Movement and Meditation with Monte Thompson
Monte Thompson was a professional dancer, and also spent years as a restauranteur. His life was spent on his feet. Now retired, he is interested in continuing to be able to move easily and gracefully while using breathing and stretching techniques to help quiet his mind and prepare him to face each day with purpose and joy....
Movement and Meditation with Monte Thompson
Monte Thompson was a professional dancer, and also spent years as a restauranteur. His life was spent on his feet. Now retired, he is interested in continuing to be able to move easily and gracefully while using breathing and stretching techniques to help quiet his mind and prepare him to face each day with purpose and joy....
Ten Emerging Writers Named Finalists For 2026 Chautauqua Janus Prize
...year’s prize is to be awarded. The winner will be honored at the 2026 Chautauqua Janus Prize Ceremony, set for 4 p.m. EDT Wednesday, Aug. 12, in the Athenaeum Hotel Parlor on the grounds of the Institution. Still in its youth, the prize’s reach and influence have grown beyond the Institution’s gates as the honored emerging writers make their names in the literary world—and the list of accolades for previous winners and finalists is growing. Most recently, the 2018 (and inaugural) Janus Prize winner Nicole Cuffy saw...
Movement and Meditation with Monte Thompson
Monte Thompson was a professional dancer, and also spent years as a restauranteur. His life was spent on his feet. Now retired, he is interested in continuing to be able to move easily and gracefully while using breathing and stretching techniques to help quiet his mind and prepare him to face each day with purpose and joy....
Hassaan Mirza Named Winner of 2026 Chautauqua Janus Prize for ‘Name, Place, Animal, Thing’
...grief, as well as the way such grief taxes sanity and a sense of identity.” As the 2026 prize recipient, Mirza will receive $5,000, plus travel and lodging for a weeklong writing residency at Chautauqua Institution this summer. He will give a public lecture and reading at a celebratory event at 4 p.m. EDT Wednesday, Aug. 12, in the parlor of the Athenaeum Hotel as part of Chautauqua Institution’s 2026 Summer Assembly. Hassaan Mirza is a writer from Lahore, Pakistan, currently studying and working...
Marcela Escobari and Charles Lane
...and The Wall Street Journal. He is also the author of Freedom’s Detective: The Secret Service, the Ku Klux Klan and the Man Who Masterminded America’s First War on Terror; Stay of Execution: Saving the Death Penalty from Itself; and The Day Freedom Died: The Colfax Massacre, the Supreme Court, and the Betrayal of Reconstruction. Lane has a master’s degree in law from Yale University and a bachelor’s degree in social studies from Harvard University....
Community Update: Continuing Our Amphitheater Pilot in 2026
Last fall, I shared an update with all of you outlining both the successes and lessons learned from our first shoulder‑season concert and our initial attempt to pilot Amphitheater concessions during the Bonnie Raitt show. Today, I’m writing to share how that experience is shaping our plans for 2026. With the Board of Trustees’ approval, we will continue exploring Amphitheater concessions and shoulder‑season concerts this summer, alongside several operational improvements on and around Odland Plaza....
Alicia Olatuja: “Dear Lisa”
...of musical influences in St. Louis. Inspired by Whitney Houston, Olatuja started singing at the age of 5. She sang in the Berean Seven Day Adventist Church, listened to a wide variety of Black music including jazz, R&B and soul and was classically trained as an opera mezzo-soprano singer. After double majoring in Veterinary Medicine and Music at the University of Missouri, Olatuja moved to New York City in 2005, and later earned her Masters...
Jill McCormick Named Director of Communications at Chautauqua
Chautauqua Institution today announced the appointment of Jill McCormick to the position of Director of Communications and Special Projects. In this role, McCormick will be responsible for developing and implementing communications plans to inform the public, news media, and internal audiences of Chautauqua’s programs and operations, bringing Chautauqua’s compelling mission to life through story. She will also serve as project manager for Chautauqua Travels, a new venture that brings Chautauqua’s mission to educational group travel...
Five Fascinating Facts for Chautauqua’s 150th!
...Assembly Grouds Chautauqua c. 1877. Oliver Archive Center. 2. Chautauqua was more than a name; it was a movement. During the heat of the Chautauqua movement, “circuit chautauquas” became prevalent around the country. These traveling circuits brought lecturers to local communities, a pop-up style of entertainment that became wildly popular throughout the beginning of the 20th century. Much like the original institution, these multi-day events sported lecturers on all subjects and a variety of entertainment....