6 The Compass Monday, December 14,1998
4.
I'‘■‘■ ''.-I '*
Yugoslavian dance company performed
Europe’s gypsy music at ECSU
By Marty Jacobi
Splashes of color moved about the
stage when Frula, a company of Yugo
slavian dancers, performed at Moore
Hall Auditoriimi on Nov. 18 as part of
Elizabeth City State Uruversity's Ly
ceum Concert Series.
Frula, also a small wooden type of
flute, is the name of an international
company of 30 dancers and musicians
whose folk dancing and music revved
the audience up at Moore Hall with
the traditional Greek kicks and foot-
slapping dances, and calmed viewers
with soothingly rhythmic eastern melo
dies and graceful moves.
Dragoslav Dzadzevic, the art direc
tor and choreographer of the Tzigane
tour, said the reaction to their two-
month tour in the United States, which
included a stop at Carnegie Hall, was
well received.
"Almost all the halls sold out," he
said. "It's the 27th tour in the states,
coast to coast." After the ECSU perfor
mance, the group had two more shows
before returning to Yugoslavia.
Tzigane, meaning Gypsy, draws on
material from Spain, Hxmgary, Russia,
Rxmiania, Turkey, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria
and Greece. The six-piece live orches
tra featured Pista Bad, who is known
as "the world's greatest Gypsy violin
ist." The entourage provided the back
drop to the dances, as well as perform
ing a few solo numbers.
It was a virtual history lesson as the
music and dance told the gypsy stories
of eastern and southern Europe. Each
dance related an ethnic story or cul
tural aspect of a region or expressed
the feelings of a particular people in a
region or country.
One dance, called the "Silent Dance,"
portrayed the strong desire of the Serbs
to dance, even during hundreds of
years of Ottoman Turkish occupation
in Serbia, when the Serbs had to hide
deep in the forests of the mountains.
The only soimd of the dance on the
Moore HaU stage was of the girls' shoes
as they performed some lively foot
work.
The "Cikosi Dance" expressed the
excitement of the famous horsemen,
called Cikos, from Hungary, Rumania
and Yugoslavia; while the "Last Dance"
evoked the feelings of loneliness expe
rienced by the wandering peasant
shepherds of Vlasi.
In South Macedonia yotmg girls pre
pared for a wedding by washing the
bridal linen in a lake. The dance was
performed with long strips of linen
KE CUBE
WAR? PEACE
photo by Marti Jacobi
Editor-at-Large
The dazzling diversity and contrasts of Yugoslavia are expressed by this dance,
aptly named “Yugoslavia”.
waved into a variety of patterns, in
cluding the bride's veil.
The second act was devoted to the
life of the Gypsy. It emphasized the
intricate footwork of the women and
leaps and antics of the men. "The
Woodcutters" described the joy of the
gypsy woodsmen in reuniting with old
friends after months of solitude and
hard work in the forests.
The Gypsies, who originally came
from India and spread out into many
coimtries, kept their traditional ways
of Ufe, yet added a touch of the local
customs into their dances. The "Gyp
sies' Fate" depicted a farewell to the
king, the immigration of the gypsies
and their adaptation to their new
homes.
The Series' next performance will be
"The Snow Queen" on Sun. February
28th at 7:30 p.m.
Ice Cube returns with WAR and PEACE.
By Ronel Brewer
Having never been a fan of the West
Coast or Southern style of rap, for years
I've been thoroughly intrigued with a
yoimg man by the name of O'shea Jack
son. You irught know him as Ice Cube.
It's not surprising though with him
being one of the most enduring, versa
tile, controversial, and engaging fig
ures ever to emerge out of the hip hop
culture.
Having established himself as a film
phenomenon- acclaimed actor, screen
writer, director, and producer- Cube
comes back with a vehgence. He lets
you know that he's out for a while but
he's definitely not gone.
He's spent most of 1998 working at
an astonishing rate, completing not one,
but two full-length albums entitled
WAR and PEACE.
"War and Peace is my best record in
years," says Cube.
The first volume War was released
on November 17, 1998, on Priority
Records, with Peace to follow in 1999.
Just as his album Death Certificate pre
sented a life side and a death side. Cube
explores the war/peace dialectic in well
over 2 hours of music.
"The War disc is talking about what I
think is the war of life and war of liv
ing, " Cube explains.’
"And Peace is gonna be a different
look; it's a different record than any I
have ever done."
Cube can't be but so modest about
the music "The production on this al
bum is superior to anything I have ever
done." This albimi features a collec
tion of artists including: Master P, Short
Khop, and Mack 10. His first single to
drop was "Pushin' Weight". I'm sure
that any car with a booming system
would appreciate the low tones emit
ted on every track.
The interludes alone are almost
enough to make you want the album.
The dark and gloomy voices put you
right in the thick of "War." You can
listen to this album from beginning to
end, as a matter of fact, you might not
be able to listen any other way. This
amazing Ice Cube production captures
you, much like a movie, takes you to a
climax and resolution, all the while
never letting you go.
I guess Ice Cube said it best, "I can
never play out, because people are still
biting my styles, " referring to his first
solo album, Amerikka's Most Wanted.
Just think that this is one of two discs
(War and Peace) and the best is always
saved for last."
Peace i i i 'i>^