The Ohio Ballet Company performed in Anita Tuvin Schlechter auditorium on February 4, 1979. They were directed by Heinz Poll and choreographed by Kathryn Posin.
The Trout Gallery opened a new exhibit, which stood in the Gallery until October 10th, called "Selections of Recent Acquisitions." The exhibit displayed the new pieces of art that the Gallery had acquired over those recent years. Some of those pieces were an oil canvas by N.C. Wyeth and a ceramic tea pot by Ken Ferguson. At the same time as this exhibit, the Trout Galley also displayed parts of the Medieval and Renaissance Art Collection from the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Cloisters of New York.
Comedian Gary Delena, who had performed on Showtime and HBO, performed at Dickinson on September 10, 1988. Delena's jokes were relevant to Dickinson: he had successfully done his research about the College, making many jokes that were specific to the events happening on campus. Part of Delena's act were his impersonations of various well-known artists, such as Bob Marley and Rick Astley.
Kendall-Bardarson Dance Ensemble performed six pieces in Mather's Theater. The pieces included "Allegro I alla Ballincine", "Divertissement", "Fortune in Our Eyes", "Ananse", and "Androgyny". In their last piece, "The Unanswered Question," college students danced with the ensemble.
Dickinson College Follies performed "Once Upon a Mattress" in Anita Tuvin Schlechter Auditorium from November 9th to 11th. The theater was set up as a "in the round" style, which had not happened at Dickinson for a number of years.
The Zero Moving Dance Company performed two pieces "Riverways" and "Nightales" at Dickinson College on November 1, 1978.
Keith Berger, a mime, performed in Anita Tuvin Schlechter Auditorium on November 6, 1978. Berger previously performed at the celebration of President Carter's Inauguration at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC.
The Mermaid Players performed Inherit the Wind, a dramatization of the trial of John T. Scopes. Scopes was charged in 1925 with teaching evolution, which was illegal in Tennessee at the time.
On April 16th, the Third-Annual Quad Rock was hosted. The event was created in 1986 and was originally hosted by the Interfraternity-Council (IFC). For the 1988 concert, the Concert Committee paid for the event to happen, due to Senate and IFC monetary conflicts. It was hosted in the Quads Residential Neighborhood and only campus musicians and bands performed. The artists were: Cosson, No Vacancy, John Mosley & Greg Monte, Meatless Moussaka, the Crazy Epsters, and Probable Cause. The bands played from 2 p.m.
On Tuesday, April 2, 1986, Duane Michals, a noted American photographer, presented his work the Weiss Center for the Arts. The exhibit provided an overview of his photographs taken over a period of 38 years, with prose accompanying the collection.
The Spring Arts Festival, which was hosted on the Weiss Center's lawn, began on Saturday April 16th and continued until May 4th with the continued exhibit in the Trout Gallery of student's art-work. On April 16th, many different students' artistic talents were showcased. Students within the Dance department presented four dances followed up by a performance by the Dance Theater Group. Next, the Jazz Ensemble performed despite the cold weather that they experienced.
On Wednesday, October 16, 1985, Dickinson College hosted noted Danish photographer Jacob Holdt and his exhibition entitled American Pictures. This exhibition includes photographs of and interviews with people Holdt met while hitchhiking across the United States between 1971 and 1976. Jacob Holdt accompanied the three hour exhibit with a narration of his experiences, as well as interviews he had recorded with a pocket tape recorder.
The Arts House opened their play of the semester, called "Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All for You," on April 1st at 8 p.m. at ATS. The play also showed on April 2nd. The production, which was directed by sophomore Michael Nassar, was a farce on religion: Sister Mary Ignatius was the main character of the play characterized by her witty commentary on religion . It was written by the playwright Christopher Durang.
"Barefoot in the Park" was performed at Dickinson on March 26th in Rubendall Hall. The play, which was hosted by CAB, was one of many "alternative cultural" events that CAB had been hosting. The comedic play centered on two newly weds and their initial relationship issues.
Miss Mary Burttoff of New York City performed a song recital in the chapel that was very well received by the audience. The program was composed of a series of British, Russian, and American songs.
Sonia Sanchez, a renowned poet, activist and scholar, visited the Holland Union Building on Tuesday, April 17, 1984 to present her poetry and discuss her work. During her reading, Sanchez presented the short story "How the Rain was Made", followed by poetry readings of "Poem at Thirty", "Short Poem", "A Poem for my Father", "Summer Voice of a Sister Addict", among other works.
On June 24th the Toronto Consort returned to Dickinson to perform music from the 12th to 16th century.
During the week of March 1st, the Multicultural Fair hosted two performances. On March 3rd, Min's Karate School of Carlisle was hosted by the Korean Students Association. Students from the School performed basic and complicated forms of karate while Master Min impressed the crowd with complex and seemingly dangerous movements, displaying the discipline of the mind and body that karate requires. On March 4th, the East Asian Club hosted Hon-Jun Guan, a professional Peking Opera performer.
On the weekend of March 4-6th, the Congress of Afro-American Students (CAAS) hosted the Black Arts Festival to raise awareness within the Dickinson community of African American contributions to the world. The first performance was held on Friday, March 4th called "The First Black President." The show stared Dennis Rahim Watson who presented the possible attitudes and policies that an African-American President may have if in office. The performance was staged as a mock press conference and the views expressed were not for or against any political party.
Moving Target, a modern dance company created by Christine Vilardo, an assistant professor of dance at Dickinson, performed on March 5 and March 6, 1988. The performances focused on the intricacy of movement: one dance piece, entitled "Nestlings," had dancers act as birds would in nature. Some criticized the performances for being too complex and hard to understand while others praised the performance as being innovative and highly creative.
The Follies performed "A Magical Evening on Broadway", opening on Saturday, March 5th. The show was performed in the Union Station in the Holland Union Building (HUB). The show had an array of numbers from musicals like "Pippin" and "Annie" and "The Whiz."
The Dickinson College Jazz Ensemble performed on February 26th under the direction of Buzz Jones Big Band, a professional group of musicians who traveled to perform at other schools and jazz exhibitions.
Dickinson College hosted the Peking Opera with Hong-Jun Guan in the Rubendall Recital Hall on March 4th.
The Congress of African Students presented a three day Black Arts Festival. Events included a lecture on Ghana, a talent show, and a gospel choir.
The Mermaid Players performed "The Rope" and "Huey" by Eugene O'Neill in Matthers Theatre on March 5 and March 6.