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(11/02/15 3:06pm)
Moving into your first place? No supervision, actually getting to pick your roommate and potentially having your own room is exciting. It could also be the first time you’ve cooked or cleaned for yourself. Here is some advice from the Indiana Daily Student staff for what to buy so the transition to living on your own is a little easier.
(11/02/15 3:20pm)
Depending on where your house or apartment is located, sometimes it is necessary to drive to campus. Though passes are a good option too, here is a brief guide from the IU Office of Parking Operations website on free parking to avoid a ticket.
(11/14/14 5:24am)
The Indiana Hoosiers are set to face off against Rutgers this weekend. They must win their next three games to become bowl eligible.Voice over by Sam Beishuizen
(11/11/14 12:06am)
After only 23 weeks and six days in the womb, Juniper French was born at the edge of viability, April 12, 2011.
(11/10/14 6:42am)
[View the story "#IUMS win on Twitter" on Storify]
(11/05/14 6:20am)
A look at elections in Indiana through Twitter
(10/02/14 4:49am)
Did you miss the men's soccer game against St. Louis? We have a Twitter game recap here for you.
(09/09/14 11:26pm)
By Janica Kaneshiro
(04/08/14 3:58am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>As his plane descended, Minkyu Kim had only one thought: “Am I really going back?”He sat between two women, which was strange, he remembers thinking, because he had almost no contact with women for close to two years. He kept reminding himself this was not, in fact, a dream. He really was on his way home — or what used to be home.As he stepped off the plane in Indianapolis and entered the terminal, he froze. The walls were covered with advertisements in English. People around him were hurrying off the plane and into America, but Minkyu stood still. “Oh, shit,” he said. His life as a student at an American university two years ago came flooding back. “Everything was odd,” he recalled. “It was all new and somehow old at the same time.”But Minkyu isn’t unlike any other South Korean man his age who lives abroad. All South Korean male citizens between the ages of 19 and 34 must return home no matter where they are in the world to fulfill their conscription duty to the Korean military.Though South Korean citizens have grown accustomed to taking those two years out of their lives, the process is especially complicated for people like Minkyu who come to America to study, go home after a year or two to serve in the military and then face the struggle of assimilating back into American life when they return.IU is home to about 40,000 students, including almost 5,500 from other countries. More than 900 students are South Korean, and half of them leave at some point during their college career to spend time in the military of their home country.For these students, shifts between cultures and roles — between soldier and civilian life — can be disorienting. The hardest part of returning for some is realizing life in the U.S. has moved on without them. For others, it’s getting back in the swing of living in a culture in which they were not raised.In the time he was gone, Minkyu said so much changed for him that he had a difficult time imagining what his life would be like when he returned to the United States.“On the day I was discharged, I didn’t feel anything,” Minkyu said. “I felt a little like I was leaving home. Leaving such a place is exciting and sad at the same time. I thought, ‘Where do I go from here?’” LIFE BEFORE SERVICEMinkyu enrolled at IU in 2009 as an ambitious 18-year-old business major. Though his parents, South Korean natives, live and work in India, he said he came to the U.S. because he prefers American business and hopes to work here after he graduates. Deciding to move half a world away and start a new life separate from his parents was not as difficult, he said, as having to make the inevitable decision to return to Korea for his service. About 30,000 U.S. troops stationed in South Korea today help maintain the armistice between North and South Korea. Minkyu first tried to join the U.S. branch of the military — the Korean Augmentation to the United States Army, also colloquially known as KATUSA. This specific branch is for Korean citizens highly proficient in English who wish to carry out their conscription duties with Americans.But it’s very competitive, and few Korean citizens are accepted. Minkyu was already a sophomore in college when he was denied entry to KATUSA. His time to join the military was ticking away.Korean men have until age 34 to complete their military service, according to the government notification they all get following high school graduation. Mandatory service for South Korean men began in 1948 after the division of Korea. The war that separated the North and South never really ended, though the two sides aren’t actively fighting on the battlefield.Minkyu knew he had to leave, but before he could, he had to go through a lengthy process to un-enroll at IU. Tehanee Ratwatte, student advisor for the Office of International Services, is one staff member who helps students through the process.The process includes a significant amount of paperwork, speaking with an academic adviser and eventually terminating the student’s records within the U.S. government database until he wishes to reinstate his status as an international student.Some students come for just one semester before they leave and others finish all but one, Ratwatte said. Nevertheless, the process remains the same. Minkyu went into the Army unquestioningly, partly because Korean citizens will face jail time if they refuse service, but also because he understands the political climate in his home country. Once he left his American university behind, Minkyu’s service officially began. His world expanded to much more than just his understanding of duty — his physical, emotional and even religious strength was tested over the course of the next two years. On Oct. 4, 2011, Minkyu boarded his plane to Seoul.BASIC TRAININGNew recruits go through a six-week intensive training camp. There, they learn to shoot an automatic rifle, a first for most. They learn to march, to salute and to endure physical exhaustion.The first thing Minkyu remembers is the physical pain of training camp. He had never been tested in that way before. “The hardest thing was the overnight march,” Minkyu said, referencing a 25-mile march in his fourth week of training during which he had to carry a 55-pound bag the entire time. “It was the most challenging thing I ever experienced,” he said. What kept him marching through what he called the longest night of his life was camaraderie, one of the things he remembers most fondly about the military. As he felt his body faltering, watching his fellow soldiers around him going through the same experience motivated him to continue.“In the first hours, my shoulders ached so badly, I thought, ‘The pain is too much,’” Minkyu said. “I didn’t want to keep marching, but there was this peer factor. There was a guy in front of me and a guy behind me, and I thought, ‘If they can do it, so can I.’”After he graduated from basic training, Minkyu was relocated and given the number of a basic foot soldier — 111,101.Minkyu said he loved his work in the army, though that isn’t necessarily the case for all soldiers. Many begrudgingly do their service and count the days until they are released. Some even commit suicide, Minkyu said.Minkyu liked doing the same job every day. As a human resources clerk, he was an expert in his position.Even so, he encountered problems with the disconnect between military service and Korean society.In his culture, Minkyu explained, age is everything. Someone even just a year or two older must be given the respect of an elder. But in the military, rank wins reverence. Having grown up learning to respect elders, learning to respect people his own age in a position of authority was taxing. “I had problems between me and my superiors,” Minkyu said. “Age matters in Korea, but not in the military. Rank matters, so no matter what I was doing, whether I liked it or not, I had to do what they said ... You don’t stand up to them. There’s just a clear line you can never cross.” There were bad days and good, Minkyu said, and inner struggles built in the time in between. He said he got through some of his tougher mental battles not by turning inward for reassurance, but to God.“I’m a Roman Catholic,” Minkyu said as he fingered a white beaded bracelet on his left arm with a pearly cross at the center — a parting gift from his comrades and the only reminder of his service he brought back with him to the U.S. “I went to a Roman Catholic church while I was there and actually served as a Catholic officer. When things were bad, it gave me peace of mind.”The 21 months felt both long and short to Minkyu when it was time to leave. When he was officially discharged, he received a photo album and his cross bracelet from his officers. They threw him a small going-away party, and the next day he left.He took a bus to Seoul, where his family is from, and lived for a month by himself in their old apartment.“I was used to always being in a room with soldiers,” Minkyu said. “When we would turn the lights out at night, we would talk. Everyone sleeps together in one room. Then all the sudden, I was all alone. I was empty.”Throughout that month, Minkyu considered re-enrolling in the military. He lived on that base almost as long as he had been in the U.S., and the intersection between his duty to finish his degree and the familiarity of home left him torn. COMING BACKWhen it’s time for students like Minkyu to re-enroll, they must re-establish international student status — yet another extensive process.It involves meeting with another academic adviser, re-establishing status as an international student and re-instating any scholarships they were receiving prior to their departure.Ratwatte said she works with students when they return to get back into classes and re-assimilate. Returning students must prove their English proficiency — difficult for soldiers who have not spoken English in two years.But beyond the paperwork, Ratwattee said getting used to the culture again is difficult, a fact she knows well as a former international student from Sri Lanka.“I know how easy it is to stay with your pack,” Ratwattee said. “What’s comfortable, who speaks the same language, who understands you and goes through the same transitions as you. It’s very easy to do that. And to break out of it is very hard and very unique.”RE-ADJUSTINGMinkyu still struggles with his English proficiency, but he gets better every day. As a junior and business student, he said he feels like he is sometimes too old to be at such a disadvantage.“I hadn’t spoken a single word of English for two years,” Minkyu said. “I feel bad that I’m not able to speak to my proficient level. I tried to go to the career fair and it wasn’t good.”In some ways, he said it feels like his military service was in his distant past. He is still surprised when he tells people he returned to the U.S. in August.“I’ve only been back for ...” Minkyu paused as he counted on his fingers. “Wow, only three months,” he said at the time, which was in early November.Since he has been back, he decided to take a full course load of 17 credits to try to catch up to where he was before he left. There is the added pressure of his age and finding a job after college.Now, seven months removed from his time serving in the military, Minkyu has joined the Kelley Korean Finance Seminar, a club at the Kelley School of Business. He has gained confidence in his courses and has picked up a third major in technology management, in addition to his majors in finance and supply chain management.He applied for summer internships and is patiently awaiting a response. If not, he’ll return to South Korea and complete an internship there.As his senior year approaches, Minkyu said he feels ready.“I’m actually really enjoying my accounting courses,” Minkyu said. “I’m feeling confident that for applications next fall, I will be able to get what I want, though I wasn’t able to last year.”Though he’s spent considerable time regaining his bearings at IU, Minkyu maintains his time in the military wasn’t a waste. He learned critical skills, which he considers important for his future. He said he takes the good with the bad when it comes to his service.“I think I actually improved by going into the army because I became more active,” Minkyu said. “I was shy before, and then I got to know more people. I learned not to procrastinate in the army.”Most of Minkyu’s friends have moved on as well — either graduated or married — but Minkyu has merged his two worlds by bringing back an aspect of his service.“I actually met my girlfriend now at the Catholic church here,” Minkyu said as a smile spread across his face. “I guess that time spent in the military paid off.”TWO WORLDS MERGEEveryone takes their seats as the priest enters the chapel. He walks along the wall of stained-glass windows toward the soft purple stage set with a wooden cross and a flowing fabric backdrop. He speaks briefly with members of the choir and dons his purple robe for service at St. Paul’s Catholic Church. Minkyu strides comfortably into his pew. Several of his peers turn around in the red cushioned booth ahead and chat with him in Korean about what is going on in their lives as finals approach, and about the free meal offered at the end of the service.He laughs with them as he lays out his materials for church — a Bible and papers with song lyrics and announcements all in Korean.Members of Bloomington’s Korean Roman Catholic community offer this Korean language service twice a month. A girl in a striped sweater walks up to the podium as service officially begins. The audience falls into silence as she leans in to the microphone to give the day’s announcements. Her short ponytail bobs up and down as she speaks.“That’s her, my girlfriend,” Minkyu said, pointing and waving to her on the stage. She smiles. “She’s great at this.”Not long after, the priest begins the day’s message.He tells the congregation they must prepare themselves both mentally and physically for hardships in their lives. It is imperative for them to deal with their sins.He then steps back and invites them to sing.Minkyu holds his leather bound Korean Bible and sings along under his breath in solidarity with the rest of the community he has gotten to know in the months since he has been back. After the service is over, he waits among the pews for his girlfriend and helps clean up the materials from the service.Together now, they walk to the church basement where they enjoy a meal of rice, kimchi and stewed vegetables.They sit across from each other and laugh about inside jokes, mutual friends and a world entirely theirs.
(12/10/13 3:36am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Communion, a live music promotions team and independent label, is taking the stage at the Bluebird Nightclub tonight as part of its Christmas Special performances. The bands scheduled to perform include Rosco Bandana, the Stills, Pretty Boy Freud and Charlie Pattons War. Doors open at 8 p.m., tickets are $5 and the drink special is $2 Dirty Birds.There will be a grand prize for “ugliest and most hip” Christmas sweaters, as well as a “bad present” for those who “rage the hardest during each set,” according to the show’s Facebook page and Bluebird Club Owner Dave Kubiak.“The prize for the ugly sweater contest will be tickets to next month’s Communion show,” said Kaylie Starkey, Event Planner and Promoter for Communion. “We’ll also be giving away ‘horrible presents’ you’d get from your grandma to those who rage the hardest or spread the most holiday cheer during each band’s set.”Originally founded by Ben Lovett from Mumford and Sons in London, Communion helped launch the careers of Ben Howard, Gotye, Daughter and Deap Vally among others. Bloomington is just one city in the North American tour, and other stops include Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Louisville, Minneapolis, Madison, Wis., and Rock Island, Ill.The music kicks off at 9 p.m. with three-member band Pretty Boy Freud. Then at 10 p.m., indie band the Stills, a band of IU graduates living in Chicago, will perform. At 11 p.m. headliner Rosco Bandana, “a seven piece Americana-rock band” as they call themselves on their website, will begin its set. Rosco Bandana released its debut LP “Time to Begin” in 2012 and has since been touring the country before linking up with Communion. Finishing off the show, Charlie Pattons War, a Bloomington-based blues and rock band, will play from 12 to 1 a.m.“Rosco Bandana is the only non-local band,” Bluebird Strategist Jen Samson said.Though Communion is an international event, three bands from this current leg of Communion are from the area and are set to tour around the United States, Samson said. This is the final show of 2013.— Janica Kaneshiro
(12/09/13 2:55am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>On Sunday, the senior class of the IU Department of Theatre, Drama and Contemporary Dance showed off their Senior Choreography Showcase, “Spectrum.”There were two performances — one at 2 p.m. and one at 6 p.m. — at the Ivy Tech John Waldron Arts Center in downtown Bloomington.Both were filled with parents, friends and significant others who came to see what the senior class has been working on since early October.The seniors decided everything, from music to movements. For senior Shannon Kazan, deciding what to include in her piece, “Solitary Disarray,” was based on mixing her personality with the dancers’ abilities.“I picked a song that was dubstep violin to give it a classic sound with a beat,” Kazan said, referring to “Crystalize” by Lindsey Stirling. “I wanted to showcase my personality and theirs to showcase their talents, and I think it turned out really great.”One of Kazan’s fellow seniors, Samia Mooney, choreographed the dance “In This Time.” She said she picked a particularly small cast with just three freshman and a junior, which made rehearsing a little easier.“I organized the process logically to include three duets, which means less to clean and less rehearsal time all together, but it means more individual responsibility,” Mooney said.“In This Time” was set to the song “Meditation (In Memory of John Legend)” by the Emberli Ensemble, with edits by Jon Vanderkolff, and the small cast included a member Mooney considers special.“I picked one dancer, Liz (Elizabeth Burr), because she is my ‘little sister’ in the program, and as a freshman, I really wanted to give her an opportunity to dance,” Mooney said.Mooney said the seniors have been busy because they have been working on this performance and simultaneously preparing for their winter performance in January. Nevertheless, Mooney said they were prepared for the show.“We love having an audience,” Mooney said. “That’s why we do it — because we love performing for people.”Follow reporter Janica Kaneshiro on Twitter @janicakaneshiro.
(12/06/13 2:58am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Charles Bradley, singer of number 78 song “Victim of Love” on the recently released top 100 songs of 2013 list from Rolling Stone, is coming to the Bluebird Nightclub Saturday night.Tickets to the 21 and over show can be found on the Bluebird’s website for $12 to $15, and doors open at 8 p.m.Called a “late bloomer” by Rolling Stone, the former James Brown impersonator rose to fame in his 60s after starring in the documentary “Soul of America.”His first album, “No Time for Dreaming,” debuted in 2011 and was number 48 on Rolling Stone’s 50 best albums of that year. After the album’s success, Bradley earned spots performing at festivals like South by Southwest, Bonaroo, Austin City Limits, Newport Folk Festival and Outside Lands.The magazine described the album as a “period-perfect soul revival.”It also describes Bradley’s singing as “ragged,” “resilient” and “powerhouse.”Bradley began touring for his latest album, “Victim of Love,” in April of this year.He has since taken his “pleading brand of hard classic soul” around the country from New Orleans to New York, according to a Rolling Stone article written in February by writer James Sullivan.According to Bradley’s website, Bradley said it is his fans who he has to thank for his success even though it is late in his life.“I want them to know how much they have helped me grow,” Bradley said in a statement.His current album is “moving past the ‘heartache and pain’” of his past and “moving closer to the promise of hope,” according to his website.The final song on “Victim of Love,” titled “Through the Storm,” summarizes how Bradley feels about his current state of fame, according to his website’s biography.“Over a deep, gospel groove, Bradley expresses his gratitude — to his fans, his friends and to God — for their support, their dedication and their devotion,” according to Bradley’s website.“When the world gives you love,” he sings, “It frees your soul.”Follow reporter Janica Kaneshiro on Twitter @janicakaneshiro.
(12/05/13 2:19am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Bloomington native bluegrass band the New Old Cavalry is kicking off its “meta-tour” 9 p.m. at the venue where it got its start, Max’s Place.The band members aren’t “studio rats,” dobro player Alex Wukmer said. The dobro is a type of guitar common in bluegrass music.The band plays the first Thursday of every month at Max’s Place, a tradition Wukmer said he cherishes.“On the road it’s hard to be thoughtful, but once a month we get to come home and work out our new material in front of the people who have always supported the music,” Wukmer said.The band, which consists of four other members besides Wukmer — Chris Dollar, Justin Hughey, Brandon Lee and Brian Chomka — came together four years ago.Max’s Place was the first venue to give the New Old Cavalry a “fair shake at playing," even after local popularity grew and they released an album out of San Francisco, Wukmer said.But the band has a constant flow of new material thanks to three songwriters who “churn out tunes” for the band, Wukmer said. “We barely have time to learn the tunes before new ones spring up,” Wukmer said.Tonight and during their tour of Indiana, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Illinois and Michigan, the band will play music mostly from their new EP, “Groundwork,” set to release within the month.“Everything we do is geared to versatility, and whether that means playing a salsa song or a Bill Monroe number, we are going to play it in proper new-old fashion,” Wukmer said. “It’s hairy bluegrass. It’s traditional jam music.”Follow reporter Janica Kaneshiroon Twitter@janicakaneshiro.
(12/03/13 5:03am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Competitors from all over the world converged in Bloomington in late October to compete in the Indiana International Guitar Festival and Competition, and on Nov. 25, the winners were announced.Misael Barraza Diaz of Mexico took first place in Open Division, for which 16 artists competed. He played “Sonata, for guitar” by Alberto Ginastera and “Viraclones sobre un Tema de Sor” by Miguel Llobet. According to a review of the 2013 competition on the festival’s official website, Diaz “played with an emotional palette and infectious conviction.” The website also noted his music “coaxed the audience into a state of empathy with his musical statements, as well as a state of awe at his technical prowess.”The Open and Senior Youth divisions had monetary prizes which ranged from $100 to $1,700. In the Open Division, Jeremy Collins of the United States, Bin Hu of China and Ye Eun Lee of South Korea took second, third and fourth place, respectively.In the Senior Youth division, Agustus Woodrow-Tomizuka took first place.In the Junior Youth division, Kairey Wang placed first.The festival is relatively young, as this is just its fourth year of existence. However, it has attracted some of the top guitarists from countries all over the world, such as the United States, Canada, Mexico, China, South Korea, Vietnam and Bulgaria. The panel of judges consisted of Jacobs School of Music faculty members Maestro Bittetti, Luke Gillespie, Petar Jankovic, Elzbieta Szmyt, Atanas Tzvetkov and Elisabeth Wright, as well as guest guitarist Matt Palmer.“The experience at the festival was great,” Diaz said in an interview in a Jacobs School of Music press release. “Bloomington is a very special place, and I think having a guitar festival there was a great idea. Lots of great guitarists and artists were there, and I think everybody got to meet new people and make new friends throughout it.”— Janica Kaneshiro
(11/18/13 3:17am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Ballet Hispanico sashayed across IU Auditorium’s stage Saturday night. The troupe, a New York City-based company, is the nation’s leading Latino Dance Organization that travels, performing ballets with Latin flair.At the Bloomington performance, the show was divided into four acts with different themes and choreographers. The first act, “Umbral,” was choreographed by Edgar Zendejas. It featured the full cast of dancers in minimal black costuming and was inspired by the Mexican celebration Dia de los Muertos.Claire Ellis was in the audience Saturday night and said she was caught off guard by some of the more modern elements, which included nudity and a scene where a phone rang out in the audience during a solo set to no music. The soloist paused in the middle of his dance, came to the front of the stage and angrily shushed the audience.“I had no idea it was part of the show,” Ellis said. “It was funny, bold and brave.”The second act, “Sombrerisimo,” choreographed by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, featured six male dancers in corporate-looking costumes exchanging hats with one another. Through music cues and extreme lighting changes, “Sombrerisimo” incorporated humor into the performance.Audience member Claire Turner said she liked the way “Sombrerisimo” incorporated aspects of everyday life to make the ballet feel more “alive.”“I love how they used aspects of mundane normal life like the hats or the cell phone in the first one,” Turner said. “It made it feel so much more alive and real. With the boys, it sometimes felt like they were on the way to somewhere in a train station. I really liked that.”The third dance, “Sortijas,” was choreographed by Cayetano Soto. It was a short duet, and, according to the program, Soto “ponders the unavoidable pull of fate in our lives” through dance.The final set, “Mad’moiselle,” featured the entire cast again. It was also choreographed by Ochoa and featured more props than any previous set. The females in the cast donned matching short red wigs, red feather boas, red opera-length gloves, white fans and a pair of red lace up heels. The dance was set to music that faded in and out of a speech in Spanish about a woman named Maria. In a shocking conclusion, the men also wore the red wigs, and the women wore matching skin-toned bras, making it difficult to decipher sex among the group. “It was incredible,” Turner said. “Just so full of life.”Follow reporter Janica Kaneshiro on Twitter @JanicaKaneshiro.
(11/15/13 1:45am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>A whole lot of bluegrass is coming the Bluebird Nightclub’s way.On Saturday, the Bluebird is hosting the Bluegrass Ball featuring the Travelin’ McCourys along with Billy Nershi and the Rumpke Mtn Boys. Local bands, such as the New Old Calvary, will also be playing.The local bands will kick off the show with 30-minute sets, then the Rumpke Mtn Boys will take the stage for close to an hour before the Travelin’ McCourys finish off the night.Doors for the show open at 7 p.m., and music is set to start at 8 p.m. Tickets are between $15 and $20 at the door and at the Bluebird’s website.This is a different event for the Bluebird, club owner Dave Kubiak said.“Ticket sales are going pretty well,” Kubiak said. “It’s such a cool show; people who love bluegrass should be pretty excited about it.”The Travelin’ McCourys were raised on bluegrass, according to their official website, with two of the members being sons of bluegrass musician Del McCoury.“Ronnie McCoury on mandolin and Rob McCoury on banjo continue their father’s work — a lifelong dedication to the power of bluegrass music to bring joy into people’s lives,” according to the biography on their official website.Other band members include fiddler Jason Carter and bassist Allen Bartram. Their music is described by the website as both “traditional” and “progressive,” which they contribute to their years of experience in the industry.“The band has a confidence that only comes with having paid their dues with 20 years on the bluegrass road,” according to the Travelin’ McCourys’ website biography. “Other groups and new fans hear this immediately — the tight rhythm, the soulful material and the confidence in taking bluegrass from the safety of the shore into uncharted waters.”This event only comes to Bloomington “every year or every year-and-a-half,” Kubiak said, and he said it’s something bluegrass fans wouldn’t want to miss.“I think it’s unusual to have this many bluegrass bands playing together,” Kubiak said. “It’s a bunch of acts playing with the McCourys, who are basically bluegrass legends.”Follow reporter Janica Kaneshiro on Twitter @janicakaneshiro.
(11/14/13 3:30am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>With practiced movements and twirling skirts, locals came together Wednesday night at the Harmony School to join in the tradition of Contra Dance.This activity has taken place once a week from 8 to 10 p.m., since 1972. These events, among others, are staged by the Bloomington Old-Time Music & Dance Group. Admission is $3 for members and $4 for non-members, but the first time is free.David Ernst, board coordinator for BOTMDG, said contra dancing is a way to learn a traditional form of dance and get to know others in the community.“It is a folk dance, and it’s been around for a long time, though it’s continuing to change,” Ernst said. “It’s akin to square dancing, but it’s done in different formation and done with a partner, but you switch partners between song so you get to interact with different people.”Ernst said between 30 and 50 people attend the dance each week.One of these people, returning contra dancer Casey Ellingsworth, said she has benefited from contra dancing because she has made many of her friends through the community.“I’ve met so many characters through the group, and most of my close friends in Bloomington,” Ellingsworth said. “I see contra dancers almost anywhere I go around town, at the farmer’s market and various restaurants and even when running errands.”Ellingsworth’s passion for contra dancing began with an invitation from her sister to her and her mother almost a decade ago.“Both of us loved it and started driving an hour and a half each way to both of these dances each week,” Ellingsworth said. “My mom still drives in from west Terre Haute on a semi-regular basis to dance with me.”Ernst said the group certainly has its regulars, but new members are always invited to join in on the festivities, especially because the first time is free, and lessons are offered 15 minutes prior to each session.“There’s pretty much never a dance where we don’t have new people,” Ernst said.New member or veteran, Ellingsworth said it’s the bonding experience that she looks forward to each week.“One of my favorite things about contra dancing is that it is a community of all different kinds of people: different ages, different backgrounds. The only common thread is a love of contra dancing,” Ellingsworth said. “You can be in a line with someone as young as five or as old as 85.”Ernst said dancers range from anywhere on the “adult spectrum,” but there’s “no telling who’s going to be the last one left dancing.”Ellingsworth said people of all ages who are interested shouldn’t let the idea of having to learn the steps get in their way.“I think it’s easy for people to see the dance and get intimidated,” Ellingsworth said. “The reality is that there’s a caller, who tells you exactly where to be, and a group of people who have a vested interest in getting you to the right place.“We were all beginners once.”Follow reporter Janica Kaneshiro on Twitter@janicakaneshiro.
(11/12/13 3:32am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The Bluebird Nightclub’s doors open at 7 p.m. for Communion, a show that
got its start in Europe but is now headlining on the second Tuesday of
every month in Bloomington and other cities across the United States. Communion
features artists Savoir Adore, On an On, The Night Sweats, 4 on the
Floor, Kam Kama and Skeleton Men and headliner Tennis.Tennis is
an indie-pop band from Denver. The band is composed of married couple
Alaina Moore and Patrick Riley, who play the guitar and keyboard
respectively. They have three studio albums together, 2011’s “Cape Dory,” 2012’s “Young & Old” and 2013’s “Small Sound.” Small sound is a five-song EP released for the Communion tour. Music
is set to start at 7:30 p.m., and Dave Kubiak, Bluebird Nightclub
owner, said there will be a quick turnaround between acts to give the
audience “a chance to see several acts back-to-back in one place.” Communion began in 2006 and was founded by Mumford and Sons member Ben Lovett. Since
it’s conception, “‘Communion Presents’ shows have taken place across
the UK in Brighton, Bristol, Leeds, Manchester, Leeds, York, Oxford,
Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dublin and Belfast, and internationally in
Melbourne, Nashville, San Francisco and New York City,” according to
Communion’s British website. In the 2013 tour, cities such as
Nashville, Tenn., New York, N.Y., Louisville, Ky., and Bloomington are
featured on the U.S. leg of the tour.Despite its varying acts, Communion prides itself on its “eclectic chaos,” according to its website.Communion
featured artists such as Mumford and Sons, Noah and the Whale and Peggy
Sue at the beginning of their careers, and they pride themselves in
“showcasing acts on the cusp of making it,” according to Kubiak. “It’s a great way to see great new music,” Kubiak said. Follow reporter Janica Kaneshiro on Twitter @janicakaneshiro.
(11/07/13 4:14am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Southern rock is coming to the Bluebird Nightclub tonight in the form of Drive-By Truckers, who are set to start at 8 p.m., with doors opening at 7 p.m. Tickets for the show can be bought online or at the door for $20.Drive-By Truckers consists of band members Jay Gonzalez, Patterson Hood, Mike Cooley, Brad Morgan and Matt Patton. Hood and Cooley have been with the band since its conception in the mid-1990s.Together, the group has released nine albums from “Gangstabilly” in 1998 to its most recent album, “Go Go Boots” in 2011.In a review on the band’s website, Rick Bass describes the band’s most recent album as both a transition for them as well as a culmination of all of their styles.“Here in ‘Go-Go Boots,’ the Truckers are country, and here, too, the Truckers are soul and rhythm and blues,” Bass said in the review. “It looks funny, on paper — the words country/soul mashed up like that — but maybe in the end it comes down to this one shared ethos: the harder life gets, the more clamantly it calls for art, for music, for beauty, for the slow celebration of loss or pain that is mournfully, beautifully defiant.”Bluebird Owner Dave Kubiak said the band comes to Bloomington about every year and a half, and over the years, it has acquired a Bloomington following, far from its Athens, Ga., roots.“Ticket sales have been good,” Kubiak said. “We’re expecting a few hundred people to show up. It should be a good show.”— Janica Kaneshiro
(11/05/13 3:43am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Four quartets played Monday night at the Ivy Tech John Waldron Arts Center Miller Gallery under the glowing white Jiang Mei Wu hanging installations. The performances were the first of “Music Mondays” put on by the center.The quartets consisted of a mix of undergraduate and graduate students matched according to their skills and experience. All are students of the Grammy-winning Pacifica Quartet.Pacifica Quartet consists of members Simin Ganatra and Sibbi Bernhardsson, violins; Masumi Per Rostad, viola; and Brandon Vamos, cello. Together they oversee 36 quartets within the Jacobs School of Music from which they handpick to play performances outside of the school.“The idea is to bring students outside the walls of Jacobs,” Bernhardsson said. “To blend art forms and give them real world experience.”The four quartets played music from Sergei Prokofiev, Ludwig Van Beethoven and Felix Mendelssohn among the artwork in the gallery. Mark Hatlestad, who plays violia in the quartet, said the setting was “a nice mixing of different forms” and “an intimate way to play being so close to the audience.”Mika Hood, a cellist in her quartet, said she appreciates the opportunity to play outside of the school of music.“It’s a great opportunity because otherwise we just have a few long concerts a semester,” Hood said. “Working with Pacifica is so great. They brought a great thing to our school. Chamber music is what I want to do, so having a group, that’s really important to me.” More students who study under the Pacifica Quartet will be playing Nov. 16 at Wylie House Museum, and Nov. 18 and Dec. 9 at the Waldron Arts Center.Bernhardsson said playing in a quartet is a distinct experience for both listeners and the players themselves.“It’s all part of a learning experience,” Bernhardsson said. “They’re four individuals sometimes from four different countries even, but they must come together to put on a unified musical performance.”Follow reporter Janica Kaneshiro on Twitter @JanicaKaneshiro.