The Detroit Film Theatre will end its 50th Anniversay Season with a holiday gift for DIA visitors; a special matinee screening of Charlie Chaplin’s classic silent film The Circus, presented with a live score composed and performed by virtuoso silent film pianist David Drazin. 

Chaplin’s extraordinary blend of comedy and heart shines as his iconic Tramp stumbles into the ring of a traveling circus and soon becomes the star of the show and falling for a charming equestrian artist along the way. This perfect comedy ranks among Chaplin’s most iconic, with audacious set pieces, close brushes with a lion and a climactic tightrope walk with a company of monkeys. For all ages.

“There's an edge to The Circus that suggests a man gazing deep into the void, laughing at the darkness and urging us to do the same.” -Keith Uhlich, Time Out

Featuring Vijay Iyer, piano
Detroit Chamber Winds & Strings

Holi is known around the world as a joyful, chaotic, and colorful Indian celebration of springtime. In response to Stravinsky’s own famously chaotic Le Sacré du Printemps. pianist and composer Vijay Iyer, and filmmaker Prashant Bhargava were intrigued by the possible connection with Holi. Radhe, Radhe: Rites of Holi is a journey of devotion for the goddess Radha, where Iyer and Bhargava answer back to the Sacré score and with a new work for chamber ensemble and film. This performance will be an encounter between live music and film, lived experience and myth. 

Topic: Fragonard's Landscapes: An Enlightenment Journey

Join the European Paintings Council for a public lecture on renowned 18th century French painter, Jean Honoré Fragonard, by Associate Director of Collections at the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, Richard Rand.

Richard Rand has worked as a curator and museum administrator for over thirty-five years, including at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Hood Museum of Art at Dartmouth College, and the Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, Massachusetts. Rand has published and lectured widely on French art from the 17th through the 19th centuries and has organized numerous exhibitions on such artists as Jacques Louis David, Jean Honoré Fragonard, Claude Lorrain, Jean-François Millet, Winslow Homer, Camille Pissarro, and J.M.W. Turner. In recent years, Rand has organized several exhibitions of contemporary artists, including Juan Muñoz, El Anatsui, and Ellsworth Kelly. He was one of the presenting curators of the exhibition Cy Twombly: Making Past Present (Getty and MFA, Boston, 2022-23). Rand received his BA in studio art and art history from Bowdoin College and his PhD in art history from the University of Michigan. In 2011 he was made Chevalier des arts et des lettres by the French government.

Jean Honoré Fragonard, Landscape with Passing Shower, between 1765 and 1775, oil on canvas. Detroit Institute of Arts, Founders Society Purchase with funds from Mr. and Mrs. Edgar B. Whitcomb, 48.215.

Detroit Story Fest 2024 is coming to town, and we’re excited to announce Friends of Detroit Film Theatre is partnering with Back Pocket Media to bring the most unforgettable local stories to the DFT stage.

Story Fest brings to the stage everything you love about podcasts, film, and journalism: suspense, depth, humor, and unforgettable characters. It's a celebration of the city we love. The performance will feature stories from The Free Press, Michigan Public, BridgeDetroit, WDET, Chalkbeat Detroit, the Metro Times, Planet Detroit, Model D and more. Combined with live music and drinks, Detroit Story Fest will spin an unforgettable evening of curiosity and intrigue.

Detroit Story Fest is sponsored by the Knight Foundation and the Friends of the Detroit Film Theatre. Tickets are available online in advance through Story Fest.

Learn about the history and contemporary applications of Risograph, alongside a printmaking demonstration with Detroit artist Rachel Delmotte. Participants will experiment with analog mark-making techniques to create their own riso print to take home.

Materials and supplies are provided, and all levels of experience are welcome.

This program is made possible by the PNC Foundation.

"Rebuilding Abundance with Ecologically Rich and Evocative Planting," featuring Claudia West, Principal, Phyto Studio, Arlington, VA.

Our cities and suburbs desperately need more inspiring, ecologically rich planting. Yet budgets are tight, and crews and gardeners are often unfamiliar with diverse planting typologies. Claudia will share the techniques her landscape architecture firm, Phyto Studio, applies to tackle the maintenance challenge and create ecologically rich and inspiring planting.

Detroit Dance City Festival's Dance & Celebration program brings together world-renowned dancers and choreographers to provide a fitting end to a weekend full of dance. Featuring works by inventive choreographers who play with movement, light, and sound to create expressive works that emotionally impact the audience, this showcase is truly a celebration of dance and is not to be missed!

This year’s celebration features the works of:

• ArtLab J I
• Norberto Collazo
• Young Soon Kim
• ArtLab J for Grown-Ups
• DDCF 2024 Best Dance on Screen

This program is free with museum admission. Limited capacity seating begins 30 minutes prior to performance. Ticket reservations are required from detroitdancecityfestival.com

Detroit Dance City Festival (DDCF) is an annual community building event curated by ArtLab J that celebrates dance in its various forms and disciplines. DDCF brings the work of renowned local, national, and international performing artists, choreographers, and companies to the stage in a weekend full of performances, master classes and networking events. For full festival lineup, please check out detroitdancecityfestival.com

Part of Detroit Dance City Festival ’s Master Class series, Dance for the Camera II is a new addition to the festival. The workshops, taught by Shirel Jones and Kelsey Paschich, are the perfect opportunity for dancers and filmmakers to learn skills within choreography, performance, camera work, and editing. For dancers 13 years or older with all levels of experience.

Workshops are $50 for two and $30 for one. Tickets can be purchased at detroitdancecityfestival.com

Detroit Dance City Festival (DDCF) is an annual community building event curated by ArtLab J that celebrates dance in its various forms and disciplines. DDCF brings the work of renowned local, national, and international performing artists, choreographers, and companies to the stage in a weekend full of performances, master classes and networking events. For full festival lineup, please check out detroitdancecityfestival.com

Detroit Dance City Festival's College Showcase and Choreographers program was developed to give platform and agency to collegiate choreographers, professors, and guests artists to present their newest work. Get ready for an evening of exciting dance!

This year’s showcase features:

• Kara Roseborough, University of Michigan
• Thayer Jonutz, Oakland University
• Kaleigh Estby, Hope College
• Kayt MacMaster, Alma College
• Roderck George, Western Michigan University
• June Wallace, Oakland University
• Sarra LaCour, Hope College
• Katie Katfield, Western Michigan University
• Chloe Ryherd, Lindenwood University

This program also includes new works by local, national and international artists, and dancers, including:

• Hot Crowd Dance
• Lauren Blair Smith Dance Company
• Carolyn Pavlik
• Ashlyn Works
• Techmoja Dance and Theatre Company

This program is free with museum admission. Limited capacity seating begins 30 minutes prior to performance. Ticket reservations are required from detroitdancecityfestival.com

Detroit Dance City Festival (DDCF) is an annual community building event curated by ArtLab J that celebrates dance in its various forms and disciplines. DDCF brings the work of renowned local, national, and international performing artists, choreographers, and companies to the stage in a weekend full of performances, master classes and networking events. For full festival lineup, please check out detroitdancecityfestival.com

This year’s FAAAA Annual Meeting will feature "A Performance Celebrating Sango, the Yoruba God of Thunder." This special presentation on Sango, the powerful and enigmatic God of Thunder of the Yoruba people, will highlight select art in the DIA’s African gallery. These Sango-related art pieces include key ritual emblems and the recreated shrine, a one-of-a-kind installation inspired by a well-known historic shrine that is now defunct.

Abiodun Omolara Williams, a woman of Yoruba descent who is also a Michigander and former radio broadcaster for "Voice of Nigeria," will perform songs, chants, and dances exploring Sango’s rich history and enduring legacy in Yoruba culture across the globe.

The event is free and open to the public. A reception will follow.