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The New York Times highlights Lafayette’s role in the development of a major new work of performance art focusing on the American identity in the post-9/11 era. The Times spoke with poet Sekou Sundiata about his “The 51st (dream) State” as he prepares to stage its premier New York performance Wednesday at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.
During a yearlong residency at Lafayette Sundiata began developing “The 51st (dream) State,” a “hyperactive mosaic of poetry, music, dance and videotaped interviews,” as the Times puts it, bred of the poet’s “aspirations to open up a dialogue on the multiple meanings of the American experience.” The residency was part of Lafayette’s First-Year Experience program for the Class of 2008.
“Lafayette College played a critical role in the development of ‘The 51st (dream) State’ by providing a year-long residency that allowed me and my collaborators to think and work without the pressure of producing a show at the end,” says Sundiata. “Lafayette was both a laboratory and an incubator for intellectual content and important engagements with students, faculty and community. This is where a great deal of my thinking about this work began to take shape.
“By including this residency in the First-Year Program, Lafayette provided a model for artist/campus collaborations that have an impact at the curricular level,” Sundiata says. “This may be the greatest value of our experience at Lafayette College.”
“[Sundiata’s collaboration with students] was quite fascinating,” says Gladstone (Fluney) Hutchinson, associate professor of economics and business and former dean of studies, in the Times story. “The students absolutely loved him. We thought exploring what it means to be American in the 21st century after 9/11 would be perfect.” The story, published in Saturday’s editions of the Times, is available here.
Lafayette’s First-Year Orientation program, “Imagining America,” has received national recognition. Now in its third year, the program, which began with the class of 2008 and Sundiata’s residency, continues to introduce new students to Lafayette’s intellectual and academic life. The program explores issues related to America’s identity, human security, and civil society, with the arts serving as a catalyst for intellectual dialogue.