New College announces Mellon Grant arts events for Fall 2018

Dance, music, choreography, Asian film, the poetry of hip-hop music and even workshops on narrative writing and computer game design – New College of Florida is sponsoring dozens of events this fall intended to connect the public, the arts and the humanities.
Funded by a five-year $750,0000 grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, New College: Connecting the Arts and Humanities on Florida’s Creative Coast seeks to foster deeper understanding of the arts and humanities through new programs at New College and with local arts organizations and the Cross-College Alliance. Through the expansion of existing public programs and a new series of open seminars, the local community is invited to hear from — and speak with — faculty scholars and artists who are renowned in their fields.
Please visit ncf.edu/connecting-arts-humanities for exact dates, times and locations.
SEPTEMBER
Public Lecture – Innovators of American Dance: Martha Graham
Wednesday, Sept. 12, 6 p.m
College Hall Music Room, New College of Florida.

Presented by Peter Sparling, former principal dancer of the Martha Graham Dance Company, the Rudolf Arnheim Distinguished University Professor of Dance, and Arthur F. Thurnau Professor of Dance at University of Michigan; and Peggy Lyman, former principal dancer and current company regisseur with the Martha Graham Dance Company.
Master Class with Martha Graham’s Peggy Lyman
Friday, Sept. 14, 1-2:20 p.m.
College Hall Music Room, New College of Florida
Lyman is former principal dancer and current company regisseur with the Martha Graham Dance Company. Class is open for public viewing and limited community participation (some dance background and waiver required).
NOW Ensemble and Sarasota Contemporary Dance
Saturday, Sept. 15, 1-2:30 p.m.
College Hall Music Room, New College of Florida
Join Mark Dancigers, NOW Ensemble artistic director, composer, and electric guitarist, on an exploration of ideas about music and dance. Dancigers will use concepts and techniques from his collaboration with Sarasota Contemporary Dance “Dreamfall,” and a new world premiere work, to create a participatory and informative audience experience.
Asian Film Series: “Under the Dome”
Thursday, Sept. 27
(room and time TBA)
“Under the Dome,” a 2015 documentary by Chai Jing, will be introduced by Dr. Feng Hao from USF Sarasota-Manatee. New College is partnering with Ringling College of Art and Design, Ringling Museum and the Elling Eide Center to present films by Japanese and Chinese filmmakers. 
OCTOBER
Asian Film Series: “Plastic China”
Thursday, Oct. 25, 5 p.m.
Mildred Sainer Pavilion, New College of Florida
The Asian Film Series continues with “Plastic China,” a 2016 documentary by Wang Jiuliang. New College is partnering with Ringling College of Art and Design, Ringling Museum and the Elling Eide Center to present films by Japanese and Chinese filmmakers.
New Music New College presents Sō Percussion
Saturday, Oct. 6, 8 p.m.
Club Sudkaoff (Sudakoff Conference Center), New College of Florida
This quartet of master percussionists will challenge expectations. Their performance will include Bryce Dessner’s Music for Wood and Strings and Pulitzer Prize winner Caroline Shaw’s Taxidermy, both Sō Percussion commissions. This year the Mellon Foundation will be a supporting partner of the annual concert series, which is celebrating its 20th Anniversary. Tickets are $15; get your tickets here.
Campus Conversations
Thursday, Oct. 18, 5:30-7 p.m.
New College Cook Hall Living Room
Rick Dakan, professor at Ringing College of Art and Design, will lead a discussion on “Digital Writing.” New College will host a series of seminar-style conversations around themes and topics taught by faculty experts. Seminars have limited seating so advanced registration is encouraged. A changing line-up of teachers and students invite you to become part of the conversation, to think out loud in the tradition of humanistic discovery, and to learn from each other.
Game-Jam: “It’s Alive!: Avatars of Frankenstein’s Monster”
Thursday, Oct. 25, 5:30-10 p.m.
Location TBA
Game-Jam is a workshop where participants are invited, working with a theme and following a presentation, to learn Twine, a digital tool for online-game development, and begin developing a simple online computer game narrative. Narrative storylines and choices are key components of game development, and the workshop focuses on trying out a simple branching narrative digital tool. No experience necessary, but a laptop computer is required.
NOVEMBER
Artist Concert Series – Armistice: The Journey Home
John Brancy, baritone, Peter Dugan, piano
Time, Date and Location TBA
Inspired by the 100th anniversary of the end of WWI, “Armistice: The Journey Home” explores timeless themes of longing, loss, love and the search for peace in the wake of catastrophe. Musical selections range from Schubert’s “Der Wanderer,” to Vaughan Williams’ “Songs to Travel,” to Ives’ “They Are There.”
Asian Film Series: “The Road”
Friday, Nov. 9, 5 p.m.
Mildred Sainer Pavilion, New College of Florida
The Asian Film Series continues with “The Road,” a 2015 documentary by Yung Chang. New College is partnering with Ringling College of Art and Design, Ringling Museum and the Elling Eide Center to present films by Japanese and Chinese filmmakers.
New Music New College presents Inter/Action: New works featuring Mark Dancigers,
New College students, and Grand Electric
Saturday, Nov. 10, 8 p.m.
Mildred Sainer Pavilion, New College of Florida
Composer and electric guitarist Mark Dancigers returns to New College as the college’s first professor of digital media and music. Inter/Action will engage the possibilities of digital media through works that explore sound, music, movement, and images. Dancigers will lead students in a new piece that uses the sound of rain data as an inspiration for improvisation and dance. The second half of the concert will feature the duo Grand Electric—Dancigers on guitar and electronics and renowned New York City based pianist Aaron Wunsch—as a bridge between the electric and acoustic worlds. Tickets are $15; Get your tickets here.
Campus Conversations
Thursday, Nov. 15, 5:30-7 p.m.
New College Cook Hall Living Room
Carl Shaw, associate professor of Greek language and literature, and Paul Loriston, a 2018 alumnus, will lead a discussion on “Rap: The Poetry of Hip-Hop.” New College will host a series of seminar-style conversations around themes and topics taught by our own faculty experts. Seminars have limited seating so advanced registration is encouraged. Information on registration will be available soon. A changing line-up of teachers and students invite you to become part of the conversation, to think out loud in the tradition of humanistic discovery, and to learn from each other.
DECEMBER
Asian Film Series: “Up the Yangtze”
Date, Time and Location TBD
The Asian Film Series continues with “Up the Yangtze” a 2007 documentary by Zhang Zanbo. New College is partnering with Ringling College of Art and Design, Ringling Museum and the Elling Eide Center to present films by Japanese and Chinese filmmakers.
Narrative Non-Fiction Storytelling Workshop with Maria Vesperi
Thursday, Dec. 6
Time and Location TBD
This workshop brings specialists in nonfiction writing into a discussion of how they collect their material and craft vivid stories for books, newspapers and magazines. The program is organized and moderated by New College Professor of Anthropology Maria D. Vesperi, a former working journalist and a trustee of the Poynter Institute for Media Studies from 1995-2015. Recipient of the 2017 American Anthropological Association Anthropology in Media Award, she is co-editor of the collection Anthropology off the Shelf: Anthropologists on Writing, and executive coordinating editor of Anthropology Now and anthronow.com, a journal and website dedicated to making anthropological writing accessible to wider audiences. This interactive workshop is free and open to the public — the only requirement is an interest in good stories and how they are told.