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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 21, 1994)
Arts ©Entertainment Monday, November 21,1994 Page 9 Galas’ jolts Lied Center with fiery, varied vocals By Pauli U»Hw _ Senior Reporter The forceful vocal talents of singer Diamanda Gal As thundered through the Lied Center Sunday night and shocked a few wary audience members. GalAs, backed by ex-Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones, sang as if a de mon possessed her vocal chords and churned out a guttural growl of sound. Her voice is like a roller coaster as it slowly crawls to a climax and thunders down winding curves until it plummets to a fiery depth. If Nine Inch Nails' Trent Reznor had a long lost sister. Galas would be claw ing at the branches of his family tree. Like a panther in heat, GalAs' carved a new niche in Lied Center program ming with her shocking, incredible and revolutionary performance. The raw timbre of her voice scorched the Lied audience with every screech and shout that emanated from her body, which was held tight in black leather pants and bikini top. But nothing could constrain her. She screeched, moaned and yelled profanities from the stage during a song about AIDS awareness, prompting about 20 people to leave. Not all of Jones and Galas’ songs were meant to be musical shockers. Galas took a scat at her Hammond or gan and sang a twisted, gospel-like ren dition of “Dark End of the Street.” Although her talent soared, it was difficult at times to distinguish her lyr ics because of her vocal distortion. It would have been pleasing to hear more of her soprano voice, which was actu ally beautiful and full of color. Jones proved his talent as a living musical legend by building a strong pil lar of sound on which Galis could stand and shout. Led Zeppelin fans may have been disappointed, though. Although his reputation was stron ger than Galas’, Jones truly served as a foundation and never had a solo shot in which he could let loose. Lincoln needed this performance. It needed the purplish-red-haired people in leather and denim and the balding men in suits and ties to mix to gether and open their minds to some thing not on album-oriented rock or easy listening radio stations. I wmwww nvjn^/ i/n Uia Fuslllo, toft, thm dlractar af UNL’s dapartaiant af danca, taachas a data In Idakal Laa Nall. Director building dance program By Paula Lavlgw Senior Reporter Lisa Fusillo is on a mission: to make the UNL dance program as strong as it can be. A native of Washington. D.C., Fusillo came to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in January 1990 to direct the dance depart ment. When she arrived, the department had only two full-time faculty members and 15 dance majors.' At that time, she said, the dance depart ment faced three major problems: curricu lum instability, lack of a facility and fac ulty shortage. “The curriculum was on shaky grounds,” Fusillo said. “I was brought in here to reju venate and strengthen the dance program.” Fusillo wanted to stabilize the curricu lum by offering a progression of classes so students could take beginning, intermedi ate and advanced classes in order The dance program had moved from the physical education department to the Teach crs College and then to its present home in the Department of Theatre Arts and Dance. This had caused another problem — the program didn't have a home. Classes arc taught in Mabel Lee Hall, the Lied Center ana the Howell Theatre in the Temple Building. uIn the winter, dancers have to take classes in one building and get all hot and sweaty, get their muscles warmed up and then go all the way across campus to an other class," she said. Unfortunately, Fusilio still hasn't been able to solve this problem. She has presented the department's problem to administrators to no avail. Faculty shortage was her biggest ob stacle. One professor was teaching all of the technique classes, Fusilio said, and it was hard on the teacher and the students. Fusilio wanted to increase the number of full-time and part-time teachers so the program could offer more courses. “There are as many styles of teaching as there are teachers,” she said. “The students were only being exposed to one style.” Before she came to UNL, Fusillo said she required another faculty member to assist with classes and concerts. She managed to find quality dance teachers from Lincoln and Omaha, but she still is working toward getting another full-time faculty member. “It’s the only realistic thing we can ac complish in the immediate future.” she said. “We are currently in a situation where fac ulty are under so much strain to teach all courses that without some additional help, it will be difficult to continue.” Fusillo cased the burden this semester by bringing in Anita Lemon as a visiting artist. Lemon has taught classes and cho reographed part of the fall dance concert. The visiting artist program will continue, Fusillo said, because it offers students a chance to work with a professional artist. See FUSILLO on 10 Courts* y ofc5uBnKu5 Jmk Rmo Is Lson, a Mt man, and Natalia Partman la Ms pratdtfft In “Tha Prafasalanal." ‘Professional’ no amateur flick By Chad Johnson _ Staff Reporter With “The Professional,” Luc Besson has proven that “La Femme Nikita” was no fluke. He has con tinued and improved upon the cur rent European flavor in American action films and has raised the stakes in terms of quality. With Jan De Bont directing “Speed” and James Cameron turn ing the French film “La Total” into “True Lies,” there has been a re cent fascination with European style that Besson helped inspire when his “La Femme Nikita" was turned into the Bridget Fonda ve hide “Point of No Return.” “The Professional” opens with assassin Loon (Jean Reno) blow ing away the executive staff of a small-time drug dealer for a Little Italy boss (Danny Aiello). This hit sets the tone for a story that re volves around a man who knows only his work — work he does with frightening efficiency. Soon Leon takes 12-year-old Matilda (Natalie Portman) under his wing after she survives a hit, led by corrupt Drug Enforcement Agency boss Stansfield (Gary Oldman), that wipes out her fam ily. Vowing revenge for the death of her little brother, Matilda asks that Leon instruct her in the fine art of “cleaning.” The inevitable confrontation be tween good and evil takes place in an absolutely thrilling climax. Imagine the pacing and action of “Spear hemmed inside a two-bed room apartment. Besson shines brightly with his choice of camera angles and shot selection, leading the viewer to conclude that if imagination is not dead in Hollywood, it definitely is on life support. The freshness and ingenuity of the camera work en hance the overall flavor of the film See PROFESSIONAL on 10