Check out Dudley’s February lineup, featuring wintry favorites like skating and cross-country skiing, as well as more artistic and academic ventures. As always, watch for Dudley e-mails with the latest details and information.

Writers’ Workshops
Thursday, February 2, 5-7 p.m., Fireside Room.  Our Writers’ Workshop meets the first and third Thursdays of the month in the Fireside Room.  We provide a collegial setting in which students can comment upon and receive feedback on a range of genres in non-academic writing, whatever the writing stage.  Our first meeting will be on February 2 from 5-7pm and our second will be February 9 from 7-9pm in the Fireside Room. Bring several copies of whatever you're currently working on (poetry, essay, fiction, drama, etc.) for the workshop to discuss, or feel free simply to join in the discussion and the in-session writing.  Questions? Email the This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Miracle Fruit Tasting
February 2nd, 5 p.m., JBM Student Lounge, Longwood. Join HWISE and Dudley Food Literacy and Arts Fellows for an unusual culinary and inspirational experience.  Get ready to experience the joys of eating delicious lemons and other sour or bitter foods!  We promise they will all taste magically delicious after miraculin goes to work.  Found in miracle fruit berries, the active glycoprotein miraculin binds to the tongue’s taste buds causing bitter and sour foods to taste sweet for approximately one hour after consumption.  For more information, please refer to Wikipedia or this special feature in the New York Times.  RSVP is required.  Dudley House members and their guests are welcome. Please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it with questions.

Dudley Pub Crawl in Harvard Square
Thursday, February 2. Ready to start the new year by diving into Cambridge nightlife?  Come have a night on the town with Dudley House!  It’s an all-night tour of some of Cambridge’s finest pubs and bars.  Limited tickets available starting Friday January 27, so come sign up at the Dudley House Office.  Open to Dudley House members and their guests.  State ID or passport required.  Please contact the This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for more information.

Landscape Photography and Poetry Exhibit
Friday, February 3, 6:30 p.m., Café Gato Rojo. Dudley Arts is now accepting submissions for an interdisciplinary landscape photography and poetry exhibit!  Photographs and digital paintings that involve landscape are welcome.  The exhibit will pair photographs with poems that will be in dialogue with the visual art.  The art opening and reception will be on Friday, February 3rd at 6:30pm in the Gato Rojo.  Please submit your work electronically to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Dudley Art Class:  Watercolors
Saturday, February 4, 2-4 p.m., Dudley Private Dining Room.  The third session of the Dudley arts class will focus on watercolors.  The 10-week session will meet on Saturdays from 2-4pm in the Dudley Private Dining Room beginning on February 4th.  $40 plus the cost of materials.  Open to beginners and experienced artists.  Registration begins Wednesday, January 25 in the Dudley House office.  Payment is due at time of registration.  Class size is limited to 15.  Contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Ice Skating!
Saturday, February 11, 2–5 p.m., Harvard Bright Hockey Center.  Dudley House and the Harvard Figure Skating Club will host an ice-skating event at the Harvard Bright Hockey Center (near the Harvard Stadium).  Admission is free.  A limited supply of free rental skates is available; please This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it with your shoe size.  Meet in front of Dudley at 1:40 p.m. to walk together to the rink (e-mail sign-up requested), or go directly to the rink.

Japanese Mochi Workshop
Monday, February 13, 5-7 p.m., Dudley Private Dining Room.  Have you had Japanese mochi dessert or mochi ice cream?  Come to our workshop, and you will taste and make the famous Japanese rice cake, mochi!  An easy dessert with microwave!

Women’s Self-Defense Class
Thursdays, February 16 – March 8, 6-9:30 p.m., Dudley House.  This hands-on, intensive class will be taught by members of the Harvard University Police Department.  You will learn how to assess threats, protect yourself, and respond to dangers effectively. We are pleased to offer this class for free to help promote the safety of Harvard students.  Classes will take place in Dudley House on February 16, 23 and March 1, 8. Sessions are cumulative, so attendance at all four classes is strongly encouraged.  To reserve your spot or find out more, please This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Writing and Study Bootcamp
Saturday and Sunday, February 18-19, 9 a.m.–4 p.m., Café Gato Rojo.  Need a weekend dedicated to your academic work?  We provide a quiet setting, two days of lunch, and plenty of caffeine.  Dudley House students from all disciplines are welcome to join in this two-day period of silence and study.  The cost is $20, and to ensure your commitment, no portion of this fee will be refunded if you do not attend.  Sign up and pay in advance at the House Office; Longwood students may call 617-495-2255. Limited to 12 attendees. Contact the This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it with questions.

Introduction to Cross-Country Skiing
Saturday, February 18, 8 a.m.–2 p.m., Weston Ski Track.  Cross-country skiing is a great way to explore the outdoors in the winter and a fantastic cardio and strength workout.  We’ll take the T to Weston Ski track, where we can rent skis and take a one-hour lesson.  Tickets: $40, on sale starting February 6.

February Book Club
Wednesday, February 29, 6 p.m., Fireside Room, first floor of Dudley House.  Acclaimed novelist and creator of HBO’s new series “Bored to Death” Jonathan Ames writes his first comics work with the original graphic novel The Alcoholic, illustrated by Dean Haspiel.  This touching, compassionate, and ultimately humorous story explores the heart of a failing writer who's coming off a doomed romance and searching for hope. Unfortunately, the first place his search takes him is the bottom of a bottle as he careens from one off-kilter encounter to another in search of himself (from Amazon.com).  Sign up here by Thursday, February 2 if you would like to pick up a copy of the book.  Copies will be available in the Dudley House office several weeks before the book club.  A $10 deposit for the book is required, which will be refunded upon attendance.

Salsa Lessons:  Beginner Ten-week Progressive Series
Time and place: TBD. Suffering from the mid-winter blues in Cambridge and in search of something to do outside the library or lab?  Always wanted to learn to dance salsa but lacked the occasion or confidence to do so?  Now’s your chance!  An introduction to salsa, to begin in early February and end mid-April, is open to Dudley House members and their guests.  For absolute beginners; no partner required.  Material is progressive.  Cost of the ten-week series is $50; spots are limited.  Pre-registration will open the morning of January 23rd in the Dudley House office located on the third floor of Lehman Hall.  Brought to you by the Dudley Arts Fellows. Contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it with questions.

Argentine Tango Lessons:  Intermediate Ten-week Progressive Series
Time and place: TBD. What better way to stave off the winter chill than in the warmth of the tango embrace?  An intermediate social dance class, to begin in early February and end mid-April, is open to Dudley House members and their guests.  Welcome are those with prior experience in Argentine tango and/or those who have taken tango lessons at Harvard past semesters.  Material is progressive, requires weekly attendance, and will build on dancers’ previous knowledge of close-embrace Buenos Aires style.  Topics to include leaders’ and followers’ technique; paradas; sacadas; cross and parallel systems; intro to milonga; turns; and floorcraft.  Unless preferred, there is no need to register with a partner; partners will rotate throughout the class.  Students will be trained to dance socially and will be encouraged to explore the many practicas and milongas of Cambridge and Boston.  Cost of the ten-week series is $50; spots are limited.  Pre-registration will open the morning of January 23rd in the Dudley House office located on the third floor of Lehman Hall. Brought to you by the Dudley Arts Fellows. Contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it with questions.

Dudley Arts Chamber Music Initiative
Call for Musicians!  After an auspicious debut at the Lily Pad this past fall, the Dudley Arts Chamber Music Initiative will continue this spring.  Its ongoing mission is to connect GSAS musicians with professionals throughout Greater Boston for interesting collaborations at unusual venues.  If you’re interested in performing and have a chamber group already formed, or if you’re looking for fellow musicians, contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .