MAJOR is a dance theater project—directed and choreographed by inaugural Gus Solomons Jr. Visiting Artist Ogemdi Ude—exploring the history and physicality of majorette dance with a team of Southern Black femmes embodying the movement of their girlhood. The piece preserves, transforms, and continues majorette legacy by integrating majorette movement, documentary theater, a live marching band, and an online interview-based archive. Through investigations of physical memory, sexuality, and sensuality, MAJOR preserves and proliferates the creative practices and stories of the folks who taught the team how to be proudly Black and proudly femme.The Gus Solomons Jr. Visiting Artist Series is a new initiative that brings a contemporary dance artist to the MIT Theater Arts program in order to share and create their work with students and MIT’s broader community. Selected artists will, in the spirit of both Gus and MIT Theater, exemplify openness, embody empathy, expand the contemporary performance world on a national and/or international scale, and bring their unique individuality to their work—inspiring others to do the same.Ogemdi Ude (she/her) is a Black queer femme dance and interdisciplinary artist, educator, and doula based in Brooklyn. Her performance work focuses on Black femme legacies and futures, grief, and memory. Her work has been presented at The Kitchen, Gibney, Harlem Stage, Danspace Project, Abrons Arts Center, BRIC, ISSUE Project Room, Recess Art, Brooklyn Arts Exchange, Center for Performance Research, and for BAM's DanceAfrica festival. As an educator, she has taught at The New School, Princeton University, Sarah Lawrence College, and University of the Arts. She is a 2025-2028 Jerome Hill Artist Fellow, 2024 NEFA National Dance Project Production Grant recipient, a Live Feed Residency Artist at New York Live Arts, and a 2024/2025 BAX Artist-in-Residence. She has been a 2022-2024 Movement Research Artist-in-Residence, 2021 danceWEB Scholar, 2021 Laundromat Project Create Change Artist-in-Residence, and a 2019-2020 Center for Ballet and the Arts at NYU Resident Fellow. In January 2022 she appeared on the cover of Dance Magazine for their annual “25 to Watch” issue. Most recently, she has published a book Watch Me in a collection edited by Thomas DeFrantz and Annie-B Parson: Dance History(s): Imagination as a Form of Study published by Dancing Foxes Press and Wesleyan University Press, and was named a 2025 Jerome Foundation Fellow.

A part of the MIT Artfinity Arts Festival and the inaugural season of events in the Edward and Joyce Linde Music Building at MIT.Friday, February 21st, 7:30pm Thomas Tull Concert Hall Edward and Joyce Linde Music Building (W18), MIT 201 Amherst St, Cambridge, MA 02139Composer Patrick Harlin and Lee and Geraldine Martin Professor of Environmental Studies and Chemistry Susan Solomon will share the stage at MIT’s new Tull Concert Hall for a fireside chat that bridges music and science. Harlin’s work, deeply informed by soundscape ecology, translates environmental patterns into innovative musical expressions. Solomon, whose research on atmospheric chemistry has redefined our understanding of climate systems, brings a scientific perspective grounded in decades of pioneering work. Through conversation, Harlin and Solomon will discuss how exploration—whether charting new musical territories or investigating the Earth’s atmosphere—inspires innovation and sparks new ways of thinking.The discussion will center on building connections between disciplines, highlighting how insights from music, science, and other fields can converge to tackle complex questions and spark collective creativity.About the SpeakersPatrick Harlin’s “aesthetics capture a sense of tradition and innovation…” (The New York Times). His music is permeated by classical, jazz, and electronic music traditions, all underpinned with a love and respect for the great outdoors. His works have been performed by the St. Louis Symphony, the Kansas City Symphony, the Kinetic Ensemble, the Rochester and Calgary Philharmonic Orchestras, Collegium Cincinnati, and Calidore String Quartet, among others. Harlin is the inaugural composer in residence with the Lansing Symphony Orchestra (2019–2023). His interdisciplinary research in soundscape ecology—a field that aims to better understand ecosystems through sound—has taken him to imperiled regions around the world, including the Amazon rainforest and the Book Cliffs of Utah. His baseline recordings for ecological impact studies are also the fodder for artistic inspiration. This work has been supported by a Graham Sustainability Institute Doctoral Fellowship, a Theodore Presser Award, and private support, among others. These pieces draw parallels between the sounds of the natural world and those of the concert hall, seeking to bring awareness to the importance of sound in our environment. Harlin grew up in Seattle, holds a doctorate in music composition from the University of Michigan, and currently resides in Ann Arbor.Full Bio: patrickharlin.comSusan Solomon is the Lee and Geraldine Martin Professor of Environmental Studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Prior to coming to MIT in 2012, she was a scientist at NOAA in Boulder, Colorado and an adjunct professor at the University of Colorado from 1982-2011. Solomon is widely recognized as one of the leaders in the field of atmospheric science. Her scientific papers have provided not only key measurements but also theoretical understanding regarding ozone destruction, especially the role of surface chemistry. In l986 and l987, she served as the Head Project Scientist of the National Ozone Expedition at McMurdo Station, Antarctica and made some of the first measurements there that pointed towards chlorofluorocarbons as the cause of the ozone hole. In l994, an Antarctic glacier was named in her honor in recognition of that work. In March of 2000, she received the National Medal of Science, the United States' highest scientific honor, for "key insights in explaining the cause of the Antarctic ozone hole."Full Bio: ssolomongroup.mit.edu/susansolomonThis event is part of Kinetic Ensemble's CAST Visiting Artists Residency, Artfinity, and the new MTA music building’s opening celebrations.

A celebration of creativity and community at MITArtfinity is a new festival of the arts at MIT featuring 80 free performing and visual arts events, celebrating creativity and community at the Institute. Artfinity launches with the opening of the new Edward and Joyce Linde Music Building on February 15, 2025, continues with a concentration of events February 28-March 16, and culminates with the Eugene McDermott Award in the Arts public lecture by 2025 recipient artist and designer Es Devlin on May 1, 2025, and a concert by Grammy-winning rapper and Visiting Professor Lupe Fiasco on May 2, 2025. Artfinity embodies MIT’s commitment to creativity, community, and the intersection of art, science and technology. We invite you to join us in this celebration, explore the diverse events, and experience the innovative spirit that defines the arts at MIT.About the Artists Artfinity features the innovative work of MIT faculty, students, staff, and alumni, alongside guest artists from the Greater Boston area and beyond.About the Activities & Events All 80 events are open to the public, including dozens of concerts and performances plus an array of visual arts such as projections, films, installations, exhibitions, and augmented reality experiences, as well as lectures and workshops for attendees to participate in. With a wide range of visual and performing arts events open to all, Artfinity embodies MIT’s commitment to the arts and the intersection of art, science, and technology.About the Presenters Artfinity is an institute-sponsored event organized by the Office of the Arts at MIT with faculty leads Institute Professor of Music Marcus Thompson and Professor of Art, Culture and Technology Azra Akšamija. Departments, labs, centers, and student groups across MIT are presenting partners.Visit arts.mit.edu for more information about the arts at MIT.

The Inaugural MIT Sloan School of Management Black Excellence Summit: Through Adversity to Ascent.This summit is a unique and transformative conference designed to empower Black aspiring professionals within the MIT Sloan and broader Boston community. This event is a comprehensive one-stop-shop to networking with prestigious companies, key speakers and panels, and quick access to the most successful Black leaders for their professional networks and potential 1:1 mentorship. This conference offers something for everyone - black and non-black young leaders - as it spans all key industry areas including, but not limited to, finance/investing, leadership, entrepreneurship and technology.

Join MIT’s Ballroom Dance Team and channel your inner movie star and dance the night away to a specially-curated playlist of tunes from romantic comedy movies. We’ll kick off the night with a fun dance lesson, so don’t worry if you’re new to the scene! A light dinner, snacks, and drinks will also be provided.📅 Date: Saturday February 22nd, 2025🕗 Time: 7:00-11:00 pm💃 Beginner Mambo Lesson🪩 Open floor: 8-11 pm🌆 Location: Sala de Puerto Rico🎟️ Admission: $5 MIT & Wellesley students, $10 students, $15 all others (please pay with cash)https://mv-ezproxy-com.ezproxyberklee.flo.org/index.php/2024/07/february-social-dance-4/

After relocating the MIT Museum's vast collection, the project team has selected memorable and noteworthy items for display from the collection's 1.5 million artifacts. Join Assistant Curator of Architecture and Design Jonathan Duval for a tour of Moving Objects to learn about some of the treasures and oddities of the MIT Museum collection.Free with museum admission.