September 24, 1970
The N,C. Essay
Page 3
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The first week of school is a
typically tiring and confusing
period of time. Despite the sincere
efforts of administrative staffs to
welcome new and old students and pre
pare them for the coming year,
orientations and registrations are
usually chaotic. NCSA is no excep
tion; orientation week here was a
mind-boggling experience, filled with
bizarre little touches that kept stu
dents and staff alike in a constant
state of semi-bewilderment.
What made the week so exhausting
was the crowded schedule, which some
times resulted in all day testing,
long hours spent in lines, uncertain
ties about where to go and when,
courses that were not available.
Meanwhile, returning students reg
istered quickly and were left with
little to do.
The main problem was a lack of
organization, a mismanagement of time.
A much tighter, more complete first
week schedule must be drawn up. The
school simply has to find a way to
make the time(j5E^®3.ningful.
Sam Stone is the man who devised
much of the schedule. He is also the
first to realize its limitations: "I
think we have to ask ourselves what
orientation really means. It was too
long, a weary enterprise. But you have
to realize that this isn't an easy
school to get started. There are sev
eral things a student must do before
we can set the school in motion."
Stone felt that.the main ob
jective would be to_^tr^^_ai^^ shot ten
the process, while still trying to
accomplish all the things that have to
be donee The problem of having many
people with little or nothing to do
should be eliminated in the future:
"The reason we had the older students
come back early was because we wanted
to test the entire population of the
student body. There never has been a
serious testing program at this school
until this year." As it turned out,
about 80% of the student body took
some kind of placement test.
But students were not the only
ones at a disadvantage. Members of
the staff worked long hard hours
registering people, giving and grading
tests, and trying to co-ordinate what
they could of the schedule (which was
often next to impossible with tests
running into the evening). Deans
were also hindered by the faulty
organization. They had to hold their
own placements and auditions when
time allowed, upsetting their own
committments.
Although the problems of the
Dance department are not entirely
typical, they do illustrate the kind
of predicament deans faced.
We apologize for the delay of
this first issue of the Essay. But,
as initial ventures are prone to do,
we ran into many small, but difficult
problems. We've spent much of the
last two weeks looking for typists,
materials, etc. and writing stories.
Just when it seemed that we had
everything under reasonable control,
our press (the Great Rhythmic Print
ing Mother) wouldn't co-operate. If
anything else can possibly go wrong.
I'm sure it will. At any rate, we're
finally organized and you can ex
pect a new Essay on Friday of each
week. Some interesting things should
be happening, so keep reading. Peace,
Brothers.
Editor
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"I think this a fabulous
school," says Nelle Fisher, the new
Modern Dance teacher.
When Miss Fisher was in train
ing, no arts and academics school
was available. She started dancing
at ten, taking a half an hour of
ballet a week at the Cornish School
in Seattle, Washington. She soon be
came a "dedicated ballerina," rush
ing back and forth from public
school to her dance classes.
During a concentrated summer
course, a guest teacher, Martha
Graham, "discovered her," and Miss
Fisher discovered modern dance as a
new outlook on "what it means to
move." At nineteen, she went to New
York City with a scholarship at the
Neighborhood Playhouse where Martha
Graham taught.
After two years of training at
the Playhouse, Miss Fisher was asked
to join the Graham company. "It was
hard to live in New York on a dancer's
salary," so she took on a second job
as a principle dancer at Radio City
Music Hall.
This was the beginning of a pro
fessional career of over thirty years
which encompassed performing, direct
ing, choreographing and teaching. Miss
Fisher also appeared on Broadway un
der Jerome Robbins, Agnes deMille,
Hanya Holm, Lee Sherman and Michael
Kidd, often in leading roles. She
made one film and also choreographed
off-Broadway shows and summer
musicals.
After live shows, Miss Fisher
turned to television for six years,
dancing in over six hundred shows
and pioneering dance in color tv.
She was a featured artist on "Your
Show Of Shows," starring Sid Ceasar
(in which Robert Lingren and Duncan
Noble also danced). In a tv special,
"Alice In Wonderland," choreographed
by Pauline Koner, Miss Fisher played
The Doormouse. , k
(corir. on p^-5 j
The Symphony no. 88 in G major,
the most famous of the Paris sym
phonies, represents one of the peaks
of inspiration and craftsmanship
Haydn attained with the symphonic
form. Probably composed in 1787, the
symphony is noted for its inventive
and economic use of contrapuntal and
melodic devices, significant in
Haydn's mature years. The work is
easily enjoyable, exemplifying his
characteristic humor and joviality.
The Symphony in B-flat no. 102,
though not as famous as 88, is
equally outstanding. The work dis
plays ingenious originality and
freshness, containing some inter
esting harmonic modulations. The
tenth of the twelve "London" master
pieces Haydn composed for J.P. Salomon
it was first performed on February 2,
1795. Triumphantly received, it fur
ther confirmed Haydn's reputation
among the enthusiastic London audi
ences.
Considering the N.Y. Philhar
monic's occasional sluggish quality
of ensemble and Bernstein's tendency
to overlook details, this recording
is pleasantly surprising. One would
expect less from an orchestra that
specializes in dramatic interpre
tations and massive volumes of
sound. However, the Philharmonic
performs these symphonies with char
acter and polish, surpassing many of
their earlier recordings of music
from this period.
The 88th is efficiently played,
although at times__^e best choice re
garding artistic Sbsare apparently
hasn't been made. It is difficult
to evaluate the symphony's performance
on the whole without considering the
different performance level of each
movement. Careful balance, controlled
tone and precision mark the spark
ling delivery of the first movement.
In particular, the lower string sec
tion is to be admired for its rhy
thmic and totally accurate unison
playing, giving the impression of
one instrument. The second movement,
however, is disappointing. A some
what slower tempo is taken here,
consequently the phrasing is awk
ward and the line suffers. A joyous
minuet follows, though rough and a
bit carried away. The fourth move
ment is delightfully played, al
though a pushed tempo causes some
problems in accurate articulation.
The Reiner recording is recommended
for a more definitive version (Vic.
VICS-1366).
The S3nnphony no. 102 in B-flat
is performed well throughout. All
tempi are satisfying, the execution
demonstrating sublety, percision,
balance and excitement. This could
be the best recording of this part
icular work available.
on f^-5)