ELM STREET PLAZA (BRICK PIAZZA AREA OUTSIDE STARBUCKS)
ArtBeat Saturday, July 19th

"Class Acts"

Class Acts is a radical performance troupe that views theater as a potential for social change. The group creates art that entertains while challenging and pushing limits, seeking to make a difference in our community. Class Acts believes that art, beauty, and fun are not simply luxuries or frills, but should be part of every day life. (2 separate performances.)

Butoh Dance Performance (Deborah Butler)

Butoh is a dance expression that emerged out of post-WWII Japan. During a time of heavy Westernization and atomic disaster, many Japanese artists sought expression that moved towards more authentic self-identification. Tatsumi Hijikata developed Ankoku Butoh, which translates to "dance of the dark soul." Almost 50 years later Butoh has evolved and branched out all over the world and is in a constant state of change. Deborah Butler, founding member of The Moving Laboratory, developed KITSUNEbutoh in October 2002. Working with the KITSUNEbutoh dancers, Butler has choreographed a special outdoor piece for ArtBeat called "Calling From Here."

Sons & Daughters of Alexander the Great--Greek Dance

OUTDOORS IN DAVIS SQUARE
ArtBeat Saturday, July 19th

Lifeguards on Duty

Because the Somerville Arts Council holds safety in high regard, lifeguards will be on duty throughout the day. Head guard Sandy Beach (pictured above) and team will ensure swimmers safety from a lifeguard chair on a Davis Square traffic island. Note: No rafts or tubes and horseplay is strictly prohibited. Also, obey the "Do Not Remove" paper strip while trying on bathing suits. Sanitation is serious.

Performance and Interactive Art

In Statue Park, festival goers will find an Art Café, where the ever-courteous and creative waitstaff will bring you pieces of art to nourish your soul. Also in that area, try your hand at illustration at the Interactive Comix table. In the heart of Davis Square (where Broadway, Holland and Elm streets meet), "Plein Air" Painters will depict various vistas. In Seven Hills Park, Jennifer Pipp will create "Little Digs," an installation that explores the aesthetic of construction sites. And finally, by the Someday Café, the Walnut Street Center, working with Adults with developmental disabilities, will create a Multi-cultural Tapestry using a "human loom."

STATUE PARK: JUST FOR KIDS
ArtBeat Saturday, July 19th

Art Activities

Building on the Spaces/Places theme, children will be able to explore "No Peek Mystery Boxes," cardboard boxes filled with various objects that simulate a certain place (beach, bathroom, etc.). There will also be Flag Making--where kids can create colorful flags of real or imaginary places with paper, fabric, ribbon and crayons--and Castle Building, where children can create regal cardboard spaces with turrets, doorways and windows using old boxes, paper and masking tape. And back, by popular demand, is sidewalk chalk drawing.

Tufts Travelling Treasure Trunk

Tufts' only children's theatre troupe started in 1987. It is a student-run, community service group that tours around the greater Boston area and raises money for charities. In addition, Trunk writess its own plays, directs its own shows, and makes its own costumes. Trunk will per form two whimsical pieces especially geared toward children, at 1pm and 3pm, in Statue Park.