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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 9, 1999)
|hntertainment Modern dance company pulls into Lied Center By Danell McCoy Staff writer The trick to an explosive performance is the ability to get the audience to hear the music dif ferently through the physicality of the dancers. That’s exactly what choreographer Donald Byrd hopes to achieve with Friday’s perfor mance of “JazzTrain Dance Works” at the Lied Center for Performing Arts, 301 N. 12th Street. Byrd and his company, Donald Byrd/The Group, have developed a new movement that incorporates classic dance such as ballet and modern dance with current hip-hop styles and black street dancing. The movement is based on what Byrd con siders a uniquely American art form: jazz. He calls it the “classical music” of American blacks and sees jazz as being intimately con nected with the way the black community expresses itself through music. JazzTrain explores the black heritage of jazz and traces its various //_ Nutcracker Ballet, which Byrd sets in Harlem. Byrd has worked with such acclaimed com posers as Max Roach, Vernon Reid and Geri - Allen, and uses their forms and styles from gen eration to generation. The music and the dance together show the audience the transitions of time and region. “The group is a modern dance company that takes its cue from everything that’s happening in life,” said No rah Goebel George, director of market Vf The group is a modem dance company that takes its cue from everything that's happening in life." Norah Goebel-George Lied Center marketing director music because of its technical style and wild inventiveness. Byrd, a North Carolina native, studied at both Tufts and Yale Universities. He pur sued his passion for dance at the Cambridge School o'f Ballet, the ing at the Lied Center. “ Things like racism, vio lence and diversity were its inspiration.” A key example is Byrd's use of a Duke Ellington arrangement of Tchaikovsky’s London School of Contemporary Dance and the Alvin Ailey Dance Center. Now, he also wrorks as an associate artist at the Yale Repertory Theater, and as a board member for Dance Theater Workshop and ' Dance USA. Since 1976, Byrd created more than SO pieces, including works for the Nashville Ballet, the Boston Ballet II and the Phoenix Dance Company of Leeds, England. Most of his works were commissioned with original music and were created in collabora tion with artists from other fields. Byrd created his troupe in 1978 in Los Angeles, but moved the group to New York in 1983. Since then, Byrd has worked u itli his troupe to explore contemporary social issues and bring that exploration onto the stage using dance as a medium. As part of the Lied Center's ongoing educa tional programming, pre-performance talks will begin in the Lied’s Steinhart room 55 min utes and 30 minutes prior to the show Cookbook blends food, stories By Bret Schulte Senior editor Ernest Hemingway held several great loves: at least two ol his wives, certainly trout fishing, Spain, whiskev and, perhaps most enduring, great food and strong drink. His remarkable prose brought his experiences to life for readers around the world in dozens of languages. Even food and drink, always included and sometimes central to his stories, were described with such power that his appetite became as famous as his exploits. “The Hemingway Cookbook” by Craig Boreth relishes in the renowned author’s taste for fine (and even abhor rent) cuisine and his frequently prolific descriptions of it in his wurk. Released at the end of last year, this unique and surprisingly insightful achievement serves more as a culinary biography of the famous author rather than a functional cookbook. Recipes indeed abound but unless you have a taste for veal kidney or lion steak, they will probably provide more entertain ment than actual meals. Not all come directly from Hemingway, by any means. Most recipes come from friends, family and acquaintances of the global giazer. including Gertrude Stein's partner Alice Toklas, Hemingway’s mother. Grace, and a variety of random con tributions from restau rateurs who received his praise. Arranged in a rough chronological manner based on his vast world residency. "The H e m 1 n g w a v Cookbook” is divided into sections such as “The Early Years, A Taste for Life,” “France, An Immovable Feast” and “Key West and Cuba, Sailing the Stream.” Intercut with recipes and abstracts are large photos of Hemingway laugh bach chapter begins with ably writ ten biographical sketches of the author that detail his time spent in the region, his friends, what he was writing and the woman and/or women who shared his dinner table. The sketches flow easily into the Hemingway menus, which are fre quently supported by excerpts from his writings that set up the dish. There is no shortage of culinary description among Hemingway stories, and the cookbook uses a wide array that spans decades of his work. ing, drinking, posing with friends and lovers, and, of course, eating. Accompanying the photographs are narratives by Boreth, frequently offer ing up entertaining and informative stories regarding Hemingway’s many adventures. The stories and quotes come together well, and it seems that along with food and drink, Hemingway and Boreth share yet another passion: talk ing up Hemingway. Please See HEMINGWAY on 10 Coi i:i F'-'Y Photo | RUSSIA’S Finest Men’s Chorus returns to Lincoln for the second time. Russian men’s choir returns t to tune into Lincoln audiences ! I By Danell McCoy Staff writer Dressed in red and standing shoul der to shoulder, the voices of more than a dozen Russian men boomed across the stilled Americans. The Americans, or more specifi cally, Lincoln residents, loved it. Two years after their memorable performance, Russia’s Finest Men's Chorus is returning to the warm embrace of Nebraska’s capitol city. “Lincoln’s response to them was phenomenal,” said Sue Buss of Abendmusik, a local organization that sponsored the show. Feb. 12, the Russian men's chorus will perform at the First Plymouth j Congregational Church. 20'11 and D i streets. Founded in Moscow in 1989. the 16-member chorus is directed and conducted by Alexander Sedov. Ail members of the group are pro- j fessional musicians and all have grad- | uated from either the Moscow or St. Petersburg conservatories. Their repertoire includes both ecclesiastical and secular works from different historical periods. The litur- | gical repertoire emphasizes the tradi tion of Russian orthodox music. The choir itself is heralded for its brilliant technique, as well as its wide Please See RUSSIANS on 10 j