Austin Arts Center at Trinity College

Get • Hot off the presses! Samba Fest Schedule Saturday 4/25 11-4 in front of the Trinity College Austin Arts Center. Parking and directions at sambafest.com

DON’T MISS SAMBA FEST CELEBRATIONS THIS SATURDAY! RAIN OR SHINE!

18th Annual Samba Fest
Saturday, April 25
11:00 AM-4:00 PM
Gates Quad
(in Front of the Austin Arts Center)

Samba Fest is thrilled to return for its 18th year as a beloved celebration of music, dance, and community, on Saturday, April 25th, 11 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. in front of the Austin Arts Center at Trinity College (300 Summit St., Hartford, CT, 06106). Featured performers include Henrique Maluf and Trio Pirá from Brazil, Trinity Steel, Waterbury’s Wilby High School, West Hartford’s Sedgwick Middle School, West Hartford Public Schools’ “Voices of Belonging” Middle School Program, Hartford Hot Several, Hartford’s Proud Drum and Drill Dance Corp, and Brazilian dance workshops with Efraim Silva and Thelma Ladeira. At noon, all are invited to join in participatory drumming at the community “Big Bang,” and enjoy live music, food trucks, games, crafts, and share in the spirit of Brazilian Celebration. Produced by Eric A. Galm.

Learn more at SambaFest.com

ANCESTRAL ECHOES: LOOKING BACK, MOVING FORWARD
Thursday-Saturday, April 16-18 (7:30 PM)
Goodwin Theater (Austin Arts Center)

Presented by Trinity’s Department of Theater and Dance, Ancestral Echoes: Reaching Back, Moving Forward is a centerpiece of the department’s Alumni Weekend. Trinity Alum Mellissa Craig ‘02 (a choreographer, dancer, cultural organizer, and Visiting Lecturer in Theater and Dance) directs this project, which will feature African dance choreographed by Craig and performed by live drummers, singers, and professional and student dancers. The concert will focus on African diasporic dance created by Trinity alums and rooted in the Hartford community, serving as a tribute to the Theater and Dance department’s past and a call to the future.


back

The Austin Arts Center and Department of Theater and Dance are thrilled to welcome alum, artist, and choreographer Jonathan González ‘13 for a Common Hour book launch celebrating Ways to Move: Black Insurgent Grammars (Ugly Duckling Presse, 2025). As part of next week’s Theater and Dance Alumni Celebrations, this program will feature selected readings and a conversation exploring choreography and insurgency as forms of critical inquiry. Moving between prose and choreographic thought, González will reflect on movement through the lenses of art history, Black studies, architecture, and embodied practice. The event will conclude with a Q&A. We hope you can join us next Thursday and will encourage students and colleagues to attend! 

WAYS TO MOVE: BLACK INSURGENT GRAMMARS
Jonathan González Reading and Book Signing
Thursday, April 16 (12:30-1:30 PM)
Garmany Hall (AAC)

Lunch provided, beginning at noon. 
RSVP at qrco.de/WAYSTOMOVE (case-sensitive)
and register for more Theater and Dance Alumni Celebration events at qrco.de/THDNALUMNI (case-sensitive)

Jonathan will also lead a workshop on Friday:
CHOREOGRAPHY WORKSHOP WITH JONATHAN GONZÁLEZ
Friday, April 17 (3:00-4:30 PM)
TC-152 (Trinity Commons, 240 New Britain Avenue)

Jonathan González ’13 is a choreographer, artist, and writer whose interdisciplinary practice engages site, sensation, memory, and embodiment as core materials of performance. Their work has been presented internationally in museums, performance spaces, and public contexts, and centers collaborative methodologies that test how collective bodies negotiate atmosphere, duration, and shifting environments. Alongside their new book, González’s recent and forthcoming projects include Swerve Fatigue, a large-scale ensemble work developed with The Kitchen, and new commissions for the 2026 Whitney Biennial and the 59th Carnegie International. González is a 2025 Pew Fellow and currently serves as Assistant Professor in the Department of Dance at Hunter College (CUNY), where their teaching bridges embodied research, performance studies, and interdisciplinary artistic practice.

You are invited to a weekend celebrating Theater and Dance alums, both those who graduated from the department and those who simply spent their time sweating in Seabury and rehearsing late into the night in Goodwin. The weekend will be an opportunity to reconnect with old friends, meet current students, and engage in mentorship, exchange, and discussion of our paths inside and outside of the performing arts. This is an open invitation to bantam performing artists. So consider yourself welcome, and please share widely with your community. 

Please contact the Chair of Theater and Dance, Rebecca Pappas ([email protected]), with questions and RSVP at QRCO.DE/THDNALUMNI to join us for events. 

Reserve your tickets for “Stupid Fu***ng Bird,” the Department of Theater and Dance’s spring production. The show, directed by Godfrey L. Simmons, Jr., runs next Thursday, Friday, and Saturday with a star-studded student cast. Don’t miss it!

STUPID F**KING BIRD
Play by Aaron Posner
Directed by Godfrey L. Simmons, Jr.
Th-Sa, Mar 5-7 (7:30pm)
Goodwin Theater

An aspiring young director rampages against the art created by his mother’s generation. A nubile young actress wrestles with an aging Hollywood star for the affections of a renowned novelist. And everyone discovers just how disappointing love, art, and growing up can be. In this irreverent, contemporary, and very funny remix of Chekhov’s “The Seagull,” Aaron Posner stages a timeless battle between young and old, past and present, in search of the true meaning of it all. “Stupid Fu***ng Bird” will tickle, tantalize, and incite you to consider how art, love, and revolution fuel your own pursuit of happiness. 

Presented by Trinity College’s Department of Theater and Dance

We’re proud to partner with The Wadsworth to present “Tell Me Where It Comes From” on Feb 26. Contact our box office for free tix for the Trinity community!

Get • This portrait of George Balanchine’s legacy arrives at The Wadsworth on Thursday, February 26 after a sold-out premiere at Guggenheim New York, presented by Works & Process.

Spurred by George Balanchine’s brief yet pivotal 1933 touchdown in Hartford, Connecticut, dancer, writer, and choreographer Emily Coates gathered artifacts of his lingering presence in archives throughout the region. Drawing on her background as a former member of New York City Ballet, Coates creates an unexpected portrait of Balanchine’s choreographic legacy, working in collaboration with Ain Gordon (director), Derek Lucci (performer, co-creator), Charles Burnham (violinist, composer), Melvin Chen (pianist), Krista Smith (lighting design), and Reid & Harriet (costume design) to collage far-flung remains: unanswered letters, lost ballets, old photographs, music exercises, early muses, and more. Filled with hidden movements and quieted voices, Tell Me Where It Comes From meditates on the spark that propels art into existence.

Join us in the galleries from 6pm-7:15pm to view a costume designed by Giorgio de Chirico for the role of the Astrologer in the Ballets Russes production ‘Le Bal’ (1929) choreographed by George Balanchine, followed by a 7:30pm performance of “Tell Me Where It Comes From”.

Thursday, February 26
6 pm gallery viewing | 7:30 pm performance
$35; $25 members and Hartford residents; $10 students with ID | Registration required.

After digging yourself out from the snow, join us later this week for “Beauty of Korea!”

BEAUTY OF KOREA: MUSIC + CULTURE
Faculty Recital featuring Professor Ju-Yong Ha with special guests Heo Yoon Jeong and Bang Ji-won

Thursday, January 29 (7:30 PM)
Goodwin Theater (Austin Arts Center)

Reserve your FREE tickets at: qrco.de/BEAUTYOFKOREA

Trinity’s Department of Music and Dance presents “Beauty of Korea: Music & Culture,” which will bring together three leading artists whose work bridges tradition and innovation within contemporary Korean music. Geomungo virtuoso Heo Yoon Jeong, Professor at Seoul National University, is celebrated for her mastery of both classical and modern forms and for her international acclaim as founder of the fusion group Black String. Percussionist and composer Bang Ji-won, a graduate of Seoul National University and certified trainee of the East Coast Byeolsingut (Shaman Ritual, National Intangible Cultural Property No. 82-1), draws inspiration from Korea’s shamanic and ritual traditions to create new expressions that connect sound, movement, and spirituality. Ethnomusicologist, composer, and gayageum performer Ju-Yong Ha specializes in the musical traditions of Korea, Japan, and China, exploring cross-cultural dialogue through performance and scholarship. A former student of the late master Baek In-Young (1945–2012), he integrates classical lineage with global perspectives. Together, the three artists offer a vibrant portrait of Korean music—rooted in tradition yet alive with contemporary imagination.

This “Beauty of Korea”concert will also be preceded by a lecture with Prof. Yoon-jeong Heo from Seoul National University: Thursday, January 29, 12:15-1:15 PM (Gruss Recital Hall)

MARK YOUR CALENDARS! We have an exciting and full semester of arts programming ahead at the Austin Arts Center, across campus, and in partnership with Hartford organizations! Visit the Austin Arts Center website (link in bio) to stay up to date on details about each event and big announcements to come!

Classes are over, but performing arts programming is not! The F25 Trinity/La MaMa cohort has arrived on campus and is preparing for our final F25 production! Join us tomorrow night for the Trinity/La MaMa Works-in-Progress Showcase in the Performance Lab. And enjoy a few pics from their experience this semester.

Trinity/La MaMa Showcase
Wed, Dec 10 (7:30pm)
Performance Lab (Trinity Commons)

An evening of original multidisciplinary theater and dance performances created by the students of the Trinity/La MaMa study away class of Fall 2025. This performance is the culmination of TLM, an intensive performing arts program, where the cohort immerse themselves in the diverse art scenes and everyday life of New York City throughout the semester. They explore a wide range of approaches to creating performance: from puppetry to butoh, clowning to vogueing, improvisation to writing solo performance. This show is the culmination of their artistic experiences, experimentations, and ongoing discoveries.
To find out more about the Trinity/La MaMa program and how you can apply, please visit their website: www.trinitylamama.org

Reserve your free tickets at qrco.de/TrinityLaMamaShowcase

PASS THE WORD. WE’RE BUILDING OUR TEAM!

The Austin Arts Center is seeking an experienced TECHNICAL DIRECTOR to join our production team.

Visit Trinity’s job site for more info: https://trincoll.peopleadmin.com/postings/3699