Weis Center for the Performing Arts Blog
Bringing the performing arts to Central Pennsylvania for more than 35 years
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Performance Review: Branches of Memory: Kurbasy’s Songs of the Ukrainian Forest
Some performances feel less like concerts and more like ceremonies, moments that blur the line between past and present, between what is sung and what is remembered. Kurbasy’s Songs of the Ukrainian Forest was one of those rare evenings. It didn’t simply perform; it reached, branching outward from deep cultural roots and carrying with it echoes of survival, sorrow, and hope. Before the first note was sung, the Weis Center was already steeped in reflection. The pre-talk, led by Heather Almer, Assistant Director of International…
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Performance Review: Nrityagram: The Sound of Dancing Feet
Originially published in The Bucknellian. On Oct. 21, 2025, the Weis Center for the Performing Arts filled with the glow of lamps, music and movement. The night carried a special meaning. It was Diwali, the Festival of Lights, when Hindus around the world celebrate hope, goodness and renewal. That same spirit of light and devotion came alive on stage as Nrityagram, one of India’s most celebrated dance ensembles, performed “KHAṄKHAṆĀ: The Sound of Dancing Feet.” It was an evening that went beyond performance. It was worship,…
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Modigliani Quartet to Perform Works by Haydn, Beethoven, and Brahms at the Weis Center
The Weis Center for the Performing Arts will welcome classical ensemble Modigliani Quartet on Sunday, November 9 at 4 p.m. at the Weis Center. There will be a pre-performance talk with the artists from 3:15-3:45 p.m. in the Atrium. The Paris-based Modigliani Quartet features Amaury Coeytaux on violin, Loïc Rio on violin, Laurent Marfaing on viola and François Kieffer on cello. The performance is sponsored, in part, by Sam and Nancy Craig. Founded in 2003, the Modigliani Quartet is recognized as one of today’s most…
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Folk/Americana Artist Yasmin Williams Will Perform in Weis Center Atrium
The Weis Center for the Performing Arts will welcome folk/Americana artist Yasmin Williams on Wednesday, November 5 at 7:30 p.m. in the Weis Center Atrium. Yasmin Williams is an innovative guitarist and composer known for her unique compositional approach and expansive instrumental style. Her latest album Acadia, released on Nonesuch Records, showcases her evolution from solo performer to collaborative artist, featuring partnerships with notable musicians like Aoife O’Donovan and Immanuel Wilkins. Williams’ distinctive creative process involves “ruminating” on single notes until compositions naturally emerge. Beyond…
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Performance Review: Sprout of Movement: The Living Language of Ailey II
The Weis Center Atrium had never felt so alive. Before the performance even began, the space pulsed with an energy that was warm and contagious. Conversations intertwined, laughter filled the air, and a gentle hum moved through the crowd like the sound of anticipation itself. It was not noise but life, a kind of harmony that emerges when people gather for something they love. Children weaved through clusters of adults, friends called out to one another across the room, and strangers exchanged smiles that needed…
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Indian Classical Dance Coming to Weis Center on October 21st
The Weis Center for the Performing Arts will welcome the Nrityagram Dance Ensemble on Tuesday, October 21 at 7:30 p.m. at the Weis Center. One of the premier Indian dance ensembles performing today, the Nrityagram Dance Ensemble had the distinction of making The New York Times’ Best Dance of the Year list two consecutive years (2015 and 2016). More than a dance company, Nrityagram (pronounced NRI-thyuh-graam) was founded as a gurukula (or school) devoted to Indian dance. The all-female ensemble’s daily life of intensive training…
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From Root to Stage: How the Samek and Weis Center Grow Together
This year, the Samek Art Museum and the Weis Center for the Performing Arts have cometogether under one unifying theme: trees. It is more than coincidence, more than a sharedimage. It is a collaboration that asks us to think about growth, process, and connection acrossart forms, and to experience how these lessons move between the museum and the stage. At the Samek, Gina Siepel’s exhibition To Understand a Tree anchors the season. The project,created over six years in communion with a single tree, blends ecology,…
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Review: Rooted in Connection: Dr. Nalini Nadkarni and the Rainforest Within
It is not every day that Bucknell becomes a portal to the rainforest. On the evening of September 30, the Weis Center for the Performing Arts transformed. What began as a crisp fall night soon unfolded into an immersive journey through one of the world’s most vital and endangered ecosystems. The performance, an extraordinary multimedia presentation by National Geographic explorer and ecologist Dr. Nalini Nadkarni, pulled back the canopy’s veil and invited us not just to see the rainforest but to feel it. Even before…
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Weis Center Presents World Music from Ukraine on Friday, October 17
The Weis Center will welcome world music ensemble Kurbasy from Lviv, Ukraine on Friday, October 17 at 7:30 p.m. at the Weis Center. A free pre-performance talk will take place in the Atrium from 6:30-7 p.m. Heather Almer will facilitate the discussion. The performance is sponsored, in part, Gary and Sandy Sojka and Center Stage. Kurbasy is on tour in the USA as part of Center Stage, an initiative of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs with funding provided…
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Nat Geo Explorer at Large Nalini Nadkarni Interacts with 100+ Bucknell Students Through Res College Common Hour Program
On Monday, September 29, Nalini Nadkarni, National Geographic Explorer at Large, met and interacted with more than 100 Bucknell University students through the Residential College Common Hour program. She met with students from the Discovery Res College, Society and Technology Res College, and Nature and Innovation Res College. Nalini will present her multimedia presentation “From Roots to Canopy” at the Weis Center on Tuesday, Sept. 30 at 7:30 p.m. at the Weis Center. Professor Chris Martine will introduce Nalini and facilitate a post-show Q&A. Nalini…
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