Archive for the
‘Arts & Entertainment’ Category
An exciting year for arts at Columbia
This year has been a whirlwind for most of the students on campus. Take a look back at some of the biggest student events on campus with our special A&E “Year In Review” guide:
Dance: Columbia’s major dance troupes had an action-packed year. While the 170-member Orchesis showcased its talents at its annual fall and spring shows, it also sponsored a smaller production from student choreographer Marie Janicek in March. The prestigious Columbia Ballet Collaborative took the stage at the Manhattan Movement and Arts Centre Theater in November, and Barnard’s Collaboration of the Ludicrous and Beautiful, or CoLab, showed off its genre-defying work this April. Read Jade Bonacolta’s summary of this year’s dance performances here. More »
Join the superwomen at Midnight Breakfast
From now until the wee hours of the morning, Barnard’s LeFrak Gym is the place where you can dance, eat free breakfast, have school spirit, AND not have to listen to misogynistic jokes!
The theme is superheroes, and the decor includes everything from Batman balloons to superman coloring pages. Come hang out here in lieu of Orgo Night, or come over for breakfast once you’re done in 212. The waffles / ice cream / bacon will be waiting.
FIT seniors put on a spectacular show
Columbia is certainly not known for being a bastion of great fashion. Except for those few daring exceptions, this campus has its fair share of sweatpants—particularly during finals season, and when the weather is as awful as it was this week.
In search of something different (and looking for a more creative way to procrastinate), Weekend guru Olivia Aylmer and I headed downtown for the Fashion Institute of Technology’s annual graduates’ collection runway show.
For the BFA candidates, the end-of-the-year presentation is the equivalent of a thesis defense here at Columbia: They’ve spent their entire college careers gearing up for this show, where their designs will be judged by fashion design luminaries like Calvin Klein and Diane von Furstenberg, as well as industry insiders like Fern Mallis, the creator of New York Fashion Week.
And these students did not disappoint. I couldn’t help but feel a little sheepish about a semester of hastily-put-together essays as I watched their creations walk the catwalk.
From the absolutely stunning red carpet fare to the daring and sexy lingerie, these young designers proved judge and Daily Beast columnist Kate Betts right: “These are the future Donna, Calvin, and Ralphs.” More »
Varsity Show review (spoilers!)
Don’t read this unless you’ve seen the show already/aren’t planning to see it at the 2 or 8 p.m. showing today. But you should really go see it. Get tickets here.
The 118th reincarnation of the V-Show portrays the struggle of classics/philosophy major Phineas, played by Sean Walsh, CC ’14, to defend the Core Curriculum against the corporate reform efforts of Columbia Career Education Director Niamh (pronounced “Neeeeev”) O’Brien, played by Rebekah Lowin, CC ’14. O’Brien, in an effort to enhance post-graduation employment rates, institutes the “Corporate Core.”
To humanities geeks like Phineas, the regimen of classes on sleaze and business protocol is intolerable, and he forms a protest coalition under the banner of Alma’s Army.
Thematically, the show does a good job of touching on hot-button issues of the past year such as Occupy Wall Street and the McKinsey report without resorting to the tired 99 percent jokes that killed every Halloween party. More »
MOVIE REVIEW: ‘Payback’
“Payback” has a singular, expansive mission: address the concept of “debt” in all of its forms.
Through the concept of debt, the film explores and connects the many meanings of payback, which range from repayment of a loan to revenge in a blood feud.
The documentary is directed by Jennifer Baichwal and features several stories, each involving a different kind of debt. Baichwal does not search for conclusions or solutions to debt, but explores debt in all of its intricacy and variety.
Issues of environmental debt are examined through an investigation into the aftermath of BP’s oil spill in the Gulf and the story of a blood feud and longtime land dispute in Albania is particularly interesting.
V Show opens tonight: Check in with producer Ben Harris, CC ’14
For the last installment of a series about the various wacky students that make up the Varsity Show cast and crew, Christin Zurbach sat down with producer Ben Harris.The show opens tonight, with a performance at 8 p.m. in Roone Auditorium. If you had other Friday night plans, make time for the other performances tomorrow at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.
Christin Zurbach: What are the appeals of being a producer?
Ben Harris: Having your hands in all aspects of the show is in itself an appeal to me … I’m a very group-oriented person, so being able to interact with people all over the production is exciting.
More »
The Comedian: A profile on Jeff Stern, CC ’12
For the latest installment of a series about the various wacky students that make up the Varsity Show cast and crew, Christin Zurbach sat down with Jeff Stern. Once you’ve finished reading, check out the V-Show’s latest promo video.
Christin Zurbach: How did you get involved in comedy, and how did you get involved in writing comedy for theater? More »
Want to spend your afternoon watching movies?
It’s the Eighth Annual Columbia University National Undergraduate Film Festival today, so put on your most debonair outfit and strut the red carpet glass ramps up to the Lerner Cinema at 2:00.
This year’s films include:
Afectación by Sebastian Rea (SUNY Purchase)
A Heart Felt by Jingyang Cheng (Northwestern)
The Arm by Jessie Ennis (Sarah Lawrence)
Dear Hunters by Zack Bornstein, Eric Binswanger and David Shuck (Brown)
The Perfect Hurl by Will Eisenberg & Michael Lewen (USC)
The Understudy by Hayley Kosan (Arizona State)
2-4 pm, Tickets are on sale through TIC for $3 with a CUID, $6 for non-CUID holders. After showcasing the films, there will be awards, presentations, and a short question-and-answer with the filmmakers. More »
Take a stroll to Cookshop
As New York defrosts, it’s time to get out of Morningside and enjoy what the city has to offer. Our intrepid food critic Allison Schlissel takes you out into the city on a student’s budget.
What better way to spend a Sunday than a luxurious brunch followed by a leisurely stroll on the Highline? Don’t underestimate the therapeutic power of a sit-down brunch: it’s a simple way to unwind from the past week and recharge.
For those waking up from hibernation, the Highline is a park built on an old elevated freight rail line in the Meatpacking District. Since the Meatpacking District can get pricey, my quest was to find a delicious brunch place under $20. And it’s possible! Cookshop is right across the street from the Highline, cute, reasonably priced, and delicious. More »
‘Varsity Show Psychosis:’ A profile on Sean Walsh, CC ’14
For the latest installment of a series about the various wacky students that make up the Varsity Show cast and crew, Christin Zurbach sat down with Sean Walsh, the VShow principal who rose to fame as “Ke$ho.”
Christin Zurbach: When and how did you get into theater?
Sean Walsh: Originally in high school I ran cross-country. I did pretty well for myself but found that it wasn’t anything I was really passionate about and, even though I was doing okay at it, it wasn’t something that really inspired me. One of my friends talked me into the spring musical and it was Kiss Me Kate. I auditioned and got the part of Donkey/Driver/Haberdasher. I think I had two lines in total but I was still so excited, and after that, I just never did cross-country again.
CZ: Why did you decide to do the Varsity Show again?
SW: I wasn’t going to do it this year. I was hell-bent on not doing it again. I said “I will only do it literally if Alex Hare [CC’13] directs, Hillary [Kritt, BC’12] and Ben [Harris, CC’14] produce, Solomon [Hoffman, CC’14] and Tareq [Abuissa, CC’14] compose, and Adrianna [Aguilar, BC’13] choreographs. If one of those things hadn’t gone right I wouldn’t have done it. Then I learned that Stephen, who is an architecture major and I’m an architecture major, was art directing and he’s unbelievable, and John [Goodwin, CC’12] and Jeff [Stern, CC ‘12] writing too. I didn’t want anyone else to write. When I saw the creative team go up, I was like “Damn it. I guess I’m doing it.” More »