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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 3, 1997)
Dance degree faces possible dissolution By Liza Holtmeier Senior Reporter Melissa Prettyman knew in the fourth grade she wanted to major in dance. And for the past year, UNL has been one of her top choices for higher education. But a week ago, Prettyman was notified by a friend who is a freshman dance major at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln that she might want to rethink her options. “She said the (dance) major might be cut because of lack of funds,” said Prettyman, a senior at Lincoln Southeast High School. Prettyman is one of many prospective and current' dance students who has been notified over the past week of the possibility. The talk may have started after the Department of Theatre Arts and Dance under went a regular five-year review of its academic program. The self-study was conducted by UNL fac ulty outside of the department, students from within the department and reviewers outside of UNL. in response 10 inai review, we re loomng at a number of planning issues,” said Keven Hofeditz, chairman of the Department of Theatre Arts and Dance. “It has a lot to do with resource issues and the size and scope of what we do as a department” Hofeditz said the review team commended the program on its accomplishments, given its resources. He also said the review pointed out the department’s need to focus its human and financial resources better than it had in the past Where to go from here The department will consider a number of ^ possibilities in deciding how to most effective ly maintain the quality of its programs, Hofeditz said. He added that it was premature to say what those possibilities were. “We have a lot of information to put togeth er,” Hofeditz said. “We’re going to look at our options and what our resources can provide. There’s no set time line. It’s a question of the sooner, the better. Decisions of this nature need to be made soon. At the same time, we’re not going to rush into anything.” Though no concrete decisions have been made, many dance majors have been notified in classes about the possibility of the dance major being cut. This is not the first time they have been faced with this possibility, said Heather Schwenzer, a senior dance and pre-medicine Please see DANCE on 10 ;! Vi b i ' Marni Speck/DN file photo IF TALK OF CUTTING the UNL dance major proves true, works such as the department’s fall 1996 recital, “Fast Hack” - performed here by James Farren and Heather Schwenzer - may cease to take place again. By Patrick Miner Music Critic Keeping in step with all the hardships, Shootyz Groove didn't make it. V The band, which was to perform Saturday with Phunk Junkeez and Grasshopper Takeover at Royal Grove Nite Club, was absent because its tour bus broke down en route to Lincoln. The show, without a replacement band, went on, and the Phunk Junkeez played in Nebraska for the second time in fewer than four weeks. The band performed at the Ranch Bowl Oct. 8 with Shootyz Groove and Incubus, s 1 And while the Wednesday night Ranch | Bowl show was mostly full, the Saturday night Royal Grove show looked nearly empty, with a Grove employee estimating the crowd at 225. X ' Of that number, about 125 were sitting in the back drinking beer, and 100 were up front enjoying the show. After lead singer Soulman said the crowd should bring some friends next time, the Phunk Junkeez opened with “B-Boy Hard,” off their second release, “Injected.” They rolled through the hits, playing “Chuck,” “I Am A Junkee” and “Me N Yer Girl” early, and finishing the set with “Devil Woman” and “I Love It Loud.” The show featured some different songs - “White Boy Day” and “Radio Sucks” - from those played at the Ranch Bowl. The Junkeez also played their version of Blur’s “Song 2,” fea turing verses by Run DMC Mid Sir Mix-A-Lot. * V # The most thrilling part of the evening was the encore. While the dance-off during the new song, “Delilia,” initially drew little applause, a fight broke out on stage between two female contestants, giving some added excitement to a mostly indifferent crowd. The band then broke into its new track and fastest song, ’’Deadbeat,” which the crowd enjoyed and moshed to until the show’s end. Other new tracks played - including “Bones,” “It’s On” and “Adrenaline” - proved to be as energizing as the band’s better-known songs, but it was hard for the crowd to get into them without the new record yet being released. Lead singer Soulman suggested at an October 1996 show at Omaha’s Sokol Hall that it would come out last March. Unfortunately, the release date has again been pushed back, and now should be in early 1998, he said. | Opening act Grasshopper Takeover tried to make up for the absence of Shootyz Groove by playing a 55-minute set, which left few amused. The band played several of the tracks off of its debut self-titled album, including “Bone Crusher” to close the show. The highlight was definitely “The A Song,” by the Kind, the former band of Grasshopper frontman Curtis Grubb. The show ended up being the most unim pressive Phunk Junkeez concert I’d ever seen. The crowd was hesitant, the cuts from pJ Roachclip’s turntables were hard to decipher, and the security was sadly overanxious. However, the Royal Grove has made a positive statement in bringing the band to Lincoln for the first time, and club promoter Phil Robinson said he was trying to get Fishbone to play the Grove in December. We’ll keep our fingers crossed.
