The U.S. should be awash in the art and culture of its Native Americans, immigrants, and the rest of the world. Yet, it is dominated by Eurocentric influences. Knowing that and how art is able to build cultural understanding, the U-M Center for World Performance Studies (CWPS) started 20 years ago to provide an arts and cultural worldview to students, faculty, and local residents. Ingrid Racine, a CWPS alum and now its program coordinator, takes Deb Polich and David Fair on a global "creative:impact" journey. Listen here.
Creative industries in Washtenaw County add hundreds of millions of dollars to the local economy. In the weeks and months to come, 89.1 WEMU's David Fair and co-host Deb Polich, the President and CEO of The Arts Alliance, explore the myriad of contributors that make up the creative sector in Washtenaw County.
ABOUT INGRID RACINE:
Ingrid Racine joined the Center for World Performance Studies staff in fall of 2016, having previously worked in youth development, and as a freelance musician and arts organizer. She was a Graduate Resident in the Center for World Performance Studies from 2008-2009, while working towards an MM in Improvisation, and completed research projects in Bamako, Mali and Mysore, India. Her current research interests include youth identity formation and democratic practices in musical subcultures, music education and community building in informal scenes and musician-led organizations and decolonizing music pedagogy.
Ingrid has performed locally, nationally and internationally, with a diverse array of ensembles — from early jazz groups led by the legendary pianist James Dapogny to Michigan folk and hip hop artists, in addition to steady sideman work in local small jazz groups. She toured nationally and internationally with the group NOMO from 2003-2009. Most recently, she has toured and performed with the Detroit-based all female jazz group Straight Ahead, Wendell Harrison, the Heather Black Project, Ellen Rowe's "Momentum," Paul Keller and Ron Brooks. She currently lives in Ann Arbor, MI and leads her own group, the Ingrid Racine Quartet.
ABOUT MICHAEL GOULD:
Michael Gould is a professor of music at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan and has received international recognition as a performer and scholar in the field of drumset, contemporary percussion performance and pedagogy. He is a faculty member of the Jazz and Contemporary Improvisation Department in the School of Music, Theater & Dance and the Residential College (College of Literature, Science and the Arts) at the University of Michigan. He is currently the Director of the Center for World Performance Studies.
Michael has received his doctor of musical arts in percussion performance at the University of Kentucky. He received his Master of Music degree from the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, and his Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Michael has released over 100 educational percussion videos through playalongmusic.com. He has also composed and performed music for a wide range of ensembles and venues from the Münich Opera and Ballet to National Public Radio. He has had unique collaborations with engineers, material scientists, painters, poets, dancers, athletes and business professionals. His new book for the iPad-- The Drum Diaries is available worldwide through the Apple iTunes store. He is also the music director for Tangente Dance Company in Berlin, Germany. Gould is also a member of the Board of Advisers for the Percussive Arts Society. His latest piece Remember Me was just performed at the Kunsthaus Dahlem in Berlin, Germany and the Percussive Arts Society International Convention and includes dance, theater, percussion, electronics and original artwork. The work has been published by Alternative Press, Ann Arbor, Michigan. He has also recently worked with Henry Pollack (the co-recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize) on an art installation piece entitled A World Without Ice. The piece focuses on both poles and addresses issues of climate change.
Michael is a performing artist for Zildjian cymbals, Yamaha Drums and Percussion, Remo Drumheads and Vic Firth Drumsticks and Mallets.
CENTER FOR WORLD PERFORMANCE STUDIES MARKS ITS 20TH ANNIVERSARY
Ann Arbor, MI — On March 30, 2001, the University of Michigan Center for World Performance Studies (CWPS) celebrated its grand opening at the International Institute, inviting the community to participate in an evening of lectures, performances and food. This month, CWPS launches a series of events to mark the milestone of its 20th anniversary, and to look ahead to the next twenty years.
Described at its founding as “a curriculum that examines the role of the performing arts and artists within a variety of cultural contexts and from numerous disciplinary perspectives,” CWPS has evolved to encompass the broader definition of “performance” embraced by scholars in the interdisciplinary field of performance studies. In addition to performing arts forms such as music, theatre and dance, students and faculty engage with performance art and multimedia; ritual, religious and political acts; and performance in everyday life and work.
Faculty Director Michael Gould explains that "CWPS functions not only as the hub for performance studies for our faculty and students, but also as a vehicle for bringing underrepresented, non-Western voices to campus through a multitude of programs. I have seen firsthand how these opportunities can utterly transform students in ways that lead to personal growth and enriching careers while also providing fertile ground for the campus community to engage with others." The core programs have remained consistent through the years: artist residencies that bring performers and scholars from all over the world to campus and beyond; a Graduate Fellows program that students can combine with Masters and PhD programs; funding for U-M faculty doing performance studies research; and support for events and projects on campus, particularly those hosted by student organizations. Since its founding, the mission of CWPS has placed an emphasis on centering on underrepresented, non-Western, and diasporic voices, bodies, and acts. The work of the Center over the past twenty years has consistently advanced the University’s DEI goals, by supporting diversity of artistic work and research, and by valuing diverse epistemologies or “ways of knowing.”
In recent years, CWPS has placed greater emphasis on collaborations with community partners, ranging from workshops at Mosaic Youth Theatre of Detroit and the Ann Arbor Public Library to performances at Garage Cultural, CMAP Detroit, the Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor Farmers Markets. CWPS moved to a new administrative home in 2016, and is now housed at the Residential College, where it plans to develop rich undergraduate curricular opportunities in the future.
The public is invited to reflect on the success and future goals of the Center for World Performance Studies during two virtual panel discussions:
Friday, March 26, 12pm-1pm: Alumni in Conversation
with Mike Rahfaldt, Lani Teves and Masimba Hwati
Registration required: https://myumi.ch/lxAoG
Friday, April 1, 12pm-1pm: Faculty in Conversation
with Lester Monts, Kwasi Ampene, Mbala Nkanga and Robin Wilson
Registration required: https://myumi.ch/4p3pN
If you require an accommodation to participate in this event, please contact the Center for World Performance Studies, at 734-936-2777. Please be aware that advance notice is necessary as some accommodations may require more time for the University to arrange.
RESOURCES:
Center for World Performance Studies
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— David Fair is the WEMU News Director and host of Morning Edition on WEMU. You can contact David at 734.487.3363, on twitter @DavidFairWEMU, or email him at dfair@emich.edu
