New York City Ballet opens
extraordinary Lied Center season
By Andrea Kaser
Senior Editor
iewers can expect a
“stunning, gorgeous”
performance by the
New York City Ballet
tonight, said Amy
Lamphere, public relations
director for the Lied Center for
Performing Arts. t
i nc penormance kicks on ine
Lied’s 1993-1994 season with a
tribute to one of the company's
founders, George Balanchine. It
will mix both traditional and
modem techniques, Lamphere said,
but with a style that is purely
American.
Because the entire NYC Ballet
is too large to hit the road, this is
not an official tour, Lamphere said.
Rather, it is 17 of the company's
principal and solo dancers, touring
(hiring the off season.
“It would be like an all-star
team," Lamphere said. “It's a way
for dancers to make money in their
offseason."
The dancers are among die
world’s finest, she said, because of
their Balanchine training.
The Russian-bom and Bolshoi
trained Balanchine co-founded the
company in 1948 and died in 1983.
Ballet amateurs might recognize
. Balanchine's dances — “The
Nutcracker," “Apollo" and “Jew
els" — but might not be aware of
his great influence on modem
dance.
“He gave us the vision of the
modem ballerina," Lamphere said.
The idea of the tall, ultra-thin
beauty as a ballerina didn't exist
before Balanchine, she said. The
look has also influenced fashion,
with thinness synonymous with
physical perfection, she said.
Balanchine also made famous
the emphasis on visual spectacle —
rather than narrative — in dance.
- “He doesn't tell stories, he gives
abstract pictures. He relies on
images...” Lamphere said.
Tonight’s and tomorrow’s
performances begin at 8 p.m.
Student tickets cost $12, $14 and
$16.
Most students do not know that
their fees subsidize student ticket
discounts for all Lied Center
performances, Lamphere said.
In most cases, student tickets are
half the regular price.
“That is really extraordinary,”
she said.
Most college performing arts
centers offer student discounts just
before shows begin, but University
of Nebraska students get that
benefit at all times. •
“Most students don’t know that
they can get (tickets) for as little as
$6,” she said.
Student ticket prices range from
as low as $5 to as high as $27,
depending on the performance and
die seat The Sound of Music,”
with Marie Osmond in die lead, has
the priciest tickets with the lowest
student discount, $27, down from
the regular price of $32.
The $81,500 subsidy for student
tickets comes through the Univer
sity Programs Council’s allocation
from student fees.
UPC president Gary Doyle said
there were reasons other than,
finances that kept students from
checking out Lied performances.
“The big problem is getting
students to leave their comfort
zones,” Doyle said.
“Students feel intimidated just
walking by (the Lied Center). They
need to realize you don’t have to
dress up for everything there.”
Lamphere said students bought
19 percent of the Lied’s ticket sales
last year, with Broadway perfor
mances like “Les Miserables”
attracting the most students.
See Ballet on 10
Cornin’ from Kansas City
Zoo Bar opens stage to let ‘walking history book’spin musical tales
TLb„
will bring a
little bit of
musical history
to Lincoln this
weekend.
The legend
ary Claude “Fiddler” Williams will
be in town Friday and Saturday
nights to perform his own brand of
Kansas City-style blues and jazz,
said Russ Dantzler, Williams'
manager.
The 85-year-old fiddle player is a
“walking history book,” Dantzler -
said.
“He is one of the last links to the
old black string bands — someone
from the past. He has so many
stories...."
Williams played with Eddie and
Nat "King" Cole's band in die early
1930s. Then in 1936 he joined
Count Basie's first big band, where
he played guitar. He row to national
fame during his stint with Basie, and
he was voted "Best Guitarist of the
Year" in a national magazine’s
reader poll.
But guitar wasn't Williams’ love.
The fiddle was, and he left Basie's
band after the find set of recordings.
"If I had stayed with the Count, I
would have been playing that 'ching
ching’ rhythm guitar for 40 years,"
Williams reportedly said.
In the following years Williams
played with a large number of
different artists — everybody from
the Four Shades of Rhythm in
Chicago to Austin Powell’s Quintet
in New York.
But he always returned to his
beloved Kansas City, Dantzler said.
There was simply too much
happening in Kansas City for
Williams to miss it
“K.C. was die musical capital of
the world in the ’40s, and he was
there — he was a part of it”
Dantzler said.
Williams* role in the music scene
was influential enough to warrant
space in the history books, he said.
' “Jazz history classes study his
work,” Dantzler said.
Williams has never really stopped
playing, and to this day he continues
to play often. Age has done little to
slow him down, he said.
“He can’t stand still on stage; he
is really animated,” Dantzler said.
“It is just the music coming out — it
really gives you hope for when you
grow old.”
Williams will be backed this
weekend by Steve Hanson on guitar,
Jim Cidilik on the piano and vocals,
Dave Morris on bass and Joe
Gouriay on drums. The shows begin
at 9 p.m. and there is a $4 cover
charge.
Briefly — If you are in the mood
for a road trip to Omaha this
weekend, check out The Magic
Theater's presentation of “The
People vs. Ranchman” at the 32S S.
16th St. facility.
The play deals with a number of
social issues — sexual attitudes,
special interest groups, the media,
• • ij
the death penalty and sexual abuse,
to name the most prominent.
Sunday’s matinee will be
followed by a discussion sponsored
by the Nebraska Civil Liberties
Union.
Trekkers — I’m sine I don’t have
to remind die hard-one fans, but
The Next Generation’s season
premiere is Saturday night.
Local heroes The Millions will
play a 16-and-over show at The
Edge on Saturday night. Admission
is SS if you also donate a can of
food.
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