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Arturo O’Farrill, the son of Afro-Cuban jazz bandleader Chico O'Farrill, has built a career and legacy from working with diverse sounds, from Afro-Cuban jazz itself to far-out experiments with almost every singular instrument you can imagine. This Friday, he will play in Baldwin Auditorium with the Duke Jazz, Afro Cuban & Djembe ensembles.
The morning of the Girls Rock NC concert as I ate breakfast in Au Bon Pain, I sleepily half-watched an infomercial for a “wheelbarrow for women.”
Just another typical day at the Duke Arts Festival:
Every once in a while, we ask ourselves the question "Is Duke an artsy school?" Framed in a way that would fit on an admissions brochure, maybe the question would be: “Is Duke a leading research university that actively pursues a holistic, interdisciplinary framework for undergraduate arts engagement?”
In the sci-fi smash hit “The Girl in the Road”, Durham novelist and playwright Monica Byrne crafts a gorgeous future world where big business has perfected ‘wave energy’, the solution to the global energy crisis and a death knell for the West’s economic hegemony. Set in India in the 2060’s, Byrne’s novel attests to the gracefulness and power of technology. For example, her main character majors in “nano and comp lit,” and the novel’s most dazzling passages take their beauty from the interactions between humans and their innovations. Byrne’s future, populated by its technology as much as its humans, reminds me of Spike Jonze’s “Her” where technology like artificial intelligence, usually shown as a threatening the human capacity for love and community, is part of a world so delicate and sparkling that its viewer feels nostalgia for the next millenium.
Ever since their 1999 album "Mass Romantic," the New Pornographers have crafted lovely tunes with lyrics that break listeners' hearts. Led by singer-songwriter A.C. Newman, the eight-person group includes vocalists Neko Case and Kathryn Calder, as well as synthesizer player Blaine Thurier, who also directs indie movies. Across six albums, their songs are reminiscent of the 1960’s "Wall of Sound" musical production, with instruments and voices so densely layered that it’s impossible to distinguish what causes the emotional impact. Their music overwhelms, while their lyrics take their power from story-like details and haunting turns of phrase. My favorite, from their fourth album, 2007’s "Challengers," is the devastating final plea “Stay with me, go places."
Ensemble shows "Orphan Black" and "Orange is the New Black" enter their second seasons this summer, just in time for those lazy days when you think, “Wow, all this time but nothing to do! Where is the next gripping, female-centered thriller to sustain me for the next eight hours of perfect sunshine and soothing breezes?”
The American Dance Festival was founded in 1934 at Bennington College by a cohort of young, passionate choreographers who rejected the formalism of classical ballet in favor of improvisation, loose storytelling, and experimentation with other performance mediums. Its early performances, including collaborations with the sculptor Alexander Calder and the composer John Cage, not only broke from ballet’s highly moderated technique and finely detailed movements, but also expanded the public perception of what dance should look like. One of its founders, Martha Graham, eventually received a Presidential Medal of Freedom and the accolade of being known as the “Picasso of Dance” for her groundbreaking work that defined twentieth-century performance. Yet in contrast to any connotations conjured up by “experimental” and “avant-garde”, modern dance is pure Americana; despite not falling in the same subconscious category as Norman Rockwell paintings and Coca-Cola advertisements, it is considered “the first truly American dance” according to ADF intern Anna McDunn.
We see the same magazines at the grocery store checkout every day—and often, it seems as though they are literally the same ones: glossy celebrities surrounded by bright lettering, promises of learning how to become the best you, one more set of “Ten Steps to….”
My first visit to Letters Bookshop was an instance of classical conditioning. While walking along Main Street in early January, I heard the buzz of my phone, read the Duke Alert message “Tornado Warning: Seek Shelter Immediately” and ran into the nearest shop as it began to pour. You know, in accordance with Murphy’s Law: If you are planning a walk in Durham, it will rain.
The 2014 spring season of Duke Performances, a combination of puppetry, Broadway gems and 16th-century motets—to name just a few opportunities—aims for interdisciplinarity and interaction with a wide-ranging lineup of artists, many of whom will collaborate with the students attending their shows.
