Drag balls, avant-garde Irish myth, and a city in motion: celebrating a semester of arts at Bwog.

As a new semester at Bwog sprung to life, so did the frenzied audition process for the countless dance, theater, and other arts groups across campus. Bwog Staffers tackled auditions for Columbia’s vibrant a capella scene with excitement, thoughtfulness, and brutal honesty about a lack of callbacks.

In Bwog’s first coverage of an arts event that semester, Via Kelly captured the infectious spirit of celebration permeating a night of drag at ISGG’s first-ever drag ball. Coverage of a stimulating and thorough discussion of art and life with Katie Kitamura followed, along with a review of Home: Queer Lineages on Video at Wallach Art Gallery. At the School of the Arts, Bwog Staffers also had the privilege to hear Celine Song speak out about the life of an artist.

As student productions began showing, Bwog witnessed the eerie, Irish folklore-inspired “Teaghlach,” an original student production put on by NOMADS. Then Bwog witnessed a joyous celebration of Black voices at the Black Theatre Ensemble’s Medley Night, which included highlights from Hairspray and Little Shop Of Horrors. Besides theater, Bwog staffers also witnessed the poised magic of CU Ballet Ensemble’s “Sleeping Beauty” and the chaotic relevance of Postcrypt’s (N/A)tural WØr1d/F1Øw And F1ux, a student art exhibit. A pair of reviews covering CMTS productions followed: while Newsies was a powerful cry of protest that centered the voices of trans, disabled, and other marginalized communities, the stellar Spring Awakening asked the audience to relish in alt-rock rebellion while questioning the systems that raised them.

Finally, Bwog covered Sabor’s exuberant fall showcase, “Un Verano en Nueva York”: A City in Motion, and finished the semester with the holliday spectacle of XMAS!20: The Empty Seat.

Header via Bwog Archives