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Free concerts on the green, walking tours of New Haven, family activities, world class speakers and internationally renowned dance, theater and music performances are just a taste of the adventures audiences experienced during the 15th annual Arts & Ideas festival.

We got a lot of great feedback this year.
Here are some of the things that people will remember about Festival 15:

International Festival of Arts & Ideas Festival Recap! What will you remember from Festival 15?

Vivien Perez
La Excelencia’s Salsa Dura!!!!!

Eddie Willoughby Chase
Susurrus and the fellowship program!!!

Anibal AndyConga Collazo
Enjoying the New Haven community AND performing on your stage with Underground System Afrobeat!

Harlene LeVine
The parade of the brass playing 76 Trombones. Awesome.

International Festival of Arts & Ideas wonders what your favorite event has been so far this Festival?

Judith Milardo
Definitely, The Four Nations Ensemble, at Sprague Hall. Magnificent!

Kevin G. Ewing
So far I’m thinking the film “Dancing Across Borders” but it is running neck to neck with Bassekou.

Liz Pagano
Bassekou…

Betsy Driebeek
Philip Glass, Moby Dick, Apollo 11, Pallestrina Boys choir all great but when I got to the last ticket and saw my receipt I was apalled to see I was charged $4 per ticket (handling) for 16 tickets. $64 extra for one transaction! An unfortunate deterrent to future years.

Linda Rocco Hughes
Sushi Making at Miya with my boys!!

Lauren Tagliatela
Bassekou was AMAZING. So glad we went.

Moby Dick Master Class
Anthony Ligon
June 19, 2010

Greetings everyone. This morning I had the chance to join the master class for Moby Dick. I can honestly say that I enjoyed myself. Conor Lovett (the guy who played Ishmael) had the group do these wonderful exercises to get us started. We all introduced ourselves by saying our names, but I found it a bit interesting the way we did it. Usually when I’m in a group, we say our names then say a little about ourselves. Conor had us say our name, then say where the name came from. I liked that a lot! I also loved the part of the class where we had to walk around the room and imagine as if we were in a different place. Conor also gave us some great tips that I can use before a performance. I guess it was just one of those things where you just had to be there…
-Anthony Ligon.

Bassekou Kouyate and Ngoni Ba
Neal Fudge
June 17, 2010

This is Neal speaking on behalf of the West African performance, Bassekou Kouyate and Ngoni Ba. Everything was different about these artists. Their musical instruments seemed as if they were carved out of wood, which caught my attention. They performed and danced a routine which most bands don’t do anymore. That made the show enjoyable. Their upscale rhythms gave the music a different feel. From the drums to the guitars, all of the instruments they played were outstandingly combined because of how they made one instrument correspond with the next one. The artists enjoyed the audience’s company and vice-versa. The performance was absolutely outstanding. I must say, West Africans know how to put on a show!

DANCING ACROSS BORDERS
Chrystal Dickey

On June 13, 2010, the Festival Fellows and I went to see a film called Dancing Across Borders. It was about how filmmaker Anne Bass discovered a sixteen-year-old boy named Sy from Cambodia that amazed her with his natural talent as a dancer. It was a great opportunity for Sy because Anne helped him follow his dream. I thought the film was good, but it mostly showed people talking about how great a dancer Sy was a lot more than you saw him dancing. I also thought that the film was more of how Anne was the one who made him who he is, like saying if it wasn’t for her he wouldn’t be who he is. Don’t get me wrong, I mean, she did a great job but would have liked to see more of just him and the kind of dances/techniques he did in his country.

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Comme Toujours Here I Stand reinvents Agnes Vardas 1962 French new wave film Cleo from 5 to 7 for the stage, blurring the lines between theater, dance, and film. The movie, shot in Paris, is an intimate portrait of a pop singer shadowed by death, while caught up in the breezy pleasures of her early evening visits with friends and strangers.

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Watch as the cast of Chautauqua! and the Yale Summer Cabaret pull out all the stops, explore the difference between high and low art forms, and re-enact the duel between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr.

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Patrons gathered at Caseus to enjoy a clever pairing of poetry, wine and cheese. The night was filled with food, fun and lively discussion.

Joyce Moreno

by Jonathan Rosario

On Wednesday, June 16^th, Joyce Moreno’s very enchanting voice brought the cultural rhythms and sounds of Brazil to New Haven. Her music was relaxing and smooth with a twist of what I would call “smooth jazz.” There was a song from her solo album that she first performed, a love song. As I continued listening to this marvelous song, I pictured myself reading a book in a beach house late at night with candle lighting illuminating the room. But as soon as the first love song began to play, all of a sudden it began to rain. I was sitting near a huge open door where the breeze blew in, relaxing my body and mind. Joyce’s voice was like a whisper of wind calming and smoothing my stress away.

Khmeropedies I and II

Joel Suarez

June 18, 2010

Hello World, last night I had the privilege to see and experience “Khmeropedies I and II”, a delicate yet intense collaborative dance and theatre performance. As a filmmaker, I am greatly interested in the art of storytelling and Khmeropedies had a great story. The story at first was a bit abstract because I didn’t understand the introduction. I would venture to say that the audience is just placed in the middle of the story but after the first scene, the story of touching base with one’s identity and not losing sight of one’s culture is conveyed through multiple monologues and dances. The dances touched on the hardships male dancers experience versus those of the female, such as males always getting the difficult role of playing the monkey. The other story told was the collision and differences of the youth’s style of “Hip Hop dancing” versus their instructor’s classical Khmer court style of of dancing.

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A tantalizing taste of Andrew Dawson’s Space Panorama and an interview with the actor/director.

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A family friendly mix of music, dance, and all-out fun on the Elm Street Stage of the New Haven Green. Tuesday through Friday, at 12, 1:45, and 6:30 pm. Absolutely free!

Performances at 1:45 are part of the Festival’s Family Series.