Newspapers / University of North Carolina … / April 24, 2003, edition 1 / Page 2
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Page 2 The Blue Banner April 24,2003 Features Professional dancers teach locals KATIE MEINDL/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Members of the natinally renowned dance company Ailey II taught students challenging dance moves during UNCA’s Dance SPREE. Mary Wyatt Features Reporter Ailey II, a nationally renowned modern dance company, brought its incredible talent to the Asheville area to both perform and teach. "Basically, all the dancers in the Ailey Company are completely phe nomenal," said Kalin Siegwald, a senior creative writing major. "I love how they can just whip out any movement, and it's strong, sharp and exactly on cue with the music." Ailey II, the second company of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, began extending the spirit and energy of the original dance company in 1974. They tour uni versities and schools throughout the country, where a master dance class for area dancers accompanies many of the performances. "These classes are always very ex citing and over crowded," said Sylvia Waters, artistic director in an inter view in 2000. "I think the Ailey II teachers are bringing something that is a challenge for them, and some thing that may be very new and therefore exciting." The master class, taught by three members of the Ailey II company, brought many people from the UNCA campus and across the Asheville community together for an hour and a half of intense, but fun, dancing. The master class concluded UNCA's Dance SPREE offered the day of Spring Symposium Apr. 16. Pilates, aerobics, jazz and ballet classes preceded the event. Derrick Minter, rehearsal direc tor for Ailey II, led the crowded master class. Dancers Kristina Michelle Bethel and Leyland Simmons accompanied Minter. Dancers from around the area, young and old, tried to keep up with the fast paced, but exhilarat ing lesson. One dancer traveled from Georgia just to take the mas- "I think it was really great that there were younger and older danc ers at the class," said Holly Strawn, a senior psychology major. "It was intense, but so much fun." Minter, Bethel and Simmons demonstrated moves from some of the dances that they performed in Asheville. They concluded the class with a segment of "Revelations," Alley's most popular and critically acclaimed work. "They didn't tone down any of the choreography," said Siegwald. "They just gave it to us and let us struggle through it and do the best that we could." Many dancers that attended the workshop felt exhilarated, but very sore afterwards. "The class made me want to be a really good dancer," said Strawn. Ailey II's performance at the Diana Wortham Theater left some audi ence members with the same feel- ings. "They made me want to be a dancer," said Alyssa Dillow, a se nior statistics and Spanish major. "The dancers defied gravity and had incredible control over their bodies. It was amazing." Ailey II performed two nights in Asheville, both nights consisting of different dances. "Revelations" was the only dance repeated. "Revelations" closed the shows, bringing the crowd to their feet. An audience favorite, Ailey choreo graphed the classic dance in 1960. Ailey choreographed the dance, set to traditional gospel music, to re construct the African American experience. "The Hunt," a dance choreo graphed by Robert Battle, also brought many audience members to their feet. Set to a wildly percussive soundtrack by Les Tambours du Bronx and danced by the six male members ofthe company, this dance examined the aggressive and primi tive side of human nature. "'The Hunt' had me on the edge of my seat the entire time," said Dillow. "I don't know how they had that much energy. Just watch ing it made me tired." All of the dances performed were choreographed at least 17 years ago, some even 45 years ago. Audiences, perhaps, don't respond as well to these old dances as they do to fresh and current pieces. COURTESY OF ANDREW LAYTON Layton’s colorful catoon showed one characters in the park. Art exhibit shows multimedia talents Caroline Soesbee Features Reporter UNCA held "Bitscapes," the sec ond annual Multimedia Arts and Sciences Juried Student Exhibi tion Apr. 17 in the Laurel Forum. The show featured 15 multimedia projects, narrowed from 60 sub missions by one juror. "Multimedia could be an infor mational Web site. It could be a kiosk in a museum; it can be used for an artist's expression," said Lorraine Walsh, assistant profes sor multimedia arts and sciences. "It's an indirect response to the Internet, the Web and technology. It's a combination of arts, sciences, and technology. Multimedia is a hybrid of many things, and yet it is its own thing." Anyone could submit entries for the exhibition, but the majority of entries came from multimedia stu dents. "Since this is such a new show, maybe next year we'll garner sub missions from students in the sci ences or literature," said Walsh. "With anything new, it's not quite put out there, but next year will be more effective and we do want as many entries as possible. We will bring a judge again and we want it COLLEEN HOBE/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Andrew Layton had one of his cartoons shovm at the exhibit. to be just as competitive." The projects fell under one of sij categories: animation, audio, inter active, 3-D, video and Web, accord ing to Walsh. Jillian McDonald, assistant pro fessor of computer art at Pace Uni versity in New York, served as juror for the show. "We, as a department, try to select someone to jury the show who w think will be very fair and who has good eye," said Walsh. "We respect this juror as a professor and some one who has had a lot of experi- Forget Dr. Phil, UNCA professor tackles relationship problems “Relationships are our rea son for being. From a rela tionship flows mental, emo tional and spiritual growth) communication and mutual fulfillment” -Cheryl McClarj, author and UNCA health COURTESY OF CHERYL MCCLARY Shelby Thompson Features Reporter In this age of high divorce rates, and even higher Prozac subscrip tions, one sometimes wonders why people still get married. Old fash ioned Or not, marriage remains one of the most prized sanctities out there. Once married, however, couples often find it hard to stay together. "Relationships are our reason for being. From a relationship flows mental, emotional and spiritual growth, communication and mu tual fulfdlment," said Cheryl McClary whose new book focuses The Asheville author and UNCA women's health professor's new book, "The Commitment Chronicles: How You Can Stay Happily Married," aims to keep marriages not only alive, but healthy and happy. Released on Jan. 19, the book has exploded onto Amazon.com's Best Seller list. "Chronicles" made it to number one on Amazon's Movers and Shakers list and number 10 out of the top 100 books on the list, according to the Web site www.commitmentchroniclcs.com The Movers and Shakers list in dexes books by the biggest surge in sales on Amazon over a 24-hour period. McClary uses humor to get her point across. Her marriage hit rock bottom several years ago, and rather than giving up and walking out, she turned inward and realized that only she could change things; make things better. "I realized I cared and wanted to help this clueless husband of mine," she said. Through this experience with her husband, she says that a light bulb came on and she knew she wanted to save the marriage, but only by saving herself "Chronicles" in cludes this anecdote as well as some from her past relationships. Why has this book blown itself out of the water? It might be due to the surge in self-help book sales, but the book proves to be more than that. "The Commitment Chronicles" requires that women take an honest approach to discovering the root of their relationship problems by dig ging into their own problems first. This "requires that a woman be strong and independent, happy within herself, journeying towards wholeness," says McClary. The book demands that women look introspectively at how they can make relationships equal and balanced by being self-satisfied. Only by women knowing and lov ing themselves can they truly suc ceed at relationships., McClary believes that people must work hard to maintain healthy relationships, and of any one, she knows this. It took years of studying and teaching women, and her own personal experience being married, for McClary to dis cover what it takes to make it in a marriage. She has been married for 23 years and has two sons. The marriage has evolved immensely in those years. Through her own self-dis covery and self-love she has found herself able to communicate with other women to help them help themselves. Her book identifies two types of love, real love and surreal love. The trouble, she writes, lies in under standing the difference. Surreal love stems from a distortion of real love, in which the woman approaches her relationship with superficiality and insecurity. She says this type of love only expresses unhealthiness and perhaps a low self-image. Sur real love seems fantasy-based and ignores the issues at hand within a woman. Real love, however, requires a woman to stop depending on some one else to make her whole. A woman must be able to figure her self out first before she can commit to a real love relationship. "Surreal love is dangerous, not only because it is never the basis for a healthy, real relationship, but more importantly because it causes you to become someone would you never want to be," said McClary. The book outlines the path a woman can take to get into and maintain a real love relationship. McClary says that when a woman begins to shine and show that she has become an improved and inde pendent woman; her partner can't help but take notice and begin to improve himself as well. Through this mutual growth, started by the woman, the relationship can reach a whole new level of commitment. McClary grew up in Memphis and received her Ph. D. in Women's Health at the University of Tennes see. She studied a wide yarigty of subjects including French, Chemis try and Biology and traveled abroad. Her southern roots have moved ha to Asheville, where she has stretched her talents between being a teacher, a mother, a wife, a songwriter and an attorney. Dissecting relationships seems to be only one of her talents. Along with the long list of activities above, she also explores various other sub jects spanning from stress reduction to aging, as well as sexuality, medi cal ethics, quitting smoking, envi ronmental health impact and na tional security, according to the Committment Chronicles Web site, www.commitmentchronicles.com. "The Commitment Chronicles,' published by Top Shelf Press, can be found in select bookstores in the western North Carolina Area, in cluding Malaprops, as well as on Amazon.com. Her sales reflect a I small portion of the book’s impact. I
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