Spirit Week Staff Talent Show!

Rene Cortez singing opera.

Shelley RuggThorp singing with the students from our group The Hi-Hopes in accompaniment.

Vera plays the flute with Susie on piano.

SuzAnne singing opera.

Steven Noguera playing classical guitar.

Lisa brightening up the stage with comedy.

The Hope University students enjoying the staff talent show.

Michele V. & Vera O. sing karaoke for the students.

Our Spirit Week continued with a Staff Talent Show.  All of the staff at Hope University are artists in their own right.  Hope has visual artists, writers, singers, performers, musicians, painters and fiber artists.  On the day of the Staff Talent show, some of the performing artists were able to show off their craft.  The students were treated to a wonderful show of opera, classical guitar, flute, piano, and a comedy performances.  Shelley RuggThorp sang with some of the students from our performing group 'The Hi-Hopes' as accompaniment.  The students enjoyed seeing their instructors on stage and marveled at their amazing talents. 

Students Rehearse for Beau Monde Float

Beau Monde Float is coming up fast! The staff and students of Hope U are rehearsing dances, arranging music and making sets and costumes. Here we have Marvin Castillo playing a traditional Djembe drum, which is used in the opening drum circle pictured. Next are staff, guest artists and students working together on the electronic sound effects. This performance has complex sound and visual components coordinated through laptop computers. The music is evocative and haunting. The visuals are a compilation of student artwork, movement and sounds. An origional score was created by the guest artists from MLuM. The sets were designed, knitted, painted and sculpted by the students at Hope University. The performace is interactive and audience participatory. A wonder to behold! We hope that you will join us for this one of a kind show that will delight your eyes and your heart.

One Night Only Beau Monde Float!

Beau Monde Float is back for one night only! If you missed this amazing performance last year you will not want to miss it this month. Have you ever wondered about 'beauty'? What does it mean? Who is beautiful? What is beautiful? How is it different for different people? How about people with different abilities? What does it look like? How does it sound?
Beau Monde Float, Thirteen Six Views of Sound Beauty may just answer some of these questions and possibly raise several more! This performance is a poignant and passionate celebration of the vitality of the human spirit and the beauty in us all.
Developed through a collaboration between Hope University and the artist group MLuM, Beau Monde Float, Thirteen Six views of Sound Beauty is a profoundly moving experience that takes audiences on a journey exploring the nature of Beauty.
About this original sound and performance art production, Director Marco Schindelmann says, "It doesn't have a narrative. It does not have to be understood, but should simply be experienced. In our culture, people frequently expect to be instructed by 'a greater will' as to what to think, what to buy, what to expect, how to live, etc. Beau Monde Float is about making connections that are personal and not based on outside expectations. Beau Monde Float hopes to present a world in which people create their own personal mythologies and entertainments. It is a dream parade, an aesthetic circus, mystical vaudeville or whatever else the spectator-auditor imagines it to be"
This piece is truly an experience and the Hope University students have created a dream world of beauty to be enjoyed by all. We hope you can attend this performance of Beau Monde Float as it is a celebration which shows us that beauty is and is not always in the eyes of the beholder.
Here we have Tina Gopinath painting set pieces, Lori Slikker knitting part of the stage set and a close up photo from the costume of Karen Leeb who portrays 'Eternity' in Beau Monde Float.
Beauty is Eternal.
Please see the 'Upcoming Events' section at the right of this page for location, times and ticket information.