Arts to take center stage in campuswide fair

Bustling Harvard Square will resemble one giant stage for three days beginning May 5 during the annual Arts First Performance Fair. Sponsored by Harvard Office for the Arts (OfA), the annual fair celebrates students and faculty in the arts through more than 225 music, theater, dance, film, and visual arts events – most of them free of charge. This year will feature South African gumboot dancing, a Japanese tea ceremony, and a performance of “Gilbert and Sullivan,” among others.A sampling of this year’s events: The Performance Fair includes more than 100 free music, dance, and film events in and around the Yard on May 7 from 1 to 5 p.m. The 50th anniversary celebration of the Bach Society Orchestra, featuring acclaimed soloists Stefan Jackiw ’07 and Professor Robert Levin ’68 on May 7 at 8 p.m, Sanders Theatre. Art Walk, highlighting several exhibitions of work by students, May 5, 7:30-9 p.m. Outdoor Stage, May 6, and Bandfest on May 8 at Holyoke Center. Both events run from noon to 6 p.m. A parade down Massachusetts Avenue to a welcoming event in the Yard, May 7, 11 a.m. Brahms’ “Requiem,” presented by the Harvard Glee Club, Radcliffe Choral Society, and Harvard-Radcliffe Collegium Musicum, May 6 at 8 p.m., Sanders Theatre. A conversation moderated by Jorie Graham, Boylston Professor of Rhetoric and Oratory, with poet and 2005 Harvard Arts Medal recipient Maxine Kumin ’46, B.I. ’63, May 6 at 4 p.m., Barker Center. Limited seating. Productions of “The Oresteia,” “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum,” “Damn Yankees,” “Sweet Bird of Youth,” “Y2K,” “Picasso at the Lapin Agile,” and (outdoors) “Twelfth Night.”For more information on Arts First 2005, contact the OfA at (617) 495-8676, or visit http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~arts/. Most events are handicapped accessible.