The 2023 O-Show was split into three separate showcases: Sept. 1 was for theater, Sept. 2 was for a cappella groups and Sept. 4 featured the dance groups on campus. The sheer number of groups involved and the quality of the acts display that performance art is thriving on the Homewood Campus.
This week’s picks include an adaptation of Agatha Christie’s A Haunting in Venice, a remix album by Demi Lovato and The Death I Gave Him, a queer Shakespeare retelling of Hamlet.
The Irish singer-songwriter Hozier released his third album, Unreal Unearth, on August 18. Drawing on R&B, folk and rock influences, the album is heavily steeped in ideas of heartbreak and betrayal but also takes time to celebrate joyful memories despite the pain.
This week’s picks include Shane Gillis’ first Netflix special Beautiful Dogs, Olivia Rodrigo’s second studio album GUTS and the fifth annual Billie Holiday Jazz in Lafayette Square Concert.
The Bohs are a newly formed band on Homewood campus, playing all eras and styles of rock and putting together their separate and unique backgrounds, all with the hopes of revitalizing the Hopkins band scene.
This past Saturday, I spent my night in the Ralph S. O'Connor Center for Recreation and Well-Being. Instead of smelling like sweat and disinfectant wipes, the Rec Center was filled with the White-Claw breath of hordes of Hopkins students after a day of dartying. We were all gathered (way too close together) on the basketball court to watch Kehlani, this year’s Spring Fair Concert headliner.
The first night of Culture Show has always been one of my favorite days of the semester. For two electric hours, I’m completely absorbed in seeing what all the incredible cultural groups on campus have spent the semester preparing, learning about different styles of music and dance and being humbled by Hopkins students’ commitment to carrying tradition forward into our campus today.
This week’s picks include redveil’s EP playing w/ fire, Nida Manzoor’s film Polite Society and Wiz Wharton’s new novel Ghost Girl, Banana.
Most of us can undoubtedly claim to be extremely busy, but would you consider yourself busier than Winston Churchill? From 1898 to 1918, Winston Churchill wrote seven books while holding political office and still managed to have a two-hour nap each day, a habit he even kept when he was prime minister during World War II. Do these naps signify Churchill’s laziness? I would argue they do not; rather, they signify a disciplined schedule that allows time for rest, as Churchill recognized that stillness in his life was a necessity.
The Lan Yun Blue Orchids, a traditional Chinese dance team on campus, performed in their second annual showcase on the evening of April 15. The showcase was titled Dancing Through the Dynasties and told the history of China through dance and musical performance. The program was set up as a timeline, using performances to characterize each dynasty.
I’m always oddly heartened when the simplest beginnings can yield the greatest stories. It’s almost like a sign that our lives really can go anywhere, and the bounds of reality, no matter what the cynics say, just aren’t that realistic. In Netflix’s Beef, the latest revelation from creator Lee Sung Jin, these all make for sorry understatements.
As the weather gets warmer in Baltimore, it’s time to get outside and enjoy the fresh air! Maybe you’re in need of a Beach read or some new hits to listen to on your walk to class. Or, maybe you’re hiding in your dorm room from the scourge of allergy season, in dire need of something fun and interesting to watch to keep yourself entertained. Either way, the Arts section has some fresh recommendations for you.
This past weekend, theater group the Barnstormers presented Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater’s musical Spring Awakening, a modern classic based on the 1891 play by Frank Wedekind of the same name. The play is set in late-19th-century Germany and follows the sexual awakenings of teenage students in a strict Christian school.
The Students of Caribbean Ancestry (SOCA) and SLAM held a spring showcase in Shriver Hall on April 7. In addition to performances from both groups, the event also featured other Hopkins dance groups including Temps d’Afrique (TDA), Korean Pop Motion (KPM) and JOSH.
April is shaping up to be a great month for the arts! From big-budget, fun romps like The Super Mario Bros. Movie to timeless classics like Alfred Hitchcock’s Shadow of a Doubt, there is something for everyone on the silver screen. Meanwhile, rock fanatics are in for a treat as Metallica drops their new album this week.
Color of My Voice (CMV) is a student-run arts project that creates animated videos to share the stories of underrepresented individuals. The organization’s goal is to provide an outlet for those who have faced racial discrimination to talk and heal from their experiences.
Held at the Glass Pavilion this past weekend, The Inter-Asian Cultural Expo (IACE), curated by Ryo Hasegawa, showcased both visual and performance art from Asian students across Homewood Campus, Peabody Institute and the Maryland Institute College of Art.
JPEGMAFIA is one of the most exciting rapper-producers in hip-hop. His breakout album Veteran, released in 2018, introduced a new sound imbued with the oddest samples imaginable, including ASMR of someone sucking on a lollipop, audio clips from Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice and Halo 5 sound effects.
Welcome back to classes! As we enter spring, arts releases are picking up again, finally breaking the bit of winter hiatus we’ve seen this year. If you’re looking to take a much-needed breather from the whirlwind of exams and papers, we’ve got good news — there’s a lot to dive into.
For the most part, I’m a huge fan of superhero films. Their predictability is my comfort cinema; I love their simplicity and determination for obvious good to prevail over evil. I love their surprisingly inspirational training montages. I even love that all the protagonists have cheesy superhero names (seriously, though, why are there so many names that end with “Man”?).
