News by Topic: Performing Arts

WXXI talks to Jessica Lieberman, associate professor in the Department of Performing Arts, about a mural of Susan B. Anthony that she and her daughter created.

WHAM-TV talks to Thomas Warfield, director of dance; Andy Head, assistant professor in the Department of Performing Arts; and Jonathan Kruger, chair of the Department of Performing Arts, about changes to the dance, theater, and music programs.

The show must go on – even if it means virtually. While performing arts offerings at RIT may look and feel differently from how they normally operate, RIT is committed to making sure they are available in a healthy and safe manner.

The roles of some of the country’s leading Black Deaf artists will be discussed in a Zoom webinar on Saturday, July 25, sponsored by the Dyer Arts Center at NTID. The virtual panel discussion, “Respeck Our Black Deaf Arts,” will explore Black Deaf artists’ roles in the arts, what inspires them to create in response to the #BlackLivesMatter movement, and the national conversation about race, the future of the Black Deaf arts, and more.

I and You, a collaborative production between NTID's Department of Performing Arts and the College of Liberal Arts Theatre Arts Program, has won a 2020 Outstanding Production Ensemble award from the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival.

It doesn’t take long for art to imitate life, as evidenced with virtual live productions of life amid COVID-19 scheduled this week on Twitch TV. The Canadian Wiggler, written, directed and produced by RIT's David Munnell, uses virtual reality and actors in a live webcast. It is set in May 2020, when the coronavirus lockdown is taking its toll.

RIT is hosting a virtual event to raise money for the COVID-19 Emergency Fund, Division of Diversity and Inclusion General Support Fund, and other funds that directly impact students. "Tigers Helping Tigers: An Event to Move Students Forward" will include pre-recorded performances from RIT students and student groups and will be streamed online.

As students at RIT have successfully transitioned to temporary online learning as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, they’ve also found ways of connecting with their peers to continue their interests with clubs, organizations and performing arts.

The COVID-19 pandemic has presented a group of RIT students with a unique opportunity to express themselves. Missing the expanse of his dance studio at RIT, Thomas Warfield challenged his 43 dance students to stretch their bodies—and minds—using small spaces in their homes. The resulting submissions included routines performed inside closets, on treadmills, and in bathtubs.

Relay For Life was preparing for its eighth year to benefit the American Cancer Society when the COVID-19 pandemic forced organizers to change plans. So instead of nearly 1,000 people participating in a 12-hour walking marathon in the Gordon Field House, this year’s Relay For Life will be a five-day online event that will provide entertainment, donation challenges, celebrations of life and more.

RIT students and faculty have found a way to still connect for private music lessons, with video conferencing offering a unique, and some say helpful, way to teach.

Detroit Free Press features deaf musician Sean Forbes '08 (applied arts and sciences) and the release of his new album.