The assertive glass and steel face of the Hopkins Center stands out among the various buildings surrounding the Dartmouth Green. Just as this architecture adds a unique flavor to the Dartmouth campus, the cultural programs and activities that the Hopkins Center provides all contribute, in their own unique ways, to a well-rounded liberal arts education.
Artistic participation does not require acting talent, it is unconcerned with stage fright, and it does not demand a singing voice. In fact, opportunities abound for the artistically inept. Dartmouth allows anyone to indulge in the arts if they so desire.
This article barely scratches the surface of the countless opportunities for artistic involvement on the Hanover Plain. Students can sing solos for the Dodecaphonics or toil in the Claflin Jewelry Studio, study Monet's and Renoir's or even write Arts & Entertainment articles for The Dartmouth newspaper. The possibilities are endless.
To act or not to act
Anyone who entertains any desire to act may want to check out the College's highly-acclaimed theatrical opportunities.
Faculty and professional guest artists direct four major productions each year, providing hundreds of production opportunities for undergraduates. Twelve student-directed and designed productions, as well as three original student-written plays, are produced each year.
Extracurricular student theater groups include the Dartmouth Players, the Untamed Shrews, Harlequins and Nuestras Voces, all of which emphasize different aspects and messages in theatrical production. The Dog Day Players, the Black Underground Theater and Art Association, and many other theater groups also perform on campus.
Matthew Gordon '98, a drama major, said the best way to get involved with these activities is simply to talk to people. "I went to the open house, and I got to meet the professors and all the students who were also interested in drama. Everyone was very helpful about the whole process."
"It's important to know who the professors are and who the directors are," he added. "That's what got me started."
Vocal and instrumental groups
Many vocal and instrumental ensembles also offer opportunities to the aspiring artist. The Dartmouth College Chamber Singers, known for their diverse and challenging repertory, have performed Bach cantatas, Mozart masses, 16th century madrigals, and even some Gershwin.
The group has sung in such places as Mozart's Salzburg and the Czech Republic, as well as in various European halls and cathedrals.
Chamber Singer Chris Swift '98 said, "It's a very intimate group, and this allows us to produce a very creative and an intellectual sound as well."
Dartmouth's Glee Club, a close-knit group of 40 to 50 members, frequently performs choral works with professional orchestra. The group also performs a capella works and stages a Gilbert and Sullivan operetta every other year.
Campus instrumental ensembles include the Dartmouth Symphony Orchestra, the Barbary Coast Jazz Ensemble, and the Dartmouth Wind Symphony. Of course the Dartmouth College Marching Band, halftime stars at Big Green football games, cannot go unmentioned. For those with the enthusiasm, the DCMB has green blazers waiting.
Hanover's own Louvre
For students who dislike noisy bands and instead prefer the quiet contemplation of great works of art, The Hood Museum of Art provides one of the most rewarding opportunities on campus for artistic involvement.
With the gift of "a few curious elephant bones" donated shortly after the school's founding in 1769, Dartmouth's art collection was born. Years of donations and purchases gradually amassed a permanent collection that today numbers nearly 60,000 objects. The collection represents a broad range of historical periods and cultures, but its strengths lay particularly in European and American art and the arts of Africa, Oceania and Native North America.
An award-winning building designed in 1985 today houses the Hood Museum of Art. In addition to accommodating ten full galleries, the facility provides other artistic opportunities in the form of film series, seminars, symposia, and gallery lectures by guest artists and curators.
Dartmouth Film Society
For anyone who enjoys cinema, joining the Dartmouth Film Society is a must. Each term, in the Hop's Spaulding Auditorium, the Film Society presents a series of films linked by a common theme. During the Summer, the Society featured "Cinema Cool" films -- movies that feed society's abstract notions of what constitutes "coolness." Past film series have portrayed "Sex in the Cinema" and "Mommy Dearest."
The Loew Theater also presents film series each term, often presented in support of a Film Studies class.
