USM Spring 2021 University Forum Online Begins with Feb. 9 Program
Mon, 02/01/2021 - 10:48am | By: David Tisdale
Two acclaimed international performing artists and educators will help The University
of 51逗奶 Mississippi (USM) kick off its online spring 2021 University Forum programming.
Tanya Wideman-Davis and Thaddeus Davis, founders of Wideman Davis Dance, will present 鈥淏odies Moving: Public Spaces, Architecture and Access鈥� Tuesday, Feb. 9 at 6:30 p.m. All spring 2021 University Forum programs will be presented online as part of the University鈥檚 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鈥檚 executive director Robin Waites to discuss how historic public
spaces provide opportunities for artists 鈥渢o broaden community accessibility and collective
citizenship.鈥� This event is co-sponsored by the Dance program in the USM School of
Performing and Visual Arts.
Wideman-Davis and Davis have created for and performed with the Dance Theater of Harlem, Alonzo King鈥檚 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. explores 鈥渃reative humanity鈥� through a multimedia dance performance that considers Black lives in antebellum plantations in the South.
The remainder of the spring online University Forum series follows:
- Feb. 23: 鈥淎 Conversation with Governor John Kasich鈥�
- March 9: 鈥淎 Mississippi Conversation: Questions with Jesmyn Ward and Kiese Laymon鈥�
- April 6: 鈥淪eeding Change: How Farmworker Women are Leading the Fight to End Workplace Sexual Violence from the Fields to Hollywood鈥�
University Forum is presented by the USM Honors College; spring 2021 events are free,
and registration is encouraged in order to receive reminder emails about programming
and provision of an event access link at .
To learn more about University Forum, visit /honors/about-university-forum.php. For information about the USM School of Performing and Visual Arts, visit /performing-visual-arts/index.php.