April 28, 2024 | Duke Gardens | 1-4 PM

Featuring:

• Live performances at Fisher Amphitheater

• Enviro-Art Gallery

• Duke Arts

 

Line-up:

1pm-1:15pm  Madeleine Menkes

Singer, songwriter 

 

1:20pm-1:30pm Gaby Riv

Poet  

 

1:35pm-1:50pm The Trench

Musician  

 

2pm-2:20pm Tate Oliva

Musician  

 

2:20pm-2:35pm Catherine Wang.   

Dream of Dunhuang, choreographed by my instructor Hanyi (含伊), celebrates the fusion of Dunhuang dance with contemporary elements and jazz street dance influences, creating a blend of Chinese ancient and modern artistic expressions. Dunhuang dance, inspired by the Dunhuang grotto frescoes, intricately weaves dance poses and artistic images from these historical artworks into its choreography, reflecting the elegance and spiritual depth of this ancient art form. However, the environment in which these frescoes reside is under threat, particularly on the edge of the Gobi Desert region where changing weather patterns are causing damage to these fragile wall paintings and sculptures. Rising humidity, salt crystallization, rainwater leaks, and natural disasters like flash floods and mudslides are endangering the preservation of these invaluable cultural relics. This underscores the urgent need for heightened awareness and conservation efforts to protect our shared cultural heritage from the ravages of environmental changes. As an artist passionate about promoting Chinese-style jazz, I believe it is our responsibility to ensure that these precious artistic legacies endure for future generations to marvel at and appreciate. My dedication to preserving and innovating within these traditions is evident through my extensive training at a top street dance studio in China, Hello Dance, specializing in Chinese-style street jazz. With an additional eight years of experience in traditional Chinese dance, this experience has enabled me to merge tradition and innovation in my artistic pursuits, contributing to the ongoing celebration and preservation of our cultural heritage through dance. 

 

2:40pm-3:05pm Julia Piper 

Julia M. Piper is a Master of Fine Arts in Dance: Embodied Interdisciplinary Praxis, graduating Spring ’24. She is a transdisciplinary artist-scholar studying Dance and Environmental Humanities. Her artmaking combines theatre, multimedia sculpture, creative writing, and dance. She enjoys making works which engage audiences in awareness of their sensations, and the possibilities of their imagination. At Duke, Julia is a Climate Communications Fellow, a fellow in the Laboratory for Social Choreography, and a member of the Climate Crisis, Decolonization, and Global Blackness Lab. 

 

3:05pm-3:25pm Brandon Hays and Dan Richter and their group of Duke-affiliated scientist-poets.  

Readings and Reflections of Nature Poetry  

 

3:30-4:00pm John Brown Quintet.   

This award-winning jazz group specializes in performing music from the time-honored Bebop and Hard Bop eras of jazz, bringing new life to some of the best-known classics from the Great American Songbook and introducing original music. The group garnered national attention when its first recording reached #8 on the national JazzWeek chart, and stayed in the top 50 for 16 consecutive weeks. Featuring the classic instrumentation of two horns in the frontline along with the rhythm section, the John Brown Quintet sets the standard for John Brown’s myriad ensembles. 

 

 

 

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Please contact Kati (kati.henderson@duke.edu) with any accessibility questions

We strongly encourage walking, biking, taking the bus, and other sustainable transit options when possible. Visit the Duke Gardens website for more information about how to get here.

This event is impossible without the support of Duke Gardens. Thank you, Kati Henderson, University and Community Engagement Coordinator at Duke Gardens, for her enthusiasm and collaboration.