TOMORROW!!
@thesambafest 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
#TrinArts
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.
#TrinArts
#Welcome 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.
#TrinArts
#WaystoMove
#WelcomeBack
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.
#THDNalumni
#trinarts
#welcomeback
Reserve your tickets for “Stupid Fucking 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 Fucking 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
#TrinArts
Thank you everyone who showed up and watched this beautiful production of:
Citizen James: A Man without a Country
Written by: Kyle Bass
Performed by: @jamesaltong
Directed by: Joann Yarrow
Stage Managed by: @kingsleyusa22
At @aactrin !
Last chance before a young James Baldwin says "Farewell!"
Today at 2pm is the final performance of the play The Hartford Courant calls "remarkable!" #HartBeatEnsemble's resident theatre company production at @TrinityCollege of James Alton in CITIZEN JAMES, OR THE YOUNG MAN WITHOUT A COUNTRY by Kyle Bass at Austin Arts Center at Trinity College. Performance followed by interactive Story Circle discussions. Tickets & Info: https://www.trincoll.edu/austin-arts-center/
No one turned away for lack of funds!
Photo by Lily Supples. @aactrin
#hartfordct #hartfordhasit #hartford #hartfordconnecticut #harbeat #trinitycollege #austinartscenter
HURRY!!!! Final two performances of the play The Hartford Courant calls "remarkable!" #HartBeatEnsemble's resident theatre company production at @trinitycollege of James Alton in CITIZEN JAMES, OR THE YOUNG MAN WITHOUT A COUNTRY by Kyle Bass performs tonight at 7:30pm and tomorrow at 2pm at Austin Arts Center at Trinity College. Both performances followed by interactive Story Circle discussions. Tickets & Info: https://www.trincoll.edu/austin-arts-center/
No one turned away for lack of funds!
Photo by Lily Supples. @aactrin #hartfordhasit #hartfordct #hartfordconnecticut #hartford #hartbeat #citizenjames
We are delighted to share these production photos of @jamesaltong as #JamesBaldwin in Kyle Bass' solo drama CITIZEN JAMES, OR THE YOUNG MAN WITHOUT A COUNTRY. #HartBeatEnsemble resumes performances tonight at 7:30pm. We have additional performances of #CitizenJames tomorrow at 7:30pm and Sunday at 2pm at @aactrin@trincoll . Get your tickets now or via link in bio. No one turned away for lack of funds!
Photos by Lily Supples.
#hartfordhasit #hartfordct #hartfordconnecticut #hartbeat #austinartscenter #trinitycollege
Post-show CITIZEN JAMES Story Circles!
Immediately following each performance of CITIZEN JAMES at Austin Arts Center at Trinity College, HartBeat Ensemble will be holding a Story Circle.
What is a Story Circle? Story Circles provide a participatory process for individuals to share their personal experiences and stories in a safe and supportive group setting. In this instance, we will facilitating a discussion on what we just collectively experienced with CITIZEN JAMES.
Where: Room 231 in Austin Arts Center at @trinitycollege
When: Right after the show! Performances of CITIZEN JAMES are tomorrow and Friday at 7:30pm; Saturday at 2pm.
Who: Anyone with a ticket to CITIZEN JAMES!
How do I get tickets? https://www.trincoll.edu/austin-arts-center/ or link in bio.
@aactrin #trinitycollege #austinartscenter #hartbeatensemble #hartbeat #citizenjames #cttheatre #theatrect #cttheater #theaterct #hartfordhasit #hartfordct #hartfordconnecticut #hartford
Take 5 with #HartBeatEnsemble Artistic Director @godfrey.simmons as he talks about #citizenjames running this Thurs-Sat at @aactrin@trinitycollege . Tickets and info via link in bio.
