Some people think that being an artist at Dartmouth is like being a fish out of water. And occasionally it can seem that the "arts" in "liberal arts" is a rather empty term.
But the artistic communities here are like vibrant schools of fish, swimming against the current and enriching the mainstream. There are a number of opportunities to get your feet wet or to dive in head first.
Despite the abundance of artistic resources, Dartmouth's self-image as a distinctly inartistic campus results from the participation of students of all sensibilities and interests in the arts -- students who do not think of their work as art or consider themselves artists.
This dynamic renders the arts community less than conspicuous. It is also refreshing -- for some of us at least -- to spot its vital signs.
A glimpse of black clothing among a sea of green wind pants and Tevas gladdens the artistic spirit as if it had detected a pulse on a flagging student body.
The point is that students should keep their eyese open for kindred artistic spirits -- like servants of the night, they are legion.
The obvious (and official) way to get involved is to select classes in the humanities. Classes in the drama, English, film studies, music and studio art departments can get students started acting, painting, performing and writing within an academic framework.
By your junior or senior year, you might find yourself directing a play, writing a screenplay or a novel, composing music, exhibiting your art on campus or singing in an opera.
The Hopkins Center for the Performing Arts is the focal point of much of the College's artistic community. Known on campus as The Hop, it has a 470-seat theatre -- under construction until mid-fall -- and space for just about every kind of artistic endeavor imaginable.
The Hood Museum, adjacent to The Hop, is another beacon for the arts at Dartmouth. It houses an extensive permanent collection of all types of work and often produces exhibits relating to classes at the College.
Those who plan non-arts majors but still want to participate in the arts can indulge themselves in extracurricular endeavors, most notably in musical ones.
Dartmouth has four a cappella singing groups (The Dodec-aphonics, the Aires, the Rockapellas and the Decibelles) and 10 performing musical ensembles (everything from the Glee Club to the Barbary Coast Jazz Ensemble to the Gospel Choir).
Whatever strain of rock 'n' roll you are interested in, college is an ideal place to find like-minded people and put together a band. And the Lone Pine Tavern in the Collis Center is an ideal place to show off your talent.
Theater is one of the richest of the performing arts here.
Each term features a main stage production (although this fall the reconstruction of the Moore Theater will either displace or preclude one) and Spring-term showcases student directors and playwrights with the Elinor Frost Festival, which fully produces student work.
But opportunities abound in smaller theater groups with special bents: the Black Underground Theater Association, Nuestras Voces and the Untamed Shrews are the standbys of black, Latina and feminist theater.
Studio art also flourishes at the College.
Recently student demand for drawing, painting and sculpture classes has exceeded this small department's ability to accommodate it, resulting in waiting lists for basic level classes.
Sign up for studio art classes as soon as you know you want to take them -- if you are interested in dabbling in art, sign up anyway. Many a senior has lamented waiting until their final year to discover their own creativity.
Poets and writers will find a home in the creative writing program, a thriving part of the English department.
The primary course is English 80, a writing workshop in poetry and fiction. Selection is on a competitive basis and you must submit a manuscript for consideration, so if you do not make it in as a first-year, do not be disheartened.
The Stonefence Review is the campus literary magazine; it attempts to publish each term and invites submissions as well as participation in the editorial process from everyone.
Wordthieves holds poetry readings regularly and poets have been known to cluster on the Green at midnight to read by flashlight.
Not to be forgotten on the long list of campus resources are the Design Studios in the basement of The Hop. You can turn your artistic visions into jewelry, furniture and pottery for the cost of the materials.
If you have any energy left over from all your activities, you will find that The Hop, the Hood and the Programming Board bring in guest artists and performers in from everywhere.
Whether its the alternative hip-hop of A Tribe Called Quest, the eloquent photographs of Aaron Siskind or the penetrating insights of thoughtfully curated film series, there is rarely a dull evening for the arts on campus.
Now that you are completely informed about the arts scene at Dartmouth -- something that by now, you should suspect is nearly impossible -- make sure you pack your watercolors and guitars, as well as your magic markers and accordions.
Keep an eye out for flyers, monitor electronic mail bulletins and of course, read the Arts and Entertainment page of The Dartmouth, and you will not miss a beat.
