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Show Orchesis: a esis of collaborative excitement gen By Tom Purdue a&e writer-The Signpost The red, velvety curtains of the Egyptian Theater gave way to a dark rustle on the stage filled with Weber State University dancers and musicians; all the while a soft red burning glow enveloped the darkening ceiling.Evoking a sense of collaborative excitement between the WSU Department of Performing Arts, Percussion Ensemble group and Chamber Choir, "Orchesis," a dance-theater production, recently combined WSU talents showing their best moves, singing in their best tune and sounding out their best notes. You knew you were in for something uniquely collaborative when a marimba player resonated with the choir members as they began babbling from behind a see-through screen, and seven dancers in metallic outfits began creating and performing the opening piece entitled "Nonce." Among the seven dancers was Kimberly Maw, an English major and dance minor who wants to teach high school someday. Maw commented on how some of the more interesting dance movements found their way into "Nonce." "Part of the movement was taken from when we were waiting around in the rehearsal," Maw said. "Eric Stern noticed the things we were doing, and that became part of the dance." "Nonce" was followed by the song "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" by J.S. Bach, arranged by Michael Boo. The piece was performed on three marimbas by four marimba players. Although an occasional clashing minor second broke from the melody, the clashing seemed appropriate to the experimental theme of the production. Finding mistakes would be inappropriate because, with "Orchesis," you should let yourself go and try to experience everything rather than Water Whirlwind leaves you breathless with slippery sound By Tina Noyes a&e writer-The Signpost European group Aqua teased the world with something a little different when they released their catchy tune, "Barbie Girl." Their techno beats hit the airwaves in Northern America about six months ago and the hit single is still doing well. Weber State University's radio station, KWCR, received the Aqua CD approximately five months ago. "At first I thought "Barbie Girl" would be a flop," said KWCR program director, Chauntcllc Richardson. "The lyrics arc pretty different. I wasn't going to give it any air time, but then everyone I knew started talking about them, and I realized that I better start playing it." Aqua is comprised of anex-game-show hostess, an award-winning break dancer w ho used to work on a cruise ship, a gas assign preconceived meanings. "Tchotchkes," the third performance of the evening, lent itself to earthy rhythms and prerecorded vocals, which mixed a wide variety of vocal sounds, as five dancers in black tops and green baggy pants interacted with the sound. Beat box mouth drums, held the beat for nasally drawn-out bass tones in an African-esque collage. At one point in "Tchotchkes," three of the dancers seemed to form the pyramids of Egypt while the other two formed a quasi-sphinx. It's almost too bad that an ariel view of the dancers who performed "Tchotchkes" wasn't simultaneously shown on the screen as was the case with the next performance piece, "Hit the Books." "Hit the Books" was hands down a show stopper for the evening. The eloquent mix of rhythm, comedy and movement played perfectly with the collegiate theme of studying. Professor of performing arts Don Keipp's fiance Kathy Edwards, communication department chairwoman, talked about the efforts she had seen Keipp go through to make "Hit the Books" a success. "I know how hard they have been practicing, because they started last fall," Edwards said. "It all started when Don and Erik got together in their office and tried to see what sounds they could make with books." Natalie Brower, a junior majoring in English and education, also attended "Orchesis" on Thursday night and commented specifically on "Hit the Books." "It was cool to see the way they used the visuals and rhythms at the same time," Brower said. "Sonata for Clarinet and Piano" followed a brief intermission. Stern, a WSU dance instructor, performed a beautiful solo dance that seemed to play with the body's circular nature. At one point, Stern danced rapid circles that seemed to put his body almost parallel to the floor. In a press release, Stem commented station attendant who also happened to score one of the most popular Danish kid films and ascience-minded man turned seamster. The debut album, "Aquarium," is a water-inspired ride through catchy hooks with beats that make you want to get up and dance. On vocals, they have one of Norway's finest, Lene Grawford Nystrom. She, along with Rene Dif, take on most of the lyrics with help from an assortment of back-up vocals. Although "Barbie Girl" received a lot of media attention, Aqua scored well with other tunes like "Roses are Red" and "Happy Boys and Girls." In Scandinavia, the album has gone Quintuple-Platinum. It's no wonder Aqua's contagious beats have attracted people young and old. At any dance club in Utah, you can almost bet you will hear "Barbie Girl" echoing throughout the dance floor. The unforgettable techno beats are what set this great band apart from others. Aqua has an upbeat rhythm that most other The Orchesis, WSU Percussion Ensemble performance create magic, rhythm for Ogden. on the work that went into Orchesis. "You can work like this all the time because of the amount of work required, but it is exactly what should be happening in an educational institution," Stern said. Stern's hard work payed off in "Sonata for Clarinet and Piano." In the next song, the size of WSU's percussion ensemble was impressive. Three marimbas and a xylophone were arranged on the stage as four timpani, a bass drum, chimes, tom-toms and a splattering of cymbals, triangles and shakers mechanically rose from the orchestra pit. Flashes of silver would glint in your eyes as the complex grooves of "Afro-Amero" developed from straight sixteenth notes to a swinging jazz feel. An all-black clad percussion section grooved well. "Simplicity" was a performance piece that featured dancers and Neil Dunn on the Marimba. A single white light shown on Dunn as he syncopated arpeggios and chords in a steady evolving musical piece. The pop-rock bands miss. "Heat of the Night" is another song that is bound to catch music lovers' attention. This song hasn't been officially released; however, its Latino-based beats are enough to get anyone out of their chair. Aqua was successful in making their group stand out "Barbie Girl" is known by virtually everyone, whether they like it or not The take on "Barbie" makes fun of the image that Barbie dolls tend to have. "I think I like the song because it makes fun of girls that really try to act like Barbie dolls. You also have to admit, the chorus is catchy," said WSU student Tasha Grow. "Every time I hear it on the radio, I'm singing it for the rest of the day." Whatever your opinion of Aqua and the CD "Aquarium," their music does offer a new kind of music never before heard and sets the music world up for a generation of classic "Barbie" type songs. yj vn - s lighting on the dancers to the side of Dunn made their costumes glow a mysterious pink, muted green and canary yellow. For "Simplicity," simply the best place to be was the center of the theater. The dancers would let their arms and legs escape from the curtains on either side of the stage; sitting too far on the side of the theater somewhat tainted the effect. "Let's Give Them a Hand" was a classic Keipp piece. The percussion ensemble's feet and hands became the rhythmic instruments in the song, which, in a comedic turn at the end, became a kind of an ironic applause to the audience. The final performance of the-evening was called "Shift." When watching "Shift," you might start to remember all the crazy things you used to do with those long tables at church: pretending they were boats when turned upside down, hiding underneath them as Sister Tucker scooped up some more chip dip, or using the table as a barricade or stage Stage was By Tina Noyes a&e writer-The Signpost The Egyptian Theater is silent and dark as the audience is anxiously anticipating the opening scene of "Romeo and Juliet." Emotion fills the room within seconds of Juliet's (Heather Robison) opening monologue. Romeo (Hamish Linklater), opposite of Juliet, is staring intensely at the audience. In the background, four adult men are fighting with great vigor; the lights abruptly go off, and the stage is set. Directed by James Bundy, this interpretation of tragic love between children of feuding families was set in the late 19th century. Most people know the story of Romeo and Juliet; in fact, most English teachers in high school spend hours trying to convince students that Shakespeare's depiction of young love is art. It didn't take a lot of convincing on The Acting Company's part to prove this classic's credibility in Ogden. Romeo and Juliet displayed true love in a way that stirred up passion in the hearts of young and old Wednesday night. The lyrical grace of Shakespeare's language gave the audience a delicate reminder of to perform your favorite KISS tune. Shift was an interpretive dance that played with the idea of workers leaving and starting a new work shift As LaNae Walth, the assistant stage manager and understudy for "Tchotchkes" revealed, "Shift" was by far the most challenging of the pieces. "'Shift' had a lot more props than the others did," Walth explained. "The tables had to be taped, and there was a lot more movement involved with the props." Dunn, who had just finished playing "Shift," commented, "That's my favorite.. .I'm still out of breath from playing." For those who may have missed this amazing production, it will be back again. Until that time, the department of performing arts continues to put on shows of the highest student and professor caliber. For more information about performing arts events, call 626-6800, or check out the website at http:catsis.weber.edu PerformingArtsQNote.htm. set for love first love. The acting in "Romeo and Juliet" was everything the Cultural Affairs office promised. Robison as Juliet was able to express herself wonderfully and pull the audience in at all times. The nurse (Lisa Tharps) gave a shocking performance. The role of the nurse took on new meaning, as Tharps added boisterous laughs and hilarious pieces of advice to Juliet. The audience showed surprised expressions as they listened to the nurse deliver her lines. "I liked the play, but the set is what ruined it from being a great play. I was at least expecting a little bit more than just chairs and white backdrop," Weber State student Tamie Andersen said. "It was hard to get involved in the play without some help from the set design. I loved Juliet's performance, but Romeo needed to settle down and show more acting ability. On two different occasions, I could have sworn Romeo had forgotten his lines and just ad libbed." While some of the performance was not worth presenting, audience members were still offered a valuable literary tradition of excellence in the form of Shakespeare's greatest tragedy. |