Calendar of Events

Event by Sundress Academy for the Arts

The Sundress Academy for the Arts is excited to present Poetry Xfit hosted by Emory Dinsmore. This generative workshop event will take place on Sunday, November 17th from 2 to 4 pm EST via Zoom. Join us at the link tiny.utk.edu/sundress with the password “safta”.

Poetry Xfit isn't about throwing tires or heavy ropes, but the idea of confusing our muscles is the same. You will receive ideas, guidelines, and more as part of this generative workshop series in order to complete three poems in two hours. A new set of prompts will be provided after the writers have written collaboratively for thirty minutes. The goal is to create material that can be later modified and transformed into artwork rather than producing flawless final versions. The event is open to prose authors as well!

Emory Dinsmore is a queer author from East Tennessee. They are currently a senior at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville as they are working on getting their bachelor’s in creative writing. They have worked as an intern for both Sundress Publications and SAFTA. They have been published in The Phoenix, a literary magazine at the University of Tennessee. During their free time, you’ll find them hanging out with their cats, playing Dungeons and Dragons, or playing video games.

https://www.facebook.com/events/2236396133427680/

11/16 • Ijams Junior Naturalist
11/16 • Paint with an American Kestrel Workshop
11/17 • Self-Care Sunday Yoga
11/17 • Monthly Bluegrass Jam with ETNBA

Ijams Nature Center, 2915 Island Home Ave, Knoxville, TN 37920. Visitor Center open daily 10-6; grounds and trails open daily from 8 AM - dusk. Information: 865-577-4717, www.ijams.org

Nov. 15, 16 and 20

Join our partner, ETHS, in an exploration of the East Tennessee Knoxville Campaign in the fall and winter of 1863. The story will begin with the months leading up to the Battle of Fort Sanders in Knoxville and follow Confederate and Union troops as they move through the Great Valley toward Virginia in the weeks and months following. Speakers will address the military story, as well as share voices and experiences from diverse local communities. Program sessions include:

Friday, Nov. 15 at 6:00 p.m.
• War in the Switzerland of America: East Tennessee and the Civil War with Dr. Aaron Astor, Maryville College

Saturday, Nov. 16 from 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
• Fort Sanders and Beyond: The Civil War in East Tennessee from August 1863 to April 1864 with Dr. Aaron Astor, Maryville College (
• The Black Chesnutt Family from Hawkins County with William Isom II, Black in Appalachia
• War, Work, and Welfare: East Tennessee Women Experience the Civil War with Lisa Oakley, East Tennessee Historical Society
• “We Have no Union to Hope For, no Constitution to Struggle For”: East Tennessee Unionists’ House Dividing with Dr. William Hardy, Lincoln Memorial University

Wednesday, Nov. 20 at noon
• A Test of Leadership: How Small-Scale Battles Define the Civil War in East Tennessee – Mr. David Needs, Jefferson County Historian (Wed. Nov. 20 at noon)

https://www.easttnhistory.org/event/east-tennessee-1863-civil-war-symposium/

East Tennessee Historical Society, 601 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. Museum hours: M-F 9-4, Sa 10-4, Su 1-5. Information: 865-215-8824, www.easttnhistory.org

CLASS SCHEDULE 2024
January 14 - May 19 - Spring Semester classes
July 14 - Aug 18 - Summer Session classes
September 8 - November 24 - Fall Semester classes

OPEN LEVEL BALLET, Sundays, 1:00 – 2:30 PM
This ballet class is open to students of all levels of experience and ability. This class will be a comfortable pace for students with some experience in any form of dance. Warm-up exercises will prepare the class for a focus on center work like petit allegro, adagio, turns, and leaps.

OPEN-LEVEL MODERN, Sundays, 2:30 – 4:00 PM EST
This class is open to anyone interested in building their creative and technical capacity as a dancer. No previous experience in dance is required. Class will include a warm-up, modern dance technique exercises, across-the-floor movement, and a short combination.

OPEN-LEVEL IMPROVISATION, Sundays, 12:00-1:00 PM EST
Improvisation is the spontaneous creation of movement. When you hear a song you like and begin to move to it, you are improvising. This class is open to students of all levels. Improv class helps dancers explore their own personal movement vocabulary and learn to relate with other dancers in the form of free or structured improvisation exercises. This class will also teach important choreographic concepts such as dynamics, use of space, sampling, flocking, and more! Some light contact may be involved depending on vaccination status and student comfort.

Classes are held at the Tennessee Conservatory of Fine Arts, 2906 Tazewell Pike, #A, Knoxville, TN 37918.
https://www.circlemoderndance.com/