On April 24, Columbia College Chicago held its 10th-anniversary performance of Gender Fusions at the Center on Halsted.
Vice President of Student Affairs Mark Kelly was on hand to greet guests on the outdoor roof terrace prior to the event. Amongst the social chatter in the spring afternoon sunshine, people were invited to make their own recycled paper.
Additional photos at the link: www.windycitymediagroup.com/gay/lesbian/news/photospreadthumbs.php .
While indoors, there was a pre-performance reception with food, drinks and live DJ. Students and family dancing to the beats anxiously awaiting the program's start.
"Normally, we have this event at the college," Mark Kelly said. "This year is the first year we are holding it at the Center on Halsted." Precious Davis is a native Nebraskan who graduated from Columbia College and became one of the first transgender people to be on staff at the Center."
The Gender Fusions program gives LGBTQ and supportive students an outlet to perform queer productions. Music, interpretive dance, poetry and queer story reading were among some types of performances given over the show.
Some very intense performances were from students dealing with life experiences of home life rejection for coming out as gay to a beautiful interpretive dance of two men, joined together and torn apart at the ending.
These young adults definitely struck emotional chords in the audience repeatedly with many of the performances. They are clearly and distinctly getting their messaging across through the varying mediums.
Hosts Alex Kessler and Precious Davis were equally entertaining and appealing to the packed Center theater. With their "off-the-cuff" style humor to Alex working his cape down the catwalk, the crowd was left in stitches by this improv duo.
This event is worth attending in future installations. Anyone who has grown up LGBTQ will definitely connect with the productions these youth put out.
