Tuesday, May 14, 1974
N.C. ESSAY
Page 9
Russians Shackle A Ballet Dancer
ByJACKHERZBERG
Valery Panov has been called “one of
the most remarkable male dancers of our
day.” He has also been compared to
ballet immortals Nijinsky and Fokine.
However, in 1972, Panov was fired from
the famous Kirov Ballet, arrested and
placed in a bug-infested prison without
food for three days. He was later kept in
a prison cell for ten days with amputees
who “unscrewed their artificial limbs
and hung them on the walls of the cell.
“In 1973, he was officially informed that
he would never again be allowed to dance
in the U.S.S.R. His wife, Galena, was
demoted from soloist to a bottom
member of the corps-de- ballet, a position
from which she quickly resign^. The
Panovs’ crime? His discharge and
imprisonment, and her demotion, were
direct results of his application for exit
visas to Israel. Panov is a Jew.
Now, he is dying. The shock of
harrassment brought on gastritis, a liver
ailment and ulcer symptoms. Both he
and his wife have been confined to their
10 by 16 foot apartment and forbidden to
practice. On November 2, 1973, they
began a hunger strike, stating that “Our
professional death will be followed by our
physical death.” The strike ended when
Soviet officials agreed to accept formal
application for exit visas. A month later.
Panov was informed that he was free to
leave for Israel, but his wife was to
remain. He immediately rejected this
maneuver to trade his wife for freedom.
Now, the Panov s wait.
Concern in U.S. High
Public concern in the U.S. is high. Huge
rallies have been held in New York and
Boston, denouncing the persecution of
the Panovs. Walkouts of Russian-based
arts companies were staged in the U.S.
and Great Britain. A committee was
formed to draw wider attention to the
Panovs’ plight. Members of the
committee include Barbra Streisand,
Pauline Koner, Clive Barnes, Joel Grey
and many other concerned artists and
citizens. In a landmark decision, the
Kirov’s summer tour of the U.S. has been
cancelled. The president of Columbia
Artists, who was to sponsor the Kirov
here said, “the Panovs’situation was a
factor that made the Kirov Company’s
tour impossible at this time.” Similar
proposals in London threaten boycotts of
all Soviet artists in both countries.
Public pressure is our only tool! A
petition signed at one of the New York
rallies stated, “We of the American
theatre, music, dance, and literary
world shall exercise every effort to
sensitize world public opinion to
(Panovs’) plight.” As students and
teachers of the arts, we are especially
obligated to leave the ranks of apathy
■-S;
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and act immediately.’
Voice yourself to:
The Committee for Valery and Galina
Panov
Room 1860
11 West 42nd Street
New York, New York 10036
Ambassador Jakof Malik
Soviet Mission to the U.N.
136 East 67th Street
New York, New York 10021
Mr. Kamleshwar Das
Commissioner of Human Rights
United Nations
New York, New York 10017
Ambassador Anatoly Dobrynin
Embassy of the U.S.S.R.
1125 16th Street N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20036
Jack Herzberg is a high school dance
major.
A Revealing Glimpse Of Nude Modeling
By SONNY LINDER
That peculiarly 1974 phenomenon,
streaking, has brought with it perhaps
the most frank acceptance of nudity
since our righteous Puritan forefathers
gasped at the proverbial “glimpse of
stocking.” It therefore seems only right
to shed some added light onto an older,
bolder form of bare factuality- nude
modeling.
Since the days of prehistory, man has
felt the desire to portray the image of the
naked human body on French cave walls,
in tombs, and other reUgious and
decorative places. The pyramids of
Egypt are filled with both clothed and
unclothed persons, and the Minoan
renderings unearthed in Troy reveal the
bare, supple bodies of youths leaping
over the horns of sacred bulls.
Following the footsteps of their
Mediterranean neighbors, the ancient
Greeks produced what is considered by
many modems to be the epitome of its
style-the classic nude. Indeed, how
many people nowadays are unfamiliar
with such works as Venus de Milo and &e
many scenes of Hercules, club in hand,
battling the snakes, lions, and giants of
Olympian mythos?
The Renaissance witnessed a surge of
appreciation of the nude form.
Michaelangelo’s “David” and his Sistine
Chapel murals, the works of Bernini,
Donatello and Leonardo Da Vinci all
focus on the human form in its profound,
natural condition.
Letter to
the Editor
On behalf of the Sanitarians of Forsyth
County Health Department, I would like
to thank the students, staff, and cafeteria
personnel of the North Carolina School of
the Arts for the fine spirit of cooperation
which prevailed during our recent
investigation of the sickness which
struck students of the school.
It may be a long time before we can
determine to our satisfaction what went
wrong, if indeed anything did go wrong,
but the cooperative attitude of each
person contacted will be long
remembered.
BUREAU OF ENVIRONMENTAL
HEALTH
Martin W. Ericson, Chief
Today, many people regard the
sculpture of Rodin, the 19th century
arti^ who carved “The Kiss” and “The
Thinker,” as one of the greatest sculptors
of all time.
The 20th century, with the magnificent
fountains and human mountains of
Gustav Veigland, a Scandinavian,
portray the nude as playing an integral
and vital part in the collective con
sciousness of both artist and audience.
Fortitude
As with many artistic processes, the
skill of the craftsman needs to be coupled
with the talent of the genius. And
nowhere more than in nude modeling do
the elusive skills of patience.
someone who will stand perfectly still, or
even almost still, for the usual 20 to 30
minutes pose. Human muscles, un
fortunately, have a tendency to knot up if
not kept relaxed; and if the unsuspecting
or unseasoned model happens to choose
one-foot or over-the-shoulder pose-a real
neckbreaker!-he is bound to wind up
shivering and shaking about half-way
through, much to the chagrin of his
employer.
Creativity
Although twenty minutes is the
average length of time for a pose, some
interesting short posea of one to five
minutes can be had if the model’s
imagination is set to work. I have found
that keeping my mind free of any
imagination, and just plain fortitude
come into play as the artist and the
model cooperate to produce the desired
results.
In two years of modeling for life
drawing classes and photographic work
(a modest length of time), I have been
shown that the general first impressions
about modeling are mostly false. Such
misconceptions as exhibitionism and
licentiousness play no part in most
modeling; these qualities probably would
even hamper the results, as in most arts.
And despite all the juicy stories of illicit
Parisian romances between the painter
and the paintee, I have yet to bed down
with anyone for whom I have posed. Of
course, there’s always next time...
Some facts about models and
modeling:
First, good models are hard to find!
Many times have I. heard the complaint
that it’s almost impossible to find
preconceptions about a pose until the
very la^ moment allows for both
spontaneity and creativity while
modeling. Actually, the thoughts that run
through a model’s mind probably con
cern whether or not the water in the john
was left on or “How many dots are there
in that acoustical ceiling?” I have found
that posing with another model allows for
some conversation and communication,
two soothing medicants for body and
mind.
From a financial aspect, art modeling
can be made into a lucrative sideline, or
even full-time vocation, depending upon
location and time commitment. In New
York City, for example, wages of $10-an-
hour and up are not unusual, while in
towns like Winston-Salem the highest
price I have ever seen was in an ad for a
female nude model, $15-an-hour. But one
must stay leery .of .such come-ons; many
stag films and porno packages do ad
vertise under the guise of legitimate
modeling. (Unless, or course, one digs
that sort of thing. A friend of mine has
spent many hours trying to convince me
of the many financial and esoteric
benefits of pornographic “display” work.
Guess I was just never hungry enough...)
Actually, the highest wage I have ever
personally received for modeling ser
vices canie from the Hanes Community
Center- six bucks an hour, two hours per
week. Ijowest prices I’ve seen come from
good ol’ NCSA with $2.00- per- hour;
although the amount of hours per week
available here is over four times those
offered by Hanes. But it’s still a ripoff.
Reasons for the high pay rate for
models are primarily threefold: the
degree of difficulty (It hurts!), the
irregularity of job opportunities, and a
shortage of good models.
Super-Embarrasing
While the first two explanations can be
dismissed as purely physical reasons, the
third is, in my opinion, a psychological
result. How many times I’ve heard the
remark that standing there in front of all
those eyes would be a super-
embarrassing denigration, while the
same people who say this display no
qualms as they streak brazenly across
campus on balmy spring evenings.
“Audendo magnus tegitur timor.”
Personally, I find the realm of
photographic modeling to be a bit more
exciting and creative than the life
drawing- for the model, anyway. Instad
of static twenty minute stances, a
photographic session requires many
short (perhaps 30-second) poses, the
brevity of which allows for more chance-
taking and interesting modeling. Also,
the whole aspect of facial expression
becomes more crucial to the content of
one’s po.se than in life drawing. Pay is
better, too. The average photo model
usually makes twice as much as the life
model, although ours are apt to be
shorter.
Whenever I am asked whether
modeling is some form of ego-tripping or
prostitution toward material gains, I
have found that the best reply is to agree.
Sure, I get personal satisfaction from
modeling, from contributing to the
conception of a potentially fine work of
art (corny as that may sound!). And I
also make some money, much to my
delight.
“But then again, my friend,” I answer,
“what man doesn’t try to have a good
time, whether working or playing? And
you must agree that we all have to "pay
the bills...”
Sonny Linder is a college drama major
and Essay staff member.
J