OCR Text |
Show According to choreographer 'Everyone in Cedar needs to dance' A i , , .tl& yfe$ KJ CEDAR CITY - "I want to see everyone in Cedar City doing some type of dance," said Burch Mann, during a recent engagement with Cedar City's Business and Professional Women. Mann, director of the American Folk Ballet, founded 21 years ago, moved her highly celebrated dance company com-pany to Cedar City last spring. She explained that her reasons for relocating her dance company in Cedar City were primarily because she has seen and done everything that can be done in a commercial industry. She went on to say that,"I feel like this time in my life, which will be the last productive years of my life, that I needed to come into a place where my spirit can be fed." Mann will join the SUSC theatre arts department in September and will be involved in a number of classes offered by the college. "Everyone needs to dance in some way," said Mann and invited the BPW organization to attend one her classes. Mann stated that one of her goals includes seeing Cedar become a center of art particulary in dance. "When people are looking for something meaningful, when they are looking for art, when they are looking for dancers, they are going to come to Cedar City," Mann stated. She also explained to the women that most people have their own idea of art and an artist. "Art is the ability to work beyond what the average person is able to do. It is bringing harmony out of chaos." She went on to stress the importance of knowing what art really is. Mann interpretes art in the following way: "The woman who keeps a perfectly beautiful home, who instead of drying her laundry, hangs them out on the line to dry just because she likes the scent of the sun on her sheets. She polishes her table just because she likes the beauty of it. She has a perfectly organized home. This is art. Someone who can bring harmony out of chaos. Someone who goes the extra mile. "Some women get up in the morning, with a sink is full of dishes, beds unmade, the children get off to school late. This is a disharmonious thing, she is not an artist." "But a women who loves her home and keeps it orderly and clean is a different story. She goes the extra mile and that is exactly what makes an artist." In fact, she said that work is actually love made visable. "When a garabage man prides himself in doing the best job he can. He goes the extra mile, he is an artist. She went onto say say that many people have lost the true meaning of art. "People are going out t today and paying $4 to $5,000 for a Campbell's soup can because they think it is art, and that's ridiculous. "Art is attitude toward life, and this is what I try to teach my students. I tell them that if they only leave here with just dance steps then I haven't given them much. I must give them the ability to enjoy work. "I hope that all of you realize and can accept me as a person who is a servant to mankind. That is what an artist should be, someone who tries to enrich and broaden your lives. If we don't do that then we have failed," explained Mann. Mann also stressed the importance of physical fitness. "Dancing is for everyone. Burch Mann, celebrated dancer and choreographer, speaks to the Cedar City Business and Professional Women. Mann stressed the importance im-portance of knowing the real meaning of art. |