The arts department at Estrella Mountain Community College (EMCC) is celebrating another year of its expanding program with their second annual “Fine and Performing Arts Week,” April 30 through May 4. The schedule of events includes the participation and performances of students, faculty and guest artists, blending cultural experiences to create a vibrant, diverse week that celebrates the learning and sharing of art. Most of the events are free and open to the public, and will be held on the EMCC campus, located at Thomas and Dysart roads in Avondale, Arizona. Parking is also free.
All week
Art Exhibit: “Pixels & Pens,” photography and poetry collaboration
Campus hours, Estrella Hall, Library
Students from Art 142 and Eng 102 combined artistic visions for this interdisciplinary exhibition. Art students were asked to create images that reflected a deeper, more poetic engagement with everyday life. Then, the images served as catalysts for the English students who created corresponding poems to reflect meaning.
Monday, April 30
Student Art Workshop: Guest Artist, ART GONZALES
10:00-10:50 a.m., 1:00-1:50 p.m., Komatke Hall, Plaza Gallery
Frank Gonzales is an artist born, raised and currently residing in Phoenix, Arizona. His beautifully crafted paintings of flora and fauna have been exhibited nationally. He’s represented by Beals and Abbate Fine Art in Santa Fe, New Mexico and the Old Pueblo Gallery in Tucson, Arizona.
Tuesday, May 1
Global Storytelling Concert
10:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m., Komatke Hall, Plaza Gallery
Professional global storytellers will be sharing international perspectives through stories: Sandy Oglesby – Celtic, Mark Compton – Asia, Marilyn Eileen Torres-Sierra – Caribbean, and featuring actor Abraham Anene Ntonya from Malawi, Africa. Ntonya has received an award for Best Acting for his performance in This Time Tomorrow by Ngugi wa Thiong’o in the Repertory Amateur Players society. Abraham possesses a musical background and is a drummer for the ISSA Worship Band.
Concert: Big Pete Pearson, “Arizona’s King of the Blues”
6:00 – 8:00 p.m., Estrella Hall, Community Room
Big Pete Pearson ruled the Phoenix blues bars and circuit since the late 1950's. His physical stature and overwhelmingly strong voice command attention. He has worked with blue legends Ray Charles, BB King, Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker and others. Now retired from performing, Pearson was inducted into the Arizona Blues Hall of Fame in 1995.
Thursday, May 3
Dance Performance featuring choreobot performance featuring visiting artist, JULIE CRUSE
12:30 – 1:00 p.m., Estrella Hall, Community Room
Julie Cruse is a Media Arts & Sciences PhD Researcher at Arizona State University's Arts, Media and Engineering program. She teaches workshops in her new technique, Interactive Performance 'technique 2.0'™ , to community artists, university students, at-risk elementary students, and high school students. An interactive dance performance with Julie Cruse and EMCC dance students will utilize Choreobot prompts, where audience members suggest movement-related prompts that are then systematically relayed to the performers through a computer program, resulting in an impromptu dance that synthesizes the audience's direct input.
Theatre Monologues
6:00 – 7:30 p.m., Estrella Hall, Community Room
EMCC’s Acting I and II students will present work from the spring semester, including improv and monologue scenes.
Friday, May 4
Dance Recital
6:30 – 8:30 p.m., Estrella Hall, Community Room
EMCC’s Contemporary, Social Latin, and Modern Jazz dance students will perform a variety of numbers including a dance performance to Tin Pan Alley by Big Pete Pearson.
Estrella Mountain Community College offers transfer-ready academic courses and job-specific occupational training to approximately 15,000 students annually. The flagship campus is located on Thomas and Dysart Roads in Avondale and is home to the Southwest Skill Center. The satellite campus, EMCC’s Buckeye Educational Center, is located in downtown Buckeye. Estrella Mountain is part of the Maricopa County Community College District, one of the largest community college districts in the nation. www.estrellamountain.edu or www.maricopa.edu .
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