Berkshire Pulse to host Young Choreographers Initiative performance
Housatonic — On Saturday, Dec. 16, from 2 to 3:30 p.m., Berkshire Pulse will host a works-in-progress showing of choreography and improvisation created and performed by students in its Young Choreographers’ Initiative.
In last summer’s intensive, YCI students explored combining choreography and poetry with teaching artist Ian Spencer Bell. In this process, they selected a poem that spoke to them and created a collaborative group piece inspired by that text. At the event, students Tess Ackiewicz, Laura Coe, Katherine Humes, Gigi Janko, Rubielle Nejaime and Juniper Shalles will reproduce the work and share individual pieces they have been developing under the guidance of Susan Quinn in the fall’s workshop.
The performance is free and open to the public, thanks to funding from the Jewish Women’s Foundation of the Berkshires, but donations will be gladly accepted to support YCI educational workshops and events. Those interested in attending are asked to RSVP to berkshire.pulse@gmail.com.
–E.E.
* * *
Wine dinner to benefit California wineries
New Marlborough — Gedney Farm will host a wine dinner Thursday, Dec. 14, at 6 p.m. to benefit the North Bay Just & Resilient Futures Fund, which aids farmers in northern California wine country as well as others whose properties and homes have been affected by wildfires.
Gedney Farm sommelier Peter Miscikoski and executive chef Rob Burnell have teamed up with Oz Wine Company owner Andrew Bishop to create a five-course menu with wine pairings featuring wines from the Sonoma, Napa and Mendocino areas. One featured wine will be Sebastopol, California-based Horse & Plow Winery’s Draft Horse Red, a blend of Carignane, Petite Sirah, Syrah and Grenache that is made in very limited quantities.
Tickets are $100 per person plus tax and gratuity. All proceeds will benefit the North Bay Just & Resilient Futures Fund. For more information or to make reservations, contact Gedney Farm at (413) 229-3131 or perterm@gedneyfarm.com.
–E.E.
* * *
Austen Riggs Center to stage ‘The Secret in the Wings’
Stockbridge — The Austen Riggs Center’s Riggs Theatre 37 will stage “The Secret in the Wings “ by Mary Zimmerman Tuesday, Dec. 12, through Sunday, Dec. 17, at 7:30 p.m.
The play is directed by Kevin G. Coleman, who also serves as director of education at Shakespeare & Company in Lenox. Said Coleman: “‘Secrets’ is very much an ensemble piece. These lesser-known fairy tales from the Brothers Grimm have given us much to play with, much to argue about, and much to be appalled and delighted by.” Riggs Theatre 37 provides an opportunity for Austen Riggs’ patients to explore some of their strengths through involvement in twice-yearly productions. The immersive, 10-week process includes reading scripts, selecting a play, working through rehearsals and staging several performances for the general public.
Tickets are $20 for the general public, and $10 for students and seniors. For more information or to reserve tickets, call (413) 298-5519 x5606.
–E.E.
* * *
‘The Age of Consequences’ documentary to be screened
Pittsfield — 350MA-Berkshires and Berkshire Citizens for Peace and Justice will offer a screening of the documentary film “The Age of Consequences” Thursday, Dec. 14, at 7 p.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Pittsfield.
Through the lens of national security and global stability, “Age of Consequences” looks at the impacts of climate change on increased resource scarcity and migration. As part of a case-study analysis, admirals, generals and military veterans take viewers beyond the headlines of the conflict in Syria, the social unrest of the Arab Spring, the rise of groups like ISIS, and the European refugee crisis and describe how climate change stressors interact with societal tensions, thus sparking conflict.
The screening is free and open to the public. For more information, contact info@350ma-berkshires.org.
–E.E.
* * *
HospiceCare to offer grief support workshop
Pittsfield — HospiceCare in the Berkshires will host a “New to Grief” workshop Wednesday, Dec. 13, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. “New to Grief” is offered free of charge to anyone who has experienced the loss of a loved one. Registration is requested. For more information or to register, contact HCIB’s bereavement coordinator at (413) 443-2994.
–E.E.
