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(09/10/09 4:30am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Complications with the GI Bill are causing delays in funding for student veterans on campus.The Post 9/11 GI Bill can cover tuition, housing and additional fees for veterans and children of veterans. However, this GI Bill is far more complicated than previous military benefit programs. Even now specifics of the program are still being worked out, causing delays in funding.Put into effect last month, the Post 9/11 GI Bill provides more money than previous GI bills, creating additional complications.“The new one conceivably has a lot more money available for students – depending on their situation – so in many cases they have more benefits available to them. They have less flexibility in what they do with it,” said Margaret Baechtold, director of the Veterans Support Services. “It’s much more complicated, but in the end it should be a better deal for students because they should have more money available to them.”The convoluted nature of the new program also means that the fine points of bureaucracy are still being worked out, even as students are being promised financial aid.“They’ve kind of been inventing the rules as we go along,” Baechtold said. “Some things have changed even in the last week.” The U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs is clarifying the rules, which will impact how much money students will get, she said.Such complications have led to inevitable delays. Sarah Gibson, student services assistant for the Veteran Support Services, described the paperwork as “very time intensive,” so students will have to wait a little longer than usual to receive their benefits.According to the Veteran Affairs Web site, about 275,000 education work itemsacross the nation have yet to be processed. This time last year, only about 65,000 items were on the department’s processing list.Baechtold said the IU Veterans Support Services has been working with the bursar to prevent late fees and penalties from appearing on bills of students awaiting VA processing.“We’re here to try to make this work correctly for students,” Baechtold said. “We’ll do the best we can, but the guidance is continuing to change, and the VA’s got a lot more things to finalize and so people have to be patient.”As kinks in the program get ironed out, Nick Bielinski, president of the Student Veterans Association, said he expects to see more veterans taking advantage of the new GI Bill at IU.“It’s hard to beat what the GI Bill has to offer,” Bielinski said. “Be looking for an increase of an older group of students coming in on campus. That’s going to increase a big percentage from here on out. You’re going to start seeing a lot of 22-year-olds and older starting at college as freshmen.”
(03/23/09 3:41am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>At a university with more than 40,000 students, it is a goal of many to make it seem smaller.The human biology program, an interdisciplinary program in the College of Arts and Sciences, is attempting this by presenting a weekly coffee hour for students and faculty from all majors to get together and talk about an array of topics. “Coffee hour was something I implemented as a way of building community and giving students a time to get together and share experiences,” said Whitney Schlegel, director of the human biology program.The program – and the coffee hour – was established two years ago to generate a system of interdisciplinary study for both students and faculty. “Human biology is an interdisciplinary program where faculty teach from all over the University,” said Phillip Quirk, assistant director of the program. “The idea of the program is to bring students and faculty together to study what it is to be human.” The coffee hour, which takes place from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. Mondays in Morrison Hall 107 this semester, provides a more informal setting for people from all areas of study to connect. Depending on people’s schedules, a handful of professors and about a dozen students attend to discuss everything from current events in biology to personal events.Krista Bergman, a junior in the human biology program, said she regularly attends the coffee hour because it’s “nice to talk casually about things” with her professors.“This year I go every week because I enjoy the personal connection that you gain from being able to talk to your professors outside of class and hang out with classmates,” she said. Dena Kranzberg, a senior in the program, said attending the coffee hour gives her an opportunity to stay in touch with classmates and professors from her classes.“I go to see people who were in my 100-, 200- and 300-level classes that I no longer get to see,” she said.Quirk said the coffee hour is a way for students and faculty to interact on a more informal level, which is often less intimidating than using a professor’s office hours.“We want to emphasize the accessibility of faculty,” he said. “It allows students to become more invested in the program and in their studies.” Schlegel added that having a coffee hour is a chance for students to learn outside of the traditional class lecture or seminar.“I firmly believe all learning is social,” she said. “It’s an opportunity to learn, but to do so in a more informal setting.” Ultimately, the point of the human biology program, and in part, the weekly coffee hour, is to bring together as many perspectives as possible.“You don’t have to be in human biology to come to coffee hour,” Schlegel said. “We want people to enjoy coming together with all these different interests. It’s an opportunity to share collective knowledge.”
(11/17/08 3:04am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>In a crowd speckled with drag queens, IU students joined community members to celebrate feminism Saturday at Lesbopalooza. Bloomington has not seen a Lesbopalooza festival in six years, but OUT and the Women’s Student Association brought it back at Collins Living-Learning Center with music and paintings from local artists, drag performances and workshops.Event coordinator and junior Kadie Dunkel said OUT wanted “to get away from the huge gay stereotype of LGBT life on campus and do something targeted more toward women.” She described it as “a women-centric, feminist-centric festival.” Organizers also said they tried to make the event more inclusive than past Lesbopaloozas, which focused mainly on lesbian relationships. “It used to be an event that created a somewhat wrong depiction of women, so it’s our goal today and from here out to recreate the event to be more inclusive with no restrictions on entertainment or what a woman is,” Bloomington resident Chanel Cartier said during the Lesbopalooza introduction. “A ‘woman’ is a social construction term and is subject to one’s understanding of gender. ... It’s no one’s right to tell us who we are, and that’s what today is all about.” The festival opened with songs from the Bloomington chapter of the international organization, The Raging Grannies, which “dedicates itself to spreading equality through ... non-violent protest songs.” Local artists the Ladyquakes! Naomi Rae and Onward to Iowa also contributed to the musical performances. Drag queens and drag kings also put on individual shows throughout the festival, one king coming all the way from Kentucky to perform. The show also included reigning Miss Gay IU Britney Taylor. “It’s (about) feminism, but what really defines feminism?” asked Joshua Sutton, junior and president of OUT. “Which is why we had the drag queens. Because they’re men who are imitating women, and that makes feminism look powerful – that somebody, a man, is wanting to imitate a woman.”During the performances, an art gallery featuring work from current and former IU students was open for viewing. Lesbopalooza also hosted a Stitch N’Bitch session, where students came to knit or work on other crafts and were free to complain to others about anything and everything.Planned Parenthood educator Larisa Niles-Carnes also gave a sex talk to students, going beyond pregnancy prevention and focusing also on safe sex between women. The event concluded with a poetry workshop by the lead singer of the Ladyquakes! and Onward to Iowa’s performance.
(11/13/08 4:19am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Prepare to be shocked.She can knit sweaters so small, six could fit on your index finger with room to spare. She can create cityscapes in socks tiny enough for a doll or famous paintings in cardigans 1/12th the size of a person’s clothing.Bloomington resident Althea Crome has been knitting since her college days, but only in the past seven years has she miniaturized her art form to 1/12 scale – the scale used for doll houses – or even 1/144 scale – the scale used for doll houses inside doll houses. It started as a hobby to create doll clothes for her children, but Crome has pushed the art to such extremes that it has landed her a two-page spread in the book, “Ripley’s Believe It or Not: Prepare to be Shocked,” published this year.“Though I realize that certainly my art is not the norm, and what I do is not the norm, it’s normal to me,” Crome said. “I have always been the kind of person that has enjoyed a challenge and has enjoyed going off the grid a little bit and doing things a little differently. For me, it’s what gives me satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment. I would be a terrible office worker, a 9-to-5 kind of person. This really suits me well.”Originally, “Ripley’s Believe It or Not!” wanted to feature Crome’s knitted miniatures in one of their Odditoriums, museums dedicated to the weird and outlandish. Though they did not purchase any of her works for exhibition, she earned a spot in their latest book on surprising oddities from around the world.Crome said she hopes her self-described “bug-knitting” will be appreciated as a unique art form.“It is technically very difficult to do because it’s at such a small scale and so very detailed,” Crome said. “So when I say that it’s a new art form, what I’m talking about is that I am working toward getting out of the doll house arena so it’s not seen as doll clothes, but rather art in and of itself, because the pieces I’m making now are very conceptual in their design. The imagery I knit into it is reflected in the design of the garment itself.”Her bug-knitting is so rare, she must produce her own needles made from surgical steel in order to form her smallest creations. For works that tiny, she also has to use a magnifying glass.Vera Feric-Buys of Oakville, Ontario, who attended a knitting class taught by Crome, said Crome’s knitting is indeed an art form.“Not everyone is capable to do what she creates,” Feric-Buys said in an e-mail. “Ms. Crome is extremely talented. She creates her own designs which are multicolored and extremely complicated to execute. She uses her needles as a painter uses brushes to create exquisite art work.”Kaye Browning, miniatures collection curator for the Kentucky Gateway Museum center in Maysville, agreed, saying one of the items she bought from Crome evoked strong imagery.“The very first piece I bought from (Crome was) a Picasso painting, ‘Women in a Yellow Hat,’ knitted into the back of the sweater in perfect, perfect detail,” Browning said. “The detail in that sweater is absolutely awesome. Along the bottom she had knitted a bullfight scene with dressage horses and the bullfighter and the bull. I could literally imagine those horses prancing and doing their dressage just by looking at the sweater.”Currently Crome’s miniature art is featured in the Radical Lace & Subversive Knitting exhibit, which has traveled from New York City to Indianapolis. It is now in Scottsdale, Ariz.Crome has also knitted various miniature and full-sized garments for the upcoming 3-D fantasy film “Coraline,” which will be released in February 2009.
(10/09/08 4:15am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Serving meals without trays in dining halls, instituting an optional energy fee with tuition and establishing an environmental-learning community in Eigenmann were among the ideas and plans thrown around at Tuesday’s sustainability panel.A discussion panel spoke to students about sustainability and how IU will move toward a more sustainable future. A group of about 25 students gathered at Starbucks in the Indiana Memorial Union to hear a panel sponsored by the IU Student Association, Volunteers in Sustainability and the Indiana Memorial Union Board.Nathan Bower-Bir, a junior with Volunteers in Sustainability and moderator of the panel, began the discussion by presenting a definition of sustainability: “Meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs,” he said.Discussion then turned to what projects the future might hold for IU on an administrative level, now that the search for a director of Campus Sustainability has begun.“There are some new initiatives for teaching, new courses and new degree programs related to sustainability, and some new initiatives related to research in sustainability-related issues,” said Michael Hamburger, associate dean of the faculties and professor of geological sciences.Concern over the University’s College Sustainability Report Card was also discussed. IU’s current standing is a C+, the lowest grade in the Big Ten.IU is at a slight disadvantage because it does not have engineering schools or agricultural schools, said Mike Steinhoff, a sustainability research assistant.Without the resources that come with having such schools, IU does not have as many opportunities for research and sustainability initiatives.However, IU is implementing changes.“We have been switching over numerous products that we clean the entire Union with to green products,” said Gary Chrzastowski, assistant director of facility services for the IMU. “The Union has over half a million square feet in this one particular building. We can go through quite a bit of chemicals, and we have in the past.”The panel members talked about student participation in both the past and the present to make IU more sustainable, and said they hoped students would get involved, since the administration is just getting started on forming its sustainability department.The Collins Center dining hall is serving food without trays for the month of October.“They did this at a smaller school in Maine and they saved 288,000 gallons of water and $57,000 a year just by doing this program,” said Kevin Pozzi, a senior who worked with the IU Sustainability Task Force. “It saves chemicals in washing the trays, and it also stops people wasting food because most of the time you’re not going to eat more than you can actually carry, so by having many different plates, you’re probably not going to be eating all the food.”Foster Quad is also starting a community garden and compost, and there are plans to start an environmental learning community in Eigenmann Hall next year.In addition, the Student Alliance is planning to help off-campus apartments start to recycle, a task made difficult since certain buildings have different preferences.They are also looking to alumni for support to get the University involved with the Presidents Climate Commitment, an initiative aimed at lowering greenhouse gas emissions.Another IUSA project is to look into starting an optional green energy fee that students can sign up for when they register for classes next semester, as a “pilot project for adding in a green energy fee into our actual tuition,” said Abby Schwimmer, director of sustainability for IUSA and a columnist for the Indiana Daily Student.“Really, what we’re doing this year is dependent on the input we get,” Schwimmer said. “We’d like to serve as a conduit for any student concerns relating to sustainability, and we’d like to also be a clearinghouse. If you don’t know where to go with a project idea, or if you don’t know where to get support for it, we can help you out with that.”Students interested in getting involved can visit the Task Force’s Web site at www.indiana.edu/~sustain for internship opportunities and a list of environmental groups on campus and in the community.
(09/22/08 1:42am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>In today’s world it can be hard for some people to believe peace is within reach, but now the Bloomington Peace Week committee hopes to make changes to promote peace in the world by hosting its first Peace Week. Peace Week, an event the committee hopes to hold annually, kicked off on Sunday, the same day as the U.N. International Day of Peace, with a community picnic at 4 p.m. at the Courthouse Square. A variety of free events continue throughout the week to help connect Bloomington peace-lovers and to provide information on what hinders, and how to achieve, peace.The committee’s motto, “Conflict is inevitable. Peace is possible. And our vision is a world where everyone has tools to make peace,” is what the diverse group of everyday people from around Bloomington hopes to promote during Peace Week. “Peace Week is about peace in all its dimensions – inner peace, relational peace, community peace and environmental peace,” said Ingrid Skoog, co-chair of the Peace Week committee.Among the various activities, there will be film showings, workshops and yoga classes, and Nobel Peace Prize Winner Thomas Schelling will give presentations about nuclear proliferation and the greenhouse gas problem. IU will also host some events, including a Student Peace Alliance Event on Friday.It all ends at noon Saturday with a Peace Festival in Third Street Park.Part of the inspiration behind Peace Week is the goal of establishing a national Department of Peace, an initiative first brought forth by Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio.“(It is important) to put our financial and institutional resources behind what we say we want, which is peace. So let’s start to direct our resources that way,” said Gail Merrill, another co-chair of the committee. She said she also hopes one day a U.S. Peace Academy will be established. She imagines it being like a military academy, where students will learn how to go overseas and maintain peace.Skoog agreed with the proposal.“We believe that if we were to have that cabinet in existence, it would be a statement to the rest of the world that peace is an organizing principle of our nation,” Skoog said. “In a practical way, we would educate the best minds in our nation to understand the roots of violence and to understand ways of avoiding it.”One member of the Peace Committee is excited to see what Peace Week will accomplish just for the locals of Bloomington.“All I want is a better way, and I think it starts with the grassroots,” said Lucy Tracy, a two-year committee member. “We cannot form global peace tomorrow, but it starts with the people, the community.”More information about Peace Week and the schedule of events can be found online at www.bloomingtonpeaceweek.org.
(03/28/08 3:59am)
Baked goods, massages, coaching sessions for acting and a chance to throw a pie in someone’s face are all items that can be won at this year’s Student Advisory Board auction for the Department of Theatre and Drama. \nOn Friday, the Student Advisory Board will auction not only material things, but also services from faculty members and other students.\n“Last year, we raised just over $1,400, and we’ve been raising increasingly large amounts,” said Noe Montez, a Student Advisory Board Ph.D. representative, who auctioned off a chance to throw a pie in his face last year. “Hopefully those are numbers that can continue to go up this year.”\nSome of the other items that made this year’s list of winnings include help with a thesis or research, cooked dinners, clothing from a talented designer and a designated driver who will “pick you up at the end of the night so you don’t end up with some shady cab driver,” as Student Advisory Board Ph.D. representative Tom Robson put it.\n“It’s a mixture of things that are useful, things that are fun, things that are silly, things that are slightly destructive – but responsibly destructive,” Robson said. “And a couple of things I can’t talk about in a family publication.”\nWhile mostly students from the Department of Theatre and Drama have attended the auction in past years, all are welcome to come. \n“This auction is just really calling up all of your friends and having them come together, like at a theme party,” said Jacob Dahm, senior and Student Advisory Board upper-undergraduate representative.\nFunds raised from the auction will go toward the Department of Theatre and Drama Awards Banquet, unofficially known as Drama Prom.\nRobson said they are always looking for people to auction things off.\n“If someone decides five (minutes) before the auction starts that they have something they want to auction, come up to someone who’s working it and tell us,” Robson said. “Look for people with clipboards.”\nThe auction will take place at 5 p.m. Friday in the courtyard outside of the theatre and drama building.
(11/21/07 1:20am)
CLEMSON, S.C. – For those feeling the stress of finding a ride home for upcoming holidays, a new Facebook application may help relieve those worries. The application, called Carpool, allows users to post where they plan to travel so others without a means of transportation can find rides home. \nThe Carpool application is functional in the United States, Canada and England and can be accessed through MySpace accounts as well. \nEven though the application launched just this past summer, it has already reached the status of most popular online ride sharing service in North America, according to zimride.com, the Web site of Carpool’s origination. \nCollege campuses have embraced the application, where it has begun to replace traditional “ride boards” that students used to post paper destination requests in search of a carpool. \nLogan Green, the creator of Carpool and recent graduate of University of California at Santa Barbara, is pleased with how the application has been received by the college community. Green calls the growth “unprecedented.” \n“It shows that not all popular Facebook applications have to involve ninjas and vampires,” Green said. “An application like Carpool helps students find safe rides in addition to cutting their gas expenses and reducing (carbon dioxide). And it’s clear students value that.” \nWith Facebook filling the role of virtual social epicenter of college students’ lives, creators of Carpool could not have chosen a better means by which to promote the application. \nIn fact, more than 10,000 rides have been posted on Carpool in less than four months. \nIn addition to finding a ride home, students can conduct a mock “background check” on the person offering the ride. Personal information can also be regulated using security controls on the Facebook Web site. \nCarpool will also facilitate communication between those wishing to ride with one another, allowing people to even set a price to charge for gas and other transportation expenses. \nThe application works with other Facebook applications so people can search for rides to an event. \nTo ensure accurate destination descriptions, Carpool uses Google Maps technology to match students traveling with the same destination in mind. After carpooling, users are recommended to leave feedback, describing their experience to inform future riders. The application aims to make ride sharing a more social and accessible experience. \n“It really feels like I’m part of a community,” said Meredith Hoffman, a junior at Cornell University and a user of Carpool. “Using Carpool on Facebook, I can choose to ride with people in my school who I know I can trust.”
(03/28/07 4:00am)
You’ve got the killer outfit, the perfect shoes, even a chic designer handbag.\nBut when the rain starts to fall, do you reach for a flimsy black umbrella, bought in haste during the last rainstorm? Or, worse, a bulky golf umbrella that came free with your checking account?\nIf so, it’s time to go shopping.\n“Umbrellas are becoming the new accessory,” says stylist Felix Mercado, who serves as a celebrity style expert for Fox News Channel. Mercado says some of his high-profile clients have been calling this month requesting trendy umbrellas. “You’re going to see a lot of the fashionistas playing it up with interesting umbrellas.”\nThe interest in the decidedly utilitarian item is driving manufacturers to come up with new and prettier designs that repel rain but attract compliments.\nShedRain, for example, which produces both high-end and lower-priced umbrellas, is selling a line of luxury umbrellas, designed by the Italian company Ombrelli, that retail for $195 this year. The handle and shaft are made from a single, hand-carved piece of wood, and the canopy is covered with Italian twill polyester in a variety of prints, including plaids, florals and a Tibetan-inspired stripe.\n“If people are paying $195 for an umbrella, they’re seeing it as a fashion accessory,” said Jeff Blauer, ShedRain’s executive vice president of business development.\nSeattle-based Pare Umbrellas offers several lingerie-inspired designs this season, a style that’s become popular on both sides of the Atlantic. “When it is closed, it looks like an old-styled bloomer,” says owner Satoko Kobayashi of the company’s frilly “Mary Poppins” model.\nFrench lingerie designer Chantal Thomass offers seven new umbrella designs adorned with a similarly sexy mix of lace, bows and Swarovski crystals.\nMercado recently ordered Thomass’s “Pom-Pom” model for a client. “Women are saying, ‘I’m going to have fun with this,’” he says. “It’s like an extension of your personality.”\nHigh-fashion umbrellas are being marketed to men as well.\n“It’s an accessory as important as your briefcase,” says David Kahng, CEO of Davek, which sells men’s umbrellas for $95 at stores such as Neiman-Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue. Kahng, a mechanical engineer, designed his umbrellas with a solid steel shaft and a flexible, carbon polymer frame. The company offers a lifetime guarantee against breakage.\nBut Kahng says fashion is also a priority for customers, and he now sells black umbrellas with one contrasting panel, either pale blue or wasabi green.\n“Until now, with a handbag or shoes or sunglasses, there was that expectation. But until recently umbrellas didn’t have that fashion clout,” he says.\nSome people are also using umbrellas for sun protection.\n“You don’t see so many people walking around with umbrellas in the sun yet, but you see more than you did a few years ago,” said Ann Headley, director of rain product development at Totes. “You do see them in Manhattan in the heat of the summer.”\nTotes has created light-colored umbrellas with specially treated fabric offering a sun protection factor of 50. “A black umbrella does about the same thing,” says Headley. “But in the sun in the summer, you don’t want a black umbrella.”
(09/27/06 2:49am)
BERLIN -- A leading opera house canceled a three-year-old production of Mozart's "Idomeneo" that included a scene showing the severed head of the Prophet Muhammad, unleashing a furious debate over free speech.\nIn a statement late Monday, the Deutsche Oper said it decided "with great regret" to cancel the production after Berlin security officials warned of an "incalculable risk" because of the scene.\nAfter its premiere in 2003, the production by Hans Neuenfels drew widespread criticism over the scene in which King Idomeneo presents the severed heads not only of the Greek god of the sea, Poseidon, but also of Muhammad, Jesus and Buddha. The disputed scene is not part of Mozart's original staging of the 225-year-old opera, but was an addition of Neuenfels' production, which was last performed by the company in March 2004.\n"We know the consequences of the conflict over the (Muhammad) caricatures," Deutsche Oper said in its statement announcing the decision. "We believe that needs to be taken very seriously and hope for your support."\nOn Tuesday, Deutsche Oper director Kirsten Harms said security officials had recommended, but not ordered, that she either cut the scene or pull the entire production from the 2006-2007 lineup.\n"The State Criminal Office assessed the situation and came to the conclusion that if the Deutsche Oper stages this version of 'Idomeneo' in its originally produced form, it will pose an incalculable security risk to the public and employees," Harms told reporters.\n"If I were to ignore this and say, 'We are going to stage this nevertheless, or because of this,' and something were to happen, then everyone would say, and would be right to say, 'She ignored the warning of security officials,'" Harms said.\nShe said she spoke at length with Neuenfels -- who insisted his staging not be altered -- as well as the orchestra director and others involved in the production before making her decision.\nWhile some expressed understanding for the decision, many were outraged.\n"That is crazy," Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble told reporters in Washington, where he was holding meetings with U.S. officials. "This is unacceptable."\nThe leader of Germany's Islamic Council welcomed the decision, saying a depiction of Muhammad with a severed head "could certainly offend Muslims."\n"Nevertheless, of course I think it is horrible that one has to be afraid," Ali Kizilkaya told Berlin's Radio Multikulti. "That is not the right way to open dialogue"
(02/15/05 4:12am)
In the Monroe County community, nearly 14,000 neighbors have difficulties paying for food, according to last year's United Way Community Services of Monroe County's annual report. With the help of United Way funds, the Community Kitchen of Monroe County served more than 120,000 meals in 2004, one-third of those to children. A Community Kitchen client said in the report, "It has helped me out because I haven't had a job in a while, but I am trying to get back on my feet." \nThis year the United Way will continue funding its member agencies thanks to its 2004-2005 "Neighbors Helping Neighbors -- Growing Together" campaign, which exceeded its goal of raising $1.6 million. After double-checking the final donated amount, UWCS announced this year's campaign raised $1,614,475. \nBarry Lessow, UWCS executive director, said community participation this year was tremendous. \n"(The participation was) an expression of how the community cares about the people living here," Lessow said. \nThis year more than 110 organizations and thousands of individuals participated in the campaign, and 15 percent of the organizations experienced a growth in donations from the previous year. \nSix new workplace contributors also helped push UWCS beyond its goal. IU, Bloomington Hospital and Healthcare System and General Electric pitched in with impressive efforts and received the Pillar Award for contributing $50,000 or more to the campaign, Lessow said.\n"[United Way] was thrilled with the response," Lessow said of the campaign information insert placed in the Herald-Times. The insert included a preaddressed envelope, making donations easier for those wanting to give. Many people throughout the community learned about the campaign through this advertisement and called to find out how to donate. \nThe success of the campaign also stemmed from the more refined message that UWCS presented to Bloomington and the surrounding communities. Lessow said UWCS was not changing what it had done but made its message clearer. \n"People want a sense of whose life is being supported and improved ... We were able to demonstrate the needs [of the community]," Lessow said. \nStatistics helped people understand the importance of these services; for example, one in every three people from the Bloomington area is in need of or has used services funded by UWCS.\nThe campaign's mission is not only to raise money for the following year's programs but also to generate "an opportunity to educate the community about services that are available," Lessow said. \nWhen visiting organizations that participate in the campaign, a UWCS spokesperson brings a member agency associate to offer first-hand accounts of the number of clients the agency has helped and how its services, which were made possible by United Way funding, have changed lives. \nUWCS grants monetary allotments to 25 local certified member agencies. These agencies include the American Red Cross (Monroe County Chapter), Boys and Girls Club of Bloomington, Community Kitchen of Monroe County and Middle Way House. \nIf the campaign had not reached its goal, the agencies would have received less money, resulting in eliminated programs and fewer people able to receive aid. \nThe allocation committee, responsible for distributing funds to member agencies, was pleased with the campaign's success. "It was very heartening for them recognizing there were more funds available," Lessow said. \n-- Contact Staff Writer Melissa Swyers at mswyers@indiana.edu.
(02/08/05 4:33am)
Indiana is currently the only state that regulates and certifies hypnotists. \nOther hypnotists from across the nation travel to the Hoosier heartland to become certified because their state does not recognize the credibility of the profession as a medical career.\nIf Senator Robert Meeks (R-Ind.) had it his way, Indiana would continue being a beacon of light for the hypnosis profession.\nHe has recently drafted new legislation -- Senate Bill 114 -- in an attempt to keep Indiana a hypnotist-accrediation model for other states. \n"(The bill) is an effort to upgrade the standard of the board," Meeks said.\nThe Indiana Hypnotist Committee -- composed of three hypnotists, other doctors and one community member -- is charged with regulating and certifying Hoosier hypnotists and hypnotists from other states. Certification from the committee does not mean a hypnotist is licensed in another state; rather, certification improves the perception of an accredited profession. \nThe committee is affiliated with the Medical Licensing Board of Indiana. \nRichard Erickson, committee member and certified hypnotist, said Hoosier hypnotists are laying the path for recognizing hypnosis as a legitimate medical procedure.\n"For once, we're kind of ahead of the game," Erickson said in a 2004 Indiana Business article. "Other states are looking at us as a model."\nThe alliance between the committee and the Medical Licensing Board is of huge importance to Hoosiers -- it marks the belief that hypnosis is not entertainment, but a medical method with therapeutic benefits. \nMeeks said he felt inspired to write this bill because of a constituent who happens to be a hypnotist, in addition to the knowledge that other medical professionals must have licenses to put their patients in a state of sleep.\nThe bill in its original draft "requires that a hypnotist appointed to the hypnotist committee have a master's or doctorate degree." To sit on the committee, the hypnotist member is only required to have 500 hours of classroom experience to be certified.\nErickson said his main concern with SB 114 is the language rooted in the bill.\n"(The bill) is not specific enough in intent to justify its passage or to even have it read," Erickson said. "(The bill) is not finite enough as to what a master's or a doctorate is ... (it is) error by omission."\nErickson said the committee, generally, was not in favor of Sen. Meeks' bill. \nHe said the original hypnotist legislation was written haphazardly and without a prototype because Indiana was the first state to regulate and certify hypnosis.\nErickson said the goal of the committee is to put together "a well-rounded bill."\n"The original writer had the forethought to see the need for hypnosis medicine," Erickson said. "(The committee's goal is) changing the bill to fit the criteria of current medical professions."\nWith the ongoing research in hypnotherapy, some studies have found that hypnosis does significantly affect the brain. In 2000, for instance, Harvard University researchers Stephen Kosslyn and William Thompson published their study on hypnosis in the American Journal of Psychiatry. The study showed that different brain activity was triggered when the test subjects were hypnotized versus unhypnotized when asked to perform similar perceptual tests. \nAlthough both bills will only affect the members of the committee only it is the hope of both Erickson and Meeks that the hypnotist occupation for Hoosiers will earn accreditation -- possibly validating the profession nationwide.\n-- Contact Staff Writer Melissa Swyers at mswyers@indiana.edu.
(11/04/04 5:53am)
When you go to the ballet, you might think of the many different aspects of the spectacle, including the costumes, music, lighting and, of course, the graceful dancers themselves. \nWhat you might not consider is that in order to balance on the tips of their toes, using a technique developed over 170 years ago, ballerinas depend heavily on expensive and delicate handmade toe shoes, or pointe shoes. Made of a stiff sole, or shank, a toe box, on which the dancer places her weight when en pointe, and a satin upper portion and ribbons, a pair of toe shoes might only last a day or two.\nAccording to www.dancer.com, the first woman to go en pointe was probably the famous French ballerina Marie Taglioni in 1832.\nTaglioni's innovations helped to shape the technique and helped ballet to evolve into the art form it is today, according to the Web site. \nFormer prima ballerina and IU ballet professor Violette Verdy explained that the use of toe shoes helped to create the ethereal, otherworldly aspect of the spectacle of ballet.\n"It was about a very idealized, very platonic, almost unreachable creature. It had all the guiles of the woman but it was not as attainable as the ordinary woman. (They are like) sprites, nyads, dryads," Verdy said. "You know they are women but they are women of another realm. They were idealized. They were elevated by their toe shoe as a symbol of their elevation."\nIn order to reach this elevated, goddess-like status, ballerinas have to spend several hours per week and thousands of dollars per year on purchasing and perfecting their toe shoes, Verdy said.\nVerdy said dancers in professional ballet companies can go through up to a pair of toe shoes per day. Students at IU often go through between one and two pairs per week, although they wear out more shoes when they are preparing for a performance, Verdy said.\nSenior ballet student Lauren Menger said she uses around a pair of toe shoes per week, although sometimes a pair might last up to two weeks. She explained that it is necessary to purchase new shoes often because it is dangerous to dance on shoes that are worn out.\n"Once your shoes get too soft you have to wear new shoes because you won't be able to dance correctly, or you can get hurt. It won't give you enough support," Menger said.\nBoth Menger and Verdy said most dancers are very particular about what kind of toe shoes they buy. Often they are adamantly loyal to one particular brand of toe shoes, which are handmade, and sometimes they even stick to one particular shoemaker at that company, Menger said.\nAfter purchasing the toe shoes, dancers cannot simply put them on and dance. They often have very specific breaking-in rituals for their shoes.\n"Cohabiting with a toe shoe, it's more than a roommate. It's a magnificent obsession. It's like a lover. It's like a glove on a hand. The ballet foot, with its proud little arch, like a horse's hoof, and the shoe are one," Verdy said.\nMenger said she bends a new pair of shoes with her hands and then puts water on the toe to soften it. Verdy said she used to put some elastic in the ribbons behind her Achilles tendons for more flexibility.\nSome dancers have more drastic rituals, which include shutting them in doors to break them in, Verdy said.\n"Dancers spend so much time with their shoes, like a violinist tuning his instrument. Our body is our instrument, and we tune up our body, and the shoe is an extension of the body ... You have to impart your knowledge to your shoe so your shoe doesn't betray you," Verdy said.\nWhile toe shoes are so necessary to ballerinas, purchasing all those pairs is not cheap. Menger said her toe shoes cost around $60 per pair.\nDoricha Sales, public relations coordinator for the ballet department, said students can spend thousands of dollars per academic year on toe shoes. To combat this expense, Sales said people can donate money to a fund called On Your Toes, which helps to reimburse ballet students for part of the cost of their toe shoes. Sales said the amount that students receive is "not even a drop in the bucket" compared to what they spend, but it is a help.\nTo donate to On Your Toes, send a check made out to the IU School of Music to 1201 E. Third St.\n-- Contact staff writer Melissa Harrold at mejharro@indiana.edu.
(10/29/04 4:46am)
Wednesday night's production of the Broadway musical "The Full Monty" left the enthusiastic audience members with grins on their faces and tunes in their heads.\nThe show was a hit, and it wasn't just because of the (ahem) minimal costumes of the six main male characters in the last scene of the show. The quirky characters, catchy music and overall fun atmosphere of the production kept the audience engaged and laughing throughout the three-hour performance.\n"The Full Monty" tells the story of Jerry and Dave, both of whom have been laid off from their jobs at a Buffalo, N.Y., steel mill, and four of their friends, also down on their luck, who plan to strip to make some quick cash. It is based on the 1997 film of the same name, which won the Academy Award for Original Musical or Comedy Score and was nominated for Best Picture and Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen, among others. \nAlthough I was a bit skeptical at the change of setting from England in the film to Buffalo in the musical, I was pleasantly surprised to find that nothing was lost in the American presentation of the musical. \nIn both cases, and aside from any preconceptions one might have about a story detailing the lives of male strippers, this is a tale of six men's redemption of their "manhood" through unconventional means. \nJerry and Dave, especially, felt emasculated by the fact that they could not earn money to support their families. Although stripping was not necessarily seen as the manliest of occupations, it allowed them to at least win their own bread again.\nWhile many of the musical numbers, such as "It's a Woman's World" or "Big-Ass Rock" were catchy and fun, the character acting and singing of Horse in "Big Black Man" really stole the show. Horse, an aging black man with a hip problem, really showed Jerry and the other guys that he had the moves to be a part of Hot Metal, the group of male strippers, by whipping out such tried and true dance steps as the Mashed Potato, the Robot and the Jerk. \nThe big number "Michael Jordan's Ball," in which the six men learn to dance by imitating Michael Jordan's moves on the court, was also full of physical comedy and a catchy beat.\nThese and other pop culture references to people like Frank Sinatra, Carole King and Jim Croce, added to the show's well-rounded and witty dialogue. \nAside from the slapstick comedy and fun soundtrack, the musical brings up several issues of gender. Jerry ridicules Dave for doing dishes, what he calls "women's work," and complains about not being able to support his son like a man should. \nIt was ironic, then, that the source of their hope was a situation in which all the men ended up in red leather thongs, being ogled by hundreds of women (and men). \nWhether Jerry and his friends learned a lesson about what truly is a man's place in the world, they did gain some hope and pride back from this experience, and the audience cheered right along with them.
(10/27/04 4:11am)
This week, IU Auditorium audiences will have the chance to see whether six unemployed men will try to find a way out of their financial and social slumps by going for "the full monty" onstage. \nDon't worry, this isn't some kinky male strip show. The Broadway hit "The Full Monty" will be appearing at 8 p.m. tonight and Thursday at the IU Auditorium. \nDoug Booher, director of the IU Auditorium, said that "The Full Monty" was chosen as part of the 2004-2005 season because of a large number of requests for the show in a yearly student survey. \n"It's very gratifying for us because we've been able to bring the students something they've asked for, and there's been a great response," Booher said.\n"The Full Monty" tells the story of six unemployed male factory workers who decide to try to make money by going nude or "the full monty" in a strip show.\n"It kind of tells an 'everyman' story. These guys are down on their luck, and they need to do something to lift their spirits and make some money," Booher said.\nTheater Professor George Pinney had nothing but good things to say about the production. \n"Very fun, very out there ... a very well conceived evening of entertainment," Pinney said. "It's a very fun musical with a nice story. I think that at this point in the semester it's a great escape for students."\nThe musical is based on a 1997 film of the same name, which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Original Screen Play and won the Oscar for Best Score.\nBooher and several students indicated the musical's connection with the popular film was one main attraction for people to see the stage production.\n"(The musical is) even more fun (than the film) because it's easier to connect with people when they're real people onstage," Booher said.\nGraduate students Amy Olipra and Christopher Judd each said they were interested in the musical because of the movie.\n"A lot of my friends have seen (the musical), and everybody said it's really funny. I've seen the movie, and I'm really interested to see if the stage version is different," Olipra said.\nJudd also said that the music was another incentive to see the stage production.\n"It is a fairly interesting piece, and 'The Full Monty's' music is unique among other musicals on Broadway. It has popular music accessibility," Judd said. \nFor people who are wondering if the six factory workers actually go for "The Full Monty" onstage, Booher said that they will just have to wait to see the production.\n"It says mature content for a reason on the ads. The ending is not going to be a huge surprise for those who've seen the movie," Booher said.\nTickets for "The Full Monty" can be purchased at the IU Auditorium Box Office or by calling 855-1103. \n-- Contact staff writer Melissa Harrold at mejharro@indiana.edu.
(10/21/04 3:52pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Students have the chance every day to learn from professors who have made remarkable achievements within their respective fields. But what they may not know is that some of their professors also have interesting hobbies and activities outside their academic lives.
VEGAS, BABY, VEGASCable TV shows such as Bravo's "Celebrity Poker Showdown," where audiences get to see their favorite stars either win big for charity or languish in the Losers' Lounge, have taken the poker game to the forefront of popular consciousness in the last several months. Accounting professor Chris Falk said he likes the new attention the game is getting. Falk regularly visits the Caesar's Indiana casino near New Albany, Ind., to play Texas Hold 'em poker, and he said that the newfound popularity of the game makes it even more fun.
"It's good for the game," Falk said. "A lot of people who don't know how to play decide to try their hand at it."
While in many games the appearance of green newcomers is a drag, Falk said in poker, it only augments the more seasoned players' chances at winning, which, of course, is the point.
"We are sharks," Falk said. "They are like a wounded baby seal in the water, and we're coming after them."
Falk, 30, said he began playing poker when he was 17 years old. He had always been into horse racing and casinos and was introduced to the game at a young age.
"I like the money," Falk said. "But then also, you know, it's a challenge. You're competing with other people."
Aside from the competitive aspect of the game, Falk said that poker also fits in nicely with his academic background.
"It's a thoughtful game … there is a mathematical and probability element to poker, which fits in nicely to my accounting," Falk said.
While Faulk regularly plays poker in-state, he said he also enjoys traveling outside the state to places like Atlantic City, N.J., around once a month. But as far as Falk is concerned, the best place to travel to play poker is undisputed: Vegas, baby, Vegas.
"Vegas is the greatest place on the face of the earth," Falk said. "It's just constant action."
Although he enjoys poker enormously, Falk said he would not want to pursue it as a full-time career because he doesn't want to spoil a good thing.
"It can become a grind," Falk said. "You've got the smoke, and you're sitting for hours and hours. I'd stop enjoying it if I played a lot."
UP A CREEK WITH A PADDLEWhile Falk spends his time outside of class raking it in at casinos, Michael Valliant, who teaches classes at the School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation and serves as applications and systems analyst at the School of Journalism, spends his weekends and school breaks leading kayaking trips in exotic locations.
"I enjoy leading groups of people outdoors and exposing people to the environment in nature," Valliant said.
Valliant, who has been paddling for 15 years, teaches R110 Outdoor Leadership Skills classes in HPER. Over the past several years, he has taught this one-credit class on varied subjects such as vertical caving, coastal kayaking, whitewater kayaking, canoeing, showshoeing and cross-country skiing.
Outside of class, Valliant works for IU Outdoor Adventures, leading students on trips all over the country and the world. In the past, he has led trips to the Apostle Islands in northern Wisconsin, Costa Rica and, earlier this year, he led a one-week sea kayaking trip through the Everglades.
"Outdoor Adventures really finds importance in developing student leaders and outdoor leaders, and it's a really phenomenal organization in that regard," Valliant said.
Valliant said that although some students might be intimidated by the thought of kayaking, canoeing or camping for the first time, even beginners can take trips with Outdoor Adventures.
"Most of the people we take out are just interested in gaining new skills, Valliant said. "We have to teach camp-craft, and it's all a group effort."
THE SHOW MUST GO ONTelecommunications instructor Russell Castillo teaches students the art of audio production both in the classroom and his off-campus studio Castle Creek. There, he gives students the chance to use classic audio recording equipment for their projects, while teaching them the tricks of the trade he has learned in three decades in the music business.
Castillo has been around famous rock musicians since he was a teenager, when he went to school with the son of John Phillips of The Mamas and The Papas. In 1979, he got a job at Producers Workshop, a studio in Hollywood that Castillo said had six Grammy Awards to its name at the time. Within his first six months of working there, one of his projects was to work on Pink Floyd's seminal album, The Wall, an experience that he called "two months of intense learning."
Throughout his time at Producers Workshop, Castillo had the chance to work with many famous names, including Bob Ezrin, who produced albums for Pink Floyd and Alice Cooper and discovered the band Kiss, and Bob Rothchild, who produced almost every album by the Doors. Castillo said that his experience working with the big names of the music industry inspired him to pass his knowledge on to others.
"That was pretty exciting for me because I got taught by some of the best people in the world," Castillo said. "I can never pay them back, and I want to pay them back. They told me, 'If you want to pay us back, just pass it on.' I thought that was pretty cool, so that's what I'm doing,"
Now, Castillo said he takes his students to his studio and allows them to record and produce a song, while they learn about all the classic equipment he has amassed in the last several years. Several local bands, including The Swell, Right Side Down, Blue Moon Review and Three Minute Mile have recorded music at Castle Creek with Castillo's help.
Josh Gilmore, a former student of Castillo's who was in Right Side Down and is currently in the acoustic band 20 Minutes to Park, said that Castillo is very helpful to his students.
"He always goes out and supports every band he works with, which is kind of cool," Gilmore said. "He's such a cool guy; he's like a friend."
Castillo said he feels lucky to have had the opportunity to work in the music business for so long and that he is glad to be able to pass his knowledge on to his students.
"I really do love being around the students and working with them. They're very intelligent and very advanced and very technologically knowledgeable," Castillo said.
Castillo said although the music industry is difficult to get into, he encourages his students to pursue their dreams.
"Sometimes I wonder how I became so lucky," Castillo said. "But somebody's got to do it. So if you've got the guts to do it, then go out and do it."
(10/21/04 4:00am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Students have the chance every day to learn from professors who have made remarkable achievements within their respective fields. But what they may not know is that some of their professors also have interesting hobbies and activities outside their academic lives.
VEGAS, BABY, VEGASCable TV shows such as Bravo's "Celebrity Poker Showdown," where audiences get to see their favorite stars either win big for charity or languish in the Losers' Lounge, have taken the poker game to the forefront of popular consciousness in the last several months. Accounting professor Chris Falk said he likes the new attention the game is getting. Falk regularly visits the Caesar's Indiana casino near New Albany, Ind., to play Texas Hold 'em poker, and he said that the newfound popularity of the game makes it even more fun.
"It's good for the game," Falk said. "A lot of people who don't know how to play decide to try their hand at it."
While in many games the appearance of green newcomers is a drag, Falk said in poker, it only augments the more seasoned players' chances at winning, which, of course, is the point.
"We are sharks," Falk said. "They are like a wounded baby seal in the water, and we're coming after them."
Falk, 30, said he began playing poker when he was 17 years old. He had always been into horse racing and casinos and was introduced to the game at a young age.
"I like the money," Falk said. "But then also, you know, it's a challenge. You're competing with other people."
Aside from the competitive aspect of the game, Falk said that poker also fits in nicely with his academic background.
"It's a thoughtful game … there is a mathematical and probability element to poker, which fits in nicely to my accounting," Falk said.
While Faulk regularly plays poker in-state, he said he also enjoys traveling outside the state to places like Atlantic City, N.J., around once a month. But as far as Falk is concerned, the best place to travel to play poker is undisputed: Vegas, baby, Vegas.
"Vegas is the greatest place on the face of the earth," Falk said. "It's just constant action."
Although he enjoys poker enormously, Falk said he would not want to pursue it as a full-time career because he doesn't want to spoil a good thing.
"It can become a grind," Falk said. "You've got the smoke, and you're sitting for hours and hours. I'd stop enjoying it if I played a lot."
UP A CREEK WITH A PADDLEWhile Falk spends his time outside of class raking it in at casinos, Michael Valliant, who teaches classes at the School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation and serves as applications and systems analyst at the School of Journalism, spends his weekends and school breaks leading kayaking trips in exotic locations.
"I enjoy leading groups of people outdoors and exposing people to the environment in nature," Valliant said.
Valliant, who has been paddling for 15 years, teaches R110 Outdoor Leadership Skills classes in HPER. Over the past several years, he has taught this one-credit class on varied subjects such as vertical caving, coastal kayaking, whitewater kayaking, canoeing, showshoeing and cross-country skiing.
Outside of class, Valliant works for IU Outdoor Adventures, leading students on trips all over the country and the world. In the past, he has led trips to the Apostle Islands in northern Wisconsin, Costa Rica and, earlier this year, he led a one-week sea kayaking trip through the Everglades.
"Outdoor Adventures really finds importance in developing student leaders and outdoor leaders, and it's a really phenomenal organization in that regard," Valliant said.
Valliant said that although some students might be intimidated by the thought of kayaking, canoeing or camping for the first time, even beginners can take trips with Outdoor Adventures.
"Most of the people we take out are just interested in gaining new skills, Valliant said. "We have to teach camp-craft, and it's all a group effort."
THE SHOW MUST GO ONTelecommunications instructor Russell Castillo teaches students the art of audio production both in the classroom and his off-campus studio Castle Creek. There, he gives students the chance to use classic audio recording equipment for their projects, while teaching them the tricks of the trade he has learned in three decades in the music business.
Castillo has been around famous rock musicians since he was a teenager, when he went to school with the son of John Phillips of The Mamas and The Papas. In 1979, he got a job at Producers Workshop, a studio in Hollywood that Castillo said had six Grammy Awards to its name at the time. Within his first six months of working there, one of his projects was to work on Pink Floyd's seminal album, The Wall, an experience that he called "two months of intense learning."
Throughout his time at Producers Workshop, Castillo had the chance to work with many famous names, including Bob Ezrin, who produced albums for Pink Floyd and Alice Cooper and discovered the band Kiss, and Bob Rothchild, who produced almost every album by the Doors. Castillo said that his experience working with the big names of the music industry inspired him to pass his knowledge on to others.
"That was pretty exciting for me because I got taught by some of the best people in the world," Castillo said. "I can never pay them back, and I want to pay them back. They told me, 'If you want to pay us back, just pass it on.' I thought that was pretty cool, so that's what I'm doing,"
Now, Castillo said he takes his students to his studio and allows them to record and produce a song, while they learn about all the classic equipment he has amassed in the last several years. Several local bands, including The Swell, Right Side Down, Blue Moon Review and Three Minute Mile have recorded music at Castle Creek with Castillo's help.
Josh Gilmore, a former student of Castillo's who was in Right Side Down and is currently in the acoustic band 20 Minutes to Park, said that Castillo is very helpful to his students.
"He always goes out and supports every band he works with, which is kind of cool," Gilmore said. "He's such a cool guy; he's like a friend."
Castillo said he feels lucky to have had the opportunity to work in the music business for so long and that he is glad to be able to pass his knowledge on to his students.
"I really do love being around the students and working with them. They're very intelligent and very advanced and very technologically knowledgeable," Castillo said.
Castillo said although the music industry is difficult to get into, he encourages his students to pursue their dreams.
"Sometimes I wonder how I became so lucky," Castillo said. "But somebody's got to do it. So if you've got the guts to do it, then go out and do it."
(10/14/04 6:07am)
At an Oct. 5 rehearsal at the Musical Arts Center, ballet dancers in spandex pants, leotards and sweatshirts helped move the velvet railing from the front of the stage before beginning one of their last rehearsals before the Fall Ballet, "Through a Looking Glass."\nA few days later, these dancers would be dressed in Spanish-style tutus and colorful leotards, bathed in the colorful MAC stage lights, performing in front of ballet fans, friends and family. But for the time, they were still preparing for the first show of the season in a way their teacher, former prima ballerina Violette Verdy, said exhibited all their good qualities.\n"Ballet is like the Cinderella of the arts," Verdy said, quoting an old dance adage. "We're humble, but we're very powerful."\nVerdy added that humility, as well as other qualities, is a way of life for these dancers.\n"Ballet dancers never get that fun, never money like rock stars. You learn service, honesty, sincerity, humility," Verdy said. "They burn so much of their negative energy that they don't have it anywhere else."\nWhether they will enjoy fame or fortune one day, both Verdy and John Clifford, visiting choreographer and current artistic director of the Los Angeles Ballet, emphasized that many of the ballet dancers at the IU School of Music are at a professional level of talent and technique already.\n"The dancers, they're just as good as any company," Clifford said. "Everybody runs off to see these touring companies, and they're fine, but the quality here is so high. The next time they see these dancers, they'll pay $50 more to see the same people."\nClifford, who is currently working with Warner Bros. on a ballet based on the classic film "Casablanca" that will open in China next year, believes in IU dancers so much that he said he is thinking about offering several of them jobs in the future.\nClifford has already choreographed a ballet specifically for IU dancers. The third section of "Through a Looking Glass" was the world premiere of Clifford's choreography to Philip Glass' electronic composition, "Glassworks." \nClifford said he put together the intricately produced light show, including several colors and a sometimes dim stage with only a few dancers illuminated, along with minimal solid-colored costumes and flowing choreography to create "a sense of a lava lamp."\n"I wanted everybody to have sort of an out-of-body experience," Clifford said.\nClifford's modern choreography of this piece followed "Viva Vivaldi," a Spanish-esque piece choreographed by Gerald Arpino, visiting artist and current director of the Joffrey Ballet of Chicago, and staged by new ballet faculty member Guoping Wang. This is a piece that Clifford called "very fast, very hard technically and rather aerobic."\nThe accompaniment by the classical guitar work of Andrés Saborío Rodríguez, a master's student of Maestro Ernesto Bitetti, and the Kuttner Quartet gave the piece both a Spanish and Italian flavor, Verdy said.\nOn Friday night, Josh Grayson, a junior studying piano, said he thought the performance of "Viva Vivaldi" was very well done.\n"They captured the atmosphere and the essence of Vivaldi," Grayson said.\nThe second section of the performance, Maurice Ravel's "Sonatine," included the original choreography of George Balanchine, the legendary choreographer of the New York City Ballet.\nBoth Verdy and Clifford have worked with Balanchine in the past. Verdy, along with former IU Department of Ballet Theatre chair Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux, danced in the world premiere of this duet at the Ravel Festival at the New York City Ballet in 1975.\n"Balanchine wrote for the dancers, so he chose and exploited all your qualities and pushed you further," Verdy said.\nClifford, who danced and choreographed with Balanchine, also emphasized the appeal of Balanchine's choreography to "Sonatine."\n"All of (Balanchine's) ballets are positive about life. It makes it good to be a human. Everyone thinks ballet is a feminine art form, but it's both. It's a human art form," Clifford said.\nJunior Jenna Wolf, who was double cast with freshman Lauren Fadeley in the role originally choreographed for Verdy, said learning the role from Verdy was like "getting a first-hand taste of it."\n"It's kind of getting it straight from the horse's mouth, since Balanchine isn't around anymore," Wolf said.\nAccompanied by the sweet, shimmering piano provided by graduate student Ligia Takei, Wolf and senior Joseph Morrissey, who was double cast in the male role with sophomore Justin Zuschlag, performed Balanchine's precise, sophisticated choreography on Friday night.\nVerdy said while the ballet is not as aerobic as pieces like "Viva Vivaldi," its level of difficulty is high.\n"It's so intimate and subtle. The dancers must control all these little things. You may not have danced hard, but the control," Verdy said.\nBoth Verdy and Clifford emphasized that dancers at the IU Ballet Theatre department have an opportunity to learn and excel in ways that dancers who do not study at a university cannot. \nClifford said that while there is some competition between the dancers at IU, it is less ferocious and more friendly.\n"It's a much healthier atmosphere here than at a ballet company. All these kids are friends and you don't see that other places," Clifford said.\nVerdy said she and the other ballet faculty members try to preserve a healthy atmosphere for the dancers by being very supportive of their needs. \n"We really help them mature, and they go through angst that if they went through it in a company they'd have no help. We help them," Verdy said. \nVerdy and Clifford both said they also make the dancers work but not endlessly repeat things that they already know. Both Verdy and Clifford said their training with Balanchine impressed this value upon them. They agreed that their goal is to create a performance that is "not overcooked" but "well done."\n"They get bored. You give them a few things that keep it fresh. If you rehearse it to death, then it becomes a well-rehearsed act and the spontaneity is gone," Clifford said.\n-- Contact staff writer Melissa Harrold at mejharro@indiana.edu.
(10/06/04 4:30am)
Members of the IU Ballet Theatre have been working hard this week to prepare for their performances of the Fall Ballet, "Through a Looking Glass," at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Ballet professor and former prima ballerina Violette Verdy said the performance is one that is "incredible in variety." \n"Through a Looking Glass" consists of three sections, each containing a different ballet style and music by different composers. Music by Antonio Vivaldi will be featured in "Viva Vivaldi," Maurice Ravel in "Sonatine" and Philip Glass in "Glassworks." \nGerald Arpino of the Joffrey Ballet created "Viva Vivaldi," the one-act first section of the ballet. The act was staged by new faculty member Guoping Wang according to a School of Music press release.\nVerdy said the piece's accompaniment by solo guitarist Andrés Saborío Rodríguez and the Kuttner Quartet gives it a "beautiful, noble Spanish style."\n"Sonatine," which was created by legendary choreographer George Balanchine in 1975, has a special significance for the IU faculty. Verdy and Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux, former chair of the IU ballet department, were in the original cast of the piece at its New York City premiere in 1975.\n"It's wonderful to teach something you know and have danced because you can give practical hints," Verdy said.\nVerdy said the piece is a pas de deux, which means that a male and female dancer perform together, accompanied by a solo pianist. Graduate student Lígia Takei will play the piano in this weekend's performances. \nVerdy said the movements and style of "Sonatine" seem almost like a scene of medieval courtly love.\n"It's a true refined relationship between men and women," Verdy said. "You can see the relationship of the dancers with the music. It's so obvious and so delicious."\nNew ballet faculty member Glenda Lucena, who is staging "Sonatine," described the importance of Balanchine's influence on the piece.\n"He was not just in ballet; he was a musician. So he taught to speak to the music through the body. It is a combination of musicality and very hard technical (dancing)," Lucerna said.\nComposed by Philip Glass in 1982, "Glassworks" is the third and final section of the Fall ballet. Staged by guest choreographer John Clifford, the piece's choreography is in a late 20th century style, Verdy said.\nThe six musical movements of "Glassworks" combine "abstract and modern sounds" with "high-energy" ballet from an ensemble cast, as well as soloists and couples, according to the press release.\nSome of the music from "Glassworks" might be familiar to audiences, as it was also used in the 2002 film "The Hours," starring Nicole Kidman and Meryl Streep. \nBallet lecturer Doricha Sales explained that the variety of ballet styles and musical eras expressed in these three very different sections enhances the experiences of both the dancers and the spectators.\n"We choose the (programs) that will give the most technical and educational progress for our dancers, but that will also be entertaining for our audience," Sales said.\n-- Contact staff writer Melissa Harrold at mejharro@indiana.edu.
(10/05/04 5:33am)
Lessow served on the United Way board from 1994 until 2001 and actively volunteered for several committees from 2001 until 2003, while simultaneously chairing the Monroe County United Way campaign. He said he is very familiar with the role United Way plays in the Bloomington community as well as in Monroe and surrounding counties. \n"United Way can help provide resources as (needs) emerge (within the community)," Lessow said. \nThe United Way provides resources by raising funds for the 25 certified agencies in Monroe County with the resources and education the community demands of them. \nAccording to its Web site, the vision of United Way is to provide the community with sufficient food, a safe place to live, access to health care, access to emergency services, the opportunity for youth to grow and prosper, the education of skills and support needed to enter and stay in the work force, and support of the elderly in their efforts to be independent. \nEach of the 25 agencies accomplishes one or more of these visions with their individual programs.\n"(The relationship between the agencies) is a great power," Lessow said, referring to the monthly meetings in which each agency comes to address their needs, share the services they provide and advertise their latest projects and events. "They provide great information on the needs of the community, allowing (the United Way) to track and cover them." \nLessow also added that United Way's limited budget forces it to prioritize the community's needs, providing only programs that are the most pertinent to the well-being of the community. \nSuch events include after-school programs and other educational environments as well as teaching the Bloomington community about job opportunities and health care.\n"(Monroe County United Way) has to look out for the good of all the community, keeping a balance," Lessow said.\nThe campaign goal is set at $1.6 million for the upcoming 2005 year, Lessow said. In order to reach this amount, businesses and other organizations within the community are offered the chance to get involved. \nMany choose to give a certain percentage from their payrolls every month, while others chose to hold large fund-raisers to benefit United Way.\n"(The United Way's member agencies) touch the lives of one out of every five residents of the county," said Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences Kumble R. Subbaswamy. "Since the IU community makes up one out of every four residents within the county, we are helping one another. It is truly neighbors helping neighbors." \nHe also said the United Way campaign is the only way in which IU raises charitable funds as an entire organization.\nIU and its students have a great impact on the Bloomington and Monroe County community. Last year alone, the faculty and staff, with the help of students, raised $602,686 for United Way's campaign. This year, the University has raised its bar a little higher to $615,000, an estimated 40 percent of the entire Monroe County United Way goal.\nThe United Way is not merely supported by the University fiscally, but its member agencies are also supported by the thousands of volunteers that get involved each year. \n"The success of the United Way campaign depends on having broad participation from the IU family; the more individuals who participate at whatever level, the greater the chances for success," said IU Dean of Education Gerardo González, the Monroe County United Way campaign co-chair.\nGonzález said he believes it is the giving and campaign-supporting of students and others on a limited income that makes a difference.\n"(It) encourages others to contribute and underscores the importance of the United Way to the health and well-being of the community in which we live," he said.\n-- Contact staff writer Melissa Swyers at mswyers@indiana.edu .