10 ways to have fun in Bloomington-Normal during summer 2024

 Bloomington-Normal, ranked No. 3 on College Values Online’s list of “Best Small College Towns America,” is heating up with summer events and activities.

Here’s a list (in no particular order) of 10 fun things for Redbirds to do near Illinois State University’s campus this summer.

1. Dive into summer at the new O’Neil Aquatics Center

New in 2024, the O’Neil Aquatics Center in Bloomington features the community’s first public lazy river, a 30-foot tall twisting slide, a zero-depth leisure pool and lap pool, and two (1-meter and 3-meter) diving boards. Normal’s Fairview Family Aquatic Center also features four pool areas, five slides, and a zero-depth activity pool.

2. Celebrate 200 years of Funk Farms

Funk Farms is throwing a 200th birthday party on Saturday, June 22, which promises to be a fun-filled and informative day on the farm. Visit Funk Farms, 20 minutes southwest of campus, to learn about the history of the Funk Family farm—including how to make maple sirup—and enjoy food, vendors, live music, and more. Admission is free

.3. Make Music Normal

Held steps away from campus in Uptown Normal, Make Music Normal presented by CEFCU—Friday, June 28-Saturday, June 29—is two days of free, live entertainment showcasing local and regional talent across six stages. Organized by Normal LIVE, music performances are also scheduled at Uptown Circle each Wednesday and Saturday evening through the end of September, with other shows taking place at the Connie Link Amphitheatrer

4. Experience nature at the Horticulture Center

Located off West Rabb Road in Normal and open to the public daily from dawn until dusk, the 23-acre Illinois State University Horticulture Center features tranquil gardens and a towering native prairie, which transports visitors far away from the everyday bustle.

5. Attend the Illinois Shakespeare Festival

In its 47th season, the Illinois Shakespeare Festival is a professional repertory company that produces mainstage productions for more than 10,000 patrons each year at the open-air Ewing Theatre. This season features Twelfth Night, Sense and Sensibility adapted by Quetta Carpenter, and Macbeth, with performances running June 27-August 3.

6. Shop the Downtown Bloomington Farmers’ Market

Located around the Downtown Square each Saturday from 7:30 a.m.-noon, the Downtown Bloomington Farmers’ Market offers fresh vegetables, fruits, cheeses, pork, beef, free-range poultry and eggs, flowers, plants, herbs, and more, sold by the people who grew or produced them.

7. Listen to Concerts on the Quad

Pull up a lawn chair or lay down a blanket and enjoy a free concert, from jazz to opera, each Monday in July beginning at 7 p.m. on the east side of Cook Hall on the Quad. Concerts on the Quad are presented by Illinois State University’s Wonsook Kim College of Fine Arts and School of Music.

8. Open skate

During the dog days of summer, cool off with open skating at the Bloomington Ice Center. Skaters of all ages, skill levels, and interests are invited to take a stroll around the Olson Ice Rink. A themed holiday (July 27) and color splash (August 24) open skate are also planned this summer. Then, return to Grossinger Motors Arena (connected to the Bloomington Ice Center) in October to watch the puck drop on the inaugural season of Bloomington Bison hockey, the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) affiliate of the New York Rangers. The Redbird men’s and women’s hockey club teams also play there.

9. McLean County Fair

Experience the world’s largest county 4-H Show during the McLean County Fair, July 24-28. Enjoy twists, turns, and thrills at the carnival, take in a grandstand show, check out the 4-H exhibits, or get your fill of deep-fried fair food.

10. Step right up, and enjoy the Sweet Corn Circus

As a nod to Bloomington-Normal’s agriculture and circus roots, the annual Sweet Corn Circus in Uptown Normal—Saturday, August 24-Sunday, August 25—draws thousands of attendees each year who enjoy fresh (picked earlier that morning) sweet corn on the cob and performances by Gamma Phi Circus clowns, acrobats, aerial artists, and more. And be sure to return to Uptown October 5-6 for the Sugar Creek  Arts Festival.

From outer space to a theatre near you: the School of Theatre and Dance presents Space Girl

 Harris believes “there is an outsider in all of us” and that “the theater is a place where outsiders may enter in.” There is often a stigma placed on people who do not seem to fit in well. But, in this production of Space Girl, the outsiders are the ones who bring creativity, laughter, and curiosity into the world. With beautiful projections, fun costumes, and a cast of actors willing to explore what it means to be an alien from space, this play shows us that being an outsider is a gift, not a curse.

Directed by M.F.A in directing candidate, John McCall Jr., Space Girl performances will take place in Westhoff Theatre on February 16-17 and 21-24 at 7:30 p.m. as well as February 18 at 2 p.m. The performance run time is approximately 90 minutes, with no intermission.

Tickets can be purchased in person at the Center for the Performing Arts Box Office on the campus of Illinois State University, by calling (309) 438-2535, or on the box office website.

If you need accommodations to fully participate in this program, please contact the Center for the Performing Arts Box Office at (309) 438-2535. Please allow sufficient time to arrange the accommodation. 

Furore over dancing girl shows Kashmir’s toxic politics of vice and virtue still holds power

Kashmir's long jihad pitted the region's Islamic identity against India’s modernity-suffused vice. The social media commentary unleashed by the dance shows these beliefs are far from spent. 

Enveloped in layers of gold and silver gauze, draped in emeralds and pearls, her hands and feet dyed red, the nautch girl from Kashmir was called String of Pearls. Later, Lady Maria Nugent, wife to the commander in chief of the East India Company’s armies, would write how the dancer balanced a bottle of rose water on her head even as she crafted a bouquet from muslin. “Keep the one you like best,” the emperor of Kashmir and Punjab, Ranjit Singh, told a colonial envoy some two decades later, in 1832, “I have plenty more.”

“All little girls who promise to turn out pretty, are sold at eight years of age, and conveyed into the Punjab and to India,” the French botanist Victor Jacquemont wrote in 1832, using the same unsentimental prose he used to describe Kashmir’s plant life. “Their parents sell them at from twenty to three hundred francs—most commonly fifty or sixty.”

Last week, moral scolds in Kashmir erupted in outrage after a video surfaced of a student performing a Bollywood-inspired dance at the Government Medical College in Anantnag. Letting students from outside Kashmir into the state, many suggested, was polluting the minds of youth. One commenter demanded Kashmiris stop studying at colleges and join jihadists instead.

The streaming news channel Kashmir24 was inundated with angry comments calling on viewers to turn their eyes from the video to prayers, and even lamenting the education of women.“Kashmir is witnessing a drastic shift from Pir Vaer to Cxur Vaer,” or turning from a ‘Valley of Saints’ to a ‘Valley of Thieves’, the channel editorially declaimed.

Like all moral frenzies, this one often transgressed the thin line between cultural conservatism and parody—but there’s a dangerous politics that underlies it. Through the course of Kashmir’s long jihad, Islamists cast India as a predator seducing the region’s people with modernity. Kashmir’s jihadists cast themselves as the protectors of its religion, its culture and the bodies of its women.

For India to genuinely weave Kashmir into its cultural fabric, it needs to engage with the traumatic impact colonialism had on the state—a trauma in which a Hindu state was deeply enmeshed.

NONPROFIT EMPOWERS GIRLS OF COLOR IN STEM THROUGH THE ART OF DANCE

 STEM From Dance, a nonprofit organization, is revolutionizing the landscape of STEM education by empowering girls of color through the art of dance. This unique initiative provides a platform for girls from underrepresented groups to not only dance but also delve into the world of coding.

In its yearly summer camp, STEM From Dance brings young campers together to design choreography and create tech devices to integrate into their performances. This new approach combines technology with art, creating an innovative and inclusive environment for these aspiring young wonen

A U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) report highlights the significant underrepresentation of women of color in the federal STEM workforce. With only a small percentage of Black, Asian and Latina women in the field, the need for diversity and inclusion in STEM has never been more apparent.

Yamilée Toussaint, the founder and CEO of STEM From Dance, emphasizes the critical importance of diverse representation in STEM.

"Diverse representation is critically important in STEM, because it is proven that the more diverse a team is, the more innovative it is," she said. "We have some big challenges that we face in this world, and we want to put together groups of people who can solve this. It's important that in those groups, women and women of color are represent ed."

WAACKXXXY: SHINES AS FIRST FEMALE RED BULL DANCE YOUR STYLE WORLD CHAMP!

 Waackxxxy wins Red Bull Dance Your Style World Final 2023 in Frankfurt, Germany. The waacking dancer from South Korea becomes the first female Red Bull Dance Your Style World Champion.

Following 150 events in 45 countries, the top 16 dancers in the world took to the stage to battle it out for the coveted Red Bull Dance Your Style World Champion title

4 November 2023: Waackxxxy from South Korea has been crowned the Red Bull Dance Your Style 2023 World Champion. The talented waacking dancer dominated the dance floor to win over the audience with her high energy dance style and mesmerizing movements to defeat Gio from the Netherlands in an electrifying final battle.

In an exciting and unique one-on-one battle format, 16 of the world’s best dancers competed to unpredictable hits from funk, pop, rock, hip hop, disco and more. With no panel of judges, no planned choreography, and no pre-chosen music, the competitors needed to flex their skills, musicality and stamina to win the crowd’s votes. It was Waackxxxy who ultimately impressed the audience to be named Red Bull Dance Your Style 2023 World Champion.

"I can’t believe this,” Waackxxxy said. “The semi-final battle was the most difficult because The Crown (from the USA) is a famous and well-respected dancer. I thought maybe I would lose because he is an amazing dancer, but when I saw I won, I thought to myself ‘is this real?’ I couldn’t believe it. Thank you everyone for the support,” she said.

Red Bull Dance Your Style World Final 2023 featured a top 16 battle bracket comprising the best dancers from all corners of the globe, including eight elite dancers who all qualified from the pre-finals on Wednesday 1 and Thursday 2 November, and eight invited wildcards.

We were represented by our very own Fabius Odour who brought the heat all the way to Pre Final 1.

Hmong dance groups in Conn. seek to connect young girls with their heritage and roots

 Preserving their roots through the art of dance. The Connecticut Hmong community is connecting with its youth through traditional dance groups.

Practice makes perfect for Melina Vang as one half of a two person Hmong dance group.

TWO-TIME TIGER GIRLS DANCE CHAMPION SETS HER FUTURE DREAMS IN MOTION

 Darah Haidet's roots are purple and gold.

"From before I can remember, my family has been purple and gold, everything LSU,” says Darah Haidet, an LSU senior who was born and raised in Hammond, Louisiana.

Her journey to LSU and the Tiger Girls dance team was not just a dream but a path she set for herself in the eighth grade, dedicating her high school years to training and driving to Baton Rouge for classes.

"When I made the team, it was surreal," Darah recalls, reflecting on the momentous achievement during COVID-era auditions. Despite the pandemic, Darah and her team overcame those challenges and clinched national championships in 2022 and 2024. Their championship dances went viral. People worldwide memorized the choreography and posted videos re-creating their 2024 UDA national championship hip-hop routine on social media.

“It’s just been amazing to get the recognition that our team deserves, and dance in general as a whole, to elevate that space in a way. We put in as many hours, if not more, than any sports team on this campus," Darah says. “We support everyone. So, while we're at nationals, we have to cheer at basketball games. We have to cheer at baseball or football. We do promotions and appearances. So, anything that this university needs for us to support, we do it wholeheartedly and commit to that time and being excellent at that.”

Woman mauled to death posted video of her dancing with XL bully to song saying 'I don't 'give a f***' about the breed being banned

 Another video posted by Nicola Morey, who was named locally as the 23-year-old woman mauled to death by a dog in Ireland on Tuesday, appears to show her pets and is captioned: "But if one of us dies - I hope I die first".

A 23-year-old woman who was mauled to death by a dog in southwest Ireland appears to have been the owner of an XL bully.

The woman, who was named locally as Nicole Morey, was killed on Tuesday evening at a house in Ballyneety, County Limerick, at around 11.40pm.

Her body has been taken to University Hospital Limerick for a post-mortem. Irish broadcaster RTE said the dog involved in the attack was understood to be an XL bully.

According to her social media, Ms Morey was the loving owner of what appears to be an XL bully.

In one video on TikTok, she is seen dancing with a dog in a kitchen

Girl's Bizzare Dance Moves On Bhojpuri Song In Delhi Metro Goes

A video of a girl dancing to Bhojpuri music inside the Delhi Metro has gone viral on social media platform X (formerly Twitter). Despite the directives from the Metro administration, such incidents continue unabated. In the fresh video, a girl is seen dancing strangely to Bojpuri tunes while commuting on the Metro. Passengers around her are observed watching her attentively. 

According to a media report, the girl seen in the video is Manisha dancer, a dance influencer. She is known for posting videos of her dancing in public spots and impressing people around. 

The recent viral video has now gained significant traction. However, there has been no statement or action from the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMCR) regarding this incident. 

The viral clip opened with her facing off the camera and throwing some walk-based steps, followed by her using the poles on the coach as a prop to spice up her performance. She grasped the pole and danced around it, donning Western attire with her hair loose, adding a few more steps. She was seen belly dancing and twerking, which certainly drew the attention of passengers toward her. While some found entertainment during their travel, others remained uninterested.

However, in another video, she knelt down on the metro floor, which her skirt struggled to support. Alarmingly, she experienced a wardrobe malfunction as her sensual dance moves exposed her lingerie, just moments before the video abruptly ended.

Little Girl Dancing Her Heart out During Class Graduation Performance Goes Viral

 During a graduation class performance, all eyes were on this adorable little girl dancing her heart out! She couldn’t hold back, and her pure joy was contagious!

Children are truly a precious gift from God. Each day, they bring us laughter, smiles, and a whole lot of love.

If you're a parent, then you know that raising a child can be a new and exciting experience. Things are constantly changing, and you never know what is going to come out of their mouths. With kids, you can always expect the unexpected.

And that's exactly what happened during this recital ceremony for a class graduation!

Little Girl Hilariously Steals the Spotlight

All of the students were placed on stage to perform some songs. At first, everything was going great. All of the kids looked adorable, and they moved through the motions.

But then, one little cutie started to stand out among the rest. This little girl started dancing and really getting into the motions. And she let her personality shine through!

You can hear the audience start to take notice and chuckle as this tot makes it one memorable performance. After a video of the recital was posted online, it quickly went viral. The sassy girl was praised for her facial expressions and love of the stage.

I have a feeling that this is a rising star in the making. And if she's got this much charisma right now, can you imagine what she will be like as an adult?

Here's to singing your heart out and doing what you love without fear of judgment or embarrassment. Who else agrees with me?