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Arts & Performance

William & Mary students have never met a stage they didn't like. In fact, the first theatre in America was built in Williamsburg in 1716, and twenty years later a group of William & Mary students put on the first student play in the colonies. Whether it's a night of comedy improv, installing a new exhibit at the Muscarelle or Andrews Gallery, or watching a friend's fusion dance team compete, W&M students and faculty immerse themselves in the experience.

Tap into the same creative energy that nurtured the talent of Glenn Close '74, Jon Stewart '84 and Sara Schaefer '00:

  • Two dancers perform a dance together

    Two students perform in the Asian Folklore Performance, the culmination of a five-week session that engulfed the students in the history, culture and artistic tradition of storytelling through dance.

  • Art has the power to transcend boundaries, evoke emotion, and challenge us to see the world in new and beautiful ways. At William & Mary, art is for everyone.

  • A group performs on stage

    W&M’s {{http://www.wm.edu/as/tsd/,theatre, speech and dance department}} put on PIPPIN, a high-flying, death-defying hit musical full of extraordinary acrobatics, wondrous magical feats and soaring songs from the composer of WICKED.

  • Students working in a print studio

    Students create etchings on copper plates in the printmaking studio overlooking Lake Matoaka. At the end of the semester, classmates often create numbered editions of a favorite print to share with one another as a class folio. Students also showcase their work in {{http://www.wm.edu/as/andrewsgallery/,Andrews Gallery}} in various media and studio areas including ceramics, painting, drawing, printmaking, architecture, sculpture and photography.

  • Kristin Hopkins '15

    At W&M, students and professors come together to create amazing collaborations every day. Kristin Hopkins '15 was selected as a student choreographer for the production of ‘Crowns,’ directed by Artisia Green, associate professor of {{http://www.wm.edu/as/tsd/theatre/,theatre}} and {{http://www.wm.edu/as/africanastudies,Africana studies}}.

  • Students playing in the wind symphony

    The Wind Ensemble performed in their winter concert with Paul Bhasin conducting. W&M's music department is home to a variety of traditional, non-traditional and world-music {{http://www.wm.edu/as/music/ensembles/,ensembles}}, with auditions open to both majors and non-majors alike.

  • Students of Hip-Hop Legacy, Talk to Plants and The Masaharu Effect opened for headliner Frankie Cosmos at WCWM Fest. {{https://wcwm.wm.edu/, WCWM 90.9 FM}} and {{http://www.wm.edu/amp, AMP}} sponsor this student-run music festival each year.

  • Students performing Improv

    One of the many improv groups on campus takes the stage in the Sadler Center's Lodge 1 to perform.

  • A group of students performing a dance

    A group performs at the Chinese Student Organization's Harvest Moon Festival during Family Weekend.

  • John Spike

    John T. Spike, Ph.D, assistant director and chief curator at the {{http://muscarelle.org,Muscarelle Museum of Art}}, curated the show Leonardo da Vinci and the Idea of Beauty, which compared the art of Michelangelo and Leonardo.

  • A cappella performance on the Last Day of Classes

    The {{https://youtu.be/yRd9g25IpP4?list=PL1yFDKFSUp6Q3zxCI1CZSzIpLm1f2vcT3,last day of classes}} of the spring semester brings Wren bell ringing, celebrating with friends and impromptu a cappella performances.

  • A student plays Mandolin

    The Cary Street Ramblers, {{http://www.wm.edu/as/music/events/performances/ewellconcertseries/,Ewell Concert Series}} performers, present an Old-time Music Workshop for William & Mary students.