The New York Times (Oct. 18) -- In “Rigidigidim De Bamba De: Ruptured Calypso,” which ended Saturday at Danspace Project in New York City, U. of I. dance professor Cynthia Oliver delved into “the riotously beautiful art of winding, a powerful, erotically charged rhythmic dance named for its sinuous, circular pelvic motion.” Her husband, Jason Finkelman, whose U. of I. duties include serving as events coordinator for the Asian Educational Media Service in the Center for East Asian Studies Center, was sound designer for the performance.
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Time Out New York (New York City, issue of Oct. 15-21) -- An interview with U. of I. dance professor Cynthia Oliver.
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Illinois News Bureau Editor’s note: Dozens of news media outlets carried stories about the solar decathlon, which ended Oct. 16. The U. of. I. team was the top U.S. finisher, coming in second behind a team from Germany. Among the stories about the outcome of the competition:

CBC News (Canada, Oct. 16)
CNN (Oct. 16)
CNN (Oct. 20)
Huffington Post (Oct. 16)
KARE-Channel 11 (NBC; Minneapolis, Oct. 16)
National Public Radio (Oct. 16)
Popular Mechanics (Oct. 16)
Reuters (Oct. 16); more
Scientific American (Oct. 16)
Star-Tribune (Minneapolis, Oct. 16)
The Arizona Republic (Phoenix, Oct. 18)
The Kansas City Star (Missouri, Oct. 16)
The Ledger-Enquirer (from the Chicago Tribune; Columbus, Ga., Oct. 20)
The Washington Post (Oct. 16)
USA Today (Oct. 16)
WLS-Channel 7 (ABC; Chicago, Oct. 16)

The New York Times (Oct. 18) -- Four members of the Pacifica Quartet, based in Champaign, IL, are Illinois faculty in the School of Music. Read more about these young artists, quoted as being "one of the fastest-rising ensembles today." more

TimeOut: New York, October 2009 - Professor Cynthia Oliver's latest dance work -- recently performed in Philadelphia to standing ovations--opens in New York this week. An exploration of her own culture, this performance is the culmination of many studies incorporating the music, movement and story-telling of her Carribean origins. Rigidigidim De Bamba De: Ruptured Calypso is a  an evening-length work for six women that explores calypso music and Caribbean identity.

October 15 - Gable House has knocked Team California out of first place by just over half a point in day eight of the ten-day Solar Decathlon Event. Click here to see the day-by-day scores. Measurements for the Comfort Zone, Hot Water, Appliances, Home Entertainment, and Net Metering contests were taken on Wednesday; the winner of the lighting competition will be named today; and the winner of the engineering competition and overall winner will be announced on Friday. Go to the Solar Decathlon site.