Page Two. THE MICHIGAN DAILY Thursday, December 5, 1963 Page Two THE MICHIGAN DAILY Thur-sd-ayf,-- Decembe-, r5, -1968 dance A mixed bag of dancing Decision on tenure for Mayer raises many academic issues 1 FREE MOVIE! By ERIKA HOFF Tuesday night's Dance Studio Concert was supposed to show the progress by which "move- ment becomes dance and a hu- man being becomes a dancer," according to Dr. Esther Pease, head of the dance department, who introduced the program. But it is not necessary to em- barrass first year students just to prove that trained dancers are better than untrained danc- ers. One semester of dancing, two hours a week, is not suffi- cient preparation for the stage. The beginning dancers per- formed very badly. This does not show a lack of goodteach- ing, but a lack of judgment. There is no excuse for making first year students make fools out of themselves. The Bolshoi Ballet's "Ballet School" shows the develop- ment of a dancer but it does so by progressing from the simple to the complex, not by progres- sing from the crummy to the accomplished. The entire production w a s very unprofessional. Dancers in leotards mingled with their friends in the audience before the performance, blatantly com- mitting that greatest of crimes - stage breaking. There is no justification for having dancers warming up in the back of the audience while other dancers are performing on stage. Warm- Ing up is a part of a dancer's preparation just as m u c h as putting on make-up and getting into costume. The audience should not see any of this. The dancers were n o t ade- quately rehearsed. They were obviously unsure. Their danc- ing was hesitant, and some of them didn't even know when they were supposed to be on stage. The second semester students were better but they still were not ready to perform. The Uni- versity's dance department is not a neighborhood ballet school that has to give everyone a part in a yearly production in order to keep the parents paying. There is no reason to put poor dancers on stage and drag down the quality of the entire per- formance. The second half of the pro- gram was performed by mem- bers of the Theater Dance Tour- ing Company. This group, di- rected by Dr. Pease, consists of dance'majors both graduate and undergraduate, and has oc- casionaly included members of the dance faculty. The Theater Dance Company is not a professional group, but i t s dancing is of professional caliber. All the choreography is original and of exceptional quality. Dr. Pease describes the group as "an educational touring com- pany." They perform around the state trying to create new ed- ucated audiences for the dance. Their "Hollow Women" was a take-off on sophistication. It consisted of a series of attitudes -occasionally broken by con- fused conversation-and then the poses were resumed. It was short and simple. It conveyed a single idea concisely and clear- ly. The use of voices is quite new and still rare in dance. The interruption of the dance pat- tern was, therefore, much great- er because it was unexpected. The artificial veneer of sophis- tication was broken by conver- sation, but the break incomplete. What was being said was in- distinguishable-the break was meaningless because the sophis- tication was resumed. Just as indistinguishable voices were used to express a lack of meaning in "Hollow Women," a distinguisable voice was used to emphasize the meaning in "Anxiety." "Anxiety" is a search by two people. They search separately, they search together, they search for each other, but with- out success. At the end of the dance a voice is heard repeating, "What can I do, where can I go?.." "Comment" is a dance chore- ographed by Dana Reitz to music composed by Burton Beer- man, a teaching fellow in com- position. The music seems elec- tronic, with occasional voice sounds-not clear voices, just human sounds. The dance is like moving sculpture. Two human bodies is the medium used to create de- signs and shapes in space. It is a fantastically difficult under- taking that wasexcellently ac- complished. (Continued from Page 1) When tenure decisions come due, the department effort to get through written views. makes a; student and oral special1 views, inter- COSTA RICAN TROPICS: Universities' group acquires a piece of the last frontier Reportedly Mayer didn't fare too well in those course evalua- tions. But of the 10 students taking Sociology 412 this semester, the five available for comment last night had nothing but praise for Mayer and the course.. a And everyone denied that an overemphasis on math was a problem. Some even found it beneficial, "I don't have a math back- ground," James Williams, Grad said, "It gave me a challenge, it, introduced me to new concepts. I enjoyed it for just that reason." At least as important were the unofficial aspects of teaching, the casual relationship with studens and the help he is known to give. "He's personally approachable," said Barbara Rubinstein, Grad. "As a teacher he was very helpful to me," Williams added. "That's more than you can say for a lot of professors." Beyond the question of teaching Prote--st at NYUt T (Continued from Page 1) ran to another meeting hall in the same building where James Reston, columnist and executive editor of the New York Times, was to speak. Both meetings were at the Loeb Student Center at the Washington Square campus in Manhattan. Chanting "Ho, Ho, Ho, Ho Chi Minh," the demonstrators pound- ed on the doors of the hall, then ran inside and started shouting epithets, at Reston. t An NYU alumnus, Morton Minsky, who was attending the lecture, said the audience of about 700-most of them adults-shout- ed at the demonstrators: "Go home! We don't want to listen!" The moderator adjourned the Reston meeting, however, Minsky said. The diplomat also canceled his talk. Police said there were no ar- rests. Fall and winter subscription rate: $4.50 per term by carrier' ($5 by mail),; $8.00 for regular academic school year 49 by mail). RAVITZ Recommends Student Book Service 1215 S. University comes publications and scholar- by some things. It was not only ship, which are not entirely syn- negative by any means." onomous. The last question - Mayer's' "Publish or perish was certainly politics - is significant by its ab- involved," Converse said. Mayer sence. Many students, especially has not published in his four and in any of the three SDS chapters a half years here, although he has on campus, thought the move was five unpublished research papers. more than a little politically moti- But, unfortunately, his research vated. But faculty members all r e c o r d is not unquestionably across the spectrum said it wasn't. strong either. The department One source close to M a y e r sent all his works out to six men who was very sensitive to t h e in his field to get evaluations, the threat of political implications in usual procedure. Half found his the decision said last night,"I work good. The department usual- know that it wasn't political. The ly gets better than half, department has not made such The question of scholarly abil- political decisions." ity treads farther into the realm In any event, if students do raise of the confidential than depart- a row over the decision, it is still ments have liked to tread Mayer's unlikely Mayer would stay. If the work is approved by some, not by department did change its deci- others. sion, which is very unlikely, May- "There were a large number of er probably wouldn't stay because considerations," Converse said, of the bad feelings engendered by "The department had been pleased such a clash. i -~ __ - "Requiemefor a Heavyweight " SATURDAY, DEC. 7 Bursley Cafeteria 8:30 p.m. WTTO PRESENTS the association "Joyous.'"Newsweek. ***-'New York. "A gem. "-Washington. "A smash."-Chicago. "Funny. "-Philadelphia. "Outstanding."-Boston. "Impeccable."-Pittsburgh. "One of the best." Christian Science Monitor. "Go see."-National Observer. "I love it"-NBC., 11 11 N CONCERT University of Toledo Field House Toledo, Ohio Sunday, December 15 7 P.M. TICKETS $4.50 3.50 2.50 -- MAIL ORDER I Please send check or money order to: Toledo Theatrical Productions, 4427 Talmadge Rd., Suite K, Toledo, Ohio 43623 Enclose a stamped, self-addressed envelope I I Please find check or money order enclosed for tickets. Name Address I I ICity State Zip...... Phone......I I. _ _ _ - _ - -_ _ -I., - 9i Chc By LORNA CHEROT The Organization for Tropical -Studies is in'the land business. It rents a 1300 acre jungle tract for $50,000 in the northeastern part of Costa Rica. It has recently acquired a dry forest area, Palo Verde,- in western Costa Rica, where it rains for six consecutive months. But its best purchase was 13 square kilometers in the Rican lowlands, 20 min. Costa from - inch may' take post in cabinet SACRAMENTO, Calif. (R) - California Lt. Gov. Robert H. Finch said yesterday he has de- cided whether he will accept a Cabinet post in President-elect Richard M. Nixon's administra- tion, but "Any announcement will have to come from Nixon." This was an indication that Finch, 43, would take a Cabinet job - probably as Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare - since he earlier said he would make an announcement himself if he decided to stay on as Califor- nia's No. 2 official. "I have personally reached a decision," Finch said in an inter- view. "I still have some other things to do in order to implement that decision." He declined to say what they were. Finch said he would be in New York, the site of Nixon's pre-in- auguration headquarters, on Mon- day, the day when Nixon is ex- pected to begin announcing Cab- inet appointees. He said part of the purpose of his New York trip is to help the Nixon staff screen potential ap- pointees for hundreds of sub-Cab- inet level posts. A longtime close adviser and friend of Nixon's, Finch has been active in helping the President-elect assemble h i s administration. Finch acknowledged that a Cabinet post had been offered. Otherwise, he said, there would be no need to make a decision. He said there had been discussion of another Cabinet job other t h a n HEW, but Finch declined to name the post. THURSDAY and FRIDAY MOROCCO Directed by Joseph von Sternberg Puerto Viejo for one colon (12c)! Stephen B. Preston, executive director of OTS, explained the land purchasing as a part of a program offering grad and doc- torate students an opportunity to do field work in the Tropics of Central America. Field stations are also located in Guatamala, Panama, and Honduras. When asked about the health hazards involved by spending eight weeks in the Tropics, Preston shrugged it aside as the least of the students' worry. Aside from diseases contracted by the bites of venomous snakes, most foreign maladies can be vaccinated against. Preston described the Tropics as the last frontier where new ad- vances can be made in the bio- logical sciences, particularly ma- rine biology. Preston would like to see the organization's work ex- panded so that it can conduct additional studies in new fields. OTS is a consortium of 24 uni- versities created to promote an understanding of tropical environ- ments and their intelligent use by man. It is primarily an educa-! tional organization, working with the University of Costa Rica, of- fering majors in the biological sciences, social sciences, earth and atmospheric sciences, ecology, ge- ography, forestry, conservation, and wildlife fisheries studies a chance to do valuable research in their respective fields. But like similar operations of its magnitude and scope, OTS suffers from a lack of sufficient funds. It presently operates on a $700,000 grant from the Ford Foundation, 600,000 designed to cover a three year span, from the National Science Association, and $2000 from each member in dues. Preston estimated that a 30 per cent annual increase in grants over present allotments would be necessary just to administer its current programs. One-third more in additional Salla Gralla Grooves at Student Book Service 1215 S. University funds over present appropriations would enable the organization to operate comfortably. Attempts are being, made to procure grants from the Rockefeller Foundation, the Carnegie Institute, and in- dustry. But Preston dismissed the idea that OTS would have to ter-f minate its work due to financial difficulties. Competition for admission into the February-March, July-Augusta semesters is very keen and wide- spread. There are applicants from as many as 111 universities. OTS3 encourages foreign students, par- ticularly Latin Americans, to ap- ply. Preston added that womeng are greatly 'welcomed in what is a predominantly male endeavor. There are only openings for 30 students during the winter term, 12 during the spring, and 60 for the summer. Candidates will be chosen by an appointed committee of three faculty members, with Preston making the final decision. All accepted students become elig- ible for financial, assistance either in the form of fellowship grants or government research assistance MON. thru FRI. 7:00. & 9:00. WINNER INTFR NATIONAL AWARDS S M m 4) Ik the association KAPPA6PI ALPHA, presents t. *i FOX EASTERN THEATRES LIMITED FH VILLa"GE ENGAGEMENT 375 No. MAPLE RD.-769-1300 AC ANDS DEMAND POSITIVELY NO ONE UNDER 18 ADMITTED TO THESE THEATRES DURING THE SHOWING OF THIS WILD SOCK-IT-TO-ME MOVIE! KEVIN ::: ~ McCAD1HY. I i -' nrdcuBARBARA McNAl a il FEATURE MON.-FRI--7:15-9:20 FET UE SA .-3:00-5:10-715-920 T MS 5%-1:00-305:10-715-9:2 FOR MATUR E AUDIENCES I Living Theatre comes to Ann Arbor MON., DEC. 9 "Antigone" TUES., DEC. 10 "ysteries& Smaller Pieces" *1 Pf% h '/% 1 S ,:a~~~ I