Northampton Center for the Arts Events

The Gaslight Tinkers - Thursday, May 17

Welcome to the third installment of the Gaslight Tinkers! A spoonful of afro-pop, a pinch of jam band, a teaspoon of funk, two cups New England fiddle tunes, mix it up and you got another Valley creation. Veteran mandolin, guitar, banjo player and singer songwriter Peter Siegel has joined forces with the Alchemystics’ founder and bass player Garrett Sawyer to shake things up in Noho. Joined by percussionists and local fiddler Zoe Darrow, they will be hosting a barn dance/concert in the ballroom. Dancers welcome, listeners welcome. Adina Gordon will be calling barn dances throughout the night.

The Lisa Leizman Dance Company: eternal return - Saturday, May 19

Please join the Center's resident dance company for its annual ode to spring. There will be new work and company favorites to enjoy including songs and live music composed by Andrea Kwapien. A festive reception with light fare follows the performance.

The Valley Dance Project and Terpsichore Ensemble Spring Concert - Sunday, May 20

The Valley Dance Project presents its annual spring concert for family and friends. They will be joined by members of the Terpsichore Ensemble. For ticket information, please contact the school directly at 413 253-3787.

VIDAM - Tuesday, May 22

VIDAM is Valley Improvisational Dance And Music. The aim is to create an open space where improvisational movement and music come together. It is NOT only a Contact Jam. VIDAM events are open to all who would like a focused creative space to move, stretch, relax, witness and listen in collaboration with others and with improvised sound. Each VIDAM session invites at least one veteran improvisational musician to feed the space with inspiration for movement, for expression, for surprise and delight. The guest for May 22 is Matt Murphy. For a schedule of upcoming guest musicians, click here.

Debris Upon the Forest Floor - Tuesday, May 29

Announcing! The new collaboration between members of The Missoula Oblongata and Polka Dot Dot Dot. DEBRIS UPON THE FOREST FLOOR is a play written by Madeline ffitch with music by Jordan O'Jorden and design by weaver and textile artist Elspeth Vance. In 1959, a hockey goaltender finally got tired of the brutality of his position. He took the stairs to the fifth floor. He asked his friend and neighbor, a prosthetist, to construct a mask. He wore that mask out onto the ice. It would be fourteen years before wearing a hockey mask was anything more than a personal choice. During those years of turmoil, an archivist became electrified by a mountain lion, and neighbors became friends. They strove to regain lost human skill, to invent a secret phrase, to put their hands into the mycelium, all while evading the sinister third party. Our set is a lush and intricately constructed world of oak, seaweed, wool, perfume, and plaster of paris. Our story fits inside a book, is encased in a cupboard, and expands to the ceiling. We ask you to become our allies, to remember a time when we could run as fast as horses, when our powers of memorization were uncanny, and when we could take photographs with our eyes. DEBRIS UPON THE FOREST FLOOR will tour the last two weeks of May, 2012, with stops throughout the east, including the Nelsonville Music Festival in Appalachian Ohio, and Puppet Uprising in Philadelphia.

Brew Grass - Saturday, June 02

An evening of bluegrass music featuring: Joe Singleton - guitar Keith Tew - guitar Vince Snyder - mandolin Bob Wheeler - banjo Shawn Mansfield - bass Craft brews courtesy of TruBeer.

Dance Generators in Performance - Friday, June 08

Tickets are sold at the door, but advance reservations are recommended. The best way to reach us is via email. Please include your name, the number of tickets and performance date you desire and a telephone contact. Your tickets will be available at the door beginning at 7 pm on the evening of the performance and are payable by cash or check. The Dance Generators return to the ballroom for their annual concert of new work. This year’s program features choreography by company members Jenny Mendoza, Kristin Horrigan, and Susan Waltner and guest artists Cynthia McLaughlin and Robin Prichard, as well as improvisations performed by the group. Dance Generators is a multigenerational performance company consisting of dancers in their 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, and 80s. Company members come together through a shared love of dancing and commitment to making innovative performance. Their work challenges audiences’ ideas about dance and shakes up stereotypes about aging. In this season’s new dances, the dancers embody the physicality of protest, explore the intimacy of human relationships, and search for ways to stay grounded amidst life’s chaos. Founded in 1997 by Amie Dowling, the Dance Generators have toured widely throughout New England, and they continue to appear regularly at local theaters, schools, senior homes, community centers, and colleges.

Dance Generators in Performance - Saturday, June 09

Ines Arrubla: Flamenco Poem - Sunday, June 10

With passionate intensity eight dancers and two musicians interpret "Flamenco Poem." Choregraphy and staging of flamenco dancers by Inés Arrubla.

Cinema Scope: Learn the Artistry of Filmmaking - Sunday, July 08

Cinema Scope presents a series of eight summer classes on Sunday afternoons, July 8-August 26, 2012, 3:30-5:30 pm. The classes take place in the Center's East Gallery space. Cinema Scope is dedicated to offering high-quality filmmaking education to individuals within the Pioneer Valley arts community. The aim is to provide solid information to students with the goal of nurturing each individual’s unique voice and creative talents. Classes are taught by Nev Nnaji, a documentary filmmaker and freelance videographer/editor. For detailed information and registration, visit the Cinema Scope website.