Berrie Center for Performing and Visual Arts

Made in Jersey

Made in Jersey will feature a series of New Jersey based performing artists sharing new works-in-
progress. After each broadcast, audiences will be able to join the artist in a live chat where they can ask
questions.

Featured performances: Elizabeth Walsh, Michelle Myers, Kiran Rajagopalan, Kyle Marshall, and Alexa Marino

Click to View Schedule of Performances and Live Q&A’s!

April 29, 2021 at 8:00pm- Kyle Marshall presents I&I (in progress)

In this solo dance work-in-progress, choreographer and dancer Kyle Marshall states “as a member of the diaspora, I have often felt distant from my maternal homeland, Jamaica. I and I is an exploration of my Jamaican body. This process has directed me towards my family’s migration story, Caribbean dance, and historical research, and uncovering the global cultural impact of this mighty Caribbean island.”

Born into a family of runners, motion is at the core of Marshall’s being. At times, this process is biographic and heartfelt as he works to undo shame he has felt about his sexuality, dance to music of his childhood, or ask his mother for traditional recipes to try. At other times, Marshall is embodying ideas rooted in collective memory and Jamaican pop culture which step beyond his personal narrative. Marshall shares, “as someone who grew up in a Jamaican-American household, and visited the island throughout my childhood, the distance and comfort I feel about cultural traditions makes me question what an authentic Jamaican experience is. I understand culture to be an embodied experience taught to us by our elders, shaped by our environment, and reinforced by our consumption of media. My bloodline is one of generational migration in search of opportunity and land of our own.”  As a member of the diaspora, Marshall is a mix of cultural influences. Shaped by the country in which he resides, linked to his mother’s island and the wild dream of ancestors forced to arrive on the shores of Jamaica from Africa. I and I attempts to bridge these worlds, connecting his body to its origins and beyond.

The title I and I is a Rastafarian term for oneness with God. It is a concept that God is within each of us and therefore we are all connected to each other through this bond. In Jamaican Patois, “I and I” would replace “you and I” or “we”. Like much of the language, “I and I’’ derives from the Twi language of Ghana, translating to “Me ne me.” Bob Marley, a Rastafarian himself, expressed this in another way, “one love, one heart”. That in loving myself as I am, I uplift the spirit within me and am better able to celebrate the spirit within you.

Go to Event Information

Bringing Home Berrie

Bringing Home Berrie is our new virtual program series designed to provide you with some exciting conversations and performances featuring Ramapo College faculty, students, alumni, and guest artists. Watch here for additions to our schedule as we announce new videos on our YouTube Channel including Leaning into the Unknown, Made in Jersey, Faculty Film Series and more to come!  For our unticketed events, we encourage you to think about a gift to the Contemporary Arts Fund or the COVID-19 Student Emergency fund at the Ramapo Foundation at www.ramapo.edu/give

 

International Education at Ramapo College: An Overview

Ramapo College is committed to providing students with global academic opportunities. In this video, Assistant Director of International Education, Kate LaMmanna, interviews 5 Ramapo College study abroad alumni who discuss their motivations, experiences, impacts and provide advice for prospective students.

This video features the following Ramapo alumni: Alex Goranov (Australia) Andreina Santamaria (India) Brandon Blumer (Japan) Brook Tweeten (England) Nora Dougherty (Spain)

Look out for the next video where we will introduce you to international students who have come to Ramapo to learn and experience American culture.d!

For more information about Ramapo College’s Roukema Center for International Education, please visit https://www.ramapo.edu/international/

View All Videos

 

Theater Rethought

Because the Theater Program will not be able to produce in-person productions this year, the faculty collectively has made the following plan. All live events will start at 8pm. All productions will be broadcast using Zoom, Webex or other virtual platform.

 

Full Schedule

Box Office

Art Galleries

Galleries are closed during the summer and winter break and for some State holidays.
For more information call: (201) 684-7147

This program is made possible in part by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts.