All this Juice
One of my favorite poets, Gerard Manley Hopkins, describes the coming of spring this way, in a poem called, you guessed it, “Spring.” Here’s the first stanza:
Nothing is so beautiful as Spring –
When weeds, in wheels, shoot long and lovely and lush;
Thrush’s eggs look little low heavens, and thrush
Through the echoing timber does so rinse and wring
The ear, it strikes like lightnings to hear him sing;
The glassy peartree leaves and blooms, they brush
The descending blue; that blue is all in a rush
With richness; the racing lambs too have fair their fling.
Read it out loud for the best experience, to savor the “sprung rhythm” and hear the rich textures of color and sound and action. Having brought the spirit of spring into the world, the poet opens the next stanza with this question: “What is all this juice and all this joy?”
When the weather teases us with its first intimations of returning warmth (as I write this, the last fugitive snow clumps, sheltering in shadowy places in stairwells and under thick foliage, have finally disappeared), I love asking Hopkins’s question. And, perhaps revealing an occupational hazard, I find good answers right here at our Hylton Center doorstep.
The coming of spring always seems to coincide with a surge of energy in our gallery, our theaters and studios, and our community engagement programs. It’s like our entire operation is throwing open our doors to the fresh new air and “come on out and get your juices flowing—spring is coming!”
Speaking of energy, I can’t imagine a performance with more of it than Syncopated Ladies. This is a powerhouse troupe of tap artists who amaze with their stories as well as their unbelievable dancing. In a different key, but just as juicy, the Juan Megna Trio will light up Matinee Idylls with Juan’s signature fusion of styles from Argentina, Brazil, Afro-Latino influences, and jazz. Juan is a proud Doctoral graduate of our Dewberry School of Music, an incredible percussionist, and has recently released a CD of his compositions.
I could go on…and on…about everything that the Hylton Center is offering this spring. But I urge you to spend some time browsing the articles here to get the full story. Shake off winter’s chill and join us for all this juice and all this joy!
Rick Davis
Dean and Executive Director