••• FREE EVENT •••

“An Agitator for Justice:
The Life & Work of
Bayard Rustin”
Sunday, September 10
2:00 pm

Dr. John D’Emilio, historian, activist and professor in the Department of Gender & Women’s Studies at the University of Illinois, Chicago, will present a free public lecture at Unity of Kalamazoo. His topic will be the life and work of African American Bayard Rustin. Dr. D’Emilio is the former co-chair of the Board of Directors of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and was founding director of its Policy Institute. He has written or edited more than a half dozen books among them: Lost Prophet: The Life and Times of Bayard Rustin, which was a finalist for the National Book Award. A brief reception will follow this event.

“Brother Outsider:
The Life of Bayard Rustin”
Wednesday, September 13
7:00 pm

A brilliant and charismatic African American leader--actor, singer, eloquent speaker--Bayard Rustin (1912-87) had a long career as an activist and strategist in the struggle for human rights, economic justice and peace. As a committed pacifist he suffered beatings and imprisonment. As an openly gay man he lost jobs and was often relegated to the background. He is remembered for his long service to the Fellowship of Reconciliation, the War Resister’s League, the American Friends Service Committee and the Congress of Racial Equality. He was a pivotal figure in persuading Dr. Martin Luther King to the pacifist ideals of Mahatma Ghandi and in organizing the 1963 March on Washington (Civil Rights) where Dr. King delivered his “I have a dream” speech.

••••••• DANCE •••••••

“This Floating World”
Friday, September 29
8:00 pm

Two of Kalamazoo’s most unique artists will join forces for a memorable performance benefiting the Kalamazoo Gay/Lesbian Resource Center. Modern dance company Wellspring/Cori Terry & Dancers and modern music quartet Blue Dahlia will present the wildly popular live music/dance collaboration "This Floating World." The performance will be presented on Friday, September 29, at 8 pm. Tickets are: $10, general admission and $5, student admission. This event will be held at the KVCC-Texas Township Auditorium.

Described as a "visual and audible feast", the innovative concert features choreography by Wellspring Artistic Director Cori Terry and Artistic Associate Michael Miller performed to a suite of live music composed specifically for the dance company. "This Floating World" premiered in Spring 2002 and generated such excitement that a second and third concert series were presented later in 2002 and in 2005, each to sold-out audiences and rave reviews.

Even though this is an encore presentation, don't think you've seen and heard it all before. The concert will feature a new work titled "Love and Hate," that was commissioned by Kalamazoo RESA - EFA in January 2006.

Wellspring/Cori Terry & Dancers is an award-winning professional company that has been creating and presenting authentic modern dance in southwest Michigan since 1981. This extraordinary company of poetic and athletic dancers is committed to revealing the language of modern dance. Critics have called Wellspring's work "impassioned," "compelling," "exuberant," and "life-affirming." Located in the state-of-the-art Wellspring Theater in downtown Kalamazoo's Epic Center, Wellspring offers performances, classes, and outreach activities sharing the creative art of modern dance.

The modern dance movements of Wellspring intertwine vividly with the sounds of Blue Dahlia, one of the region's most unique musical groups. With artistic sensibilities stretching around the globe and across time, their original music has an unusually broad range of appeal. With a certain modernity, Blue Dahlia sends traces of far-away places rippling through each composition. A label for this group? They tread easily through samba, tango, spoken-word, and waltz, trading blues for rock and rock for bluegrass. They mix hammered dulcimer and mandolin with lyrics in Czech, French, and Japanese. Touted by the Detroit Free Press as, "more adventurous than anyone else dares to be," Blue Dahlia's creative signature knows no bounds.

7:30-8:00 Reception
8:00-9:00 Improv Performance
9:00-9:30 Meet the Cast

“Loggerheads”
Friday, October 7, 9:00 pm
WMU Little Theatre, $10/8 members

There is so much that is tender and true in Tim Kirkman's sensitively acted "Loggerheads" that the few times it pauses to flaunt its metaphorical conceit, you just have to grit your teeth and wait for the twitches of literary pretension to subside. That conceit has to do with the loggerhead turtle, an endangered species of sea creature, whose females mysteriously return to their birthplace to lay eggs that they then abandon. Mark (Kip Pardue), a handsome young drifter passing through the seaside town of Kure Beach, N.C., a turtle spawning ground, identifies with the loggerheads because he was given up for adoption as a baby. Mark, who was adopted by a minister and his wife, ran away from home when they discovered his homosexuality and reacted badly. "Loggerheads" is steeped in North Carolina atmosphere.

“Mrs. Stevens Hears the Mermaids Singing”
Saturday, October 7, 7:00 pm
WMU Little Theatre, $10/8 members

An adaptation of May Sarton’s ground-breaking semi-autobiographical 1964 novel, Linda Thornburg’s sensitively realized film tells the story of poet Hilary Stevens, who early in her career wrote a notorious novel abourt a lesbian love affair. While giving an interview for a new generation of eraders in the 1960s, the 70 year-old poet flashes back to her early years, covering pre-WWII years through the McCarthy area, as she remembers the numerous female lovers who inspired her work. Weaving past and present expertly, Mrs. Stevens’ story is one that will appeal to lovers of literature and romance.

“Another Gay Movie”
Saturday, October 7, 9:00 pm
WMU Little Theatre, $10/8 members

In this raucously funny, politically incorrect send-up of the teen movie genre, four gay best friends vow to lose their virginity before they begin their freshman year at college. They spend the summer seeking the right guy to do the big deed with.

••••••• FINALE •••••••

Join us after “Another Gay Movie” at Webster’s Lounge in the Radisson Hotel for free refreshments, desserts and wonderful conversations with friends new and old!

•••••••••

MOVIE TICKETS
Can be purchased at the door,
or by calling 269.349.4234.

$10/show
$8 for members of KGLRC and
$5 for students with Valid ID

Reduced Rate Movie Tickets
Are Available Based on Need.
Please Order In Advance.
Call 269-349-4234

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