Smith College Profcast Smith College

Lester Tomé, assistant professor of dance, wants to shine a light on how ballet has become a truly international dance form. Focusing on Cuba as a detailed case study, he pushes his scholarly analysis beyond the Eurocentric models of ballet to highlight the experience of Cuban dancers, choreographers and teachers. Professor Tomé’s research on the Cuban ballet has been funded through fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities and Harvard University’s David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies. His book on the topic is forthcoming with Oxford University Press.

Extended audio interview. Lester Tomé, assistant professor of dance, wants to shine a light on how ballet has become a truly international dance form. Focusing on Cuba as a detailed case study, he pushes his scholarly analysis beyond the Eurocentric models of ballet to highlight the experience of Cuban dancers, choreographers and teachers. Professor Tomé’s research on the Cuban ballet has been funded through fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities and Harvard University’s David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies. His book on the topic is forthcoming with Oxford University Press. With Smith College Insight editor, Jan McCoy Ebbets.

Every year Susannah Howe, senior lecturer in engineering, shepherds a group of Smith students through the Design Clinic, a capstone two-semester course in which students collaborate in teams on applied design projects sponsored by industry and government. Listen as Howe, the design clinic director, explains the ways in which students work and the course unfolds each year.

Full audio interview. Susannah Howe, senior lecturer in engineering, discusses the Design Clinic with Smith College Insight editor, Jan McCoy Ebbets.

Suzan Edwards, L. Clark Seelye Professor of Astronomy, studies stars that are forming deep within molecular clouds in the galaxy. The gravitational collapse of rotating, denser-than-average cores within a molecular cloud results in the creation of a central protostar surrounded by a flattened spinning disk of gaseous material, with dimensions comparable to the solar system.

Full audio interview. Professor of Astronomy Suzan Edwards discusses how the study of star formation is changing with Smith College Insight editor, Jan McCoy Ebbets.