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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (April 23, 1999)
Wacky scenes, energy fill ‘Maria the Storm Cloud’ CLOUDS from page 15 cation. In one scene, a dancer opens her mouth in an attempt to speak but is unable to find the right words. “The text heightens the idea of self-presentation,” Dayna Hanson said. “We try not to take speaking for granted.” The different modes of self expression are further represented by the variety of movement styles. “It’s not modem dance. It’s not jazz. It’s not ballet. But there are elements of that in the work,” Gaelen Hanson said. “It spans the whole range of performance.” The piece consists of a suite of numbers, each featuring a differ ent milieu. Though it has a begin ning, middle and end, it does not follow a linear narrative. After the pseudo press confer ence at the beginning, the piece switches to a bar scene where the Dance Hm Facts What: “Maria the Storm Cloud” Where: Seventh Street Loft, 512 S. Seventh St. When: 7:30 p.m. today and tomorrow Cost: $5 for students, $10 for adults The Skinny: Seattle-based dance troupe brings eclectic dance-theater piece to the Wagon Train Project women frustratingly flirt. The sec ond half features a men’s club, a coffee house and a reverse striptease. All of the scenes move with a wacky energy, causing many reviewers to compare the piece to a cartoon. It is because of this wackiness, the Hansons said, that the piece evokes a strong vocal response from the audience during the per formances. J^TjTQ 20 minutes in relaxing comfort. 12 minutes once a week for tanners with no time. (; | J Fastest longest lasting tan available in Ultrabronz, jgygU which filters out burning UVB. I I I l l I l I I l I l ■ Nudge, nudge...wink, wink More irreverent comedy MONTY PYTHON’S FLYING CIRCUS 6 p.m. (5 MT) Saturday Channel 16 E a service of Nebraska Educati 'i. * Ad made possible by Nebraskans for Public Television f Orthopedic shoes dazzle troupe 33 Fainting Spells By Liza Holtmeeer Senior staff writer When Dayna and Gaelen Hanson walked into the Wells and Frost on 11th and O streets, racks of orthopedic shoes on sale greeted therm “It was like a dream,” Gaelen Hanson said. The two women stocked up on the comfortable and utterly sensible shoes - not because they have orthopedic problems but because they dance in them. The Hansons, who are not related, are founders of the modern dance troupe 33 Fainting Spells. Their dance shoes of choice are the matronly looking, arch-supported lace-ups, which they usually have to special order. Their unusual penchant for this dowdy footwear is indicative of their inventive approach to modem dance. This weekend, the troupe performs its newest piece, “Maria the Storm Cloud,” at the Wagon Train Project, 512 S. Seventh St. The Hansons formed their cutting edge dance troupe shortly after meet ing at a choreography workshop in Seattle. “We called ourselves a company even though there were only two of us,” Gaelen Hanson said. The two wanted to create choreog raphy driven by emotional content that 66 We just couldn’t believe it. They re not even going to sell them anymore.” Dayna Hanson Founder of dance troupe 33 Fainting Spells explored different scales of move ment, from small to big, from pedestri an to full-out dancing. They took their name from a pro duction of 3 Chekhov plays - “33 Fainting Spells” - so called because of the number of fainting spells during the course of the show. Together, Dayna Hanson said, the two began to formulate a joint move ment style, combining their individual idiosyncratic techniques. Since 1994, the two women have created three full-length works. In their first, “The Uninvited,” two spinster-like women interacted in a playful test of wills. In “Sister Sorrow,” the Hansons explored war and suffering and how it exposes women’s weaknesses and strengths. And in their newest work, “Maria the Storm Cloud,” the Hansons touch on the struggle for self-expression. But the troupe has received critical attention since its first duet, “Tsigane.” The company has received grants from the National Dance Project and the National Endowment for the Arts and has done residencies at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival and the European Dance Development Center. The pair has traveled around the world, which has given them the chance to perform in both large the aters as well as intimate venues such as the Wagon Train. “There are aspects of ‘Maria the Storm Cloud’ that work better in a space this intimate, and other things are lost,” Gaelen Hanson said. Constantly changing theater sizes forces the dancers to perform in ever changing ways, keeping shows fresh and exciting. But the highlight of this trip may have been finding the shoes. “We just couldn’t believe it,” Dayna Hanson said. “They’re not even going to sell them anymore.” 22 directors compete for honors at annual Cannes Film Festival ■ Four of the competitors are American, including Lyn^h and Robbins. PARIS (AP) - David Lynch, whose “Wild at Heart” won the 1990 Golden Palm, will be among the many well known directors seeking glory at the 52nd annual Cannes Film Festival. His “The Straight Story,” one of four American films in the lineup announced Thursday, faces competi tion from films by Atom Egoyan, Jim Jarmusch, Pedro Almodovar, Chen Kaige and Tim Robbins, among others. The festival runs from May 12-23. Egoyan, the Canadian whose mournful film “The Sweet Hereafter” won the runner-up prize in 1997, is entered with ‘‘Felicia’s Journey.” . The celebrated Spanish director Almodovar will be showing “Todo Sobre Mi Madre,” or “All About My Mother,” his first time in the Cannes competition. Jarmusch will be there too, with “Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai.” Robbins will be showing “The Cradle Will Rock.” Another prominent American director, John Sayles, will be at the fes tival with “Limbo,” described by orga nizers as the only big studio film among the American entries. Chen, whose “Farewell My Concubine” shared top prize at the fes tival in 1993, has frequently run into trouble with China ^ government cen sors. He will be showing “The Emperor and the Assassin.” In addition to the 22 films in com petition, organizers announced that “The Barber of Siberia” by Russian director Nikita Mikhalkov, starring Julia Ormond, will open the festival and Oliver Parker’s “An Ideal Husband” with Cate Blanchett, Rupert Everett and Minnie Driver will close the proceedings. “Kadosh,” directed by Amos Gitai. is the first entry from Israel in 25 yean to be in the lineup. The Iranian entry is “The Tales of Kish” by Mohser Makhmalbaf, Abolfaz Djalili and Nasser Taghvai. The two British films in competi tion are Peter Greenaway’s “8VS Women” and Michael Winterbottom’s “Wonderland.” The four French films included are “Pola X,” by Leos Carax; “L’Humanite” by Bruno Dumont; “Nos Vies Heureuses,” a debut film b> Jacques Maillot; and “Le Temps -Retrouve” by Raoul Ruiz. Special showings are sure to grab attention, including “EDtv” by Roe Howard; “The Limey” by Stever Soderbergh, also a former Golden Palm winner; and “My Intimate Enemy” by German director Wemei Herzog. Pipher attacks ageism in new book PIPHER from page 15 languages. “Reviving Ophelia” was an eye opener for American parents. It brought the negative effects of mass media images on teen-age girls to die forefront of the psychological com munity, and brought Pipher to the spotlight as its premiere authority. “Pipher’s books are extremely important,” said Barbara DiBernard, an English professor at UNL. “She uses a combination of personal sto ries and analysis, connecting theory and life, and that makes it easier for readers to apply it to themselves.” DiBernard said that she has had many students apply the ideas and theories presented in the book to the discussions in her women’s literature classes. “I always have a student who will bring up points from that book,” DiBernard said. “It serves as a refer ence for many of our discussions.” The next book Pipher wrote, “The Shelter of Each Other,” included some of the basic ideas presented in “Reviving Ophelia,” but focused more on how family influence has changed compared to past years. In this book, Pipher brings up the idea of family disintegration in the wake of the technological era. Pipher doesn’t put the blame on just one technologi cal instrument, but on the build-up of electronic devices as a substitutes for the guidance of parents. All of the ideas for her books come from the people she encounters every day. As many have guessed, “Reviving Ophelia” was written .while her chil dren were teen-agers. “I have a daughter and a son,” she said. “I saw the differences in the way males and females change in adoles cence from watching them. I tend to write about what is right in front of me. As her children have grown up and her parents have aged, the topics of conversation between her and her friends evolved from parenting chil dren to how to deal with aging parents of their own. “Another Country” was written with the hope that it will help baby boomers search for a connection with their parents and learn to understand the changes that take place as a per son grows older. It should also per suade people to question the stereo types Americans have of the elderly. Pipher believes that bringing about this type of change will take a lot of work, but that it can be accom plished on an individual basis. Americans will have to change many of their values and cultural ideas. “Another Country” explores the lives of real families dealing with the problems of aging. Each* chapter looks at how changes in our culture have divided generations, and offers suggestions on how baby boomers and their par ents can begin to see each other as adults and not as parents and children. “We tend to segregate old people and treat them like children,” she said. “Instead we should realize that we can learn from them and their experi ences. They have put their lives in perspective, and are willing to share what they have learned.”