Previous Offerings
SPRING 2022
Afro-Latin America: History, Culture, and Politics
Monica Carrillo & Nodia Mena
Thursday, February 17, 7:00pm – 8:30 p.m.
This sweeping presentation and conversation on the history, culture, and politics of Afro-Latin America will be given by Monica Carrillo, human rights leader, poet, and Grammy Award-winning Afro-Peruvian artist, and Nodia Mena, Garifuna (African and Indian-descended) cultural ambassador from Honduras, dancer, and educator based in North Carolina. Q&A with Carrillo and Mena will follow moderated by Omar Ali, historian of the global African Diaspora and Dean of Lloyd Honors College, University of North Carolina, Greensboro. The event is co-sponsored with the Greensboro Public Library and the African American & African Diaspora Studies Program at UNC Greensboro.
Movement and Emotional Balance
Valerie Green
Saturday, February 26, 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm
Join professional dancer and choreographer Valerie Green, artistic director of Dance Entropy, in this unique workshop which explores the complex and subtle relations between movement and emotionality. Words label what we know; movement can reveal the unknown. Starting with expressive movement exercises, Green will lead students on their own personal movement journey within a safe and nurturing environment. This workshop aims to find a physical expression to the feelings, whereby a healing process can begin. No previous dance experience needed. Wear clothing you can move in.
The Joy and Wonder of Not-Knowing: Science, Arts and Humanities
Nadja Cech & Omar Ali
Tuesday, March 1, 11:00 am – 12:15 pm
When you think of science do you think of complex formulas or memorizing charts and tables or do you feel curiosity and the excitement of discovery? For Dr. Nadja Cech, Patricia A. Sullivan Distinguished Professor of Chemistry at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, it’s the latter. Join her in conversation with historian Omar Ali, Dean of Lloyd International Honors College, to explore the joy and wonder to be found in the ongoing quest of discovering how the universe works by asking big and small questions, and drawing from all disciplines and approaches. The conversation is part of a class they regularly co-teach entitled “How do we know what we know?: Power, Epistemology, and Methodology.” The conversation is being co-sponsored by Cultivating Ensembles, which brings together individuals with different sensibilities and interests in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine (STEMM) to celebrate the interwoven nature of sciences, technologies, humanities, and arts as human activities.
Improv for Everyone
Marian Rich
Monday, March 7, 10:30 am – 11:45 am
“The heart of improvisation is transformation.” – Viola Spolin
Improvisation, the ability to actively listen, accept “offers” from fellow performers, and create something new together, is a vital life skill. Learn the basics of improv—group warm ups and “yes, and” scenes—from Marian Rich, a talented teacher, improvisational performer and co-founder of the Global Play Brigade. Since this is Improv for everyone, no experience necessary!
Ask a Scientist
Raquell Holmes, Nick Gross, Martha McCoy & team
Saturday, March 12, 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm
When you ask a scientist a question, you may get an answer, but you may also get a question back. Have you ever wondered why the weather changes on Earth—or Mars? What makes water healthy, or not? How do vaccines work? What are “black holes”? Bring your questions to this conversation with scientists in physics, medicine, biology, mathematics, and computing. Discover how different scientists respond. Do scientists all think alike? How do they develop their ideas? We’ll create answers together with the essential tools of science: drawing, curiosity, and building with the contributions of others. Let’s develop our relationships to science and to one another.
Indian Political Theatre
Sanjay Kumar & Dan Friedman
Sunday, March 20, 9:30 am – 11:00 am
India has a rich and varied theatre history stretching back two thousand years. It also has one of the most wide-spread and deeply-embraced progressive political theatre movements in the world. Sanjay Kumar, who teaches theatre and literature at Hans Raj College of Delhi University and is founder and leader of the pandees, one of India’s most impactful political theatres, lives and breathes this history. Join him in conversation with Dan Friedman, author of Performance Activism and Artistic Director (Emeritus) of New York’s Castillo Theatre, for a conversation about India’s political theatre—past, present and future.
Chinese Medicine
Dr. Wen Der Jan & Mei Hui Zhang
Friday, April 1, 9:00 pm – 10:30 pm.
Chinese medicine approaches health and illness from a different perspective than medicine in the West—and has much to offer a world that is seeking healing and wellness. Join Dr. Wen Der Jan and Mei Hui Zhang of the Ludi Community School in Taipei, Taiwan, for this introduction to the basic assumptions and methods of Chinese Internal Medicine. The class will be conducted in Chinese (Mandarin) with simultaneous English translation.