Where could you see painting, dancing, musical composition, and singing at the same time? The Visual and Performing Arts (VAPA) students put on an Arts Improv Tuesday evening. They introduced the audience to their version of a “happening.”

According to Tina Mullone, the head of the VAPA performance, “happenings” are mixed media improvisations that can be structured or experiments that occur ‘in the moment’.” Well-known versions of Happenings include flash mobs. Students came out dressed in blue and white uniforms. The audience enjoyed the best of both worlds, enjoying the music and dance, while seeing works of art transpire before their eyes.

The purpose of this improv was to make the campus aware of what the Arts Department has to offer.  The VAPA students introduced us to something most of us never see anymore.

“It was a beautiful mixture of the arts,” says Loretta Collins, a communications graduate student.

The show was not only a treat for the audience, but also for the VAPA students. Chesney Musgrove, a
junior painting major, talks about how the students do not get a chance to interact with the other arts in their department. Musgrove said she’s really enjoyed working with her fellow VAPA artists.

Dancers showed their creativity as they danced with ribbons and umbrellas. At one point in the performance, some dancers gave the audience the impression that it was raining. They would freeze when the music ended and dance more dramatically as the music became more dramatic.

The three painters started off with their own canvases. The painters rotated canvases about three times within the performance, adding to their fellow artist’s painting. At the end of the performance, the audience was left with a beautiful art piece.

Mullone said everyone who participated in the improv was able to give ideas on what he or she wanted to perform.

“The entire show is one huge collaboration. In this case, everyone is the choreographer and the performer,” Mullone said.