May 3, 2010
Contact: Bettina Jungen
Curator of Russian Art
bjungen@amherst.edu
413-542-8561
AMHERST, Mass.—On Sunday, May 30, at 2 p.m., the Mead Art Museum will host performances of four dance pieces by students of the East Street Ballet in Hadley. In addition, a string trio, conducted by Springfield Symphony Orchestra member Elizabeth Rose, will perform musical interludes.
“This innovative event will enable the audience to see dance, music and the complementing forms and colors of the paintings merge beautifully into a unified artistic experience,” said Bettina Jungen, Thomas P. Whitney ’37 Curator of Russian Art, who will deliver an introduction at the beginning of the event.
The Mead’s galleries will provide a fitting setting for the performance, which will feature extracts from La Bayadère (Marius Petipa, music by Ludwig Minkus), Divertissement d'Auber (Lew Christensen, music by Daniel Francois Esprit Auber) and The Swan (Mikhail Fokine, music by Camille Saint-Saëns). The event is inspired by dance motifs found in art on display in the Mead’s galleries, including Arthur Davies’ Spring Ecstasy, Robert Henri’s Salome and Everett Shinn’s Theater Scene.
Space for this production is limited. Reservations are recommended. For reservations, call 413-542-2335.
The Mead Art Museum houses the art collection of Amherst College, totaling more than 16,000 works. An accredited member of the American Association of Museums, the Mead participates in Museums10, a regional cultural collaboration. During Summer, the museum is open Tuesday through Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, please visit the museum’s Web site, www.amherst/museums/mead, or call 413/542-2335.
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