A light, whimsical atmosphere filled the intimate space of the Dome as the Yale Ballet Company, or YBC, performed “Alice in Wonderland” to the live music of the Yale Undergraduate Chamber Orchestra.

Schwarzman Sessions are peer-led gatherings where conversations generate collaborations and move ideas into action.

“How stable everything seems, even as we conceive and conceive that nothing lasts forever,” sang Gelsey Bell as she stood shoulder to shoulder with her fellow actors in front of the crowd.

Gelsey Bell’s opera Morning//Mourning explores a world where humanity has vanished, leaving nature to reclaim the Earth.

Seeing through the eyes of youth.

Schwarzman Sessions are peer-led gatherings where conversations generate collaborations and move ideas into action.

Listen to a conversation with Gelsey Bell, creator and writer of MƆɹNIŊ [MORNING//MOURNING]

Listen to the student creatives behind Fear and Trembling a dramatic adaptation by Brennan Columbia-Walsh.

The Congress will take place at Yale Schwarzman Center and other venues around downtown New Haven, from October 25th through the 27th.

The following reflection and photoessay comes from Hannah Ericksen, a junior at Cooperative Arts & Humanities High School studying photography with Chris Randall.