Arts and Entertainment
The Skidmore College Dance Department's annual Senior Coda showcase premieres on Saturday, March 30, and Saturday, April 6. The Senior Coda is a course available to all performance- and choreography-track and research-track majors, offered annually by the department. The class and participation in the showcase are prerequisites to earn honors. The class is taught by Jason Ohlberg, Associate Chair of the Dance Department, but the semester is primarily student-led. Professor Ohlberg’s teaching philosophy is giving the class independence and autonomy in the process of producing their first concert.
On March 10, the 96th Academy Awards (Oscars) will take place, honoring the best films of 2023. As usual, the public eye is primarily focused on the prestigious Best Picture award, which has attracted additional attention due to a particularly strong crop of films.
TikTok, the popular video app, has been a hub for musicians and music lovers alike since it appeared in app stores in 2016. Through the platform , users can lip sync to their favorite songs, create video edits of their favorite films and shows, participate in dance trends, and keep up with new music releases. Music is a fundamental feature of the app. What happens when artists can no longer promote their music with TikTok? What happens when users can no longer engage with popular artists?
Slouching is a collection of personal essays, anthropological observations, illustrations, and collages of found objects. Squire, who graduated from Skidmore in 2021, was one of forty recipients of the Creative Research Impact Centre Europe Fellowship (CIRCE), which awards young academics and budding scientists funding to complete a creative project. Funding from CIRCE enabled Squire to spend the summer of 2023 writing, walking, and drinking wine — among other things. Their project tackled the grand concept of geography, considering how spaces facilitate our interaction with them, and in turn, how humans leave evidence of their interaction — whether that landscape is urban or rural, literal or digital. Towards the end of November, the author made time to speak with The Skidmore News about Slouching. We chatted about talking to strangers, compulsive collecting, the qualities of a perfect notebook, and entrusting our writing to others.
On Friday, November 10th, Tarriona “Tank” Ball sauntered onto the Arthur Zankel Music Center stage like she owned the place. And that night, she did. Tank and the Bangas’ one-of-a-kind sound swelled to fill the space. Tank was backed by a four-piece band and trio of back-up singers, and the ingenuity of each individual was evident. Altogether, though, the group was amplified. Tank and the Bangas’ commanded the attention of their audience. Under their spell, the concert hall came alive, coaxed by robust rhythms and breezy beats. Tank and the Bangas’ on-stage symbiosis and infectious energy made for an impressive show distinguished from the classical- and jazz-oriented music events that the space typically hosts.
Are you feeling in the mood for some dance floor bangers? How about some rock, pop rock, indie-pop, country, or even disco? Whether you’re walking to class, working out at the gym, heading to a party, or are all in your feels, Kylie Minogue’s Tension could become the new soundtrack to your everyday life.
Ridley Scott’s Napoleon (2023) shows occasional glimpses of potential but falls under its own weight, failing to tell a compelling story about one of the most compelling men in world history, ultimately winding up nothing more than a cinematic farce.
Back in 2014, Taylor Swift was “reinvented for the first time” (according to herself) when she released 1989 in 2014, as this album represents her foray from country into pop. I was in fifth grade, on the cusp of middle school, when I first listened to “1989.” When I listened to “1989 (Taylor’s Version)” in 2023, the same emotions that I felt listening to 1989 in 2014 rose to the surface. This album is not just music; it recalls childhood memories that live in the back of my mind.
The Skidmore Dance department’s Choreography II showcase will premiere this Saturday, November 18, at the Dance Theater, located in Williamson Sports Center, at 2:00 pm and 5:30 pm. This annual event is the culmination of Choreography II, a course required for the performance and choreography track of the dance major. Taught by Erika Pujic, the class is meant to incorporate skills students have learned from their first two years in the major—like individual and group work, choreographic tools, leadership and collaboration—into a space with other students. The 12 upperclassmen began the fall semester by holding open auditions which welcomed any Skidmore student with a background, or even an interest, in dance. From there, the students casted and held rehearsal processes with showings that included feedback from peers and professors alike.
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 1925 novel, The Great Gatsby, is a cautionary tale of glamor and debauchery. Set in the vibrant 1920s in New York City, the tale has become emblematic of early twentieth-century America and the subject of countless reproductions.