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(02/17/09 4:00pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>IN HIS EMPTY ART STUDIO on Woodlawn Avenue, senior Troy Mottard is repainting the walls a fresh hue of white. His jeans and navy sweatshirt, splattered with bits of paint, are characteristic of the rest of his wardrobe. He takes a break from stirring paint and fiddles with the black iPod sitting nearby. It, too, is splashed with a drop of red. A fine arts student in oil painting, Mottard believes creativity isn’t something you can touch, but something you can feel. “I think of creativity as a physical place that keeps changing,” he says. “It’s an opinion, it’s how you feel a certain way, and it keeps changing.”To Mottard, art isn’t just interesting. It’s a part of who he is, as essential as sleep or breathing. Strip him of his canvas, paints, and brushes, and he might burst, spewing creative energy out around him. “When I’m making something, I get a sense of euphoria, and if I stop, I don’t have that feeling anymore,” he says. “It’s not exactly an addiction, but it is a craving.”Artists everywhere talk of the allure of their craft – this need to be creative – but what is creativity? Psychologists say it’s the generation of ideas, insights, or problem solutions that are new or meant to be useful, or as an elusive quality waiting to be tapped and unleashed, but those definitions only go so far. How is creativity generated? Is it innate or fostered by time, environment, and experience? And is it something we’re all capable of? Finding answers to those questions is, in a sense, IU professor Jonathan Plucker’s raison d’etre. Plucker, a professor of educational psychology and cognitive sciences, specializes in creativity research. He says the word “creativity” has been wrongly defined in the past. “Some say it’s only originality, but different doesn’t always mean creative,” he says. “It’s a trap we’ve gotten into.” Plucker defines creativity as originality and usefulness, but only within a specific social context, since these terms are difficult to define. “It’s very relative, very situational,” he says. He says he believes that though some people are more creative than others, everyone has the potential. Unfortunately, he says most people don’t even begin to tap into their creativity. “For all intents and purposes, the nature versus nurturer argument is irrelevant because we can all be more creative,” Plucker says. IU graduate David Schneider hasn’t had any trouble tapping into his creative side thus far. A classical music composer, he’s spent the last 10 years devoted to his music. When he began working on the piece that would complete his master’s degree in composition from the Jacobs School of Music, he was sure of two things: First, it would not be written for an orchestra, and second, it would be unusual. He centered it on two Shakespearian sonnets that drew him in: the well-known Sonnet 18 (“Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day”) and the lesser-known Sonnet 65, which begins “Since brass, nor stone, nor earth, nor boundless sea.” To Schneider, the poems shared a common thread. Both, he says, comment on the transitory nature of life, and the ability of art not only to preserve, but also to persevere when everything else is lost.The end result is something Schneider says he feels particular affection for. Though time and effort are surely a factor — from start to finish, it took him two years to complete — it’s more than that. When he first tried his hand at composing, he found it was mysterious, romantic, even, and hearing a finished composition such as this one reacquaints him with those early moments of magic. But more importantly, perhaps, it’s another reminder of his long-realized desire to create. “There was no particular moment that I decided I would be a composer,” he says. “I just always knew that I would do something creative.” One way to unhinge creative abilities is to silence the inner critic, says Ken Weitzman, a professional playwright and visiting professor in IU’s playwriting program. Weitzman describes creativity as the “reordering of the status quo.” Though he says everyone has the ability to be creative, he also believes it must be nurtured. He teaches his undergraduate students this by encouraging them to not only develop their voices, but to feel comfortable with what they have to say.During a recent class, he gave an exercise to help free the mind’s natural impulses. He handed out two note cards to his students. On one card, they were told to write a cliche, and on the other, something specific. After passing the cards around, Weitzman told them to use the phrases as the opening and closing lines of a monologue. His only stipulation was that they write continuously for 10 minutes without lifting their pens from the paper. He didn’t care how vulgar, absurd, or silly their writing became, just that they not stop. “You have to turn the inner sensor off,” he says. “You can judge everything you write to the point where it never makes it on the page.”Emma Vaughn, who graduated from IU in December with a degree in psychology, wrote her honors thesis on creativity, paying particular attention to mood. Psychologists say mood is perhaps the most widely studied and least disputed predictor of creativity. Though many studies propose that positive moods do improve creative problem solving, there are few theories explaining just how it happens. Perhaps one explanation is that in some cases, it is a negative mood that actually increases creativity. Psychologist Carsten De Dreu, of the University of Amsterdam, published in 2007 an oft-cited article theorizing that creativity is the function of both mental flexibility and persistence. Through various studies, he found that while positive moods led to higher levels of mental flexibility, tasks that required problem solving within a narrower framework were better facilitated by negative moods.Vaughn says she wanted to explore the correlation between negative mood and creativity after studying artists such as English novelist Virginia Woolf, who suffered breakdowns and recurrent depressing periods while her creative and literary abilities remained in tact. “With this evidence in mind,” she says, “it makes it easy to question the generally accepted conclusion that positive mood states produce more creativity versus negative mood states.”Vaughn conducted two studies using introductory psychology students. At the start of the experiment, each person was told they would be participating in a linguistics task. They were then shown a randomly assigned film clip, which induced either a happy, sad, or neutral feeling. Vaughn was interested in exploring the things that came to people’s minds spontaneously, so participants were asked to list and rate modes of transportation as being commonplace (bus or car) or out of the ordinary (a magic carpet). One of her primary goals, she says, was to find whether happy participants would be more flexible information processors versus sad or neutral participants.What she found was that sad participants generated more creative responses overall. Though they demonstrated less mental flexibility, they showed greater numbers of ideas or insights. Vaughn says the negative mood participants tended to dig deeper within fewer categories whereas the positive mood participants had a broader range of responses. Similar to De Dreu’s findings, she concluded that negative moods could facilitate more creativity, but only within a narrower focus.Junior Keane Rowley, president of the IU break dance team, says his mood definitely affects how he dances. Having never danced before college, it was during his freshman year that the sounds of music drew him to the crowd gawking at the group of students spinning on their heads and hands. “When I’m mad, I dance tough. When I’m sad, I dance sad. When I’m happy, I dance silly,” Rowley says. He describes creativity as taking everything you’ve learned and experienced and changing the format. “Every minute is a new minute,” Rowley says. “Every day is a new day. It’s all about trying new things, taking risks.”WHILE VAUGHN ADMITS that more evidence is needed to support her findings, photographer Sara Baldwin, a junior majoring in journalism, would say she’s right. Sitting in Soma coffee shop, Baldwin, dressed in tight black jeans and a dark purple shirt, recounted her experience studying abroad in Paris this past summer through the School of Fine Arts. Upon arrival, she says the first thing she noticed was the number of bicycles in the city. Thinking that the bike culture in Paris would be similar to that of Bloomington’s – trendy, she says, with cycles reflective of owners – she decided to visit various Parisian neighborhoods and photograph people with their bikes in the hopes that the personality of each would change from place to place. What she found, though, was that the bikes didn’t say much about the areas at all. They weren’t telling or different, but rather “mode de vie,” a part of life and an essential form of transportation for many Parisians. Because of this, she had to turn her project, which every student had to complete by the end of the program, into a broader expression of transient life and culture in Paris.The project, “Les Velos de Paris,” or “The Bikes of Paris,” was successful in the end, but not without frustration and disappointment along the way. Though Baldwin says she loved being in Paris, she felt unhappy most of the time. “I was really lonely and frustrated most of the time,” she says, “but because of that, I worked really hard.”She says her negative mood drove her to devote all of her attention to the bike project. “The whole time that I was angry and lonely, that’s when I got the best work done because I was trying to prove everyone wrong.”Baldwin, who self-describes as being “obsessed” with photography (she owns 12 cameras), thinks of creativity as the manifestation of ideas that must be made into reality. And as she advances in her skills, she says she finds more opportunities to get creative with her photos by playing around with angles or lighting. She likes that photography changes the reality – and, as a result, the memory – of a situation. “I like the idea that photography is a mirror of reality. The lens distorts it, so it is different, but also exactly how you first saw it.” Professor Plucker says he believes there should be more talk about creativity, especially in today’s global world. “We need to put our money where our mouth is, and focus on innovative problem solving, ” he says. He worries that if we don’t, countries that do put attention on creativity, such as China and Taiwan, will eventually dominate. This, he says, is one reason why he keeps researching this area with such a passion. “Creativity really is the study of human potential,” he says. “Are we doing enough? Are we helping college students be creative? That should be priority number one.”
(02/17/09 4:00pm)
IN HIS EMPTY ART STUDIO on Woodlawn Avenue, senior Troy Mottard is repainting the walls a fresh hue of white. His jeans and navy sweatshirt, splattered with bits of paint, are characteristic of the rest of his wardrobe. He takes a break from stirring paint and fiddles with the black iPod sitting nearby. It, too, is splashed with a drop of red.
(02/11/09 11:55pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>If you have yet to see “Slumdog Millionaire,” director Danny Boyle’s “dramedy” about a slum boy from India who becomes a contestant on a game show, you’ve no doubt heard someone, somewhere, talking about the film. Weeks ago, it was the critics who were abuzz, after “Slumdog” received 10 Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Musical Score. More recently, it’s the people of India making the noise. They’re in a fury over how the movie depicts the slums and are accusing Boyle of exploiting India’s poorest populace. It’s been said before that bad press can sometimes be good press, and maybe that’s true. I say don’t let any press deter you from seeing this impeccably-crafted movie. “Slumdog” tells the story of Jamal Malik, played by Dev Patel, who played the part perfectly. When we first meet him, he’s a question away from winning the top prize on an Indian version of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.” But no one on the show has ever done this before, and Jamal is thought to have cheated his way to the top. From its opening moments, “Slumdog” grips your attention and never lets go. Both heartbreaking and heartwarming, the film has many elements of a Bollywood movie – including a fantastic soundtrack – without being contrived or flashy. There’s violence and suspense but also laughter and love. After all, Jamal’s reason for going on “Millionaire” is to reunite with his childhood sweetheart Latika, played by Freida Pinto.With a versatile collection of movies under his belt – this is, after all, the filmmaker who brought us “Trainspotting,” “Millions” and “28 Days Later” – Boyle seems drawn to creating films that challenge his audiences to see the world for what it is: beautiful, but also tough and unforgiving. In “Slumdog,” Boyle is highlighting the disparity between rich and poor, but there’s still a greater theme at work here: hope. In today’s troubling times, who can argue with that?
(10/14/08 3:00pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Youth voters are typically an overlooked group. It was a waste of resources to direct political dialogue at the 18- to 30-year-old demographic, who didn’t actually show up to the polls on Election Day, or so thinking went. Between 1972 and 2000, youth voter turnout dropped 16 percent, according to research conducted by the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, a research organization that focuses on the political engagement of young Americans. It’s not surprising, then, that politicians had all but given up on reaching the 20-somethings. But 2008 is different. Earlier this year, more than 6.5 million people under the age of 30 cast their votes in the primary elections and caucuses, and even more are expected to vote in November. With the numbers steadily rising (the 2004 election saw an 11 percent increase in youth voter turnout, the highest increase since 18-year-olds were granted the right to vote), the focus has shifted toward, rather than away from, young voters. Heather Evans, a Ph.D. candidate in IU’s political science department, studies youth voting trends. She became interested after the 2004 election, and is currently writing her dissertation on the topic. “There are so many motivations behind voting, and so many reasons for why young voters weren’t turning out, such as being concerned with finding a job or finding a mate,” she says. “I wanted to find out if that was true.” So what, exactly, is driving young voters to pay attention this time around? Many factors separate this election from others, but nothing compares to the power of the Internet and how instrumental it’s been in uniting young people. Campaign strategists for Barack Obama aptly realized this early on when they enlisted a new-media team whose main focus was to reach out to voters via the Internet. The result, a Web site called www.my.barackobama.com, allows supporters to find and create local events, and network with thousands of others from across the country who may have limited outlets for political discussion. “For a long time, politicians have missed young voters by ignoring that they’re the online generation,” Evans said. “Obama is doing a good job of using e-mail to reach voters. Young people feel like they’re making a difference.” The actual impact that youth voters will have on the outcome of this election remains to be seen, but these next few weeks are critical. Students campaigning for both sides will do all they can to mobilize youth voters, with each side hoping to become the edge that drives their candidate into the White House. At the helm of campaign involvement at IU are eight students who have dedicated themselves to bringing the national election to campus as the leaders of the top political groups. Their political affiliations may be different, but they share a common goal: working to change their corner of the political world.Pat Buschman is a junior majoring in history from Fort Wayne, Ind. He is secretary of the IU College Republicans.Daniel Herman is a sophomore majoring in telecommunications from Potomac, Md. He is vice president of the IU College Democrats.Andrew Murto is a junior majoring in English from Goshen, Ind. He recently took a semester off to complete an internship with Obama’s campaign office in Elkhart, Ind.Kyle Waggoner is a sophomore majoring in political science from Brownsburg, Ind. He interned with the Indiana Republican Party and attended the Republican National Convention.Chelsea Kane is a junior majoring in political science and psychology from Greenwood, Ind. She is chairwoman of the IU College Republicans. Rose Byrne is a senior majoring in biology from Lanesville, Ind. She is president of IU Students for Barack Obama.Neville Batiwalla is a graduate student majoring in psychology from India. He is the housing coordinator for IU Students for Barack Obama and a volunteer for Obama’s campaign office in Bloomington.Justin Hill is a junior majoring in political science and history from Mishawaka, Ind. He is chairman of IU Students for John McCain.
(12/07/07 4:00pm)
Inside Dharma Emporium, the psychedelic thrift shop on Kirkwood Avenue that sells a cluttered and expansive array of all things ‘60s and ‘70s, it takes only a moment for owner Rick Barbrick to point out his favorite possession. It is a framed photograph, enlarged to almost triple its original size, of a 26-year-old Barbrick, jubilant with a wide smile, wedged between Richard “Cheech” Marin and Tommy Chong.\nThat picture, one of the few items in the store not for sale, hangs slightly crooked on one of the pale, purple walls, just to the right of where Barbrick sits behind the counter. Now 55, Barbrick looks almost nothing like his former self. The top of his head is bald, and the hairs that remain intertwine in a mix of white and gray strands that hang wispily around his ears. He is tan and thin, like in the picture, but he now has a slight gut that pooches out against a faded white and pink tie-dyed shirt. He wears Teva sandals, and from his neck hangs a tattered IU lanyard. His eyes, a clear, sea-blue color, bulge ever so slightly out of their sockets. \nBarbrick admits that business has never been great, so he’s had to supplement his income through online book sales. It’s been difficult keeping Dharma Emporium at the same space on Kirkwood for the last 10 years, he said, especially since his rent recently increased by $400 per month.\nBecause of this, he has decided not to renew his lease next year. The store will close its doors in October 2008.
(10/19/07 12:53am)
An intense exploration of hypocrisy, false accusation and the consequences of both will take place this weekend at the Musical Arts Center. Carlisle Floyd’s “Susannah,” the most-performed American opera, opens at 8 p.m. Friday. It is the second production of the IU Opera Theater’s 2007-08 season. \nSet in the hills of Appalachia, in a Tennessee town marked by intolerance and ignorance, the opera tells the story of a young woman named Susannah Polk who is found bathing in a local creek. After being accused of promiscuity and immorality, she is ostracized and denounced by the townspeople, who insist she confess her sins. Her brother, Sam Polk, tries to save her good name, especially after learning that a traveling preacher named Olin Blitch may have taken advantage of her, but he ends up being too late. \nIt is said that Floyd wrote “Susannah” in response to McCarthyism, and though the opera was written in the 1950s, it still resonates with audiences today, said guest maestro Steven Smith, who is conducting his first IU opera. \n“Its subject matter continues to be relevant, as it deals with hypocrisy, denunciation based on rumor and the destruction of a human being,” Smith said. “It remains very potent today, when we have situations not just in our own country, but all over the world.” \nMark Van Arsdale, who plays Sam Polk in this weekend’s cast, echoed Smith’s sentiment, saying that the play is particularly pertinent to a college campus, where rumors sometimes start without any regard for the consequences.\n“One of the saddest morals at the end of the play is that it really doesn’t matter what you’ve actually done, it matters what people think you’ve done,” Van Arsdale said. “That’s what becomes the most damaging thing.”\nDirector Michael Ehrman has set “Susannah” in the 1930s, with costumes that are traditional of the time period, and a set that is minimalist, but flexible, Smith said. The music, sung in English, is written in a Appalachian dialect, which Floyd, a southerner himself, deliberately wanted to explore with opera. Though the exaggerated speech could have turned the opera into a campy production, Smith said that this is not the case \nwith “Susannah.”\n“Although Floyd really infuses scenes with Appalachian dialect, he doesn’t go beyond that,” he said. “He found a real middle ground in terms of retaining this sense of place by dialect with the comprehension on the part of the audience.” \nBoth Smith and Van Arsdale said that the score mirrors the plot well, and that many different musical styles come into play. The opera is short, clocking in at two hours with a 15-minute intermission. Van Arsdale said this is just one reason “Susannah” should appeal to a college audience.\n“The show is very accessible,” he said. “The characters are real ... everyone is multidimensional, full-blooded, realistic. I think it makes for a very entertaining opera that really grips you.”\n“Susannah” will show Friday and Saturday, and Oct. 26-27 at the Musical Arts Center. Tickets are $12 for students, $25 for adults, and can be purchased at the IU Auditorium or through Ticketmaster. For more information visit www.music.indiana.edu/opera.
(08/30/07 4:25am)
The Indiana Arts Commission formally announced Wednesday that Menahem Pressler, pianist and distinguished professor of music in the Jacobs School of Music, will be one of six recipients of the coveted Governor’s Arts Award. The Governor’s Arts Awards are held every two years and honor those who raise public awareness of the arts in Indiana, from individuals to large corporations. The ceremony will be held Oct. 25 in IU’s own Musical Arts Center – the first time the ceremony has been held outside Indianapolis since its inception in 1973. \nPressler, 83, began teaching at IU in 1955 and is a world-renowned chamber musican, performer and teacher, according to the Commission’s press release. He is a four-time Grammy nominee and has taught master classes around the world and performed with multiple orchestras. He’s also the founding member of a Beaux Arts Trio.\n“(I’m) elated because nothing that you get anywhere in the world means as much as when you get it at home,” Pressler said. “Indiana has been my home for the last 53, 54 years.”\nSome past winners have included IU’s own Herman B Wells, the late author Kurt Vonnegut and musicians Cole Porter and Hoagy Carmichael, according to the Commission’s Web site. \nOther 2007 recipients include Henry Leck and the Indianapolis Children’s Choir, Fischoff National Chamber Music Association, Lori Efroymson Aguilera of Indianapolis, Jamey Aebersold of New Albany, Ind., and the City of Jasper, Ind.\nThe Indiana Arts Commission’s goals are to increase access, awareness, education and support for the arts. The Governor’s Arts Awards are the highest honor the state gives for recognizing the arts and their important role in Indiana’s well-being, according to the Commission’s Web site.\n“Pressler is one of the most celebrated pianists in the world,” said Alain Barker, director of marketing and publicity for Jacobs School of Music. “(We’re) just thrilled that he is being celebrated by the Indiana Arts Commission and being recognized for his work both as an educator and a performer.”
(08/30/07 4:14am)
Union Board and IU Auditorium have announced that Bob Dylan and Elvis Costello will play Assembly Hall at 7 p.m. Oct. 19. Tickets for show will go on sale at 10 a.m. Sept. 7 and can be purchased at the IU Auditorium and all Ticketmaster locations, or online at ticketmaster.com. Ticket prices are $30, $45, and $55. \nIn deciding which musican to bring to campus homecoming weekend, Union Board President Sarah McDonough said that they were looking for a “big name concert” to fill Assembly Hall.\n“We haven’t had a concert at Assembly Hall in years. It holds more people (than the IU Auditorium) and we honestly believe that Dylan will draw the crowd,” McDonough said.\nDylan, who is no stranger to the stage, is headlining this tour to promote a new 51-song compilation CD titled “Dylan,” which will be released Oct. 1, according to Rolling Stone. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988 and received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Grammy Awards in 1991. \nThis tour also marks Elvis Costello’s return to the stage as a solo artist. Costello, who was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003 with his band The Attractions, has written songs for a variety of musicians and collaborated with artists like Paul McCartney and Burt Bacharach, according to Costello’s Web site. \nAmos Lee will open the show.\n“A concert featuring iconic musicians such as Dylan and Costello continues our tradition of celebrating IU and Homecoming with the best artists and entertainers in the world,” IU Auditorium Director Doug Booher said in a press release. “We are proud to partner with Union Board to present what will surely be a legendary event.”
(08/29/07 8:21pm)
Union Board and IU Auditorium have announced that Bob Dylan and Elvis Costello will play Assembly Hall at 7 p.m Oct. 19. Tickets for show will go on sale at 10 a.m. Sept. 7, and can be purchased at the IU Auditorium and all Ticketmaster locations, or online at ticketmaster.com. Ticket prices are $30, $45, and $55. \nIn deciding which musican to bring to campus homecoming weekend, Union Board President Sarah McDonough said that they were looking for a “big name concert” to fill Assembly Hall.\n“We haven’t had a concert at Assembly Hall in years. It holds more people (than the IU Aditorium) and we honestly believe that Dylan will draw the crowd,” McDonough said.\nDylan, who is no stranger to the stage, is headlining this tour to promote a new 51-song compilation CD titled “Dylan”, which will be released October 1, according to Rolling Stone. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988 and received a Lifetime Achievment Award from the Grammy Awards in 1991. \nThis tour also marks Elvis Costello’s return to the stage as a solo artist. Costello, who was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003 with his band The Attractions, has written songs for a variety of musicians and collaborated with artists like Paul McCartney and Burt Bacharach, according to Costello’s Web site. \nAmos Lee will open the show.\n“A concert featuring iconic musicians such as Dylan and Costello continues our tradition of celebrating IU and Homecoming with the best artists and entertainers in the world,” IU Auditorium Director Doug Booher said in a press release. “We are proud to partner with Union Board to present what will surely be a legendary event.”
(04/26/07 4:00am)
The Contemporary Dance Program, along with the Student Composers Association, will present “Hammer and Nail 2007, An Evening of Music and Dance” this Friday and Saturday at the John Waldron Arts Center. For the student choreographers and composers participating, first impressions meant everything.\nPreparation for the show began with what could only be described as “speed dating.” The choreographers and composers were given just two minutes to share their vision with each other before the timer buzzed, signaling them to move on to the next person. \nThey each then ranked their top three choices of who they wanted to work with and the artistic collaboration went under way. \nThe Student Composers Association has put on “Hammer and Nail” for many years now. Student composers were originally paired with guitarists because classical guitar is often difficult to compose for, but it later included collaborations with harpists and organists.\n“All of these instruments are very difficult to write for because they are not in the orchestra,” graduate student Andrew Estel said. Estel is co-head of the Student Composers Association along with David Farrell. \nLast year was the first time that the composers paired up with the contemporary dance program and because the show was so successful, they knew they had to bring it back again. \nTruly a collaborative process between the choreographers and the composers, the show will feature 12 dances that range in musical styles and ideas, said Elizabeth Shea, coordinator of the dance program. She said that all of the choreographers have worked in very different ways.\nFor the dancers, “Hammer and Nail” is the result of two years of creative work, Shea said. All dance majors must take two semesters of dance improvisation and a semester of dance composition before they can enter the choreography class that allows them to choreograph for the show. “It’s a long process. Modern dance choreography is unique because every time you create work, you must also create movement vocabulary. The first job (for dancers) is to create new, organized movement that (represents) an idea,” Shea said. \nAlthough all of the dance majors will be used in the show, the size of the casts for each of the pieces varies greatly. Senior Abi Rich, who collaborated with Estel to create her piece “The Gentle Dusk Becomes Us,” wanted to explore the limitations of close relationships so she used only two dancers. \nShe said that collaborating with Estel put her at a great advantage when creating the piece because they could bounce ideas off of each other.\n“It was really great to work with someone who is going through the exact same creative process as you are,” Rich said. \nWhile Estel doesn’t know exactly what next year’s “Hammer and Nail” show will be, the collaboration between student composers and the dance department is just too valuable to give up, he said.\n“Working the dancers has allowed us to think about music that has a different purpose. It’s heard by a different audience and in a different context,” Estel said. “Our music becomes part of the experience and the work of art.”\n “Hammer and Nail” will be performed at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the John Waldron Arts Center at 122 S. Walnut. The show is free and open to the public.
(04/19/07 4:00am)
Staring resolutely at the camera with bangs covering one eye, a pretty, dark-skinned woman with a stoic expression is posed on the couch. Next to this photograph are the words “I do like things about myself but they seem to be trivial, like my wrists and collarbone.”\nThis photograph was one of many in senior Kerry Stoltz’s Bachelor of Fine Arts thesis project, “Body Languages,” on display in the School of Fine Arts Gallery last week. She said the idea for the project first came to her a year ago and started developing soon after. \nThe theme was women and body image. With the help of her family and a few close friends, Stoltz began capturing through the lens of a camera, producing an honest account of women candidly discussing their bodies. \nThe success of the photographs, accompanied by text explaining the women’s responses, encouraged Stoltz to explore the topic even further. She began including a variety of women, a few of whom were complete strangers that ranged in age from 4 to 80 years old.\nThe results were varied, with some women proclaiming full acceptance of their bodies, while others wished they could change many things.\n“I really wanted to capture a moment of inner reflection, a moment of whether they want to show themselves or not,” Stoltz said. “This isn’t just a celebration of bodies, but rather an awareness and acceptance.”\nStoltz had the opportunity to cultivate such a project through the Bachelor of Fine Arts program, a two-year course of study offered through the School of Fine Arts. \nThe program, intended for students who want to concentrate on just one studio area, such as photography or sculpture, is not only intense and rigorous but highly selective. Although each program has its own set of criteria for admission, all are generally small. Most have 10 to 15 students.\n“We don’t advertise our program,” said Malcolm Mobutu Smith, an assistant professor who helps oversee admission into the ceramics program. “We recruit through the classes and are not looking for a certain number of students each semester.”\nWhen students become part of the B.F.A. program, their required course load increases almost twofold, from 33 credit hours required in the Bachelor of Arts program to 62 hours of studio time. Students must also complete fundamental skills courses as well as the general-education requirements. Many students stay extra semesters to finish the requirements, Smith said.\nThe hefty course load isn’t the only change. Shifting from classroom-oriented instruction, professors become more like mentors instead of instructors, guiding the students through their own, self-constructed projects. \n“There is a big shift in the maturity level of the students,” Smith said. “They go from being told what to do to learning how to develop their own voice with the material. Students have to be self-directed.”\nDepending on their ambition and experiences, students usually apply for the program at the end of their sophomore years or the beginning of their junior years. Applicants must submit a number of art pieces for faculty review and be able to discuss their own work.\nGalo Moncayo, an assistant professor in the sculpture department, said he doesn’t necessarily look for an already developed artist, but rather someone with the potential for growth within the program.\nThe sculpture department is small, with room for six students, and it, too, recruits through classrooms. He said the department looks for the students with craftsmanship and a good work ethics.\nAll students in the programs are given their own studios, to which they have access 24 hours a day. They share a work space with the Master of Fine Arts students and are required to attend weekly critiques, where they discuss each other’s work, Moncayo said.\n“So much of the program is about preparing yourself. It’s not just a school thing and then you’re done. You have to be really committed because the work never really ends,” said sophomore Troy Mottard, a B.F.A. painter.\nAdjusting to the program can be difficult at first, especially for those who may not be used to creating their own projects on a regular basis. Such was the case for Kara Yoder, a senior in the photography department.\n“When I applied, I didn’t really know what I was getting myself into. It was a big adjustment to come up with my own stuff and not have assignments,” Yoder said.\nNow in her second semester, Yoder said she is much more comfortable with the structure of the program. With graduation set for December, she is beginning to work on her own thesis project – the final task for the B.F.A. students.\nWithout rules or limitations, students have complete freedom in creating their theses. By the time they are creating a thesis, they are expected to have reached the pinnacle of their growth in the program. And though the pressure is high, most of the students are ready to share with the public what they, as artists, want to say. \nEven though Stoltz’s thesis is complete, she plans to continue with her work.\n“The B.F.A. program is really what you make of it,” she said. “I’ve devoted the past year to this project, and I’m so thankful that I did. I need a bit of a breather, but I’m excited to keep going.”
(04/18/07 4:00am)
Just weeks after performing the ballet “Cinderella” to nearly sold-out audiences at the Musical Arts Center, the IU Ballet Theater is back with a quieter, more off-the-radar show that is sure to be as pleasing.\nThe annual Choreography Project, which features the original choreography of 13 ballet majors, will take place tonight and tomorrow at 8 p.m. at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater. The shows are free and open to the public.\nPreparation for the show began about three weeks ago, as interested dancers submitted proposals explaining what they envisioned for their pieces and what music they wanted to use. Once the choreographers were selected, they picked the dancers and began work.\nAlthough the show is very different from the rest of the ballet season, which also included the fall ballet “From Balanchine to Baker: An International Evening of Dance” and “The Nutcracker,” rehearsals were just as serious and frequent, said freshman Ben Delony, one of the choreographers. \n“One could think that (the choreographers) picked their best friends to be in the pieces, but we all took on a professional mind-set and picked the dancers who fit best,” Delony said. \nThe choreographers, many of whom are also dancing in other pieces, received choreography credits for participating in the show, but Delony said that is not his motive.\n“My overall goal is to be a professional choreographer, so this show is very important to me,” Delony said. “It’s a stepping stone for what I ultimately want to end up doing.” \nBesides having full control over who they wanted in their dances, the student choreographers also picked the lighting cues that would best serve their pieces. Working with 13 choreographers with different concepts tended to get a bit complicated for stage manager Joseph Morrissey, but overall he found it to be a great experience. \nMorrissey, who is getting his master’s degree in arts management, is a 2005 graduate of the ballet program.\nHe said that the audience can expect “variety and virtuosity” from the program and the music. With styles that range from techno, to classical piano, to jazz, it will be impossible for anyone to get bored, he said. Three of the pieces will feature live music performed by students in the IU Jacobs School of Music.\n“This show has not been treated as an amateur production,” Morrissey said. “I’ve been watching these dances for a couple of weeks, and it’s amazing to see how far they have gone. I think this is by far the best workshop.”
(03/30/07 4:00am)
It’s safe to say that Paul Shoulberg knows a thing or two about writing for the stage.\nSince joining the Master of Fine Arts in playwriting program three years ago, the 30-year-old Kansas native has written seven full-length plays, a handful of 10-minute pieces and two one-acts – the majority of which have been features as either full-length productions or staged readings.\nNot bad for a guy who didn’t start writing until he was 23 years old and who, as a high-school student, never once attended a play.\nShoulberg, now a self-described theater-lover, credits his late entrance into the writing world as the motivation behind his ability to complete works quickly and frequently.\n“I write all the time now because in a way, I feel like I’m playing catch-up,” he said. “I’m not trying to waste any time,” he said.\nIU’s playwriting program attracted Shoulberg for a number of reasons, the main one being its small size. When Shoulberg applied for the highly-selective program, he knew that he was vying for one open position. Once he was accepted, he became its only student.\nWhereas other playwriting programs accept two to four students each year, with some taking upward of 10 or more students, Dennis Reardon, head of the M.F.A. playwriting program, has never had more than one student at a time.\nAs one could imagine, the program is intense, especially in the first year, which is very structured and includes regularly scheduled one-on-one meetings with Reardon. It was in this year that Shoulberg wrote his thesis play “Reel,” which was performed in December as part of the Department of Theatre and Drama’s 2006 to 2007 season. \nThe play was later picked to be part of the American College Theatre Festival and was awarded the “Mark Twain Comedy Playwriting Award,” which is given to the best student-written full-length play. In April, Shoulberg will travel to the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., to receive the award.\nDespite his successes thus far, Shoulberg remains modest and earnest when talking about his goals as a playwright. Shoulberg said he feels theater is void of plays written for a crowd under the age of 30. He is working hard to change that. \nDrawn to creating characters that are deeply flawed, many of his plays are about people who are desperate to connect to others.\n“I write a lot of characters with addictions – poker addicts, porn addicts, alcoholics,” Shouldberg said. “For me, that’s where I want to start. I want the stakes to be high.”\nTom Robson, a friend and fellow graduate student in the Department of Theatre and Drama, admires Shoulberg for writing about things that are so relevant to a young generation. Robson has directed many of Shoulberg’s plays.\n“He’s tackling very dark subject matter but doing it with such a comic view. Not a lot of people can combine intense content with jokes,” Robson said. “Paul manages to make people think while entertaining them.”\nBoth Robson and Jonathan Michaelson, director of “Reel” and chairperson for the Department of Theatre and Drama, agree that it is Shoulberg’s handle on language that gives his characters depth.\n“Paul has great skill at working with the rhythm of words and the structure of dialogue. He really has a great gift with language,” Michaelson said. \nUpon graduation in May, Shoulberg will head to New York City to make a name for himself in what he calls “the best city in the country for American theater.” Robson has no doubts that Shoulberg will eventually garner big-name attention.\n“I said to him a while back, ‘I know you are going to outgrow me.’ I do strongly believe that it’s only a matter of time before he’s working with the best directors in the country,” Robson said. “It’s exciting to watch.”
(03/27/07 4:00am)
The IU Ballet Theater has a reputation for presenting ballets that are far from disappointing, and Friday evening’s performance of “Cinderella” was no exception. \nThe imaginative production, which had its world debut in the spring of 2005 and featured the original choreography of professor of music Jacques Cesbron, was both lively and humorous, with choreography that remained true to traditional movements.\nThe opening scene in this three-act ballet takes place inside Cinderella’s house with Cinderella, senior Catherine Wolfson, scrubbing the floors while her two stepsisters and stepmother, Stephanie Lampe, Whitney Huell and Brittany Balthrop respectively, prepare for “The Prince’s Ball.”\nWithin the first few minutes, it was clear that Cinderella’s stepfamily would serve as the comic relief during the show, and watching the two sisters get dressed for the ball was quite amusing. \nWith faces scrunched into less-than-attractive poses, Lampe and Huell turned their feet in, contorted their bodies into awkward positions and stomped around the stage to successfully capture the stepsisters’ clumsy and childish dispositions.\nFor her part, Balthrop, wearing a grey wig and stage makeup that added years to her youthful face, played a menacing stepmother, adoringly helping her daughters while casting Cinderella aside at every possible moment.\nCinderella is left alone through much of this preparation for the ball and she uses this time to lament her loneliness through dance. With elegant precision, Wolfson was able to dance both thoughtfully and gregariously to appropriately fit with Prokofiev’s versatile score. \nBy the end of the Act 1, the fairy godmother is introduced to Cinderella. She informs her that with the help of the other fairies, which each represent the four seasons, Cinderella will be able to attend the ball. \nAct 2 takes place at the ball. After attempting to dance with both stepsisters, the tall and graceful prince, Joseph Morrissey, an alumnus to the ballet program, welcomes the company of Cinderella, who executes her steps perfectly. \nThe two seem to exist entirely alone, captivated by each other in such a way that when the clock strikes midnight, Cinderella is jolted to a reminder that soon she will be back in rags. To emphasize the hour, a large clock was lowered to the stage so as not to be missed.\nCinderella dashes away and Act 3 begins with the prince vowing to find her, no matter how far he must look. He, along with the Jester, who was played by alumnus Christopher Nachtrab, leaped and jumped across the stage until finally arriving at Cinderella’s house. After a comical exchange with both the stepsisters attempting to wear the shoe, Cinderella and her prince are reunited.\nThe last scene is a lovely duet between Wolfson and Morrissey, who complement each other well. The final moment takes place under a spotlight with Morrissey twirling Wolfson around as confetti rains down on them. It’s the perfect ending to a near flawless production.
(03/22/07 4:00am)
David Lehman could have been just another audience member in attendance Tuesday evening to see a poetry reading. After walking casually into the Rose Firebay room at the John Waldron Arts Center, he took a seat in the front row, smiling warmly at whomever he made eye contact with as dozens of people filtered into the performance space.\nYet on this night, Lehman was the one doing the talking. Lehman, a respected and accomplished poet, gave a reading of his poems as part of a series called “Writers in Rhythm,” which combines poetry and fiction readings with music performances. The idea behind the series is to bring writers and music rhythms together to expose emerging voices, said Catherine Bowman, director of the creative writing program at IU and founder of the series.\n“I wanted to show a medley of voices and a wide range of imagination” with the poets in the series, Bowman said.\nBowman wanted Lehman to be part of the series not only because she believes he is a gifted poet, but because he edits poetry anthologies and writes books on the subject. Lehman, who is the author of six books of poems, edited “Great American Prose Poems: From Poe to the Present” and is most recently the editor of a new edition of “The Oxford Book of American Poetry,” a comprehensive anthology of poems.\nAvant-garde chamber ensemble “Barbez” performed after the reading, taking the words of poet Paul Celon and incorporating them into their music.\nSpeaking to an audience made up of mostly Master of Fine Arts students in the creative writing department, Lehman read poems from his most recent book, “When a Woman Loves a Man,” and his book “The Daily Mirror,” which is made up of the daily poems that Lehman set out to write beginning in January 1996. \nBefore the readings of the first few poems, Lehman addressed the audience with a hint of uncertainty, as if he were reading to a group of his peers for the first time. But once comfortable, he exhibited a quiet humor and gracious demeanor, which the audience positively responded to, applauding after many of the poems.\nThe “Writers in Rhythm” series is a chance for students and the Bloomington community to hear the works of great poets read aloud, which is important, Bowman said. Graduate student Heather Lynn, who is the special events assistant for the Bloomington Area Arts Council, agreed.\n“What Bowman has created is a communal experience with words,” Lynn said. “It gives emerging and established poets a chance to get their voices heard.”\nThe next installment of the “Writers in Rhythm” series will take place Friday night with Lehman hosting a journey through American poetry with readings from the “Oxford Book of American Poetry.” This free event will be held at 8 p.m. in the Rose Firebay room at the John Waldron Arts Center and is open to the public.
(02/15/07 7:26pm)
Simon Brooks won't soon forget the first time he performed on stage at the Musical Arts Center.\nThe second-grader played a mouse in the IU Ballet Theater's production of the "Nutcracker," and he's not too shy to admit his steps didn't go quite as planned.\n"The last time I performed, I didn't do so well," he said. "One time, I stood up at the wrong time and just stared up at the lights until the others stood up. When it first happened, I was like, "No, no," but then it was fine."\nThe opportunity to perform in the "Nutcracker" with the "big dancers," as he called the ballet majors, arose from being part of the pre-college ballet program offered through the ballet department.\nThe program, which began 20 years ago, was founded so children in the Bloomington community could be taught appreciation for the art of ballet, said Dorisha Sales, assistant director of the program and a faculty member in the ballet department. \nClasses are offered to students as young as 3 and up to 18 years old. Three-, 4- and 5-year-olds first take creative-movement class where they are introduced to specific movements and games that will prepare them for later classical ballet classes.\nChildren 6 years old take an introduction to ballet, which bridges the creative-movement games with the structure of ballet. At 7 years old, the students are ready to take a weekly formal ballet class that provides them with the basics of ballet, Sales said.\nSales teaches the 7-year-olds' class. On this particular Saturday morning, the students are learning how to do plies at the barre. "Plie", which literally means "to fold," is the bending of the knees and is one of the first movements students learn in ballet. \nSales first demonstrates the movement, which the students closely examine, and then gives the combination. Before beginning the music, she tells the students that next year they will learn how to do a grand-plie. This is met with open-mouthed gasps from many of the kids.\nDressed in traditional ballet attire -- pink leotard and tights for the girls, black tights and white shirts for the boys -- they look to be mini-versions of the ballet majors themselves. They begin the combination with a preparation of the arms. When it is over, Sales has them hold their ending position for a few seconds. \nIt is through these combinations that the students learn the discipline and focus so essential to the art form. Although many of the children won't pursue a life of ballet, they still gain an appreciation and understanding of \nballet that will stick with them, Sales said.\n"I have so many former students who come up to me saying that, even though they aren't dancing anymore, they still go to ballet shows as often as they can," Sales said. "They say that they will always support this art form."\nSales admitted that while she isn't there to build professional dancers, she hopes to infuse a sense of pride in the students.\n"I'm there to tell them it isn't about comparing themselves to others, to help them to be proud of their own accomplishments," Sales said. "These classes are really an outlet for those who have to dance in any capacity." \nSophie Wang, 7, is one such child. Sophie's mother, Helen Liu, said ballet is the only activity Sophie consistently practices on her own.\n"She loves to just put on her costume and dance around the house," Lui said. "With piano, I have to tell her to practice. With ballet, I don't have to say anything."\nLiu said the pre-college class, which Sophie began taking when she was 3, is a great experience and gives her better posture.\n"And, she thinks it's fun," Liu said.\nFor Simon, who is in his first year of ballet, Sale's class is an opportunity to learn new things and get exercise, he said.\nAnd as for the "Nutcracker" experience?\n"When I was watching the big dancers, I still say that's a lot harder," he said. "And I just still don't know how they got the explosions on the stage"
(02/06/07 2:45pm)
The top floor of the John Waldron Arts Center on Friday night was transformed into a world that effortlessly used movement to bring a book to life.\nWindfall Dancers, a Bloomington-based modern dance company, interpreted various stories from "Arabian Nights," the well-known literary classic, and presented them through a combination of modern and Middle Eastern dance. Every piece was choreographed by a different Windfall company member, allowing true creative freedom and variety for the interpretation of the stories.\nThe performance first began with the dancers coming out from the wings to take a seat around the dance space, which was theater-in-the-round. This setup, along with the dancers' close proximity, helped to engage the audience and make them feel truly involved in the production.\nThe movements in the pieces expressed a multitude of human emotions, but it was really the dancer's facial expressions that captured the essence of that. From despair to jubilation, they were able to get these feelings across to an audience, no matter what the story was or who was dancing.\nThis was often the hardest part in choreographing for the show, said IU graduate student Claire Renaud, who choreographed "The Merchant and the Demon." \n"The most challenging part of telling a story without words is to not only have literal movements, but enough opportunities for facial expressions to enable the story to come across," Renaud said.\nRenaud's piece was a tender tale of a family being terrorized by a demon. She explored how the families quickly go from happiness to complete fear. The moments between the two children and their parents were quiet and heartfelt, and it was startling to both the audience and the dancers when the demon arrived to stir things up. \nThe costumes in the performance were of traditional Middle Eastern design and were bright and colorful. Various props, like golden goblets and vibrant scarves, were used at times to help better convey the story that was presented. \nLive music was played throughout the whole show by two members of the band Salaam, Dena El Saffar and Tim Moore. Moore, who is the percussionist for the group, kept a steady drum beat for each of the pieces while Saffar alternated between a violin, viola, and a joza, an Iraqi instrument that is ancestor to the modern violin. \nSaffar's musical abilities were evident as she effortlessly altered the mood of the audience with each different sound she produced, rounding-out what Windfall was trying to bring to the audience. Between the costumes, the music and the dancers themselves, the show successfully brought the audience into a world that encouraged the human body to do the talking when words are absent.\n"Arabian Nights" runs at 8 p.m. at the John Waldron Arts Center, 122 S. Walnut St., on Feb. 2, 3, 9 and 10. \nTickets are $8 for students, $10 for adults and can be reserved in advance by calling 334-0506. Tickets will also be available the night of the show.
(02/01/07 3:31am)
When modern dance pioneer José Limón said, "American dance is not simply a style or idiom -- it is a potent idea," he certainly could have been talking about Windfall Dancers and their commitment to exploring new ways of movements and concepts in the modern dance arena.\nThe Bloomington-based modern dance company will perform its dance interpretation of "Arabian Nights" on Friday and Saturday at the John Waldron Arts Center as part of the annual Middle Eastern Arts Festival, which takes place until Feb. 10.\nThe literary classic will be told through both modern and Middle Eastern dance. It will feature live music by Salaam, a band who worked closely with Windfall in developing traditional Middle Eastern music. Because the book is rooted in Middle Eastern traditions, the company knew the show would be most successful if it incorporated movements that were distinctive to the region, said graduate student Carol Subino, a co-director of the show. \nTo facilitate this, two belly dancers, both IU graduate students, were brought in to work with the dancers to master the Middle Eastern dance techniques.\n"The belly dancers really taught the fundamentals and the symbolism of the movement," Subino said. "The dancers were then able to draw from a Middle Eastern perspective."\nWindfall Dancers is a modern dance collective that uses the artistic vision of all company members. This weekend's performances will present the choreography of seven different company members, Subino said. There will also be a belly-dance number, she said.\nThe program, which is part of the 2006-2007 Bloomington Area Arts Council Performance Series, is sponsored in part by a grant from the Bloomington Community Arts Commission. The Bloomington Arts Commission awarded Windfall Dancers with a yearlong grant after being impressed with their range of program opportunities, said Jonna Risher, the Bloomington Area Arts Council's arts development director.\n"Arabian Nights" is just one project among many for the Windfall Dancers. In their grant proposal, they sought funding to expand their outreach to underserved rural communities that may not be exposed to dance. They also wanted to do more interactive programs that included children and students and to continue to offer dance classes to the Bloomington community.\n"Having a variety of programs with audiences, offering dance classes to people of all ages, all of these were attractive qualities (in allotting grant money)," Risher said. "They are bringing exceptional dance exposure to the community."\nSubino hopes this weekend's program will attract new audiences who may be familiar with "Arabian Nights." \n"The show itself is very audience-friendly. There is dance and music, but also storytelling," Subino said. "I think the audience will really take something out of it."\n"Arabian Nights" runs at 8 p.m. at the John Waldron Arts Center, 122 S. Walnut St., on Feb. 2, 3, 9 and 10.\nTickets are $8 for students, $10 for adults and can be reserved in advance by calling 334-0506. Tickets will also be available the night of the show.
(01/16/07 2:29am)
Under the glow of red stage lights, four dancers fluidly moved their bodies to the sounds of Radiohead's "Kid A" to open a program that was anything but traditional.\nThe IU Contemporary Dance Program hosted "Grow/Move/Change," its fall concert, last Thursday and Friday. As promised, it showed the audience an eclectic evening of dance.\nAfter a hiatus of more than a decade, the contemporary-dance major is once again being offered at IU. The dances, choreographed by guest artists and full-time faculty members of the department, truly represented the idea that no two minds think alike and demonstrated the versatility of the dancers involved.\nSome of the pieces were haunting, such as George Pinney's "Luminos," which used wireless lights attached to the dancers' costumes and featured music sung by the performers themselves. In the opening moments, the audience was only able to see two dancers, whose bodies were outlined in yellow lights. Between various movements the lights would change, and by the end of the opening sequence both bodies were layered in a squiggly pattern of blue, green and yellow. \nWhat followed was a fantasylike exploration of the human condition in a world that is balanced by good and evil, said Pinney, an IU theater and drama professor. In coming up with the premise for the piece, he said he knew he wanted to explore the futility of life by combining dance, technology and live voice.\nOther pieces were tributes to those who fought for social justice and equality in unpermitting times. "Looking Back," choreographed by dance faculty member Gwendolyn Hamm, featured local jazz singer Janiece Jaffe and a cast of five dancers who used their bodies to reflect conflict and struggle, then a rekindling of hope, according to the concert's program.\n"El Camino Del Cimmaron" represented the same idea. Choreographer Iris Rosa, director of the IU African American Dance Company, presented a lively piece featuring traditional African dance moves that "illustrated the power of music, song, dance, spiritual belief and community to empower the oppressed," according to the program.\nClosing the program was "Grow/Move/Change," a piece sharing the name of the concert. Elizabeth Shea, director of the contemporary dance program, choreographed a dance that used a live video feed of the dancers that was then projected onto a screen. The soundtrack was a pulsing array of everyday sounds electronically mixed together. It seemed to encompass what the contemporary dance program is all about -- pushing boundaries and exploring new ways in which dance and other mediums can be combined. \n"This concert was an important landmark because it featured the first official dance majors," said sophomore dance major Kelly McCormick. "People should be getting excited that this program is picking up steam and get ready for great things in the future"
(01/10/07 2:01am)
You won't find any tutus or pointe shoes at the IU Contemporary Dance Program's fall concert "Grow/Move/Change," which will be presented at 7:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday in the Ruth N. Halls Theatre. \nDancers who wear wireless lights on their bodies will dance to a piece that "examines issues of self-identity and truth revealed by light," according to a press release from the IU School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation. The piece was choreographed by IU theater and drama professor George Pinney. \nOne piece, choreographed by IU Contemporary Dance faculty member Gwen Hamm, uses live music to focus on revolutionary leaders and their impact on society, according to the press release for the event.\nFor the dancers and faculty involved, this concert isn't just a chance to showcase the work that began in late August, when the dancers auditioned for each of the pieces. It's an opportunity to celebrate the return of the dance major, which hasn't been offered to students interested in modern dance since the early 1990s.\n It's also an opportunity to honor the 60th anniversary of the HPER, which houses the contemporary dance program within the Department of Kinesiology.\nTo do that, the dance department decided to present a program that focuses on the HPER's goals of bringing growth, movement and change to the arts.\nTo open the show, guest artist Bill Evans will present a piece titled "Rite of Summer." Evans once served as chair of the IU Contemporary Dance Program and is an internationally renowned dancer and choreographer. The next dance will be "Muse of Fire," choreographed by guest artist Ben Munisteri, a New York-based choreographer who completed a three-week residency at IU. Closing the first half will be Pinney's piece. \nThe second half of the show will be dedicated to the anniversary of the HPER and will feature works that "demonstrate a commitment to the diversity and expression that the school stands for," said Liz Shea, the coordinator for the IU Contemporary Dance Program.\nShe said all the full-time dance faculty members collaborated to produce individual pieces that express what diversity and artistic expression means to them. \n"Because all of the dances within the concert are eclectic and not even remotely like the other pieces," Shea said, "it really will be a stimulating night of dance."\nTickets are $16 for adults and $13 for students. Rush tickets will be available 30 minutes before the show to students with valid University IDs. Tickets can be purchased at the IU Auditorium box office or online at www.ticketmaster.com.