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Meet the Weiss Prize-Winners


Prize-winners Eliza Cutler ’11 and Ariel Graham ’11 presented new works during the 2011 Weiss Prize concert. Graham, who double majors in French and theatre arts, performed a self-choreographed dance and Cutler, an English major, read original poems.

Evolving artistry 

Established in 1986, the Emil R. and Tamar Weiss Prize in the Creative Arts recognizes exceptional juniors majoring in English or the performing arts. Recipients receive a grant to present their works to the public during their senior year.

Graham's dance about the human body, “to.get.her,” explored the tensions and synergies shared between two bodies in motion. An earlier version of the work, titled “quake,” premiered March 11 at the American College Dance Festival. [Story continues below.] 


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  • Dancers Ariel Graham '11 (left) and Emily Hughes '13 square off in Graham's piece, "to.get.her." "I was lucky to work with such a talented and beautiful dancer," said Graham, speaking of Hughes.
    to.get.her
  • Eliza Cutler '11 reads original poems.
    Eliza Cutler '11
  • Ariel Graham '11 performs her choreographed work, "to.get.her." Born and raised in Anchorage, Graham trained at the Alaska Dance Theater before attending Dickinson College. She is the 2010-11 president of Dickinson's Dance Theatre Group.
    Ariel Graham '11
  • Graham's choreographed work premiered, in a previous form, at the American College Dance Festival. "The piece has taken many forms," Graham said.
    Synergy
Dancers Ariel Graham '11 (left) and Emily Hughes '13 square off in Graham's piece, "to.get.her." "I was lucky to work with such a talented and beautiful dancer," said Graham, speaking of Hughes.Prev ImageNext Image

“This piece has taken many forms,” Graham said of her duet, which originally depicted the movement of the earth and called for more dancers. “My end result holds little to no resemblance to my original idea, but that's part of the fun of the art-making process.”

Complex relationships 

Cutler read from her 2011 chapbook, Learning to Live Inside Language. In it, the poet explores family relationships, identity, self-expression and loss.

Though her subject matter is weighty, she delivers with a light touch, as seen in the piece below:

A Lesson 

Walking home
from the liquor store
my mother wrote:
“Ellie Rose”
in someone else’s snow.
When I told my father,
he took my hand and
pointed to our yard.
“That’s not our snow,”
he said.

Article by MaryAlice Bitts Jackson
Photos by Carl Socolow '77