friday, february 8, 1930
pags8
daily nebraskan
Dance fosters joy, pride in movement
By Penelope Smith
The relevance of dance and the import
ant role it can play in education was pre
sented Thursday at "Women in Dance", a
luncheon sponsored by the Chancellor's
Commission on the Status of Women.
The program after the luncheon was
presented by Marie Sanwick, head of the
dance division in the Physical Education
Dept., and by Dee Hughes, associate
professor.
"We live in a world of movement. To be
alive is to move. What then does it mean to
dance?' Sanwick said.
She said dance means different things to
many people. "To some, the beauty and
discipline of ballet alone is regarded as
dance, while to others it is the freedom of
modern dance in reaction to the restriction
of ballet," she said.
Exciting
Sanwick said dance is exciting, but not
hit i ..vvN,.'-:;-
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merely because it is a performing art. She
said the body in movement can take a
simple word such as "hi" and tell not only
by gesture how one is feeling but also how
one feels about the person one is address
ing. Sanwick illustrated the sense of move
ment that everyone possesses by having her
audience play a game.
"Shut your eyes. Now climb a rope
your body's heavier than that. Now knock
on the ceiling overhead, that T.V. is too
loud. Now play a flute,"
Sanwick answered her audience's
puzzlement by saying she was illustrating
the kinesthetic sense which a dancer and
everyone else uses.
"The kinesthetic sense allows the body
without watching to know where a body
part is, what it is doing, its tension, the
time it takes for a movement and dy
namics " Sanwick said.
She gave a short history of dance edu
cation in the United States, quoting the
pioneer dance educator Margaret Doubler,
who said everyone should have the oppor
tunity to dance because it is a positive
force in life and growth,
Education
Dee Hughes' presentation also concern
ed education in dance, Hughes is a former
pupil of Virginia Tanner, a pioneer who
advocated dancing as a social and creative
developmental aid for children. Hughes
said that the Lincoln Project, an effort
to bring dance to children in the schools
which she helped create, believes that
children learn through dance.
"To investigate and to persevere, to try,
to a child, it fosters a joy and a pride in
how he moves."
Sanwick and Hughes both voiced their
pride in the Dance Division which can now
certify dance teachers and give classes to
over 700 university students a year. Upon
graduation, dance majors from UNL have
knowledge of dance history, aesthetics,
choreography, physiology and anatomy.
The Dance Division, which the Music Dept.
and the College of Arts and Sciences, has
cooperated to bring some of the outstand
ing dance teachers and performers to UNL.
Demonstrations
Students of Sanwick and Hughes then
gave demonstrations of different types of
dance. A piece choreographed by Sanwick,
entitled "woman", had the theme that a
woman is and can be everything and any
thing. ,
Gayle Kassing, assistant dance profes
sor, staged a rendition of Marios Petipas'
'The Lilac Fairy," A modern pas de deux
was choreographed by an undergraduate
dance major, Maureen McKenna, and a
Russian and Rumanian folk dance was per
formed by four of Dee Hughes' folk dance
students, ,
Festival provides a break
for bored Lincoln
Photo by Mark Billingsley
Sheena Gibson was one of several dancers performing after a luncheon sponsored by
the Chancellor's Commission on the Status of Women. The program, "Women in
Dance," stressed the relevance of dance and the important role it can play in education.
By Scott Kleager
Tonight at the Hilton Ballroom, 8pm. -4
am., there will be a winter festival in the
spirit and tradition of the German
"Fasching", the Austrian "Fastnacht" or
the Brazilian "Carneval", Tonight's cele
bration offers Lincolnites a break from the
dullness of winter, The usual gray of
February will be transformed into colorful
costumes and insanity ,
Originally, a pre-Christian holiday was
observed throughout Europe as a way to
dispense with the depressions of mid
winter, The tradition has become more
timeless than the history of the continent.
Called "Saturnalia" during the Roman
domination of Europe, the festival
weathered the transition to Christianity,
Both the Catholic and Protestant Churches
have, since then, quietly allowed the party
ing to continue.
Festivals have flourished
"They simply couldn't help but have
it," said Elizabeth Leinfellner, and one of
the co-organizers of this year's ball. "I
think they (the Church) would have liked
to do away with it, but it didn't turn out
that way,"
Consequently the modem festivals have
flourished. They are known as the biggest
of celebrations from European Russia to
South America,
Continued on page 9
Political activism and awareness behind 'No Nukes'
By Casey McCabe
There has been little political activism in music during
the last decade, for the simple reason that few people be
lieve there has been anything to warrant it.
At least until the rapidly changing developments of the
last two months, the only movement that has successfully
drawn the attention of a concerned generation of past,
present, and future activists has been the threat of nuclear
power.
DfeQOOuO ITGUC3UJ
It was enough to bring together some of the music in
dustry'i biggest names to create MUSE, Musicians United
For Safe Energy. Through a series of concert appearances,
national press attention and a three-record live album
called No Nukes, they hope to raise some consciousness
and money for their effort.
Like much of the anti-nuke, pro-solar energy move
ment foslf, No Nukes is firmly anchored by the people
who were caught up in the activism of the late 60s and
early 70s. Such elders as Crosby, Stills, and Nash; James
Taylor and Jesss Colin Young may take the listener to
sounds' of protesti pst. However, much of MUSE'S
financial success can be attributed to the efforts of The
Doobie Brothers, Bruce Springsteen and Tom Petty and
the Heartbreakers, bands that are not known for taking
social stands.
Not a protest
A 15-page booklet that accompanies No Nukes is a
highly informative, factual but opinionated supplement'
that lets the buyer know the reasoning behind MUSE. But
musically it would be hard to call No Nukes a protest
album. More accurately it is a benefit album, like George
Harrison's Concert For Bangladesh, though it never quite
achieves the same caliber.
Only three songs attack the energy problem head on.
John Hall, probably the most active member of MUSE,
offers Plutonium Is Forever", and 'Power", tough lyrical
statements that are unfortunately not as musically strong
as most of the album. Gil Scott -Heron's "We Almost Lost
Detroit" delivers the same concern for the future with
smooth rhythmic jazz to produce one of the album's
better combinations of music and social commentary.
But some of the LP's most interesting pleasures come
from Crosby, Stills, and Nash, Jackson Browne, and Jesse
Colin Young. With warm acknowledgment from the
crowd, CSN launches into "Long Time Gone" and 'Teach
Your Children", Jackson Browne sings "Before The
Deluge" and Jesse Colin Young performs th Young
blood's classic cover of "Get Together."
Even considering the time since the four songs were re
corded and the new social context today, they all retain
their relevance, and that is the most valuable lesson on the
album. Perhaps the best example on No Nukes is Dylan's
"The Times They Are A-Changin' " done with exceptional
vocals by James Taylor, Carly Simon and Graham Nash.
Collaborations
No Nukes also offers a chance to-hear some interesting
collaborations, such as Bruce Springsteen and The E
Street Band with Jaclaon Browne on "Stay", The Doobie
Brothers with James Taylor on 'Takin It To The Streets"
and Jackson Browne and Graham Nash in a nice com
bination on "The Crow On The Crandle". It was obvious
ly a professional concert put on by some of the industry's
best professionals and because of that, the success of the
live album is ensured.
There is nothing terribly cohesive about all the music
that appears on No Nukes other than the previously stated
purpose of the artists. But, it seems to be enough to hold
the album together with a diverse range of musicians.
Other performers on the album include Bonnie Raitt,
Raydio, Nicolette Larson, Poco.Chaka Khan.R Cooder,
and the gospel group Sweet Honey In The Rock.
As a benefit, No Nukes should do well for MUSE, who
has a movie of the concert on the way. As far as social
protest through music, it is something like rediscovering
the tip of an iceberg.