IAP 2019 Activities by Category - Theater and Dance

Sara Sheffels

Jan/26

Sat

07:00PM-09:00PM

NW35 Hulsizer Room

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up

Have you ever wanted to try Argentinian Tango but never had time to attend a class? Join the Ashdown Events Committee and instructors from the MIT Tango Club, and come learn your first steps! We will focus on moving to the music and finding a connection with our partner, as well as learning some of the basic moves that are common in Argentine tango. No partner is required and no previous dancing experience of any kind is needed, we will all start from scratch!

The lesson will run until about 8:30pm, after which we will have practice time until 9pm. Refreshments will be served.

Signup is not necessary to attend, but will give us a better idea of how much food to get!

https://signup.mit.edu/tangoLesson

Contact: Sara Sheffels, SSHEFF@MIT.EDU

Lindy Hop Society

Jan/30

Wed

06:30PM-08:00PM

36-112

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up

Chicago-Style Stepping, is an urban dance that originated in Chicago and continues to evolve while defining its unique style and culture within the context of mainstream Swing dance. Chicago-Style Stepping has gained popularity, particularly in the urban neighborhoods of America.

Come try Stepping at a weekly practice session led by experienced local dancers.

Contact: Lindy Hop Society, swing@mit.edu

Susan Rosevear, Education Officer

Jan/30

Wed

03:00PM-05:00PM

Room 66-110

Enrollment: Limited: Advance sign-up required
Sign-up by 01/25
Limited to 100 participants

Marie Curie is well known for her pioneering work in the field of radioactivity and for being the first woman to win a Nobel Prize.    Her journey from her early years in Poland to her research in Paris included fascinating challenges, struggles, failures, and triumphs.  Join us for a science immersion film portraying Mme. Curie's amazing life.  This award-winning one-woman presentation brings the two-time Nobel Prize winner alive on film as she relays her story. 

Susan Marie Frontczak, an engineer and liviing history scholar, wrote and performs "Humanity Needs Dreamers:  A Visit with Marie Curie."  She will participate in a short discussion and Q&A following the presentation led by filmmaker Jen Myronuk.  

Light refreshments will be served.

Sponsor(s): Materials Research Laboratory
Contact: Susan Rosevear, 13-2050, 617 253-0916, SUSANG@MIT.EDU

Janet Baker, Yaron Shragai

	Jan/13	Sun	08:00PM-09:30PM	5-234
	Jan/27	Sun	08:00PM-09:30PM	5-234

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up
Attendance: Repeating event, participants welcome at any session

At the 8 pm teaching session, learn to dance in time signatures you've never heard of! Then practice your dancing to live music!

By the end of the first hour, you'll be dancing in rhythms such as 7/8, 5/4, 15/8, and more!  Our repertoire includes circle dances, and a few couple dances, from Eastern Europe (Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Serbia, Hungary) and around the world (Quebec, Sweden, China, South Africa, Scotland, and the U.S.)

No partner needed and absolutely no experience necessary. Come by yourself or bring friends. Beginners are encouraged to arrive on time for introductory teaching in each session.

These dances continue throughout IAP and as a regular series on Sunday nights, so you can keep coming once you get hooked!

Sponsored by Artists Beyond the Desk.

Sponsor(s): Folk Dance Club
Contact: MIT Folk Dance Club, fdc@mit.edu

Veronica Boyce

Jan/22

Tue

08:00PM-10:30PM

W20, Lobdell

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up

Come to the Tech Squares Beginners' Night and get a taste of modern square dancing. At Tech Squares, the square and round dance club of MIT, we dance fast, we dance smart, and we have lots of fun! Figuring out the next dance motion, and how to make it flow smoothly with the previous one, creates a fun puzzle that has to be solved quickly. No previous dance experience or knowledge necessary; light snacks provided.

Sponsor(s): Tech Squares
Contact: Veronica Boyce, 650 933 0841, squares@mit.edu

Andy Latto

	Jan/07	Mon	07:30PM-09:30PM	W20 - West Lounge
	Jan/14	Mon	07:30PM-09:30PM	W20 - 407
	Jan/21	Mon	07:30PM-09:30PM	W20 - 491
	Jan/28	Mon	07:30PM-09:30PM	W20 - 407

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up
Attendance: Each class will build on prior classes, so try to attend all classes.
Prereq: none

In choreographed ballroom dance, also called round dancing, you learn a collection of figures that you can dance in varying combinations. A cuer will tell you which figure is next as the dance proceeds, so you can dance choreographed routines that fit the music perfectly, without any need to memorize choreography. The waltz figures and technique you learn in this class will enable you to dance waltz lead/follow (without a cuer) at social dances.

This is a social dance; emphasis is on getting out on the floor and having fun, not on perfect technique.

As in any form of ballroom dance, there are lead and follow roles. Gender has nothing to do with which role you learn; start with whichever seems like more fun.

No partner or prior dance experience needed; we will rotate partners frequently.

If you miss a class, please come to the next class at 7pm for catch up. 

Sponsor(s): Tech Squares
Contact: Veronica Boyce, VBOYCE@MIT.EDU

Lindy Hop Society

	Jan/09	Wed	07:30PM-11:30PM	W20-202 (La Sala)
	Jan/16	Wed	07:30PM-11:30PM	Walker Memorial
	Jan/23	Wed	07:30PM-11:30PM	Walker Memorial
	Jan/30	Wed	07:30PM-11:30PM	W20-208 Lobdell

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up
Attendance: Repeating event, participants welcome at any session

Learn to Lindy Hop!  Lindy Hop is very popular form of swing dance done to jazz music, with emphasis on musicality and improvisation.  This class is open to beginners, no previous dance experience required, and you do not need to come with a partner.  The lesson will run from 7:30-9:00 p.m.  After the lesson will be an open dance for practice.

Contact: Lindy Hop Society, swing@mit.edu

Divya Goel, Radha Mastandrea

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up
Attendance: Participants welcome at individual sessions
Prereq: None
Fee: $10.00 for non-MIT community

Bhangra, a folk dance from the state of Punjab in India, is full of joy, energy and vibrance, with a rich tradition and a thriving community all over the world. Please join the MIT Bhangra team to learn a short piece of choreography and get a great workout, but more importantly, have a great time with great people!

This workshop is open to anyone: free for the MIT community, $10 otherwise.

Please bring comfortable clothes and a water bottle! 

The workshops are located at McCormick Hall (320 Memorial Drive). There will be a member of the team at the front desk to sign in participants, so just let them know you're there for the workshop!

 

Contact: MIT Bhangra, BHANGRA-EXEC@MIT.EDU

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Beginner Level Workshop

Jan/16

Wed

06:00PM-08:00PM

McCormick Studio, Please note date & location have changed

Divya Goel, Radha Mastandrea

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Intermediate Level Workshop

Jan/19

Sat

03:00PM-05:00PM

McCormick Studio, Please note date & location have changed

Divya Goel, Radha Mastandrea

Noel Jackson, Associate Professor of Literature

	Jan/07	Mon	01:00PM-02:00PM	14N-417
	Jan/08	Tue	01:00PM-02:00PM	14N-417
	Jan/09	Wed	01:00PM-02:00PM	14N-417
	Jan/10	Thu	01:00PM-02:00PM	14N-417
	Jan/11	Fri	01:00PM-02:00PM	14N-417
	Jan/14	Mon	01:00PM-02:00PM	14N-417
	Jan/15	Tue	01:00PM-02:00PM	14N-417
	Jan/16	Wed	01:00PM-02:00PM	14N-417
	Jan/17	Thu	01:00PM-02:00PM	14N-417
	Jan/18	Fri	01:00PM-02:00PM	14N-417
	Jan/22	Tue	01:00PM-02:00PM	14N-417
	Jan/23	Wed	01:00PM-02:00PM	14N-417
	Jan/24	Thu	01:00PM-02:00PM	14N-417
	Jan/25	Fri	01:00PM-02:00PM	14N-417

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up
Attendance: Repeating event, participants welcome at any session

This popular activity – which aims to reach all lovers of poetry – has been offered every IAP for the last twenty years.  Each one-hour session is devoted to a single poet, usually a single poem.  The goal is discussion and shared pleasure.  No lectures or professorial arrogance allowed. Some participants attend every session, but many others attend only once or twice to read and discuss a favorite poet or poem.  The roster of poets is always immensely diverse: from ancient Chinese masters to contemporary American poets laureate, from such famous Greats as Shakespeare, Keats, and Auden to Dr. Seuss and Bob Dylan.  Discussion and collaborative close reading are the aim and ideal of each hour.

Sponsor(s): Literature
Contact: Chloe Jones, 14N-407, 617 258-5629, CJJONES@MIT.EDU

Dan Crohn, Instructor

	Jan/08	Tue	01:00PM-03:00PM	4-237
	Jan/10	Thu	01:00PM-03:00PM	4-237
	Jan/15	Tue	01:00PM-03:00PM	4-237
	Jan/17	Thu	01:00PM-03:00PM	4-237
	Jan/22	Tue	01:00PM-03:00PM	4-237
	Jan/24	Thu	01:00PM-03:00PM	4-237
	Jan/29	Tue	01:00PM-03:00PM	4-237
	Jan/31	Thu	01:00PM-03:00PM	4-237

Enrollment: Advanced sign-up required plus brief application essay
Sign-up by 12/21
Limited to 12 participants
Attendance: Participants must commit to regular attendance

Do you want to make people laugh? Here’s your chance. In this crash course, you will go from the fundamentals of comedy writing and performance technique to constructing your own stand-up set. Material will be workshopped in a supportive, constructive environment led by stand-up comedian Dan Crohn, who has appeared on Last Comic Standing and the popular WTF podcast with Marc Maron. With years of experience teaching and performing stand-up, Dan will help you work towards a final graduation performance, MC-ed by him and scheduled for Friday, February 8.

Applicants should send a brief essay (up to 300 words) to stand-up-comedy@mit.edu by December 21 explaining why they want to take this series.  Participants must commit to regular attendance and to the final performance on Feb 8.  Prepare to amuse!  Funded by the De Florez Fund For Humor.

Sponsor(s): Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences
Contact: Kieran Setiya, 32-D916, 617-715-4264, stand-up-comedy@mit.edu

Mona Thompson, Carmelo Presicce

Jan/10

Thu

02:00PM-05:00PM

Media Lab - E15-341

Enrollment: Limited: Advance sign-up required
Sign-up by 01/10
Limited to 40 participants

In this interactive 3-hour session, you'll explore a series of low-pressure improv exercises to build your muscles of curiosity, generosity, resilience, and storytelling. This class is designed for students with and without any theater or improv experience. People who are a little nervous about improv but curious to check it out are encouraged to sign up!

The class is taught by Mona Thompson, who has performed improv internationally and all over the U.S. and leads improv-based sessions for tech companies, nonprofits, government organizations, and startups with her company, Collective Capital. She is currently pursuing her master's degree at the Harvard Graduate School of Education in Arts in Education.

Sign up here: https://goo.gl/forms/nKDZtMkb8xlP3Tcq1

Edit: Sorry, the workshop reached full capacity and we are not able to accept more signups.

Sponsor(s): Media Arts and Sciences
Contact: Carmelo Presicce, E14-445C, tarmelop@media.mit.edu