Dear Friends of Ukraine,
The Ukraine Event Series marks one year since the full Russian invasion of Ukraine. All events are free and open to the public. They offer new lenses on the current situation and ways to support Ukraine. Please join us and please feel free to share the posters below. Thank you!
Feb. 22 Ukrainian Folk Dance: Choreotherapy with Mariia Bakalo
This workshop is free and open to everyone of all abilities, ages and curiosities! Mariia Bakalo, dance artist from Lviv, Ukraine, will introduce Ukrainian folk dance. Working with spatial and rhythmic patterns, the dances facilitate a sense of wellbeing enhanced by a collective dynamic.(Masks will be required) (Parking on street or in lots on Cross St.)
Wednesday, February 22 7-8:30PM
Cross Street Dance Studio, 160 Cross St. Wesleyan University
Feb. 23 Talking about Ukraine Outside a Russian Lens: Terrell Jermaine Starr
Many western experts who appear on national television to discuss Ukraine have much of their training in Russia and have not spent time studying Ukraine as its own state. In this presentation, Starr (journalist and founder of Black Diplomats Podcast) draws upon his 15 years of living and working in Ukraine to offer his unique take on what is happening there including its path to democracy, foreign policy, national security concerns, and why Russia is committing genocide.
Thursday, February 23, 12:00PM
Boger Hall 112
Mar. 2 A RISING FURY Film Screening and Discussion With the Directors
Wesleyan University presents a film screening event of “A RISING FURY”. A Q&A with the brave filmmakers will follow the screening of this powerful documentary film. Any donations will go to provide humanitarian aid – housing and shelter in Ukraine for some of the millions of families displaced by the brutal war in their country.
About the film: “A RISING FURY” premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival 2022 and tracks the evolution of the conflict in Ukraine. Filmed over 8 years, it follows two hopeful Ukrainian idealists from the peaceful protest of the 2013 Maidan Revolution in Kyiv to the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Post-Screening: Hosted by Wesleyan University Professor Peter Rutland, professor of government and the Colin and Nancy Campbell Chair for Global Issues and Democratic Thought at Wesleyan University, and moderated by Olena Lennon, Adjunct Professor of National Security at the University of New Haven, the panel features Lesya Kalynska, Co-Director, Screenwriter, Producer of “A RISING FURY”; TJ Collins, Producer of “A Rising Fury”.
Thursday, March 2, 7:00PM
Powell Family Cinema, 301 Washington Terrace, Middletown CT
Mar. 6 Excerpts from The Clear Blue Skies: Diaries from Ukraine
Workshop excerpts from the brand new theater project, The Clear Blue Skies: Diaries from Ukraine, created by Scott Illingworth and Oleksandra Oliinyk. Within days of the start of the war, a group of Ukrainian children and teenagers began recording interviews and audio diaries in English to share their stories with the world. They have become a remarkable chronicle of young people plunged into war and crisis —from becoming refugees across Europe to living under Russian occupation and recording from behind enemy lines.
The Clear Blue Skies uses excerpts from these gripping recordings, listened to live by actors on stage each night and performed using a real-time in-ear verbatim technique. The result is an urgent and intimate transmission about the trauma of war and the resilience and humor of young people in the digital age facing an unknown future for their country. The evening will include a performance of extended excerpts from the project, along with a discussion of the process of building the performance while the interview subjects remain in the midst of an active war.
Monday, March 6, 7:00PM
Cross Street Dance Studio (160 Cross Street, Middletown)
******************************************
These events are supported by Wesleyan University’s College of the Environment; Allbritton Center for the Study of Public Life; Center for the Arts; Dance Department; Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies Department; College of Social Studies, Theater Department, Anthropology Department, and the College of Film and the Moving Image.
Please contact Katja Kolcio with questions.
Contact: KATJA KOLCIO, Ph.D. (917) 549-3334, kkolcio@wesleyan.edu
