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(04/21/05 4:22am)
When she was a student at IU, Margarete Disque majored in telecommunications, but she always dreamed of something more.\nOn the weekends, Disque attended Alternatives for Health, a school in Columbus, Ind., where she studied massage therapy.\nJust nine months after graduation from both IU and Alternatives for Health, Disque was able to realize her dream of owning her own business.\n"Being my own boss and not having to work for someone was always something I was intrigued by," Disque said.\nLes Champs Elysees Day Spa and Salon has become the manifestation of that dream. She now owns and runs the spa, 509 E. 10th St., along with some members of her family.\nDisque decided to hire her mother, Donna Disque, as general manager, and her grandmother, Mary Ann Baurle, as the receptionist.\nHer mother and grandmother helped Disque come up with the name for the spa.\n"Les Champs Elysees is the name of one of the most famous streets in Paris because of the beautiful buildings and upscale stores," Donna said. "That's the feeling we are going for here."\nMargarete said her mother was part of the inspiration for this venture. \n"I had always watched my mom and traveled with her, and business seemed like a great opportunity, especially for women," she said. "Women don't get recognized enough for their achievements in life, and I thought that this would be a great opportunity for success."\nThe spa opened in October 2004 when construction at 10th Street and College Avenue neared completion.\nAmenities include a full hair salon, manicure and pedicure stations and three back rooms where customers can receive normal spa services such as facials, waxing, body wraps and singles or couples massages. The spa also offers services that are less common such as pregnancy massages, reflexology and stone therapy.\nMargarete employs a full staff of specialists, including hair stylists, aestheticians and massage therapists, who are required to go through training on the hair products.\n"It's a really involved process," said aesthetician Jacqueline Simpson. "We have to have training on new products and how to explain them to customers."\nOne challenge the spa has encountered has been a lack of hair stylists.\n"A lot of them hop around from salon to salon, and many people in high school aren't being told about that vocation," Donna said. "And many times they are being told that they can't make money that way."\nShe said there is a great potential for hairstylists who are qualified.\nDonna said the spa is about making people feel better rather than just providing standard services.\n"It's not like you come in, get your hair cut, and the next person is in line waiting," she said.\nTo ensure the spa's customers don't feel like just another number, the salon offers a free treatment with any treatment the customer purchases. \n"Even if the customer just gets a haircut, we offer a complimentary service like a mini facial or foot soak," she said.\nLes Champs Elysees just experienced a wave of new business because of spring break and the coming of the summer months.\n"Everybody wants their pedicures and highlights to get ready for the summer," Margarete said. "We try to cater to both college students and Bloomington residents."\nBaurle said one difference she has noted in her time with the spa has been the number of men who come to the spa for various treatments.\n"It's really nice that they are finally taking an interest in themselves," she said.\nThe prices for the salon range from $10 to $120, not including the various packages offered.\nOne difference between the spa and others in the Bloomington area is that the spa uses mostly Aveda products, though the spa is not in partnership with the brand.\n"Aveda has the reputation of being very vibrant and on the cutting edge with hair," Margarete said.\nAveda is a hair product company whose trademark is caring for the environment. The company's hair products are 97 percent natural, and Margarete said the products are part of the reason that customers are initially attracted to the spa.\n"We've personally been using the Aveda products for 15 years, and we thought that because the products are 97 percent natural, Aveda and Bloomington would be a good match," Donna said.\nMargarete said the closest Aveda store is in Indianapolis. The store often refers their customers to Les Champs Elysees because it is the only one in the area that specializes in the products.\nMargarete, Donna and Baurle all agree that a mainstay of the business has been the welcoming atmosphere. Margarete said even its color palette was chosen with extra care to make the customers feel comfortable.\n"When people come in," Donna said, "we let them lead the conversation rather than talking about ourselves."\n-- Contact Staff Writer Ronni Moore at ronlmoor@indiana.edu.
(02/09/05 5:21am)
Senior Sarah Wilkins found herself $1,000 richer Sunday after dancing the afternoon away.\nWilkins competed in Bloomington's first Showcase of the Arts Competition in Contemporary Dance this weekend in the dance studio at the School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation.\nThe competition is part of the Showcase of the Arts series, which will award more than $15,000 to performers this year alone in the areas of visual arts, dance, drama, literature, music and musical theater.\nStudents from IU and around the state competed against each other for the $1,000 top prize in each category. $1,000. The entrants had to be between the ages of 15 and 25, reside in Indiana and not have exclusive professional management or representation.\nAs the competition began, three judges observed dancers' individual style and technique by watching a class taught by Liz Shea, a professor at HPER.\nThe dancers were told that judges would be looking for evidence of strong technique in the form of alignment and locomotive performance.\nThe master class gave the dancers a chance to warm up while going through the normal regimen of plies, swings and a short center combination during which Shea encouraged the participants not to become nervous and tense up.\n"Don't get so caught up in the mechanics of it that you are not dancing it," she said.\nNear the end of the class, Shea instructed the dancers to run in a circular pattern across the floor.\n"Every good modern dancer knows how to run," she said.\nSome came to the competition to support their favorite dancers.\nJuniors Kyra Claussen and Sarah Ash showed up to see their roommate, Amanda Tanguay, a senior in the Individualized Major Program majoring in dance performance.\n"We really like to come to all of her performances and see how expressive she is," Claussen said. "We ask her to do it at home all of the time."\nSenior Ricky Alvarez opened the solo section of the competition and won the second place prize of $500 with a piece he choreographed.\nThe judges for this year's competition were Larry Attaway, Elizabeth Monnier and Patty Wiley.\nAttaway is a musician, composer, choreographer and the director of the Jordan College Academy of Dance at Butler University. He is also a founding member of the International Guild of Musicians in Dance.\nMonnier is the founder and artistic director of Fort Wayne Dance Collective, a nonprofit community arts organization and a graduate of the IU Modern Dance Program. Wiley has danced with Dan Wagoner's renowned dance company and various dancers in New York.\nRachel Sokolofski, a senior majoring in communications and culture and member of the Windfall Dancers performed an energetic piece titled "Revolu-fusion of the Americas" choreographed by Iris Rosa, a professor in the College of Arts and Sciences and director of the African American Dance Company. Her piece was originally performed in "Joining Forces," an IU modern dance production earlier this year.\nIn the end, it was Sarah Wilkins, an IU student and Windfall Studios contemporary jazz instructor, who left with the $1,000 prize for her all-around performance. \nWilkins and the other winners will perform in a show April 17 at the John Waldron Arts Center, 122 S. Walnut St.\n-- Contact Staff Writer Ronnie Moore at ronlmoor@indiana.edu.
(09/23/04 5:00am)
Tuesday evening, the Black Film Center/Archive presented the first night of its three-part series focusing on Africana Women Filmmakers. The evening concentrated on the works of Julie Dash. \nDash is an award-winning filmmaker best known for directing "The Rosa Parks Story" and the surrealist "Daughters of the Dust." It is this surrealism that permeates much of Dash's early work. The way she uses it as a mechanism to portray the lives of black women makes her films very distinctive. \nThe film showings are in part an effort to encourage the public to learn more about Africana cultures and also to promote the use of the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center by students. \nDash, a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha, Inc., was born in New York in 1952 and began her film career in 1973. Throughout her career she has written, produced, directed, edited and even appeared in some of her films. In 1991 she won best cinematography at the Sundance Film Festival for "Daughters of the Dust" and since has moved toward mainstream film endeavors in music videos and television. \nThe first film of the evening was Dash's 1982 short film "Illusions." The film focused on a young black woman who was an assistant filmmaker during World War II. She was so light skinned that she was frequently able to pass for a white woman. The film was ironically and purposely shown in black-and-white and highlighted the struggle between this young woman's material interests and cultural obligations. \nThis film was very different from the second, titled "Praise House." In this film the viewers are able to get an idea of Dash's particular brand of surrealism and how it relates to and incorporates universal Africana experiences. With the help of the Urban Bush Women, a performing company whose works focus on Africana experiences, the film revisited common themes of invented remembrance, modes of cultural expression and the forced suppression of these modes because of one's immediate obligations to reality. \nIn these 25 minutes, there unfolded the story of a young girl whose spiritual kinship to her grandmother, uniquely portrayed in the common bonding experience of combing the grandmother's hair, conflicts with her harsh reality, embodied in the mother of the young woman. The disconnect between a woman and her mother and daughter was an interesting manner in which to undertake the portrayal of this all too common difficulty. \nThe scenes were shot in muted tones in order to impress upon the audience the insidious overarching feeling of being stifled in some way. Dash also plays with the use of sound in the film, constantly shifting between sharp and muted voice. The muted voice seems to highlight the illusory scenes, which she cuts in with the sharp, hard voice of reality.\nThe short featured a tradition particular to the Africana experience labeled the 'ring shout' in which people form a moving, dancing circle around one person, who is usually singing, clapping and dancing. \nThe ring shout is important to the film because it shows the unique blending of elements of West African religion, such as Yoruba, with Christianity. Death also took an interesting form in the movie as a black woman in sunglasses with long dreadlocks and the presence of the dead among the living further highlights the continued presence of African belief systems.\nThe films were followed by a short discussion of the movies in which the director of the Black Film Center/Archive, Audrey McCluskey, told the audience that they should "suspend normal viewing habits" and not judge them by popular viewing standards but by the overall feeling that saturates the work of the artist. \nThe Black Film Center will show Dash's "The Rosa Parks Story" at 7 p.m. Oct. 19 in Room A201 of the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center and "Daughters of Dust" at 7 p.m. Nov. 16 in Room 130 of Myers Hall.
(04/23/04 4:30am)
The Grand Hall of the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center booms every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon with the sounds of traditional and contemporary R&B music. Upstairs, the African American Dance Company immediately recognizes the music, and some begin to dance to the beat of the bass. \nThis familiar music is the sound of the IU Soul Revue, and Saturday evening, the dancers as well as the general public will be able to see the fruits of their labor. The ensemble will be presenting their much-awaited spring concert. The concert is the finale for the three performing ensembles in the African American Arts Institute. \nKendrel Cooper, a sophomore member of the African American Dance Company, said the music will appeal to the audience because it is a combination of old school R&B and modern soul. \n"I really appreciate the fact that the music that they perform spans over such a long period in time," said Cooper. "There is just something about the Soul Revue that gets the audience up on their feet dancing and clapping."\nAlthough the Soul Revue will be the last to perform this year, in 1971, it was the first of the three AAAI performing ensembles to be formed. Since that time, the ensemble has gained the admiration of the IU community and beyond. Dr. Charles Sykes, director of the AAAI, said the AAAI is one of the most unique groups on campus. \n"Soul Revue is different from other performing ensembles because it is the only group on campus that can do what they do," Sykes said. "They have all of the components needed to perform this material and perform it well." \nThe ensemble consists of male and female singers and a band. It is not only a performing ensemble, but also a class in which the students receive credits. \n"As a performing ensemble, it is a very rare thing to have students be able to take a class in which they receive credit and learn about R&B history and then actually get to perform it," said Ansyn Banks, a horn coach and first year graduate student in brass pedagogy.\nIn a comment made about the Soul Revue after witnessing one of their performances, Michael J. Powell, producer of popular recording artists such as Anita Baker and Patti LaBelle, said, "I was pleasantly surprised at the cohesion of talent, professionalism and quality centered within the Soul Revue."\nProfessionalism is one of the key components of the group says Soul Revue's road manager, Joe Fish. Fish, a first year graduate student in arts administration, was a band member in the ensemble in his undergraduate years at IU. \n"There is a really good energy that the group gives off in every performance," he said. "The director is really strict and requires a lot of discipline and professionalism from his students, and it really pays off in the end."\nThe ensemble is unique in that it never likes to let the audience know the songs it will be performing beforehand; although, the songs are usually familiar to many audience members. \nThis year, the ensemble will be releasing a CD titled "Taste of Soul," which contains two tracks written by the present members of the ensemble and an interlude written by the director, Tyron Cooper. This is a tradition the AAAI has been trying to uphold for a long time. Preservation is really important to the institute, and it makes every effort to preserve the work of the three ensembles every year.\n"This is an area that the institute wants to move into more and more in the future," said Sykes. "People are always asking for CDs of the performances, and this is also our way of making the performances last at least semi-permanently because once the performance is over, it's over."\nThe CDs will be available at the concert for $6 each, and the proceeds will benefit the Soul Revue and the AAAI. \nThe show is at 8 p.m. Saturday at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater. Advance tickets are $8 for students and seniors and $13 for adults. Show-day prices will be $12 for students and seniors and $17 for adults. Tickets are available in advance at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater's Sunrise Ticket Office. For more information, contact the ticket office at 323-3020.\n-- Contact staff writer RonNella Moore at ronlmoor@indiana.edu.
(04/22/04 5:53am)
The Windfall dancers presented their annual spring dance production Saturday night, titled "Elements." The production featured the dancers' interpretations of natural occurrences through dance. Windfall is a modern dance collective originally formed in 1978 under the direction of Debbie Knapp. The Windfall dancers perform at different venues all year and hold auditions regularly. This dance company is different than others in that all members have the unique opportunity to choreograph their own pieces and choose dancers to perform them. \nThe night was divided into two acts: "Dueling Forces" and "A Churning and Yearning Earth." "Triumphant Fire" was the first piece of the evening. It was an explosive piece commemorating the victory of raging fire over rain. This piece showcased the amazing flexibility of the dancers in the company and was a very strong piece to start off the events. \nAnother highlight of the evening was "Ignition," a piece choreographed by dancer Kay Olges. It featured a song titled "Eternal" by contemporary music group "Evanescence." The piece was interesting in that it featured the dancers in a more creative light. Near the end of the piece, the dancers portrayed the dying of a woodland fire and the rhythmic pattern of the rain that continued to fall by making beats with the floor and their bodies. This piece is typical of the creative nature of the company and its ideals. Windfall Dance Company prides itself on its ability to stay fresh, a continually creative force in the dance community of Bloomington. \nThe end of the first act saw the Windfall Youth Ensemble dance to a familiar piece of music called "Didn't Leave Nobody but the Baby," featured in the movie "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" The Windfall Youth Ensemble is another dance company under the heading of Windfall Dance Company. Its members are separate from the Windfall dancers, but regularly perform with the company itself. Saturday, they performed their piece titled "Liquid Breeze," which highlighted the up-and-coming talents of the younger Windfall dancers. Act Two was even more dynamic than the first, beginning with a piece choreographed by new member Jovi-Victoria Thomas. The piece was received especially well by the audience, as the music was recognized to be from contemporary artist André 3000 of the rap duo OutKast. The piece featured the dancers at their most energetic and was followed by a slower yet powerful piece, "Gaia's Children." \nSaturday night was the last time the dance company would perform this show, and the night was undeniably a rousing success for the company that will ultimately serve as an inspiration to the dance community.
(04/30/03 4:17am)
Tuesday afternoon, the African-American Dance Company was treated to having a member of the "Bring in 'Da Noise, Bring in 'Da Funk" talk with the dance company about the night's show. \nRobert Reed III, a tap dancer from St. Louis, Mo., answered the company's questions about the show and tap as a dance form. He gave advice to the dancers on subjects such as warming up, saying that the best warm-up is improvisation. He also explained that the best method for covering up mistakes made on stage is simply to "play it off." \n"If you slip, make it a turn, if you fall turn it into a split," Reed said half-jokingly.\nThe performer talked about the familiar nervousness right before a show begins and said that he gets rid of the feeling by "sparring" with other dancers as a warm-up exercise.\nReed talked with the dancers on the importance of tap and the form's origins. He said tap dance was born in America during times of slavery when Southern slave masters took all the drums away from the slaves because drums, the slave masters realized, were used as a form of communication for Africans. After having their drums taken away, the slaves developed the skill of rhythmically tapping their feet as a way of communication, Reed said. \n"Anything that a drummer can do with his hands, a tap dancer can do with his feet," he said.\nHe continued to talk about the history of tap dance on Broadway and in movies like "Tap!," which starred tap greats like Gregory Hines, Sammy Davis, Jr. and Savion Glover, himself when he was younger. Reed discussed the condition of tap today by saying audiences show more interest in the form today than in recent years. \n"Tap dance is exploding," he said.\nAlthough the 20-year-old dancer has been dancing professionally since his teenage years, when asked about the audition process for the show Reed admitted that the process was indeed a challenge. He said that in tap dance everyone has to have a gimmick or a trick that sets them apart form other tap dancers.\n"The competition was fierce," he said.\nThe dancers also asked questions about the preparation for "Noise/Funk." Much to the amazement of the AADC, Reed said that the cast held intensive practices for a staggering eight hours a day for two months leading up to the tour. \n"I find that being part of the show is just like being a part of a sports team," Reed said.\n"Noise/Funk" highlights African-American history through tap, percussion, song and poetry.\n"The historical aspect will really put it into perspective for you," said professor Iris Rosa, director of the African-American Dance Company.\nReed, who has known Glover for some time, spoke about working with him on this latest project. He said that Glover has a distinctive style of teaching. \n"Savion seems to have an intense, innate knowledge of the art," Reed said. "This is because it has been passed down to him by the masters of tap themselves."\nReed left school at the University of Missouri, where he was a computer science major, in order to join the cast on a tour around the U.S. and Japan. He joked with the students about the irony of being a computer science major when the "dot-com industry collapsed." Reed talked about tap being an infinite field where one puts together various elements from one's life to create innovative movements.\n"At the most basic level, tap is tap, but there are most definitely many different forms of tap," he said.\nThe style of tap dancing he does is called "rhythm tap."\nMost of the students in the company have never tapped before, and Reed's presentation seemed to inspire them with his knowledge of the art form. For a treat, he laced up a pair of $200 tap shoes and dazzled the dancers with a short presentation of some of his "basic" moves. He coaxed his audience to clap along to his tapped rendition of popular songs, one of which was "Billie Jean" by Michael Jackson. \n"Everyone has rhythm," Reed said after the performance.\n"It was a really good experience for us to meet someone who is actually a professional dancer," said Clifton Davis, Jr. a senior in the dance company. "It was interesting to learn about professional dance since we only mostly know about the educational aspect of dance."\nReed closed by showing the dancers more of his moves.\n"In dance, you want to make all of the friends that you can and learn from them," he said in closing.\nTwo other cast members visited the IU Soul Revue and the African-American Choral Ensemble.
(04/25/03 5:02am)
Saturday night, 12 of the best collegiate step teams from IU and other colleges across the state will present their 2003 step routines. These teams will be competing at 6 p.m. Saturday in the inaugural Little 5 Stepdown Competition for the title of "Best Step Team in Indiana." \n"This is a chance for the teams to display their creativity," said junior Jeremy Morris, a Union Board member.\nRickey Smiley will be the host for the event. Smiley is a former host of BET's popular comedy showcase "Comic View." He is best known for his "hilarious characters and 'down home' Southern Humor," according to BET. He will be keeping the crowd entertained with short comedic sketches in between each of the 15-minute step routines.\nMorris is the main coordinator for the production and director of the Bridging the Gap committee of Union Board. The goal of the committee is to create an environment in which students of all kinds can come together, bond and generally have a good time in a place that they might not have gone to if conditions were different. \n"We work to spotlight organizations that have low resources and attract people from all over campus to that particular group's event, using the resources that we have," Morris said. \nAnother motivation for the Bridging the Gap Committee to continue to serve the community is the drive to unite the IU campus, Morris said. The committee recognizes that programs seemingly geared toward a specific group of people will not attract a large audience.\n"I have heard people who have wanted to come to a step show and have said 'I don't want to be the only white person there," Morris said. "We chose to have it in the IU Auditorium and do all of this publicity for the show, because we want all kinds of people to come."\nGetting ready for a competition like this one takes months of preparation, say participants. \n"You put in time just like you would for a jog and it's really hard work," Morris said. "Since they heard about the show, some groups have been practicing something like three to four hours everyday leading up to the show."\nThe various routines presented will be performed by Greek step teams like the IU and Purdue chapters of Alpha Phi Alpha and non-Greek steppers like the new IU-based stepping group "Karismatic."\nA group of freshmen who lived in Teter-Rabb formed the group in the summer of 2002. All of the women in the group were part of a summer orientation program. The group said it is now ready to compete with some of the best teams from across the state.\n"We are working really hard right now and we are going to come out with killer beats, nice moves and crowd shockers," said member Leila Price.\nThere are many creative aspects to stepping that help to differentiate each team from others and the dance form itself from other styles. One of these differences would be the use of props. Some groups have opted to use hats, canes, chairs and other such items. Other groups have chosen to incorporate different forms of dance and even singing as part of their routines in order to better convey their respective themes. \n"We aren't even allowed to tell what props we will be using," Price said.\nOrganizers hope this event will provide a catalyst for various groups to come together in a dance extravaganza. \n"We are breaking lots of boundaries," Morris said.\nTickets for the event are $11 for IUB students with a valid ID and $15 for non-students.
(04/25/03 4:28am)
IU Soul Revue will present its annual spring concert at 8 p.m. Saturday at the Buskirk-Chumley Theatre, 114 E. Kirkwood Ave. The group will entertain the crowd with 20 popular songs like "Brickhouse" by the Commodores, "Shining Star" by Earth, Wind and Fire and "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" originally performed by the Supremes. The group is hoping to show an even higher amount of professionalism this time around.\n"It's a different experience that the group has had, this year they have had a real taste of the actual music industry," said Tyron Cooper, director of Soul Revue.\nWith 24 members, the Soul Revue marks its 32nd anniversary. It is the first of three African-American performance ensembles formed at IU. Sponsored by the African-American Arts Institute, it was first under the direction of Portia Maultsby. \nSince then, the group's members have continuously maintained a reputation as some of the best vocalists on campus. The ensemble is made up of vocalists from freshman up to seniors. \nRecently, two of the singers in Soul Revue, freshman Nilaja Neely and junior Jacob Hughes, were finalists in the Union Board's "Hoosier Idol." Neely took home the first prize. \n"I still can't believe that I won," Neely said. "Hopefully this studio time will get me a launch into the entertainment business."\nSoul Revue aims at upholding African-American tradition through music, performing songs from the early sixties to the present, members said.\n"There are lots of kinds of music from these times, like funk and jazz," said Hughes, who is a veteran member of the ensemble. "We concentrate more along the lines of preserving the music genres of these eras."\nThis year's spring concert will feature performances by musicians Felton Pilate and Kyle Quass. Pilate is a Grammy-nominated vocalist, instrumentalist, producer, writer, arranger and engineer in the music industry. He was the front man for the legendary R&B/funk band ConFunkShun and produced the Grammy-nominated "Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em" in the '90s. Quass is a jazz trumpet player from Indiana who is said to have an exciting and distinctive harmonic and rhythmic style. He has performed with such famous musicians as Freddie Hubbard, Frank Lacy, Charlie Persip, Joe Henderson and Greg Osby and many other famous jazz groups across the United States.\n"It's all about collaboration and bringing something new that hasn't been touched by Soul Revue," said sophomore Adam Thompson, an alto saxophone player. "These artists bring in their own style that is going to add to the performance."\nBoth the group's director and its members strive to bring a new vision to the concert each year. \n"The eclectic experiences that Soul Revue has had that makes this year different from other years," Cooper said.\nThe ensemble practiced with Quass Wednesday night and with Pilate Thursday night. \nIn addition to performing throughout the year, the ensemble also toured New York City and Detroit during spring break. \n"I have learned so much as a freshman because of being in this group," Neely said.\nAdvanced tickets for the concert are $8 for students and seniors. Show day prices are $12 for students and seniors, and $17 for adults.
(04/25/03 4:26am)
Dancers from around the city gather in the auditorium of the John Waldron Arts Center displaying flexibility and mastery of the dance skills as they stretch, warm up and focus for rehearsal. This was the scene Wednesday night at a technical rehearsal for the Windfall Dance Company's spring production "Lucid Dream." The production, which debuts at 8 p.m. tonight at the John Waldron Arts Center Auditorium, features new approaches to modern dance and a fusion of theater and dance itself and even incorporates Freud and the poetry of Edgar Allen Poe, company members said.\n"'Lucid Dream' is all about how you feel in a dream, you have feelings like you are trapped and you can't get out," said dancer Rachel Auer.\nThe dancers will be performing with two other dance companies housed within the Windfall Dance Studio -- "Parallel Differences" and the youth group. \nThe youth ensemble is a younger group of serious dancers who also choreograph their own pieces. "Parallel Differences" is a recently developed group of young dancers that "explores issues like race, religion, culture, lifestyle, beliefs and tolerance through dance," according to the company's Web site. "Parallel Differences" was started through a grant given to Windfall last year. It is open to dancers ages 11 to 17- years-old regardless of previous dance experience. \n"We started dancing here when it started last year, and we just continued on," said member Rachel Beyer.\nThis year, the dance company worked in cooperation with the Bloomington Area Arts Council and the John Waldron Arts Center in order to make their production a success. The arts center takes care of most of the production costs in order to help smaller arts organizations around the city.\n"We work to give smaller organizations an outlet," said sophomore Amy Wanninger, an art director at the center. \nThe company's production will feature pieces choreographed by the dancers themselves that tackle some issues not usually addressed in dance -- pieces titled "Babyface" and "Voices Behind the Wall" explore relationships between people. \n"(Voices Behind the Wall) is about domestic violence. "It is a really interesting piece, and it is saying that you should take action if you see domestic violence and not just act as if it is a dream," Beyer said.\nThis production comes as a result of months of meticulous planning. About a year before the performance, the company discusses possible themes and chooses the ones that members think will work best, said Adrienne Sewell, art director and choreographer for the company. \n"Our pieces are mainly collaborations between our students -- both graduate students and undergrads," Sewell said. "This company is different than other dance companies because the dancers have more control over the pieces themselves." \nSome of the directors for the company will be dancing in the pieces choreographed by students, which also sets the company apart from traditional dance companies.\nThe dances performed by the company mainly feature modern styles. Members said they have also performed routines which were more reflective of hip-hop, techno or rave and jazz styles.\n"Modern dance is a more free form of dance than other dance," Sewell said. "It uses elements of other dance styles."\nThe dancers will be performing at 8 p.m. tonight and April 26 and 27 as well as May 2 and 3 in the John Waldron Arts Center Auditorium. Tickets are $12 general admission, $10 for students and seniors and $6 for children 12 and under.
(04/21/03 4:03am)
Tonight, 10 contestants will vie for the title of "Hoosier Idol." The unidentified contestants, who were chosen from the students who auditioned, will be performing onstage at 7:30 p.m. at the IU Auditorium in front of a group of their peers.\n"It has been really awesome, we had about 25 people tryout the first night and we expected about three times that the second night," said Claire Tramm, Marketing Director for the Union Board. \nIn all, 70 people auditioned.\nAuditions were held Tuesday and Wednesday. The judges for the auditions included eight to 10 Union Board advisers and music school students. The auditions were taped and reviewed in order to choose 10 contestants who would be competing tonight. \nThe show will feature a celebrity panel of judges. Among the celebrity panel of the judges will be Glenn Gass, an IU professor of music, and Rich Hardesty, a local musician. The judges will not be able to view the audition tapes of any of the contestants before the show to prevent prejudgment of the contestants. \n"I think that it is a good idea, I know that in 'Teter Idol,' the judges were the same and they had already seen the people who auditioned perform before," said Randall Bogard, a Residential Assistant in Teter. "They already had their ideas about who was good."\nThe twist to the IU version of the competition is that after auditions, none of the contestants know whether they have made it to the next round. None of those contestants will know whether they have advanced until the chosen contestants are called up on stage. \n"Everyone who tried out should come ready to perform," Tramm said.\nThe host of tonight's show will be Tiffany, an '80s pop star. Tiffany has hosted "Star Search," a national talent competition. She will not be singing, though. The judges will choose the three finalists, and at the end, Tramm says, the winner will be chosen by the audience. Winners will be determined based on whoever receives the most applause.\n"It all depends on whoever has the most people there," Tramm said.\nColleen David, a "Hoosier Idol" hopeful who auditioned on Tuesday, said she has had a lot of experience singing for the public in middle school and high school back in her hometown of Troy, Mich. However, she said this competition is a little different from the ones she has been in before and it makes her somewhat nervous about tonight's show. \n"I don't know whether to really prepare or not," David said. \nIf chosen, David will be performing "Together Again," originally performed by Janet Jackson. \nBogard's sister is also in the running for a spot among the 10 semifinalists. Tonight would be the first night that he would ever see her sing. \n"I think that if she uses all of her dance abilities as well as her singing abilities, she will be able to come out on top," Bogard said.\nThe 10 semifinalists will receive prize packs filled with items donated from the sponsors of the competition and the winner will receive a recording session and demo tapes to distribute. \nThe show is free but tickets are required. Tickets are available at the Activities Desk of the Indiana Memorial Union and at the IU Auditorium box office.
(04/17/03 5:18am)
IU Essence will be performing for the last time this school year at the Black Student Union's fashion show at 8:30 p.m. tonight at the Buskirk-Chumley Theatre, 114 E. Kirkwood Ave. The dance team performs at different venues throughout the school year, the most recent being the Faculty and Staff for Student Excellence Mentoring Program's annual banquet and awards ceremony. \n"Essence usually performs at greek events, but we are trying to become more noticeable by dancing at other programs that are put on by student organizations," team captain Fallon Coleman said.\nThe dance team was formed in 1996 to give minorities an opportunity to be part of a dance team at IU, Coleman said. However, she said that anyone who can dance has the opportunity to be a part of the team. \n"We hope to add variety to our group, and we choose people based on their style," Coleman said.\nSince the team's creation, Essence has changed its image several times in order to prevent being pushed into the category of typical "club-style" amateur hip-hop groups. \n"Our dancing is hip-hop, but it's also technical," freshman member Melissa Gholston said.\nEssence stands apart from other dance teams on campus because the team choreographs its own dances and creates a new dance for each performance. The dancers said they do not want to show the audience something that has already been seen because it wouldn't be representative of any progress that the dancers might have made. \n"We don't want to show the audience the same thing that they have seen before because that is just plain boring," Coleman said. "We want the audience to see something 'fresh.'"\nIn addition to the new choreography, the dancers make sure the music is current since the fundamental nature of hip-hop culture thrives on what is relatively up-to-date. This creates extra work for the team. The dance team also holds tryouts twice a year at the beginning of each semester, which, as the dancers say, keeps their dance moves from always looking the same. \n"We hold two auditions a year because we are always looking for some new flavor," said first-year member Jessica Berry.\nThe dancers said the team focuses on making everyone look the same as well as focusing on the individuality of the members, which the dancers admit can be a rather daunting task. The dancers choreograph their own movements and have their own DJ to mix their CDs. The members occasionally make their own costumes. \n"It is a great chance to put our own individual style into the dances and put our input into what we do, which most other teams don't get to do. We get to be in control for once," freshman member Jenna Deckard said.
(04/16/03 4:51am)
A week and a half after its annual spring dance concert, the African-American Dance Company is still dancing and performing. The dancers went to the Stone Belt Center Tuesday afternoon to dance for patients. Stone Belt is a center for mentally and physically challenged individuals, located on the IUB campus. Professor Iris Rosa, the director of the dance company, journeys to Stone Belt every year and has done so for the last decade\n"This is a way to use the gift of dance, which crosses all communication barriers, in order to bring happiness and joy to those who may not be able to communicate clearly," said Monique Guyinn, a senior in the company. "It also brings a sense of fulfillment to the dancers that we don't get anywhere else."\nThe faces of the crowd lit up when Rosa approached the microphone to introduce the dance company. She explained the types of dances the company would be doing while the audience anxiously awaited the start of the show. Rosa said she feels it is important to explain what the dancers will be doing at events such as this because dances aren't simply dances but artistic creations with meaning behind them.\n"Dancers are educators, we are here to educate the community," said Rosa.\nThe performers presented some of the dances from its recent spring concert, including some of the collaboration pieces the dancers choreographed themselves. \nLori Madl, assistant instructor for the African-American dance company, presented her solo. Later the dancers came together for the last piece, "Storms." When the dancers finished the show, the music for their jazz piece came on as the performers pulled members of the audience up to the dance floor and encouraged them to let loose and dance with the company.\n"It's community service for the dance company," said Clifton Davis, Jr., a senior in the company. "We feel that just because these people aren't considered by some to be "normal" that doesn't mean that they shouldn't be given opportunities like this."\nWhen the dancing was over, the audience began to leave the room, some still dancing -- even though there was no music. \nAs the crowd members dispersed into the hallways, they walked by, touching the dancers, praising them for their performance and imploring them to come back. \n"This is such a highlight for us," Rosa said.\n"It is a way for us to let go of everything else and just be in the moment. It has become sort of a spring ritual for us and we really appreciate it," said Leslie Green, director of the Stone Belt Center.\nSince the show was in the middle of the day, some of the dancers had to miss classes but they say that it is worth making the people that they come to dance for smile. Even though the shows are over, the dancers continue to practice perfecting themselves for the coming year. \n"It's a really good feeling when you know that you have done something good and that you have left them happy and excited," Davis said.
(04/15/03 5:26am)
The Union Board is looking for singers of all kinds to come and audition tonight and Wednesday for the first annual "Hoosier Idol" competition. Claire Tramm, one of the coordinators for the event said singers are encouraged to audition, but every student at IU has an equal chance to be the next Hoosier Idol. \n"We wanted to give people who don't usually have a chance to shine that chance," Tramm said.\nThe competition will consist of auditions, which will be taped and viewed by the judges. The contestants will be judged on charisma, stage presence, emotion, performance quality and dancing ability. \nAfter the auditions, the judges will choose 10 finalists to sing at the actual "Hoosier Idol" show Monday, at the IU Auditorium. \nNo one will be notified ahead of time, so all those who auditioned will be invited to attend the actual show.\n"We are going to call the contestants in a 'come on down' format at the show," Tramm said. \nThe coordinators of the competition are well aware that some people may be discouraged from auditioning because of the "American Idol" competition in which, the "King of Mean," Simon Cowell at times harshly criticizes the singers on their singing as well as their attire for the evening. However, Hoosier Idol hopefuls are urged not to fret -- neither the auditions nor the judges are intended to be too intimidating, organizers said.\n"There won't be any judges like Simon. They won't be encouraged to say mean things. They won't cut you," Tramm said. \nIn order to make sure everyone has a blank slate, a panel of "celebrity" judges (who will have never seen the contestants perform) will be brought in to judge the actual show. These new judges will only be allowed to narrow the group of 10 down to three. The audience will pick the overall winner at the show. The coordinators wanted to make sure that the audience, like in "American Idol," was involved in the selection. \n"It doesn't give the judges a chance to get to really know the performers and see their strengths and weaknesses, which might actually hurt the people who try out more than help them," said freshman Thomas Price, who will audition tomorrow.\nOne of the contestants for the "Hoosier Idol" show was announced Sunday. Freshman Matt Schuerman won "Teter Idol," which was an independently-conceived competition at the Teter Quad. Resident assistants Kim Kindred and Kim Owens first thought of adapting the show in order to highlight undiscovered talent among residents of Teter Quad. By winning the competition, Schuerman secured his place among the 10 contestants who will be singing on stage next Monday. \n"I think that it is really awesome that even though 'Teter Idol' is over, the winner still gets a chance to keep competing," said "Teter Idol" contestant Dan Riesen. \nRiesen said that even though he didn't win the competition, he plans to try out for "Hoosier Idol."\nIn order to make the actual show even more special, the Union Board invited '80s popstar Tiffany to host the show. Tiffany soared to the top of the charts with songs like "All this Time" and "My Boyfriend's Back." Since then, Tiffany has been featured in Playboy magazine and hosted "Star Search," a national talent competition.\n"Tiffany is an absolutely amazing singer," Price said. "I think that it is great that we all have the opportunity to see her in person."\nThe auditions for the competition will be from 5 to 10 p.m. today and Wednesday in the IMU's Georgian Room. The show will take place at 7 p.m., Monday at the IU Auditorium, and tickets are required but free.
(04/11/03 5:34am)
This year, the African-American Choral Ensemble is doing something different for its end-of-season concert. The AACE will present a full Broadway production titled "Gospel at Colonus" today and Saturday at the Buskirk-Chumley Theatre. \nThe production is an adaptation of the Greek dramatist Sophocles' masterwork "Oedipus at Colonus." Legend has it that Oedipus was destined to kill his father, marry his mother and have children with her as a result of the unwittingly incestuous relationship.\nOne reason for the change this year is the fact that the AACE is trying to get out of being stereotyped as a gospel choir, members said. \nSenior member Doris Clark said the ensemble has constantly been pushed into the category of "gospel choir." However, many differences exist between the repertoire of a gospel choir and that of the AACE, she said. \n"There is a huge difference between spiritual, gospel and composition," she said. \nDr. James Mumford, AACE director, said choir members did not welcome the piece at first. \n"At first, my students were saying, 'Why are we doing this Doc? This is nasty,'" Mumford said.\nBut now the group has had more time to contemplate the piece in its entirety, and members are able to appreciate the production, which is about the search for the meaning of guilt and what makes people guilty.\n"Gospel at Colonus" combines a story of Greek tragedy with African-American culture to produce an interesting and thought-provoking fusion of music and myth, past and present, participants said. It is set in an African-American Pentecostal Church in America and in Thebes, an ancient city in Greece. This setting parallels the production itself which is a modern spin on an ancient story. In order to mark the change, in the adaptation of the story, Oedipus becomes the preacher of the church and the singers become the choir that answers the preacher. \n"It is interesting that something like Greek mythology has some connection with African-American tradition," Mumford said.\nThe African-American Choral Ensemble invited former members of the Ensemble to perform together in this weekend's concerts. \nAACE holds regular two-hour practices twice a week to get ready for performances. In order to get ready for this production, the ensemble has been holding extra four-hour practices at night and on Saturdays. \n"Doc has even brought in a couple of children to involve the community," said junior Amy-Nicole Headings, who sings in the Ensemble.\nThe members of the AACE said it was difficult to bring everyone to the same level of understanding in order to present to the audience effectively. \n"It's a different feel for AACE this year," Headings said. \nAACE performs at 8 p.m. tonight and at 3 p.m. Saturday at the Buskirk-Chumley Theatre, 114 E. Kirkwood Ave. Tickets range from $8 to $12 for students, seniors and children under 12. General public tickets range from $13 to $17.
(04/04/03 5:34am)
The African American Dance Compnay considers "energy, rhythm, precision and grace" as the fundamentals guiding its members in dance performance. The AADC will present the 29th annual spring concert at 8 p.m. Saturday at the Buskirk-Chumley Theatre at 114 E. Kirkwood Ave.\nThe concert comes just a week after the Dance Company's annual dance workshop in which children and adults alike came and received not only dance instruction, but also a lesson in African American Diaspora history.\n"I loved the workshop, it was so much fun, it got us excited and made the coming concert mean so much more," said senior AADC member Nakiesha Pearson. \nFriday's concert will showcase a one-time showing of "Once Upon A Rural South." This piece is the result of the collaborative efforts of the African American Dance Company's director, professor Iris Rosa and Valerie Grim, a professor of history in the department of African-American and African Diaspora Studies. According to its creators, the piece is very nontraditional in nature and incorporates a lot of modern movements. Through dance, it speaks of the time immediately after slavery. Raven Akram, a junior AADC member, said that little time is spent in history classes teaching about this very important time post-slavery.\n"Most people only know about slavery, then the Civil War, then we were all free," Akram said. "It wasn't so cut and dry."\nThe AADC will also be performing a Latin piece this year. The piece will incorporate some of the dance moves learned during the workshop. Rosa said that the music was chosen because of the content. The song is about African-Americans in Latin American countries. The music shouts 'Do you like it?,' speaking of how the African-Latino dances incorporate African movements from the performers' native countries.\n"Just like in the United States, they are the minority there," Rosa said. \nThe dancers will also be performing their collaboration pieces for the last time. At the beginning of the school year, the dance company was split into four groups of four or five people. Each group was supposed to come up with an overall dance theme. The dance company chose the title of "Cultural Pasttimes." After this assignment, the individual groups were to come up with individual dance routines that would fit under the umbrella theme. \n"We chose the salon because it is something most people can relate to primarily, women of color regarding the time that is spent there and the reason for going. Nobody gets their hair done more than women of color," said Tiffani Saunders, a graduate student in sociology and a member of the dance company. "It becomes the way to let your outer beauty match your inner."\nThe groups made changes at the start of the spring semester to accommodate new members coming in and old members leaving. \n"We changed our theme to 'Behind the Mask' because we wanted to represent Africans in the Diaspora," said senior AADC member, Doris Clark. \nThe groups also had to come up with music to accompany their movements in order to get a feel for choreography.
(03/28/03 5:19pm)
Thursday evening marked the beginning of the African-American Dance Company's 6th annual dance workshop. The workshop's purpose is to reach out and educate the community about dance styles not widely represented in the United States.\nDr. Joan Burroughs gave the keynote address on the role of dance in relation to civil rights, which set the tone for the weekend workshop. The goal of the keynote address was to show there is a certain element of intellectuality to dance.\n"We want the community to know that we don't just come in and dance and that's it," Burroughs said. "Dance is a discipline."\nThe workshop features classes in diverse styles of dance, which include salsa dancing with Rogelio Kindelan, a professional performer and percussionist from Guantanamo, Cuba. Bernard Woma, a percussionist from West Africa, will be teaching African style dancing and drumming, while Elana Anderson, a performer and teacher from Chicago will be teaching the Horton technique, which is a warm-up process. \n"These are amazing artists and they were chosen for our workshop because of their expertise in their different genres of dance," said Lori Madl, assistant instructor of the African-American Dance Company. \nThis workshop has not only been extended to the entire IU and Bloomington community but also to a few groups from the Indianapolis area. These groups will be performing in the showcase on Saturday, which is the official ending of the workshop. \nThe African-American Dance Company will perform along with the guest instructors. The company will present the first section of its "Rural South" piece, which portrays African-Americans in the years following the Emancipation Proclamation. \n"We think it is important for people to know that even though the slaves were set free they were still poor and had to work hard for everything they got," said senior Sumer Hall. \nCompany director Iris Rosa said the workshop required months of preparation. Professionals were invited from around the country. The dance company also spent long hours preparing its routine for the workshop. \n"I would say that we practice about six hours a week in class as well as practicing many hours outside of class to perfect our movements," said Clifton Davis, a senior in the dance company. \nFor anyone wishing to take a class, spots for Friday and Saturday are still available. Full registration is $50 for adults and $30 for children. Prices vary for single classes. \n"It's amazing that we have people from all around the world to come and teach us," said Nancy Beecher, a Ph.D. student in biology and member of the dance company, "and that such a wonderful opportunity is open to the entire community"