The Pen
November 1998
FOCUS
7
Nubiance walks on-campus and beyond
By Landra Phillips
Correspondent
Every Monday and Wednesday
night, the auditorium in the Seby
Jones Fine Arts Building trans
forms into the runways of New
York, Paris, and Milan, for the 35
men and women who make up, the
Nubiance Modeling Troupe.
The journey into their world
gave insight into a unique collage
of models that are an array of dif
ferent hues, shapes, and sizes.
As they await the difficult and
painstaking process of rehearsing
for their fashion show in Rock Hill,
South Carolina, they eagerly await
their cue to begin from head cho
reographer, Vashawn Marshall,
junior, communication.
Dressed in everything from jeans
to sweat pants, they began to walk
down the well-lit stage in singles
and pairs with one thing in mind:
to showcase the art of runway
modeling.
“Twenty jumping jacks. Lets
go!” could be heard echoing from
the voice of Marshall. In a scene
reminiscent of a Richard Simmons
thirty-minute workout, the mod
els began to move up and down,
taking deep breaths, in and out.
Before the models even begin to
..... Photo by Roslyn Belk
Nubiance Modehng Troupe in the elegance of the evening.
think about walking down the run
way, they must endure the rigorous
aerobic warm-up that Marshall has
created. “It is important to me that
the models have the stamina it takes
to rehearse and put on a grand fash
ion show”, says Marshall. The seri
ousness of her workout shows, be
cause by the time they are finished,
the entire troupe is dripping with
sweat.
The next phase of rehearsal requires
the models to form two lines and
walk down the runway in singles
and pairs. This is the final warm-up
before they begin working on indi
vidual scenes.
Throughout the auditorium, the
house music song “Walk for Me,”
can be heard pumping from the
speakers, as models clap for each
member who graces the end of the
runway.
Marshall has had an interest in the
Levi Jeans launches nationwide search
for the next collegiate web-celebs
FROM U-WIRE
Levi.com is combing the coun
try for three brave college students
who think the can survive an en
tire semester buying everything
they will need online — from
Twinkies and condoms to lava
lamps and bike tires. In prepara
tion for the grand opening of the
Levis ® Online Store in Novem
ber.
A semester online will uncover
the sawiest cyber-shopping co-eds.
College students who think
they’ve got what it takes to be one
of 1999 s hot web-celebs can log
onto www.levi.com between Novem
ber 16-23 to enter. Students should
be registered and living on campus
at a four-year college in the U.S., and
will be asked to share the wackiest
online purchase they’ve ever made.
The three lucky students chosen for
the mission will score a weekly online
shopping allowance and will show
cast their cyber shopping expertise via
“live” programming and an in-room
webcam.
Virtual voyeurs can see what they’re
buying, how they look in their latest
“Levi.com” threads and even what
surprise “guests” drop by for web-
cameos.
Levi’s ® is celebrating that brand’s
venture into the world of cyber-shop
ping with this unprecedented ex
periment. With 79% of college stu
dents regularly surfing the Net and
60% spending at least an hour
online every day, the Levi’s ® brand
thinks these cyber-students can
teach the rest of America a byte or
two about the virtual world at their
fingertips.
This cyber-commerce adventure
will not only showcase for web—
voyeures the specific items that the
Semester Online cyber—shoppers
dig up on the web (like the random
bonsai tree for Mom’s birthday), but
will also answer the burning ques
tion of whether the fixture of every
day shopping revolves around the
mighty mouse.
fashion industry since she was a
small child. She applies her love for
modeling and clothing design, as the
Head Choreographer for Nubiance
Modeling Troupe. In this capacity,
she has the responsibility of com
ing up with the various scenes,
themes and names for each fashion
show. Without Marshall’s creativity
and innovation, the models would
have nothing to prepare so diligently
for.
The title of the show that she
coined for their October 10th per
formance in Rock Hill, is T/;e New
Book. This particular show has
seven scenes, including the intro
duction and the finale.
As Marshall passionately states,
"^The New Book comes from my
heart, and it has taken a lot of effort
to teach the models many of the in
tricately choreographed scenes. I
want the models as well as the audi
ence to feel what I feel, because it
truly comes from the heart.”
The introduction of The New
Book is entitled Genesis. It is ap
parent how much it took the mod
els to perfect this scene, by the over
whelming amount of feeling and
emotion they put into their charac
ter. What’s more, each model is in
total synch with one another, which
only enhances the choreography of
the scene.
Genesis depicts a woman having
a baby while models are coming
from backstage, and the back of the
theatre with their hands folded, con
centrating like their lives depended
on it.
As they wait for Brain McKnight’s
song The Charioty they are in male,
female pairs balled up in crouched
positions on the floor. When the
music begins, they use angelic like
motions, as the men caress the
woman in a series of exotic move
ments. As the couples on the stairs
make their way to the stage for the
climax, they form two parallel lines
that resemble the parting of the Red
Sea.
Next, one of the male models
takes away a dead woman who has
just given birth, and then like a
flashing beam of light, an angel ap
pears with the newborn child. All
of the models behold the power as
they walk backwards slowly, and fall
to the floor.
At the end of the introduction,
everyone stands up and claps, and
Marshall says in a firm tone, “Let’s
take it from the top.”
Nubiance practices the introduc
tion three times, because their goal
is perfected. As Assistant Choreog
rapher Leon Randle states, “ With
all of our work and preparation, we
are displaying how much we love the
modeling troupe and its Nubian
models.”
With less than one week until
show time, the entire troupe will
continue to endure the hardships
that come with rehearsing for a fash
ion show of this magnitude. When
Nubiance takes the John W. Mar
tin Gym on the campus of Clinton
Junior College by storm, they will
have the opportunity to display their
hard work in front of thousands, for
the grand opening of Rock Grove
AME Zion Church’s Education
Center.
The official title of the event they
will perform is An Evening of Fash
ion: Dare to be Different! Anything
but Ordinary!
Nubiance Modeling Troupe is out
of the ordinary. They are in a world
of their own that constantly test
their dedication and preparation for
the art of runway modeling.
Photo by Neice L King
Division of Natural Sciences, Mathematics and Allied Health held their
end of the semester cook - out with the famous 'Ken-Burger/
Delany Sisters, still making headlines
By Michael Lucas
StaffWriter
“Having Our Say” by the Delany sisters was October’s book of the
month where the student/faculty forum discussed on September 29th.
Written by Sarah and Elizabeth Delany the book explains these sis
ters extraordinary lives. The sisters, who lived more than a 100 years
saw many changes in race relations in America, including the end of
the Jim Crow laws.
They were highly educated and well rounded women.
Sarah received a bachelor’s and master’s degree from Teachers Col
lege at Columbia University. She was the first appointed black home
economics teacher on the high school level in New York city, and
Elizabeth was the second black women licensed to practice dentistry.
These sisters have overcome many obstacles as black women and so
they will be remembered in American history.
This book is special to St. Aug because the sisters were born and
raised on many parts of the campus that we walk and travel on every
day.
Today, Delany Hall, which is a womens’ dormitory is named after
these extraordinary ladies.
The discussion was lead by Linda Henry-Simmons, head of the li
brary and Dr. La Verne Weldon, assistant professor of Education, in
the library conference room.
I chose Having our Say,’ to let other students know the history of
these two remarkable women,” says Simmons.
The Delany s have decedents that are a part of St. Aug today
Father Thomas Logan, the new chaplain and Peter Murphy, student
who is the grandson of ten Delany children.
Every month students and feculty will choose a book to discuss and
this month is “Voice from the South,” by Anna J. Cooper.