2024–25 Season

Illuminations: “Fractured History”

Illuminations connects groundbreaking UC Berkeley scholarship to themes taken up by the world-class music, dance, and theater presented by Cal Performances. Illuminations programming, which includes performances, panel discussions, lecture demonstrations, Q&As, and more, sheds light on pressing topics with the power to transform our understanding of the world and shape the future.

Our understanding of history is neither static nor complete; rather, it is dynamic and ever-changing due to the malleability of our collective memory. Examining the evolution of our historical narratives often entails reevaluating our collective understanding of the truth, and finding new sources and voices with the potential to add layers to our understanding. Through this year’s theme of “Fractured History”, we aim to explore and expand our understanding of the past. In partnership with campus thought leaders, Illuminations performances and public programs investigate what gets lost when we abridge complex events, how we might “zoom out” to be more inclusive in historical perspective, and what role the arts can play in restoring nuance to the way we view our past, present, and future.

Surrealism, Appropriation, and Reconciliation in Messiaen’s Harawi
Fri, Sep 27
6:30–7:45pm
Zellerbach Hall Mezzanine
Free for ticket holders

The Illuminations: “Fractured History” performance of Olivier Messiaen’s Harawi will be preceded by a round table discussion in which a group of scholars and practitioners explore the ethical and aesthetic facets of Harawi. Messiaen modeled his 1945 song cycle on the Andean harawi lament tradition, adapting and recomposing traditional melodies he found in a published collection of Inca music and inserting untranslated blocks of text in the Quechua language into the French poetry. This staging by the American Modern Opera Company approaches the bodies of the singer and dancers as living archives imprinted with traces of Messiaen’s personal circumstances when he composed the songs and of the ancient tradition that animated his complex rhythms and melodies.

How can we come to terms with the fact that Messiaen’s style owes so much to unacknowledged, and sometimes misunderstood, indigenous models? How can a dramatic staging of the song cycle help to confront and perhaps partly reconcile Messaien’s debt? This round table will reflect on the entanglement of avant garde aesthetics, mysticism, and cultural appropriation in this fascinating performance.

Panelists Bios >

Step Afrika!
The Migration: Reflections on Jacob Lawrence
Pre-performance Q&A
Sat, Nov 2
7–7:45pm
Zellerbach Hall Mezzanine
Free for ticket holders

All ticketholders for the Saturday evening performance are invited to join us on the Zellerbach Hall Mezzanine for a pre-performance Q&A from 7–7:45pm. Jovan Scott Lewis, chair of UC Berkeley’s Geography Department, will be interviewing C. Brian Williams, founder and executive director of Step Afrika!, along with Antwan Davis, Bay Area music and dance educator and former member of Step Afrika!. The Q&A will discuss the making of the work as well as its relation to Cal Performances’ Illuminations: “Fractured History” theme.

Dover Quartet
Pre-performance Q&A
Sun, Nov 3
2:15–2:45pm
Hertz Hall
Free for ticket holders

All ticketholders for this performance are invited to join us in Hertz Hall for a pre-performance Q&A from 2:15–2:45pm. Bay Area-based Native American dancer and scholar Eddie Madril will be interviewing Dover violinist Joel Link and cellist Camden Shaw  The Q&A will discuss the quartet’s program and its relation to Cal Performances’ Illuminations: “Fractured History” theme.

This Land is Our Land, Featuring Martha Redbone Roots Project and American Patchwork Quartet
Songwriting Workshop
Thu, Feb 27
4–6pm
Room 250 at Morrison Hall (UC Berkeley Department of Music)

A songwriting workshop for UC Berkeley students is planned with Martha Redbone and band member Aaron Whitby. Participation is by application. The workshop is presented in collaboration with UC Berkeley’s Department of Music and the Arts Research Center. More Information.

This Land is Our Land, Featuring Martha Redbone Roots Project and American Patchwork Quartet
Post-performance Q&A
Fri, Feb 28
Immediately following the performance
Zellerbach Hall
Free for ticket holders

In this post-performance Q&A, Beth Piatote, director of the Arts Research Center and associate professor of English and Comparative Literature at UC Berkeley, will interview Martha Redbone and members of the American Patchwork Quartet. The conversation will cover the artists’ performance and its relation to Cal Performances’ Illuminations: “Fractured History” theme. This Q&A is co-presented by UC Berkeley’s Arts Research Center.

William Kentridge’s The Great Yes, The Great No
Pre-performance Panel: “Surreal Histories”
Fri, Mar 14
6–7pm
Zellerbach Playhouse
Free and open to the public

In this pre-performance conversation with William Kentridge, we will consider the historical setting of the boat crossing depicted in The Great Yes, The Great No, as well as its creative reimagining. How does this work invite us to experience the sea journey as a crossing of different yet intertwined histories (of colonial domination, of fascist occupation, of refugee flight)? In what ways does it transform our sense of history as well as our present moment and possible futures?

The panel is co-presented by UC Berkeley’s Center for Interdisciplinary Critical Inquiry and will be moderated by Debarati Sanyal, the center’s director. Panelists include artist William Kentridge; Karl Britto, Associate Dean of Arts & Humanities at UC Berkeley; and Shannon Jackson, Cyrus & Michelle Hadidi Professor of the Arts & Humanities at UC Berkeley.

Story Boldly’s Defining Courage
Post-performance Panel: The Legacy of Nisei Soldiers, Storytelling, and the Fight for Justice
Fri, Apr 4
Immediately following the performance
Zellerbach Hall
Free for ticket holders

During World War II, while their families were unjustly incarcerated in US incarceration camps, thousands of young Japanese American men (“Nisei soldiers”) served in the US military, demonstrating extraordinary bravery in battle. Yet their contributions have long been overlooked, their history fractured by racism, wartime hysteria, and erasure.

This post-performance panel, moderated by Michael Omi, professor emeritus of UC Berkeley’s Department of Ethnic Studies, brings together David Ono, creator of Defining Courage; Philip Kan Gotanda, playwright and director of Both Eyes Open, and professor of UC Berkeley’s Department of Theater, Dance, and Performance Studies; Don Tamaki, attorney and advocate for Japanese American reparations; and Jovan Scott Lewis, professor and chair of UC Berkeley’s Department of Geography. Together, the panel will discuss how different forms of storytelling, including performance, journalism, and legal advocacy, can correct this historical record and bring greater awareness to untold or misrepresented histories.

Discussion will include such questions as: How can artistic and journalistic storytelling make their history resonate with new generations? What lessons can be drawn from the Japanese American redress movement for broader reparations efforts? And, in an era of shifting media and political landscapes, what are the ongoing challenges in fighting for justice and recognition?

Join us for a thought-provoking conversation on how fractured histories can be reclaimed and brought to the forefront of public consciousness.