N ovemb e r 10» 1969
The N. C. Essa;
Page 5
Le'tterTd^e Edttdr
Monday evening last, nine of us
rather spontaneously walked into the
monthly faculty meeting and read a
list of student grievences - in
cluding food. I was, however, quite
unimpressed by various paranoiac
attitudes held by a number of our
superiors. In the first place, we
did not enter Room 113 with blood
in our eyes, but to list our griev
ences. I think the most valid point
stressed while we were there was
that the students do not know why
various points of poor food and
student non-safety must be endured.
If we are only to eat our daily bowl
of rice and must climb through the
stratosphere to reach the main
building from the new dorms, we must
know why^ and furthermore, we must
also know that there is no way we
can avoid being Tibetan monks. How
ever, when a situation can be readily
corrected and nothing is being done
about it, then the natives will be
restless, my dears.
1 do not agree with Sunday
night’s demonstration. I felt that
Lhe means did not justify the ends.
1 also did not wish to become part
of a spontaneous demonstration that
•••niy caused the cafeteria ladies
more work. And finally, I don’t
,ike mobs. However, we can remedy
the situation now by intelligently
investigating these problems and
registering our displeasure in an
intelligent manner. Yes, friends,
bureaucracy is not fun.
One important item, Messr.
Ward and Hjtatt stated repeatedly that
they were not aware of these situ
ations and of the current student
unrest. If such be the case, then
it is obviously up to us to speak up.
Don’t sit there and gripe - go
knock on somebody's door.
I think that the communication
around here is nigh unto hopeless
and if necessary, I think a weekly
memo should be posted as to why we
are crossing the Red Sea and we
should know if the bureaucracy has
managed to install telephones at
Fort ABC.
Finally, something must be said
about the current outside invasion.
It must be stressed that we are in
a most inpleasant area and that
we must take every precaution to
protect ourselves. These things
need to be pointed out to the younger
students and that no one should
take the slightest chance. If it
involves starving in the dormitory
vs. walking to the Wagon Wheel, then
starve.
Nancy LindquiSt
REVIEW - DANCE
(Cont, from 'page 4)
almost impossible but the over-riding
gaiety is one feeling no less impor
tant or intrinsic than Mr. Sanders’
somber view. The marvelous
revelation of FZio Ftao, especially
after seeing Fugitive Visions^ is the
breadth of experience that we can
endure and savor. We sometimes evi
dence an all too powerful sensation
that the kind of joy Mr. Noble ex
pounds is something subsidiary,
something less than the pathos we
see in Mr. Sanders’ work. I'would
suggest that we merely take this joy
for granted. Joy, I find (and this
seems a great part of Ftio Ftao),
is rather like breath or the feeling
of our own skin; we don't remember
yesterday’s breathes or joys, we dis
cover their worth only when they are
hard to come by or when we see. them
disappear. We remember and can re
create our sorrows; it is not so with
joy. Is it possible, then, that the
sorrows are the unnatural things,
the intruders into our lives?
A word about performances and
some impressions of beauty. Watch
Jan Horn, her movement. The beauty
of her work is that her movements do
not stop at the end of her exten
sion; they spread and envelop us with
an expansiveness that begins with
human skill and ends with a joy of,
and thejefprg^, a^ justification, simply,
of our being alive. That's what
dance is for. The beauty of Gina
V£dal is one of such grace and ele-
gance that her performance in The
Dreamer fills us with a tension and
unbelief that so much can be de
manded of grace and that grace should
be so generous as to respond.
Rebecca McLain dances with a majesty
and presence that dwarfs our more
petty feelings of the self; one
feels himself saying, "I have not
tried hard enough" when he watches
her perform. Eric McCullough has
discovered the energy and gusto of
his art and, as far as I can tell,
has become a dancer now. Svea Eklof
can do it all. The corps, in each
of the ballets, danced with an assur
ance and the pleasure in their work
that elevated them from background
performers to a unity of expression
with the soloists.
There are, I must add, notes I
would give, my views of what could
be improved if the works were- to be
put aside for more rehearsal. But
those matters are not of concern in
this writing.
My concern is for an understand
ing of what the performing arts must
attempt and what we as students of
the arts must demand of ourselves.
And when we find evenings, those
elusive moments, of understanding
and of beauty we must say so or miss
the point.
Peter Lane Stambler
(Cent, from page 4)
sense of understanding come through.
Here, Janis and the band are together
for one of the few times on the
record. Her voice is strong, her
passion controlled; the horns are
clean and biting in ensemble, des
pite the fact that they draw from an
old Electric Flag/Nick Granavites’
riff. Yet, on no cut does Joplin
achieve the wrenching quality of her
tour de force, Bdtl and Chain•
This is a disappointing LP. It
disappoints because one would expect
Janis to be more careful, to be more
aware of her direction. It disappoints
because one hoped that her star
image would not interfere with the
music, and it has, in monstrous
proportions. It disappoints be
cause one thought that the band
behind her would increase, not con
fuse, the singer's sense of dy
namics. It disappoints because
this is Janis Joplin, dammit, not
some second-rate singer.
What is needed now is for Janis
to seriously inspect her position
and intention, to question the mo
tives behind this LP and the cir
cumstances which permitted it to
happen. As a fan, it is painful to
say these things, but the obvious
cannot be dismissed. If Janis
Joplin cannot produce a record of
any more artistic integrity than
Cozmio Blues, it may be time for
her to call it a day.
n.c.S-ft s i UD^nr
ujins coniGST
Nicholas Smith is the state high
school winner of the Music Teachers
National Association Contest. He
will go to Birmingham, Alabama on
March 7 to compete in. the Southern
division,. The winner at Alabama
will go on to Miami for the National
Convention in April.
Mr. Smith won this honor at Elon
College during the annual state MTNA
convention. As the winner, he was
asked to play his pieces in the final
program held October 26. They were:
Bach, Prelvde and Fugue in Of Majors
Book I of The yell-Tempered Clavier;
Ondine from Gaspard de la Nuit by
Ravel; and the Chopin Baoorolle.