Misty Copeland, who is the first Black principal dancer with the American Ballet Theatre, kicked off Colgate’s Inaugural Arts, Creativity, and Innovation Weekend on April 14. Her visit was the keynote event during a celebration of arts, creativity, and innovation at Colgate — a first initiative within the Third-Century Plan and a key priority within the Campaign for the Third Century. The talk was sponsored by the Kerschner Family Series Global Leaders at Colgate.
In a discussion moderated by professors Padma Kaimal and Amy Swanson, Copeland shared how powerful mentors — pioneering Black ballerina Raven Wilkinson, her first dance teacher Cynthia Bradley, and legendary pop artist Prince among them — helped her embrace her individuality. “I’ll never forget Prince telling me, ‘Don’t you realize being different is cool?’” Copeland said.
The dancer, author, philanthropist, and producer went on to express her frustration with the ballet world’s lack of diversity — and the importance of representation in the arts. “Ballet has been allowed to exist in this bubble,” Copeland explained. “But ballet has become part of American culture, and it’s time to change the narrative to reflect who we are and what we look like. That’s the only way to stay relevant.”
Hundreds of alumni, parents, and friends visited campus that Friday and Saturday for performances, workshops, presentations, and panel discussions. Prior to the Copeland event, Colgate hosted Kyle and Dinita Clark, co-founders of Just Sole!, a street dance theater company based in Philadelphia. The couple delivered a lecture followed by a dance demonstration in Brehmer Theater.
Later in the afternoon, campus guests participated in a series of faculty-led workshops, part of Arts, Creativity, and Innovation in Action. The workshops, hosted by faculty in music, computer science, art and art history, film and media studies, and theater, provided visitors with an opportunity for hands-on experimentation and creation.
Other Friday events included a screening of Nan Goldin’s documentary All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, featuring the film’s editor, Amy Foote, part of the Ryan Family Friday Night Film Series; a concert from student a cappella group the Mantiphondrakes; and performances by Scout Gillett and Sarah Shook and the Disarmers at the Palace Theater, presented by the Colgate Live Music Collective.
Student start-ups — and a new vision for the future
Saturday’s events began with a faculty panel discussion featuring arts and innovation faculty members Aaron Gember-Jacobson, Lynn Schwarzer, Margaretha Haughwout, Mary Simonson, and Ryan Chase. Provost and Dean of the Faculty Lesleigh Cushing served as moderator.
The group explained how the deliberate and thoughtful design of the new Benton Center for Creativity and Innovation — at the heart of a new Middle Campus — will help to enhance collaboration across disciplines and encourage curiosity and creativity among students.
“We thought about flow and proximity and points of intersection, where creative encounters can happen organically,” Schwarzer said of the facility, which is currently under construction and expected to open in fall 2024.
Haughwout shared how cutting-edge tools housed in the Benton Center — like a digital loom, a laser printer, and a 3D printer that extrudes only biological materials like paper, pulp, and clay — will allow students to experiment and create in new ways. “I’m excited to think about students working with these tools, which hit a lot of their different interests, from textiles and fashion to the environmental sciences,” she said.
At the Thought Into Action Entrepreneur Showcase, presented by the Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, 17 students presented their ventures at booth displays. They competed for investment certificates (called “iggies”) given to attendees, with the instructions to award their dollars to the start-ups most worthy of their investment. A total of $5,000 was awarded, with ventures receiving an amount proportional to the number of iggies they received.
The informal showcase was followed by a panel discussion featuring five alumni entrepreneurs, including Britty O’Connor ’12, MA’13, the 2023 Entrepreneur of the Year award winner and owner of Hamilton’s Flour & Salt Bakery and Martha’s On Madison. The conversation, moderated by Carole Robinson ’83, P’18, chief communications officer at Buzzfeed, focused on the importance of perseverance and flexibility.
“Be OK with hearing no,” advised Justin Polk ’03, co-founder and director of Invisible Collective. “You can’t let it stop you.”
At the Arts Open House, guests explored the Dana Arts Center and the Picker Art Gallery, talking with student docents about the work on display.
Other events on Saturday included the annual African Student Union fashion show; Akfest 31, the Colgate Resolutions’ spring concert; and a live show from singer-songwriter Ana Egge, also part of the Colgate Live Music Collective.
The creative exchange of thoughts and ideas that transform into ventures and further visions of the way things could be: this is the stuff of Middle Campus and of Colgate’s inaugural Arts, Creativity, and Innovation Weekend.
“We have high hopes,” Schwarzer says, “and I think we can’t begin to imagine the possibilities.”