<ong>Semaphore repertory dance company receives high honor
Over Spring break the Carleton Semaphore Repertory Dance Company and dance faculty members, Judith Howard and Jane Shockley attended the American College Dance Festival at UW-Stevens Point. This is a major annual festival attended by numerous Colleges and Universities, bringing together students, faculty and national figures in the professional dance world. A national panel of adjudicators critiques work by students, faculty and guest artists and picks the best work of the festival to feature in a final Gala Concert. Semaphore danced the work of guest artist Mathew Janczewski in a stunning performance, which won them a place in the Gala. This honor is equivalent to winning a major regional championship.
Carleton had an additional strong showing with the work of Semaphore member Katie Forsberg, who presented her choreography, “Waked” in the adjudication concert and Claire Brookmeyer who presented her piece, “Pair” in the informal concert.
Watch for this award winning company in its performance in the Spring Dance Concert May 28 and 29 in the Arena theater.
Acclaimed Malian performers to rock Carleton College
Award-winning Malian musician Bassekou Kouyate and his band, Ngoni Ba, will perform in Carleton College’s Severance Great Hall on Tuesday, April 13 from 8 to 9:30 p.m. This not-to-be-missed performance is free and open to the public.
Ngoni Ba features four family members playing the ngoni, a West African instrument that was the forerunner of the American banjo. Ngoni Ba is currently wrapping up a tour of North America in the wake of the release of the group’s second album, “I Speak Fula” (Sub Pop, 2010). Their first album, “Segu Blue” (Out Here Records, 2007), received positive reviews around the world, and featured Kouyate’s wife singing vocals.
Kouyate was born into a family with a long history as traditional historians and musicians, and his father was also a talented musician. Kouyate developed a unique musical technique on the ngoni, and began to incorporate blues and banjo techniques into his music after his first visit to the United States in 1990. Upon his return to his native Mali, he participated in numerous successful musical projects, including a jazz-inspired trio and Toumani’s Symmetric Orchestra, which fused griot music and global pop, and worked with giants of African music such as Ali Farka Toure. It was during this period that he conceived the idea of creating a group combining ngonis of various sizes – an idea which culminated in Ngoni Ba.
This event is sponsored by Carleton’s Humanities Center, African and African American Studies, the Committee for the Study of the Arts, and Special Projects. For further information and disability accommodations, please contact Cathy Yandell at [email protected] or (507) 222-4245.
Carleton to commemorate Holocaust Rememberance Day
Carleton College will observe Yom HaShoah, or Holocaust Remembrance Day, with a service and vigil on Monday, April 12 in the Skinner Memorial Chapel. The vigil, featuring a reading of victims’ names, will be held from 5 p.m. until midnight; at 6:30 p.m., there will be a short Jewish service, followed by a reading and talk by Fred M. B. Amram, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Creativity and Communication at the University of Minnesota. This event is free and the public is cordially invited to attend.
Amram is a Jewish survivor of Hitler’s Germany who writes about his Holocaust experience, coming to America, and his life as a bicultural American. Amram will read a short story about his early encounters with the Gestapo, and will speak about survivors of other genocides and the impact of genocides everywhere.
This event is sponsored by the Carleton College Office of the Chaplain. For more information, including disability accommodations, call (507) 222-4003.