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.
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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.
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‘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
