
On Saturday, March 7, the annual Middletown Public Schools Art Exhibition will be held in the Zilkha Gallery. This is an annual opportunity to see the artwork created by students from the Middletown area who range in age from kindergarten to 12th grade.
March 24–25 marks week one of the senior thesis exhibitions for the graduating class of 2026, featuring Matthew Aljian ’26, Christian Jallo ’26, Vansh Kapoor ’26, Katia Michals ’26, Lukas Shvetsov ’26, and Tita ’26.
On Friday, March 27 and Friday, April 24 is the Ikebana Workshop, where students can come to be introduced to Japanese flower arranging at the College of East Asian Studies from 2–3 p.m. From March 31–April 2 is week two of senior thesis exhibitions, featuring Quinn Frankel ’26, Clio Gourevitch ’26, Lilly Hoefflin ’26, Coline McEachern ’26, Al Shterenberg ’26, Leandra Sze ’26, and Liam Waldman ’26.
On Monday, April 6, Grace Kuipers ’14 will deliver a lecture entitled “Latent Value: Spratling Silver and the Aesthetics of Mineral Development” in Boger Hall The lecture will be a discussion regarding American designer William Spratling’s workshop in Taxco, Mexico with silver jewelry and how this work relates to historical U.S. interest in foreign minerals.
April 7–8 is week three of senior thesis exhibitions, with works from Anthony Crossman ’26, Stella Oman ’26, Greta Schloss ’26, Elias Seignourel ’26, Asher Weintraub ’26, and Nash Woollen ’26. The following week, from April 14–15 brings week four of the thesis exhibitions, featuring Cate Baldwin ’26, Ruby Dachis ’26, Ali Eckstein ’26, Joshua LaCorte ’26, Kelsey Onyia ’26, Jake Rekrut ’26, and Hank Schwabacher ’26.
On Wednesday, April 29, selections from the current studio art senior theses in the Zilkha Gallery will be showcased until Saturday, May 23, with May 23 featuring a reception.
Last but not least, bringing the roundup to a close is the University’s film agenda. The “AFTERWORDS: entanglement” series continues, with the fifth event occurring on Friday, Feb. 6, featuring Natalie Diaz and Adrienne Edwards discussing the relationship between time, Black and Indigenous art, and linguistic practices. The sixth event in the series occurs on Tuesday, Feb. 17, with Emma Bige, mayfield brooks, and Associate Professor of Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Katie Brewer Ball exploring queer environmental justice movements as they relate to art making. The Wesleyan Film Series continues into the spring semester, showing movies in the Goldsmith Family Cinema from Wednesday to Saturday at 8 p.m.; for a full list of movies this semester, visit @wesfilmseries on Instagram.
Engage with your community and its art—we hope to see you there!
Isabella Canizares-Bidwa can be reached at icanizaresbi@wesleyan.edu.
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