I . ....
Guest artist shows UNL dance program new steps
ByLeaHoumeier
Senior staff writer
With soft-spoken grace, Ellen Mills
Young asked the five dancers to listen to
Mozart’s Symphony No. 33 on the CD
player.
As the first few crystalline notes
filled the room, Young and the dancers
began to stretch, preparing for the
choreographic process to come.
After two hours of intense pointe
work and lightning-paced learning, the
dancers had the beginning to a classical
ballet piece choreographed by Young.
Young is here at die University of
Nebraska-Lincoln this week as a guest
artist in the dance program. On Monday,
she began choreographing a piece for
/ five UNL dance majors to perform in
the Spring Dance Concert this March.
In addition to this work, she has been
teaching ballet classes and has lectured
in Introduction to Dance.
Lisa Fusillo, a dance professor at
UNL, said Young Is work in the program
will help students realize a professional
career is not out of range for a college
level student
“There is, particularly in ballet, the
Ryan Soderlin/DN
ELLEN MILLS YOUNG (right) instructs five (lancers who auditioned to per
foim a short classical ballet for this spring. Young, who came from New
Yoifc, is a visiting artist at UNL.
perception that you have to tram young
and go to professional schools to have a
career in ballet And for the most part,
that’s true,” Fusillo said.
However, Fusillo added, schools
exist all over the United States that offer
professional training in ballet It is pos
sible for someone who did not study at
the American School of Ballet to have a
professional career, Fusillo said.
, “(Young) has had some unusual
experiences in unusual places. The won
■ _._fai____
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, Dave Matthews and
Tim Reynolds
“Live at Luther College”
Bama Rags/RCA Records
- ^Gradu B
As most people who have seen a
Dave Matthews Band concert can attest,
the best part of the show is the inspired
work of drummer Carter Beauford and
bassist Steffan Lessard.
Without this superior rhythm sec
tion, fans would only have the often
unexceptional and frequently inconsis
tent guitar work of the front man him
self, Dave Matthews.
Perhaps that is why the band
brought Tim Reynolds into the mix.
Reynolds is a remarkably deft guitarist,
and he has showcased his talents on
each of the DMB studio albums.
Thankfully, he accompanies Matthews
on “Live at Luther College.”
This two-disc album is simply
Matthews and Reynolds strumming
away at some of the DMB’s biggest hits,
including “Satellite,” “Ants Marching”
and “Crash Into Me,” along with 20 oth
ers. The album was recorded from a Feb.
6,1996, show, so most of the songs are
from the band’s first three albums,
“Remember Two Things,” “Under the
Table and Dreaming” and “Crash.”
To make up for the absence of the
other band members, Matthews vocally
improvises the parts of saxophonist
Leroi Moore and violinist Boyd Tinsley.
Reynolds goes past the recorded ver
sions of the songs and frequently adds
new rhythms, such as on the tracks
“Warehouse” and “Dancing Nancies.”
While the bareness of the songs and
skill of Reynolds are interesting at first,
listeners will be strained to listen to the
entire two-hour performance at once.
For non-fanatics, getting, through both
discs will be nothing short of a chore.
Matthews and Reynolds will be
heading out this summer on a tour that
should be very similar to “Live at
Luther College,” except it will feature
some more recent songs. East Coast
dates have been announced, with the
rest of the shows to be confirmed soon.
Ofcours^ it is a Dave Matthews
concert, so fans should not be too sur
prised by what they will see. Especially
with the release of “Live at Luther
College,” fans can prepare now for yet
another dragged-out Dave Matthews
performance with a lot of babbling
between songs.
- Patrick Miner
derful experiences and adventure in her
life can help the students understand
that these sort of things are possible,”
Fusillo said.
Young is actually a former student
of Fusillo, having studied under her at
Texas Christian University in die mid
1980s. After graduating from TCU,
Young, a Kansas native, studied as an
exchange student in Paris. She then
moved to New York City where she
danced with a number of companies.
Young recently founded her own
New York dance company called
beyond ballet, which presents contem
porary ballet pieces.
After working with the dancers on
Monday night, Young said she was
excited to choreograph for young
dancers who have yet to define their
boundaries.
Young said she was used to collabo
rating with older dancers who have
more experience and knowledge about
their capabilities - sometimes too
much. *
“It’s refreshing to work with dancers
who are willing to try new things,” she
said.
Dance majors chosen to perform in
this piece for the Spring Dance Concert
are freshman Sarah Harris, sophomore
Megan Dant, junior Megan DeBoer,
and seniors Kevin Gibbs and Corbin
Popp.
After working with Young for two
hours on Monday night, the dancers
said the process moved more quickly
than usual.
“She seemed to know exactly what
she wanted,” Dant said.
While Young had definitive ideas
about the structure of the set, she was
open to suggestions from the dancers.
“I try to choreograph so they feel
comfortable with the movement,”
Young said.
Once the dancers have the choreog
raphy down, Young said she would work
on their timing and execution.
“The hardest part is getting die feel
of the music when you’re more worried
about the steps,” Young said.
Despite die time pressures involved
with learning Young’s choreography, the
dancers said they relished the chance to
work with a guest artist.
“You get to see a different perspec
tive and have a different role model. Just
by attending a class with a different
teacher, you see new aspects of danc
ing,” Popp said.
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