Brown Club of DC

Join us for an evening dance performance of Conference of the Birds, conceived, choreographer, and directed by Wendy Jehlen (‘94).  Inspired by Sufi poet Farid Ud din Attar, Conference symbolizes the journey that we, the diversity that is humanity, take together.  It is a story of found community and the necessity of difference told through a unique movement language.  

In the classic Sufi text, The Conference of the Birds tells the tale of a group of birds that set off in search of the mythical bird, the Simurgh (Farsi for “thirty birds”). Many of the birds abandon the quest. When the remaining birds arrive in the land of the Simurgh, they find themselves reflected – they are the Simurgh. Recontextualizing this tale illuminates both its historical meanings and our current moment in history, bringing full circle the idea that human history is a history of movement, mingling, and entanglements.

Brown will present the work next fall through the new Center for Middle East Studies and the Theater and Performance Studies departments.

Wendy Jehlen is the artistic director and founder of ANIKAYA Dance Theater. Her career has been marked by international explorations, study, and creative collaboration. Her unique approach to choreography incorporates elements of Bharata Natyam, Odissi, Capoeira, Kalaripayattu, West African dance, Butoh, and a wide range of contemporary movement forms. Her emotionally powerful choreography has been created and performed in the US, Canada, Italy, India, Japan, Korea, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Turkey, with current collaborative projects in Benin, Japan, India, Brazil, and Turkey.

Brown attendees will enjoy a short meet-and-greet with Wendy Jehlen following the performance.

Tickets are limited, so reserve your seat on Bravo today! 

Photo credit: Gary Alpert.

RESCHEDULED FROM SPRING 2019. The Brown Book Club will meet on Sunday, November 10 in McLean, VA to discuss Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly by Anthony Bourdain (nonfiction, 312 pp, 2000). We’ll begin at 6PM with dinner, then go on to discussion. Please RSVP by Friday, November 8 by contacting the event organizer, who will provide location information. Mention any food allergies, and bring $6 – $8 for the meal.

“Utterly riveting, swaggering with stylish machismo and precise ear for kitchen patois.” (New York Magazine)

“You’ll laugh, you’ll cry…you’re gonna love it.” (Denver Post)

“The kind of book you read in one sitting, then rush about annoying your coworkers by declaiming whole passages.” (USA Today)

Bourdain captures the world of restaurants and professionally cooked food in all its theatrical, demented glory. (USA Today)

“A gonzo memoir of whats really going on behind those swinging doors…. Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain is unique.” (Newsweek)

“Bourdain’s prose is utterly riveting, swaggering with stylish machismo and a precise ear for kitchen patois.” (New York magazine)

“Hysterical…. Bourdain gleefully rips through the scenery to reveal private backstage horrors.” (New York Times Book Review)

Registration for our annual fall membership event is open!  Professor Matthew Gutmann will give a talk on toxic masculinity, in light of his upcoming book, Are Men Animals?  How Modern Masculinity Sells Men Short.  Stay tuned for more info about the moderator.  Light fare will be provided and a cash bar will be available.  Please pay attention to the ticket options so you can select the one that’s right for you!