Two acclaimed international performing artists and educators will help the University of Southern Mississippi kick off its online spring 2021 University Forum programming.
Tanya Wideman-Davis and Thaddeus Davis, founders of Wideman Davis Dance, will present “Bodies Moving: Public Spaces, Architecture and Access” at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 9. All spring 2021 University Forum programs will be presented online as part of the university’s overall efforts to mitigate the impact of COVID-19.
In this opening University Forum presentation, Wideman-Davis and Davis will be joined by Historical Columbia’s executive director Robin Waites to discuss how historic public spaces provide opportunities for artists “to broaden community accessibility and collective citizenship.” This event is co-sponsored by the dance program in the School of Performing and Visual Arts.
Wideman-Davis and Davis have created for and performed with the Dance Theater of Harlem, Alonzo King’s LINES Ballet, the Joffrey Ballet, Donald Byrd and Complexions Contemporary Ballet. Through projects like “Migratuse Ataraxia,” they have brought together research and performance to explore the connections between historical events and contemporary life as interpreted through an African American perspective.
“Migratuse Ataraxia” explores “creative humanity” through a dance performance that considers Black lives in antebellum plantations in the South.
The remainder of the series is:
• Feb. 23: “A Conversation with Governor John Kasich.”
• March 9: “A Mississippi Conversation: Questions with Jesmyn Ward and Kiese Laymon.”
• April 6: “Seeding Change: How Farmworker Women are Leading the Fight to End Workplace Sexual Violence from the Fields to Hollywood.”
University Forum is presented by the Honors College; spring events are free, and registration is encouraged at bit.ly/somissforum.
