Fall Arts Celebrated at Grand Valley

ALLENDALE, Mich. -- Each year Grand Valley State University's Fall Arts Celebration reinforces the complex and exciting roles the arts and humanities play in the good life. All five events this year, from September 14 to October 19, are open to the community with free admission.

“Amid the unceasing ups and downs of the financial markets, we’ve always had the arts, not just for comfort, but for liberation,” said Fred Antczak, FAC spokesperson and dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. His comments are fitting for the entire Fall Arts Celebration, and in particular to the Department of Music’s upcoming performance of Stravinsky’s “L’histoire du Soldat.”

“We’ll also hear two of the smarter and funnier poets now working, as well as a former advisor to candidate Barack Obama on the sobering history and intriguing prospects of the Middle East,” said Antczak. “And the wit and charm of Italy’s commedia dell’arte’s “Pulcinella” dance performance nicely balances with the mystic colors and traditions of India’s folk art that will be featured in the GVSU Art Gallery.”

For additional information on Grand Valley’s Fall Arts Celebration, call (616) 331-2180, or visit http://www.gvsu.edu/gvmagazine/   for the full story on pages 10-12 of the Summer 2009 issue of Grand Valley Magazine.

Fall Arts Celebration 2009 includes the following events:

• “L’histoire du Soldat” (A Soldier’s Tale), September 14, 8 p.m.,
Louis Armstrong Theatre, Performing Arts Center, Allendale Campus Grand Valley’s Department of Music artist-faculty will perform the 1918 theatrical work based on a Russian folk tale set to music by Igor Stravinsky. The story tells of a young soldier who foolishly gives his violin to the devil in exchange for a book that promises wealth by predicting the economy of the future.

• Distinguished Academic Lecturer, September 22, 7 p.m.
L.V. Eberhard Center, Robert C. Pew Grand Rapids Campus Rashid Khalidi is intent on debunking the historical inaccuracies and distortions he believes dominate the American public’s perception of the Middle East and the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. The Edward Said Professor of Modern Arab Studies at Columbia University will present his lecture, “The Great Powers and the Middle East: Yesterday and Today.”

• Poetry Night, October 1, 7 p.m.
L.V. Eberhard Center, Robert C. Pew Grand Rapids Campus  Enjoy an evening celebrating language, humor, and the performance of poetry with two award-winning poets, Tony Hoagland and Patricia Smith. Limited edition broadsides of a poem by each author will be available while supplies last. In addition, books by both of the poets will be available for purchase and signing following the performance. 

• Mystic India, Land of Color and Tradition: Folk Art, Sculpture and Miniature Paintings. Reception October 7, 5-7 p.m., Exhibit open through October 30
GVSU Art Gallery, Performing Arts Center, Allendale Campus
This outstanding GVSU Art Gallery exhibition illustrates stories of India’s diverse culture as told through more than 50 pieces of art from Grand Valley’s Permanent Art Collection. 

• Dance Faculty and Students Present “Pulcinella,” October 19, 8 p.m.
Louis Armstrong Theatre, Performing Arts Center, Allendale Campus
The final Fall Arts Celebration 2009 event returns to the music of Stravinsky, with the traditional ballet “Pulcinella” reinvented through the lens of a modern dancer.