8 tertamment
Event
Sampler
A much-anticipated
exhibit by a master
of French Impressionism
is a coup for the DIA
and a treat for Motown
art and ballet lovers.
SUZANNE CHESSLER
Special to the Jewish News
The Armand Hammer Co llect io n, G i ft o f the Armand Ham me r
D
Edgar Degas: "Dancer with
Red Stockings," ca. 1884.
Pastel on pink laid paper.
The Hyde Collection Art Museum,
Glens Falls, New York.
Edgar Degas: "Three Dancers in
Yellow Skirts," ca. 1899. Oil on canvas.
UCLA Hammer Museum, Los Angeles.
2002
86
ancers, a pastel and charcoal drawing on loan
from the A. Alfred Taubmans, will be among
the more than 100 works featured in the largest
exhibition ever to celebrate the ballet images of -
French Impressionist Edgar Degas.
"Degas and the Dance," an exhibit organized by the
American Federation of Arts with the Detroit Institute of
Arts and the Philadelphia Museum of Art, comes to
Detroit Oct. 20-Jan. 12. The only other -showing will run
Feb. 12-May 11 in Philadelphia.
.
The paintings, drawings and sculptures, borrowed from
97 private and public collections in 11 countries, were cho-
sen by guest curators Richard Kendall and Jill DeVonyar,
who worked for some four years putting the exhibit togeth- •
er. They wanted to clarify the artist's interest in both the
staged dance-and the activities behind the scenes.
The pieces will be displayed by theme, and some will be
in rooms specifically designed to make viewers feel
immersed in the subject. Images that cover the dancers in
class can be viewed in a simulated classroom, while render-
ings of the dancers on stage hang in a theater setting.
Costume designs, stage sets and photographs further the
sense of the French ballet culture of the 19th century.
Besides a massive number of associated programs, from
lectures to dance presentations, the exhibition features
hands-on activities.
A computerized version of a Degas sketchbook to demon-
strate how he worked and a "Try Ballet" room with mirrored
walls, exercise barres, music and illustrated dance steps to allow
visitors to become dancers of the moment are among them.
Many special events are sched-
uled to enhance the exhibit
"Degas and the Dance," and
some of the program high-
lights are listed below. For a
complete list that includes lec-
tures, classes, workshops, per-
formances, storytelling and
demonstrations, go to the
Web site a t .-vvww.dia.org.
Events are free with museum
admission unless otherwise
noted.
• Oct 18-31, shown continu-
ously:
Video. Degas and the Little
Dancer analyzes the origins of
Degas' Little Dancer, Aged
Fourteen, a work widely
regarded as a key precursor of
20th-century sculpture.
• Oct. 20, 2 p.m.:
Lecture: "The Painter of
Dancers: Degas at the Paris
Opera." Guest curators
Richard Kendall and Jill
DeVonyar discuss major works,
considering both the originality
and the radicalism of Degas'
depiction of the ballet.
• Oct. 27, 2 and 3:30 p.m.:
Lecture and Video: "The
Ceccherti Influence." WSU
Department of Dance Professor
Eva Powers and RoseMarie
Floyd, a Cecchetti expert, dis-
cuss the Italian choreographer's
influence on the world ofballet.
• Nov. 1, 6-9 p.m.:
Artist Demonstration.
During Marshall Field's First
Fridays at the DIA, courtroom
sketch artist Claudia Shepard
captures the figure in motion
by drawing visitors to the gal-
leries,
• Nov. 8, 6 and 7:30 p.m.:
Insider's View. During Fine
Arts Friday at the DIA,
Antonia Bastrom, Assistant
Curator of European
Sculpture and Decorative Arts,
discusses 19th-century French
sculpture.
• No-v. 9, 6:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m.:
Under the Stars- XXIII. This
premier social event, benefit-
ing the DIA and centered on
"Degas and the Dance," fea-
tures a cocktail reception, din-