Newspapers / Bennett College Student Newspaper / April 18, 1986, edition 1 / Page 3
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Friday, April 18, 1986 THE BENNETT BANNER PAGE THREE Successful vocalist: Junior LaLeza Harris from Charlotte enjoys singing all types of music from classical to gospel. Harris was a finalist in the Arts Expo ’86. (photo from Public Relations department) ‘‘Blues Night” Cole’s new play to appear here by Cassandra Henderson “Blues Night” deals with an actual incident set around some thing that happened to Bessie Smith,” states Charles Johnson, director of the play which pre miers here April 25-27. The play, an original work by UNCG graduate student Carolyn Cole, involves collaboration among all Greensboro Colleges except Guilford and features three Belles in important roles — sophomore Grace Adams and freshmen Sophia Williams and DeJureia Walker. The musical was inspired by a night upon which the legendary blues singer Smith got into a fight at the Blue Star Casino and never performed. Cole moves the time forward 30 years when her main character Olgletre Peacock returns home to Four Oaks, N.C. “Olgletre spent her earlier years in N.Y C. trying to make it big. She made all those career-women decisions before they were popu lar to make,” she says. Cole adds that Olgletre’s sister Suddie says she’s come home to die, but inactivity is killing her. The star gets involved with a church play, and she turns it into a blues and jazz musical. The Reverend Hubbard Wilcox tries to have an affair with Olgletre, but she refuses him. Because of this, he won’t let the play go on. “But I don’t want to give it all away, so you’ll have to see the play to find out what happens,” Cole says. “I feel real good because so many different people are in volved but I’m even more fasci nated because we’re trying to pull together so much. Collaboration is hard,” she stresses. “But it’s really interesting,” adds Johnson. “With an original work, we can bring our heads to gether and make changes.” Johnson says they tend to dis agree a lot, but other good things work out. Good things worked out for sophomore Grace Adams, who landed the part of choir-member Alice Horn. “Alice is one of those women who likes to gossip. She thinks of herself as the best singer and actress. Her voice is terrible, but she thinks it’s beautiful,” she jokes. “Blues Night?” she questions. “I think it’s going to be great ” Sophia Williams is Necie, Olgle tre’s best friend and the minister’s wife. DeJureia Walker plays Christine, a young girl who wants to follow in Olgletre’s footsteps. Sophomore Alexis Bennett is the stage manager. Cole hopes to see a university production. Tickets will be sold here and at the UNCG box office in Elliot Center. Non-student tickets are $4. Student tickets are $2. Singer touches the heart by Carla Bannister Junior LaLeza Harris has had a hard job lately, both here and at the Arts Expo ’86. Put yourself in her shoes for a minute. Imagine that you are a 18-year-old Japa nese mother waiting for a husband that you haven’t seen in three years. Your hus band is an American and the father of your son. Imagine trying to convince your maid that one fine day your hus band is coming to get you. This is what happens in Gia como Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly.” Harris, as the waiting wife, sings “Un Bel Di” (one fine day). Her video-taped perform ance done in the chapel made her a finalist in Arts Expo ’86, a competition for black institutions. A small but delighted crowd enjoyed Harris’ junior recital on April 6. The soprano sung 11 songs including three in German and one in Italian. Sophomore Bernice Scott said, “Her performance was astounding. Her articulation was perfect and her poise en viable. She poured her soul into her performance.” Harris loves to perform. “I am more of a stage person,” said Harris. “Give me a stage, costumes and I will perform.” The 20-year-old from Char lotte has been singing in a choir since 9th grade when she signed up for the choir, “just for an easy class.” Harris hopes to go to grad school and get her doctorate in music. Sophomore Janice Smith believes that Harris will go far in her singing career. Smith said, “To put it simply, she belongs at the Metropo litan Opera House.” After junior Vicky Dunn heard Harris, she said, “The performance was quite mov ing. I was lifted by ‘The Lord is., my Light’ while saddened by ‘My Man’s Gone Now.’ She’s quite a passionate singer and I felt involved, al most as if I were on the stage the whole time.” Harris also plays the piano, practicing music three hours a day. She says that in her spare time she likes to read, bowl and dance. Harris says that her mother is her inspiration. Harris describes her mother as, “strict, outgoing, friendly and independent.” Harris says of many that she would like to be just like her. Harris’ close friend, junior Josef a Bethea, describes Harris as “a lady and a scho lar and the epitome of the Bennett ideal.” She adds, “As a performer she is self-confi dent, creative and a perfec tionist. I am sure she will equal or surpass the level of such music greats as Marian Anderson, Leontyne Price and the like.” Harris believes that the music department has helped her achieve her goals. She says, “even though there are only 10 music education majors we’re all very suppor tive and close to one another.” About her music education teachers, Harris says, “I get a lot of attention and that has helped my training tre mendously.” Belle attends key D.C. meeting by Rita Rushing Sophomore Janice Smith got a first-hand view of the illusion and reality of national politics over spring break. An essay on Soviet-American relations landed Smith a place as one of 790 students attending the 17th Annual Student Symposium sponsored by the Center for the Study of the Presidency. In Wash ington, D.C., the representatives discussed national security, rang ing from arms control to terror ism. Smith found the conference both provocative and disillusion ing. The symposium included sev eral key guest speakers, including Attorney General Edwin Meese, as well as a visit to a Senate meet ing. Smith relished the sympos ium’s numerous opportunities, but she found some of the speakers evasive and the trip to the Capitol less than comforting. She “sat in on a Senate meeting where only 12 people were pre sent, and someone would leave the room every hour,” she says. She “could not beheve these people hold our lives in their hands, and no one was there.” The best part of the conference came when students held their own discussions. Smith joined a group which included three Cana dians, a Democrat, a Republican, a Socialist and six unaligned students. Smith, who remained neutral, was especially interested in the Canadian view of America. “Many of the students believed the Canadians were communists. The Canadians told the other stu dents how Canada has a socialist economy and how everyone was middle-class. They viewed Amer ica as a country with a big stick, poking it where it does not be long. They said that America feels Canada will go along with them no matter what they do,” recounts Smith. She agreed with one of the sociaUst speakers. He had no prejudice at all, and he wanted to see all people with the same things. No one should have more or be unequal. He taught us about equality for all,” she says. Smith described the others’ views this way: “The Republican felt people had to pull themselves up by their own bootstraps while the Socialist felt the government had to give you a pair of boots. The Democrat, who was black, felt blacks faced more obstacles than whites. He stated that segre gation had not ended in the South. Blacks have never pulled them selves up because too many people are standing on their hands and the opportunities are not equal ” Dancers overcome audience by Dee Little Anticipation filled the air. The excited crowd talked about the long-awaited program. The stage lights dimmed, and the audience responded with a thunderous ap plause. The Bennett College Dance Company was ready to give its final performance of the 1985-86 tour season The company consists of five members—senior Allyson Berry, from Leesburg, Fla.; freshman, Lenore Brathwaite from Amity- ville, N.Y.; senior Deirtra Evans, from Durham; freshman Juhe Hatchett, from Oakland, Calif; and senior, Khadija Ward, from Fayetteville. The company had already danced in Lumberton and partici pated in the Black College Dance Exchange in Baltimore. The performance of the com pany was good. The dancers picked and choreographed their own music. Company director Susan King stated, “the dancers picked the music that they wanted to work on. I prefer to let them do their own choreography so they can feol more comfortable with their work.” Two of the dances were choreo graphed by members of the Chuck Davis Dance Company. “Chuck Davis choreographed the dance “The Africans,” a major series on Africa co-produced by WETA/ Washington, D.C. and the British Broadcasting Corporation, will premiere over PBS and BBC-1 late in 1986. In production in Africa since 1983, the $3.5 million series will be “a view of black Africa from the inside looking out,” according to executive producers Charles Hobson of WETA and David Harrison of the BBC. Host for the entitled ‘Celebration,’ when he and his company performed at Ben nett last semester and another member of his company choreo graphed ‘Double Bad,’ ” King said. “Psalm 8” was a dedication to Dr. Ronald McNair. “Everything pertaining to that dance was so coincidental. I choreographed that dance because I liked the words and the music. It was finished when I heard about Dr. McNair’s death. While watching the memo rial service on television, I heard Jesse Jackson recite the words of the psalm and we decided to dedicate it to Dr. McNair’s memory. When we performed in Lumberton, Dr. McNair’s sister was at the performance. She was touched by the dedication and thanked us for it,” King said. As a whole, King felt the dancers did their best. Her only disappointment was in the con duct of the audience. “They were so unfair towards the dancers. Basically, they were very rowdy and inconsiderate. While they were performing, the audience shouted things at them. Some were even barking like dogs. The dancers didn’t even have a chance to take their final bows because the audience left. It was terrible,” she said. Three of King’s physical educa tion classes performed with the nine one-hour programs will be the noted African scholar Profes sor Ali Mazrui, author of more than a dozen books on the con tinent. The series will be offered for credit at some colleges, and Dr. Mazrui will write the accompany ing book, to be published by Little Brown. For many Westerners, the his tory of Africa begins only with company. Their contribution sub stituted for a final project. “My classes decided to perform on their own. They were very nervous and I gave them a lot of credit for getting on stage and dancing, but the audience was so rude and unfair. It made me very angry,” King commented. King compared the Bennett response to the audience in Lum berton. “The audience there was very appreciative. They were an older group and some brought their children whereas here at Bennett, the students knew the people on stage and that made a big difference,” she said. Allyson Berry, a member of the company since her freshman year, said: “People always com plain about how they want us to perform on campus. When we so perform, we get a negative re action.” Gayle Allen, a senior from Silver Springs, Md., commented from the audience point of view. “I really liked the show, but I felt the audience didn’t under stand the culture the dancers presented,” Allen said. King felt that the program’s being an ACS requirement had something to do with the negative response. “Last year I didn’t put the show on the ACS calendar and no one came to the program. the coming of the white man. “The Africans’ will debunk that myth and explore the ‘real history’ of the vast continent,” Mr. Harrison said. “It will look at the past as a way of understanding Africa’s future. “The Africans” will explore what Dr. Mazrui has called Africa’s “triple heritage”; what is indigenous, what was contributed by Islam, and what has been im posed or acquired from the West. This year I did and the response we received was rudeness. Next year I’m going to put it on the calendar because I think the dancers felt worse when no one came to the performance. The whole idea behind ACS is for student participation and we need an audience,” she said. King believes '.hat student par ticipation in activities has de clined across the campus. “I’m worried about the students and the future of the campus. We (the dance company) are victims of the overall attitude of the campus. Students just aren’t par ticipating in anything. The num bers dwindle down, and it’s hard for me to put on a production with so few people. That’s why my classes performed in the show. Without them, the concert would have been very short,” she said. King admitted that there have been better years. This year was especially hard because of the few people involved in the com pany. “The dancers did their best even though they were over worked. I don’t know what’s going to happen next year. The three seniors are graduating, and one freshman is returning home. That leaves me with one dancer. I’m going to hold auditions next year,” she said. Africa The series will recall the Africa that existed before outsiders came; chronicle the arrival of Islam; and tell the story of the slave trade and the “scramble for Africa” among the European powers. It will trace these power ful currents into the 20th century, as the tide of African nationalism unleashes a flood of independent states. Finally it will analyze some of Africa’s present problems and proposed solutions. New T.V. series about
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April 18, 1986, edition 1
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