Page 40 - The Michigan Daily - Friday, January 30, 1987
Festival serves up talent
(Continued from Page 7)
Angeles based rock band, he had
some minor rock hits and won a
bunch of critical acclaim, but then
gave it all up in favor of a career as
a singer-songwriter.
His new album on Geffen
Records, Peter Case, features such
well-known rock and folk-rock
veterans as Roger McGuinn, John
Hiatt, and T-Bone Burnette, and
seems to suggest a new, higher-tech
approach to the singer-songwriter
tradition. He says this is his first
folk festival, so just what his set
will sound like is a mystery.
Uncle Bonsai is a trio of clever
songwriters whose aim is to poke
fun at contemporary society.
Known for their witty banter, they
represent a new strain of folk
musicians who mock the wrongs of
society rather than protest them.
Their most notorious song is called
"Penis Envy."
Sally Rogers is a quiet
interpreter of songs from New
England. Working with her husband
Howard Bursen, she's made a string
of albums for Flying Fish Records
that have slowly earned her a
widening audience. A fairly regular
guest at the Ark, she is an example
of a newer act sitting comforatbly
in the folk tradition.
Elizabeth Cotten, indisputably a
living legend, wrote the classic
"Freight Train" over half a century
ago and hasn't stopped since.
Cotten, now in her 90s, is easily
the oldest performer ever to play the
Ann Arbor festival. She has been
performing for almost 70 years, all
the while proving that good music
never goes out of style.
Siglin notes that even ten years
ago promoters had a tendency to
bill her shows with claims that it
might be the last chance to see her.
Since she's still going strong,
Siglin advises saying, "She'll be
better now than she will be if you
wait ten years to see her." Billed as
a special guest, Cotten will do an
abbreviated set.
Dick Seigal may well be Ann
Arbor's- finest songwriter. In
keeping with a festival tradition, he
represents the local scene, but he's
sure to hold his own.
First making a name with his
band the Rhythm Kings in the early
'80s, he currently plays with Ann
Arbor's Tracy Lee and the Leonards.
As a solo acoustic performer he
plays his own "What Would Brando
Do?" "When the Sumac is on Fire,"
and "Angelo's," about the restaurant
on Catherine Street.
And finally, this year's master of
ceremonies will be Owen McBride.
Tickets are still available for the
Tenth Annual Folk Festival at the
Union, Herb David's, Schoolkid' s,
and the door for $13.50. The show
begins at 6 p.m. and is sure to go
on and on.
,CENTER FOR
WESTERN EUROPEAN STUDIES
APPLICATIONS are now available for the
following Study Abroad Programs:
Academic Year Programs:
British Programs: Cambridge, Essex,
London School of Economics,
St. Andrews, and York.
Florence, Italy.
Spring Programs:
Florence, Italy (Language)
Paris, France.
Summer Programs:
Florence, Italy
London, England
Salamanca, Spain (Language)
Tours, France (Language).
Relax with non-credit
Art Classes
at the Michigan Union through the
Michigan Guild of Artists and Artisans
Artspace program.
This is the last week to enroll for the following classes:
Linda Spriggs, Andrea Lynne Balliette, and Jean McGregor-Wiles (left to right) will be featured in
the University Dance Department's production 'MAD for Art.'
'MAD' about dancing
v.
\'
:
* Photography
* Painting
* Drawing
* Printmaking
* Jewelry
* Ceramics
* Sculpture
* Graphics
* Interior Decorating
* Weaving
ISN'T
ALWAYS
THE BEST
Birth defects are
our nation's number
one child health
problem. You can
help prevent them.
Support the
March of Dimes
BIRTH DEFECTS FOUNDATION
By Jose-Arturo Martinez
The title may throw you a little,
but don't let it. The concert is titled
Mad for Art, and it promises the
usual vaiety that you come to
expect at a University dance
department concert. This time,
however, things may be a bit more
different than you expect.
Animated energy, enthusiasm,
and Buddhist philosophy are the key
words to keep in mind when
speaking with graduate student
Linda Spriggs, a featured performer
in tonight's concert. Buddhism is a
part of Spriggs' life, and her
enthusiasm for it overflows in her
conversation and speaks volumes in
her dance.
Spriggs is from Atlanta, where
she was raised in an environment
she describes as, "middle class
Black America." She moved to New
York in 1973 to begin her
undergraduate study at Julliard and
after graduation joined the Alvin
Ailey Dance Company, where she
became a soloist.
"Ailey is what every black
dancer in New York aspires to,"
Spriggs says, "but even after
supposedly having everything, I
still wasn't happy."
It was at about this time that
friends in the company introduced
her to Buddhism. The attraction
wasn't immediate, but over time
she found herself more and more
interested in the religion.
Spriggs danced with Ailey with
for three years and toured with the
Company around the world. She
had a son in January of 1982, and
through her mother's intervention
met University Dance Department
chairman David Gregory. By 1984
she was enrolled and pursuing her
Master's Degree.
In her dance, tentatively titled
"Under the Bodai Tree," Spriggs has
incorporated selected terms and
concepts of Nichiren Shoshu
Buddhist philosophy. She uses the
characters of 'Lenge,' a
philosophical and metaphorical
interpretation of the Chinese
character 'Renge,'- which means
literally, lotus blossom - in her
choreography.
The dance is biographical in the
sense that Spriggs says her own life
"started with all the bullshit that
people must strive against before
they can reach their potential." She
continued, "A Lotus Blossum
grows in a swamp and only when it
has grown past its fetid
environment does it flower."
The set design for the concert is
by University Professor of
Architecture Robert Henry and the
music by "New Age" composer
John Kaisan Neptune, as well as
University doctoral candidate Joe
Lukasic.
Lynn Balliette has composed
two separate works for the concert
entitled, "Ode to Columbus,
Children and Other Great
Explorers," and "Passage of Time."
"Ode" is a light-hearted work for six
dancers that is in four parts based
on themes of discovery and
exploration.
Balliette's group piece will
feature Diane Peterson and Robert
Sorce in a romantic offbeat duet
that focuses in on how two people
discover each other, with all its
requisite give and take of emotion
and tentativeness that you have
when you meet someone new.
Shoshonna Hellerstein dances in a
solo work based on self discovery
and soul searching that emphasizes
the large amount of unmapped
territory within us, Balliette said.
In her solo work, "Passage,"
Balliette takes a look at people's
attempts to relate to each other. A
major component of the dance is a
piece of fabric designed by textile
artist Julie Lombard, which
symbolizes the barriers people put
up that can foil all attempts. at
intimacy.
The idea is that people can
identify with the characters in the
dance, said Balliette. The themes of
intimacy and conflict are universal
enough that everyone can
understand them. Geoff Stantonm; a
doctoral student at the Schoolof
Music, collaborated on the music
for the dance.
"Dancing with Birds and Fishes"
is the solo work by Jean
McGregor-Wiles. McGregor-Wiles
takes her inspiration from surrealist
painter Dorothea Tanning. The
painting, Les Petites Announces
Foites a Marie, contains images of
birds and fish against a sky
background with the creatures
merging into each other.
McGregor-Wiles explains,"I
chose surrealistic art as my
inspiration because it usually lends
a sense of movement that is more
than what you can readily see." She
continued, "Certain people really
connect with me." Tanning's
painting did just that.
McGregor-Wiles' group piece,
"Eighty Seven Suite," is a co
laboration with University
composer Mathew Levy. The dance
has a jazzy feel with music
composed for piano, saxophone,
and synthesizer.
Performances of MAD FOR
ART are scheduled for tonight and
tomorrow night at 8 p.m. at the
Music School's Mcintosh Theatre.
General admission is $3.00 and
tickets are available in advance at
the Dance Department, 1310 N.
University Court, and at the door.
For more information call 763-
5460.
D-
Support the
March of Dimes
BIRTH DEFECTS FOUNDATION
For brochure stop by the Michigan Union's CIC Desk or
Ticket Office or call the Michigan Guild at 662-3382.
wordprucessiug I
CARRY FREE
OUT DELIVERY
MAIN CAMPUS PZa NORTH CAMPUS
665-6005 995-9101
FULL SICILIAN
FULL SICILIAN
W/ 2 Items & 2 Pepsis
12"x 18" WEM W
One Coupon Per Person
Not Accepted at
William St. Restaurant
or Dinte-in at
The Cottage Inn Cafe
EXPIRES Feb. 6, 1987
I
I
LSA - STUDENT GOVERNMENT
Drop by the
Academic Resource Center
Room 219
Undergraduate Library
Monday - Friday
1 - 5p.m.
Wdal h a n enleyn
i I u
LSA - Student Government consists of a 17 member executive
council elected by LSA Students every November. On your behalf,
LSA Student Government lobbies the Administration, supports
student groups, sponsors educational seminars, works to inform
students of their rights, and appoints students to positions in several
LSA committees. LSA-SG's funds of approximately $16,000 per year
come from the tuition payments of the LSA students. The effective