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October 19, 1983 - Image 5

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The Michigan Daily, 1983-10-19

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ARTS
Wednesday, October 19, 1983

The Michigan Daily

Page 5

'Joe's jitterbug jamboree

By Laura Clark
F' OR VICKI HONEYMAN, the past
has never passed. The 32-year-old
ilm teacher-turned hair stylist knows
e good times of the days gone by can
be experienced at the invitation of
"Would you like to dance?" However,
Honeyman prefers only one dancing
technique if given the chance to turn
back the clock; it's the rock era's own
jitterbug.
Honeyman has danced the jitterbug
since she learned the steps in a
ballroom dancing lesson she took with
her twin brother in 1962.
"At that time, the jitterbug style was
st going out of fashion," recalls
oneyman. Despite the new trends in
the early '60s, Honeyman continued to
twist and swing to the jitterbug at high
school parties in her native'Detroit.
"I always found at least one guy at -a
party who knew how to jitterbug, and if
I didn't find one I'd teach someone who
was willing to learn." said Honeyman.
In June of 1976, Honeyman taught

Jim Kruz the steps to the jitterbug
when she could not find a partner with
the proper dancing experience at a
large party. Much to Honeyman's sur-
prise, Kruz picked up the jitterbug
quickly, and after a few more practice
sessions the two decided they were
destined to be dancing partners.
In the years to follow both Jim and
Vicki were regulars at many of Ann Ar-
bor's local dance bars and showed no
chagrin in displaying their aging dan-
cing technique amongst the disco fans.
Their mutual love for the dance had
others coaxing them for lessons. The
two never seriously considered
teaching jitterbug until Joe Tiboni
opened up Joe's Star Lounge in
February of 1982. Tiboni, owner and
operator of Joe's Star lounge, had seen
Honeyman and Kruz dance together
before and offered his place of business
as a studio where they might teach
others to jitterbug.
Jim and Vicki agreed to the proposal
and organized their first class in the
spring of 1982.

"I decided I wanted a serious and
strict approach to my teaching just as I
had learned ballet," said Honeyman.
But the seriousness of learning how to
jitterbug never interfered with the fun
her students had in the class.
- Every Wednesday for four weeks,
students learn the basic footwork and
turns involved in the jitterbug.
Honeyman feels that teaching the guys
and the girls seperately is essential in
this dancing technique because of the
distinct moves each must perform.
Only until each has perfected their part
can the two dance as a couple.
Not surprisingly, jitterbugging takes
a certain amount of coordination and
sense of rhthym. And Vicki agrees that
the rest is relatively easy if you possess
these two attributes.
For those who have perfected the
basic jitterbugging skills in the begin-
ning class, Jim and Vicki have recently
formed an advanced class where
acrobatic moves such as the famous hip
swing are taught.
"Teaching jitterbug we thought,

would make us hate the dance," says
Honeyman. "But it's really made us
work harder."
The hard work Jim and Vicki have
put forth have paid off as the two have
won the "Fabulous '50s dance contest at
the Michigan State Fair for the past two
years. Last year, Vicki took home
another prize for the Fair's best '50s
costume.
The couple has also appeared in local
fashion shows and recently tried out for
a spot in the popular television dance
show "Dance Fever."
"I think we didn't make the final
selection because of the type of thing
they're looking for. They want a lot of
skin and a lot of flash; we didn't offer
that with the traditional jitterbug."
Honeyman says.
Despite the current trends toward a
more provocative style of dance, Vicki
believes the fascination with the jitter-
but will never die.
"If I hear the right beat in my bones,
I've just got to jitterbug."

Daily Photo by SCOTT ZOLTON
Jim Kruz and Vicki Honeyman do the swing thing at Joe's.

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Oingo Boingo attempts to
achieve a bouncy balance

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By Melissia Bryan
OINGO BOINGO, the California pop
band brings its three ring circus
to the Second Chance Wednesday, Oc-
tober 19th. Just what they will be
doing or the theme for the evening is
anyone's guess.
Once a street performing group,
Oingo Boingo has been working and
redefining their act for the past 10
years. Although their lead singer and
founder, Danny Elfman would insist
that they have always concentrated on
their music, critics would beg to differ.
At the height of their histrionics, the
theater troupe found itself performing
2 hour performances with
multitudinous costume and set
changes. Oingo Boingo has since scaled
down their act and the number of band
members.

Their music does not have the same
allure as their dancing and
theatrics-their tunes are rather flat
and unimaginative and justify why
their records have never made the
charts. They have achieved moderate
recognition in teenage New Wave cir-
cles and this minor success led to their
contract with A&M records.
Although their records go unrec-

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SAT. 9 A.M.-7 P.M.
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commended, their performances are
widely recognized as predictibly un-
predictable and very energetic. The
stage should be a little bit crowded with
all eight members jumping around, but
it should be silly and fun.
If you want a bit of fluffo entertain-
ment, light hearted and all that, then
walk, don't run to the Second Chance on
Wednesday.

Oingo Boingo will jump into the thick of it tonight at the Second Chance.

Jim Post

cleans and

polishes

By Deborah Robinson
W HEN JIM POST played at
the Ark this last weekend, it was
no place for sissy-fairy-worms-but it
~~s a heck of a good time.
I first heard Post when he played The
Ark three years ago. At the time, he
was very amusing, but his frequent
sexist comments curtailed any further
interest I had in hearing him. Three
years later, another chance. He opened
the show by saying, "Now that the
church doesn't run The Ark, I'm going
to do any X-rated show." Gulp.
But I was delighted. What followed
was a thorough exposure of the singer-
ngwriter on stage, without any
ferences to women's body parts. And

he bared himself without shedding a
stit ch.
Post is a rude and randy songster who
loves to perform. He loves life, and
whether he is singing "1 Love My Life,"
"Ripple" by The Grateful Dead, of
"Mambo Man," that sentiment is
strongly communicated.
Many of his songs show a strong
social, ecological and political correc-
tness. In "Brain Damage," a Post
classic, he criticizes DDT, nukes, and
war taxes while questioning the effect
of LSD on the brain. The song was
more a skit than just a song. Post is a
master of sound effects and gesture -
he rolls his eyes with a particularly
angelic effect.
The show was a conglomeration of
monologue, song and drama, with
facile and frequent mood changes. He

did a brilliant Gilbert and Sullivan
imitation, and as good a caricature of
Bob Dylan. His voice has similarities to
Dylan's-an intense soft tenor but
without the broken croaking quality.
His guitar work is not spectacular; it is
laboriously executed at times, but
complements the vocals well.
Cartoons and video will be Post's
next media attempts. Somebody out in
Iowa has been inspired to put "African
Honeymoon," "Wind Dance," and
"Teardrops on the Moon" on magnetic
tape. Watch out MTV!
Jim, thanks for cleaning up your act.
Now please go home and kill your pet.
He has the perfect musicians pet. It
doesn't need much care. It's green,
grows on the shower wall, tastes great
after blending, and is high in clorophyll.

AN EVENING WITI
THE Jim Morrison &
d
Featuring Two Unforgettable Hours Of Rare and Exciting
Film Footage of JIM MORRISON and THE DOORS!

H

Jim Post
... eats his Wheaties

Triumphant'Children'learn to communicate

By Joseph Kraus
IGN LANGUAGE?
In a Tony award winner?
Children of a Lesser God, the 1980
Tony award-winning play about a
young woman who has a hearing
disability, will actually feature several
hearing impared actors who will com-
municate in American Sign Language
(ASL).
The play, produced by the Common
Ground Theater Ensemble and Canter-
bury Loft, deals with the story of Sara,
0 hearing impaired woman. Sara must
some to terms with a world more in-
Merested in "helping" her to become
what they want, rather than in accepting
her as she is. She refuses to learn to
speak, preferring to communicate in
ASL, and must defend this decision in
the face of society. "What she is
fighting is the myth of the melting pot;
we will not all be the same," said direc-
tor Elise Bryant.
The Common Ground Theater En-

a series of workshops entitled,
"Theater for a Barrier Free Society,"
which instruct hearing impaired in-
dividuals in acting and staging of plays.
Proceeds from the production of
Children of a Lesser God will go towar-
d: continuing these workshops.
In accord with playwrite Mark

Medoff's wishes, the play does incor-
porate ASL throughout and interprets it
for the hearing audience. The featuring
of hearing impaired actors is unique in
the Ann Arbor area for any company,
although Children has been performed
similarly elsewhere.
Children of a Lesser God opens Oc-

tober 20 and runs through the 23rd at.
Lydia Mendelsson Theater. Tickets are
available for all shows at the Michigan
Union and all CTC outlets. Prices for
the Thursday and Sunday performan-
ces are $4.00 and all others are $5.00.
For group ticket information call 662-
8872.

JOIN

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