CSW Hosts 9th Annual Evening of the Arts

The evening kicked off with the End of Mod 3 Art Show in the Community Gallery, featuring visual artwork in digital and film photography, experimental video, drawing, and printmaking, from courses like Drawing: Advanced Naturalism and Observation, taught by Todd Bartel, and The Activist Print, taught by Caleb Colpitts.

Following the grand opening, guests migrated to the Mugar Center for Performing Arts to enjoy a Pocket Players performance of “Strega Nona Meets her Match.” Pocket Players, CSW’s unique touring children’s theatre, provides students with an introduction to American Sign Language as well as theatre performance. The bilingual plays are performed in both ASL and spoken English, allowing a large variety of audiences to get a glimpse into Deaf culture.

Back in the Garthwaite, the Gryphtones, CSW’s student a cappella group warmed up the crowd with their rendition of Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell’s “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” before the highly anticipated Wearable Art Fashion Show. Featuring coursework from Wearable Art, taught by Alison Safford, the show featured dozens of student created designs, modeled by fellow students or the designers themselves. Visitors packed into the Moir Atrium and filled the upstairs gallery just to catch a glimpse of the incredible fashions as they descended the steps of the Garthwaite.

After the fashion show, the crowd moved to the Robin Wood Theatre for the stage performance portion of the night. After a welcome from the Art Department, students read moving selections from Vault, CSW’s literary magazine. Next, dancers from Advanced Dance Technique, Intermediate Dance Technique, and Hip Hop presented a collaborative piece performed to music by Janet Jackson, Sia and Beyonce. CSW’s instrumental ensemble took to the stage after to play Camille Saint-Saens’s Dance Macabre, with students and faculty alike on bass, cello, flute, piano, violin, and viola.

The evening ended, as it always does, with an electrifying performance from Rock Pop Ensemble. This year’s theme was “She Rocks Toto,” a tribute to the music of Toto and female rock artists like Sheryl Crow, Annie Lennox, and Madonna. Audience members sang along and danced in their seats as performers gave them a show that will not soon be forgotten.

Congratulations to the Art Department and all of our student artists, writers, musicians, dancers, and performers on an amazing night!