Shaping the Stage
You sit in a dimly lit Newlin Hall, listening to the rustling of programs and excited chatter all around you. The house lights go down until it is dark, and the anticipation buzzes throughout the entire crowd. As the first…
Centre College on the Nation’s Center Stage
It was a crisp fall evening on October 12, 2012, and history was unfolding on the Norton Center stage. A production of colossal scale was taking place – a momentous occasion where the academic met the real world, where classrooms…
The Grand Entrance of Centre’s Improbable, Impossible Dream
It was early June 1973, and Centre College watched on as construction crews gradually left behind campus until only one thing remained: a brand-new, jaw-dropping Regional Arts Center, waiting for the day when its doors would open to the public…
Cultural Exchange from the Classroom to the Stage
When Colombian joropo band Cimarrón arrived at the Norton Center on September 7, it was clear that Danville was in for an altogether unique performance. But the day quickly became more than just a performance – it became one-on-one interactions,…
The Joy of the Arts
It’s the “uniqueness” of the Norton Center: what drew in Joy Joy Htet as a Centre College freshman, what continues to intrigue him as a staff member, and what will inspire more students for years to come. In 2013, Khun…
Dancing on Air
Many music legends have walked through the Norton Center halls, but when Ray Charles arrived, he didn’t walk – he danced. A full 36 days before Ray Charles’ October 18, 1985 performance, the Norton Center for the Arts officially sold…
Cross-Campus Collaboration
What started as a casual chat between colleagues became a hands-on research project that will immortalize the work of Centre College students in the Norton Center permanent art collection archives. In January of 2023, Associate Professor of Art History Amy…
The Coming of Age of an Idea
When Thomas A. Spragens stepped into office as the President of Centre College in 1957, he found a college desperately in need of growth and ready for change. Spragens knew that these changes weren’t going to come quickly or easily,…