Scholars in the Arts
"I am fascinated by the breadth of Art History and by how painting teaches a culture about itself."
Scholar Spotlight
A prolific writer of poetry and song, Nate is a dynamic speaker and isn't shy about performing in front of an audience.
Malaika Sarco-Thomas
"Performance is what makes us alive. Movement is the essential magic quality all life forms share. Performance translates movement into a vehicle for communication which can be a catalyst for understanding."
- Alumni of: 2002 Graduate Scholarship Program
- Resides: Penryn, Cornwall
- Hometown: Harrisonburg, VA
- Age: 31
- Four-year College or University: Hollins University
- Graduate School: Dartington College of Arts
- Academic/Career Pursuits: Arts / Music / Performance, Environmental Scientist, Nonprofits, Philosophy
- Other Interests: Foreign Languages / International Study, Outdoor / Mountaineering / Camping, Performing Arts / Theatre, Sports, Volunteer Work, Dance
Biography
Originally from Arusha, Tanzania, Malaika is interested and skilled in a wide variety of areas - art, theater, and politics - which she has been able to synthesize in her academic pursuits as an international performance studies major at Hollins University. She has also studied at Duke University (modern dance creation and performance) and James Madison University (sustainable development and dance)
In addition, Malaika is very engaged in her community, volunteering, among other things, as a cook for the community soup kitchen in Harrisonburg, as a dance teacher to seniors, and as an English tutor to recently arrived refugees.
When speaking about her volunteer service to others, Malaika says it "has had an enormous impact on my view of the world, and my notions of the realistic possibilities we have for improving it." She adds that community service "feeds my interdisciplinary course of study, causing me to seek a discipline where interculturalism is investigated, experienced and celebrated through performance."
Malaika would like to ultimately "help forge a niche in the academic world for the critical study of dance and performance as a vehicle for intercultural communication, peace-building, and constructive social change..." She plans to pursue an M.A. at Hollins University, and perhaps later a Ph.D. in Culture and Performance at UCLA's School of the Arts and Architecture.
Other Scholars Like Malaika
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Rice University
Eric Stroud
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University of Pennsylvania
Morgan Cloud
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London Contemporary Dance School
Crystal Taylor
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Princeton University