What the Fleck is going on? Bela Fleck brings his marvelous Flecktones to the Hill Auditorium tonight for an evening of experimental bluegrass/jazz fusion madness. 7:30 p.m. WEDNESDAY rnichigandaily.comn/arts AN XFBRUARY 21, 20018 From BSB to Becker: A who's who guide to this year's Grammys By Chris Kula categories is guessing the winners of and Christian Hoard the real ones, us two yahoos hereby Daily Arts Writers offer up our picks for the lucky few who'll get to drag home one of those What's the deal with the Grammys? I stupid statues. mean, come on, could they have more Record of the Year: "Say My Name," categories? I mean, "Best Vocal Destiny's Child; "I Try," Macy Gray; Peformance by a Lebanese Barbershop "Music," Madonna; "Bye Bye Bye, 'N Quartert?" And why are they still nom- Sync; "Beautiful Day," U2 inating records that came out in the Who'll win: "Music," Madonna. '90s? Who are Why? Because the Academy loves older these people, and artists who reinvent themselves late in why can't they their career (see: Carlos Santana). Also: afford new The cowboy hat. Grammy records? Album of the Year: Midnite Vultures, Awards And what's Beck; The Marshall Mathers LP with that statue? Eminem; Kid A, Radiohead; You're the CBS What is that, one One, Paul Simon; Two Against Nature, Tonight at 8 p.m. of those old- Steely Dan school hearing- Who'll win: You're the One, Paul aids? And what's Simon. Why? See above. Also: Old the deal with the white people in charge of stuff love Paul "best record" Simon. category, any- Best Group/Duo Performance with a way? Who lis- Vocal: "Show Me the Meaning of tens to records? Being Lonely," Backstreet Boys; "Pinch Who are these people? Me," Barenaked Ladies; "Breathless," Next thing you know, there'll be a The Corrs; "Bye Bye Bye," 'NSync; "best 8-track" category! And what's "Cousin Dupree," Steely Dan with all of these dinosaurs being nomi- Who'll win: "Cousin Dupree," Steely nated? I mean, Steely Dan are sitting Dan. Why? See above. Also: Walter around their living room, reading their Becker and Donald Fagan were the Burroughs novels, and suddenly they're Justin Timberlake and J.C. Chasez of on.camera. And Fagan's all, "We won a smarmy, NYC-based jazz-pop move- Grammy? Did we release something ment of the early '70s, and they've only last year?" And Becker's like, "What's gotten catchier with age. the deal with that?" Best Female Pop Vocal Performance: I know, what is the deal with that? "What a Girl Wants," Christina Indeed, very little about the Grammy Aguilera; "I Try," Macy Gray; "Music," Awards makes sense. From the ill- Madonna; "Save Me," Aimee Mann; defined eligibility requirements "Both Sides Now," Joni Mitchell; (Backstreet Boys' Millennium was so "Oops! ... I Did It Again," Britney Spring of '99, yo) to the inexplicable Spears nominations (Backstreet's "Show Me Who'll win: "I Try," Macy Gray. the Meaning of Being Lonely" instead Why? Because Macy Gray is a black of Backstreet's "I Want it That Way"?) woman all white people in charge of to the unspoken rule about having to stuff can agree on. ,sell at least a million copies to be nom- Best Male Pop Vocal Performance: inated for one of the major categories "You Sang to Me," Marc Anthony; (see: Backstreet Boys), you'd think any "Taking You Home," Don Henley; "She yahoo off the street could do a better Bangs," Ricky Martin; "6, 8, 12," Brian job drawing up categories and picking McKnight; "She Walks This Earth nominees. (Soberana Rosa)," Sting But since the only Grammy-related Who'll win: None. Why? No one's a activity more fun than drawing up mock winner when the nominees include a I ______ q Preljocaj questions art through intense dance By Charity Atchison Daily Arts Wiet France's Ballet Preljocaj will pre- sent its work "Paysage apres la Bataille" in its ' 3 Musical Society debut. Angelin Ballet Preljocaj found- Preljocaj ed ballet Preljocaj in Power Caster 1984. The Tonight at 8 p.m. troupe of 24 dancers has ,< gained fame S p erforming intense chore- ography. "Pay sage apres la Bataille (Landscape after the Battle)" is Preljocaj's interpretation of the battle between the instinctive forces and the intellectual in the cre- ative process. The piece asks the question of how much of art is intel- ligence, and how much is instinct. The opening scenes of the piece begin with couples dancing inter- rupted by men knocking their part- ners around. This theme of violence is tain reneated when the eonles threaten each other with' guns. Audience members may be shocked in a scene involving a woman who a the object of offerings from. t man objects. However the center of the piece is musical chairs. Six: .hen and three chairs play the game. Ballet is to be taken in the sense of dance in the company's name. Ballet Preljocaj's style is more modern than balletic. Preijocaj abandons the idea of star dancers; rather, he puts ,high physical demands on all the dancers. Preljocaj's concern is with inner feelings, "especially thosetat people cannot acknowledge to them- selves," said Anna Kisselgoff of-the New York Times. Preljocaj studied ballet, but found difficult adhering to the proscribed technique of the style. Preljocaj danced with American choreographer Merce Cunningham, which started his learning process of contemporary dance. Preljocaj has choreographed 20 works, 12 of which are present in company's repertoire. He became first Frenchman to set work for the New York City Ballet in 1997. This highly sought after choreographer is known for his high-energy work that is honest yet beautiful, and glam- orous while subversive. Courtesy of Warner Bros, capitol Records, Uni/Dgc Records and Uni/interscope Records, Who will take home a Grammy for "Album of the Year?" Steely Dan's Two Against Nature, Eminem's The Marshall Mathers LP, Beck's Midnite Vultures, Radiohead's Kid A or Paul Simon's You're the One. Don Henley solo effort that's not "Boys of the Summer," a Sting tune that no one's actually heard before and any Ricky Martin song. Best Dance Performance: "Who Let the Dogs Out," Baha Men; "Blue (Da Ba Dee)," Eiffel 65; "Be With You," Enrique Iglesias; "Let's Get Loud," Jennifer Lopez; "Natural Blues," Moby Who'll win: "Natural Blues," Moby. Why? Because voters liked the "Natural Blues" Volvo ad way more than the "Who Let the Dogs Out" trailer for"102 Dalmatians." Best Rock Performance Group/Duo with a Vocal: "It's My Life," Bon Jovi; "With Arms Wide Open," Creed; "Learn to Fly," Foo Fighters; "Californication," Red Hot Chili Peppers; "Beautiful Day," U2 Who'll win: "Beautiful Day," U2 Why? Because Bon Jovi is too pretty, Creed is too earnest, Foo Fighters are too tongue-in-cheek, the Chili Peppers are too tattooed and tract-marked and U2 are just that old. Best Female R&B Vocal Performance: "Try Again," Aaliyah; "Bag Lady," Erykah Badu; "He Wasn't Man Enough," Toni Braxton; "As We Lay," Kelly Price; "Gettin' in the Way," Jill Scott Who'll win: "He Wasn't Man Enough," Toni Braxton. Why? Because she was "Toni" in Tony Toni Tone, right? Best Male R&B Vocal Performance: "Untitled (How Does It Feel)," D'Angelo; "I Wanna Know," Joe; "I Wish," R.Kelly; "Stay or Let it Go," Brian McKnight; "Thong Song," Sisqo Who'll win: "I Wish," R. Kelly. Why? Struck a chord with voters who also "wish" they had D'Angelo's abs. Best Rap Solo Performance: "The Light," Common; "Party Up," DMX; "The Real Slim Shady," Eminem; "Shake Ya Ass," Mystikal; "Country Grammar" Nelly Who'll win: "Country Grammar," Nelly. Why? Because no one from St. Louis has won anything big since Ozzie somersaulted all over the Royals in '85. Best Rap Album: ... And Then There Was X, DMX; Dr Dre 2001, Dr. Dre; The Marshall Mathers LP, Eminem; Vol. 3 ... Life and Times of S.Carter, Jay- Z; Country Grammar Nelly Who'll win: The Marshall Mathers LP, Eminem. Why? "Because, you know, I don't think it was the best album of the year, but it was the best rap album of the year." The dancers of Ballet Preljocaj show the interrelated nature of sex and violence. Sphinx offers opportunities to minority musicians a OCR Attention CHORAL SINQERS You are invited to OPEN REHEARSALS of the BeTlioz REQUIEM with the University Musical Society Choral Union I The UMS Choral Union wants you! Singers are invited to get acquainted with the 125-voice Choral Union and conductor Thomas Sheets by attending open rehearsals of Berlioz's monu- mental Requiem, which the chorus will perform on April 22 in Ann Arbor's famed Hill Auditorium. On two Monday evenings, February 26 and March 5, interested singers may rehearse with the Choral Union-scores will be pro- vided, along with information about our singer-friendly auditions and exciting 2001-2002 season, including performances with the San Francisco/Detroit Symphony Orchestras. Rehearsals are held in the U-M Modern Language Building, Auditorium #4, from 7-9:30 p.m. Let us know you're coming by calling our office at 734.763.8997. Visit our web site at www.ums.org, or email kio@umich.edu By Jim Schiff Daily Fae/Performing ArtstFditor Classical music has long been associat- ed with a predominantly white, older, upper-class cul- ture. String instru- ments, in particu- lar, are likely to Texaco- bring an air of Sphinx unfamiliarity and Competition awkwardness to young African- Hill Auditorium American and Friday at Noon Latino talent. The 4th Annual Texaco-Sphinx competition chal- lenges this founda- tion, and offers a wealth of opportu- nities for African-American and Latino string players, both in performance and in their lives. For this year's events, the Texaco Foundation joined the Sphinx Competition as the program's presenter, pledging a three-year, $300,000 grant. The name "Sphinx," has a multi-faceted meaning, as it pertains not only to the image of the large cats that the ancient Egyptians revered, but also to the mysteri- ous construction of music. The Egyptian Sphinx was known to represent wisdom, patience, and awareness, all qualities that the competition's participants possess. Sphinx is designed for junior and senior high school students, up through college-level African-American and Latino students. Over 10,000 educators, performers and administrators are sent competition information, and each partic- ipant submits an audition tape with a piece by a minority composer. Though the number of competitors varies from year to year, 18 semi-finalists are selected to par- ticipate in the semi-finals and finals round. The junior age division consists of musicians under 18, and the senior divi- sion includes those from 18 to 26. Each semi-finalist also has access to the Sphinx instrument fund, which provides high- quality modern instruments that they can use for a year after the competition ends. Friday's concert at Hill Auditorium will feature the three finalists in the junior division, as well as the Sphinx Symphony, the all African-American and Latino orchestra comprised of professional musi- cians throughout the United States. Conductor Anthony Elliott, awell-regard- ed African-American cellist and compos- er, will lead the orchestra. Their perfor- mance includes the Overture "Of New Horizons," by Ulysses Kay, who is also an African-American composer. The first place junior winner will receive $5,000 in prize money, as well as full scholarships to prestigious music camps and acade- mies across the country, including Aspen, Encore, Musicorda and Interlochen. What's perhas even a greater reward,_ courtesyof TexacoShsixComp t 'n 2000 Jr. Division winner, Jared Synd however, is the opportunity for tfese young winners to broadcast a message of hope to other musicians like them. The junior division winner, for istance, will travel to Borders bookstores aro tidhe country to show that there is alte a large minority involvement in cl cal music, and to encourage others to pactlei- pate. One of the goals of Sphinx fmtner and Executive Director Aaron Dwork~ is just this. Dworkin said that the first st '"o achieving this goal is to "break (n these perceptions that it is inaccessible, that it really doesn't pertain to minority experieres." Sphinx reaches into individual commu- nities by showcasing the finalists with orchestras across the U.S., includingthe Boston, New World and Detroit Symphony Orchestras. Additionally, the "musical encounters" program allows the winner to go into urban, innery schools, and perform a classical piece, often spi itual, that the kids can relate to. Target stores across the country alsopro- vide support as public sponsors. For Dworkin, the Sphinx Comnpot ton is a labor of love, a day-to-day effort'that is a constant source of inspiration. "Literally every day is a joy for me, because I get to work with what I love to do," Dworkin said. "I love to be around ... their energy, their excitement about what they're doing, and ultimately he . them play." Still only in its fourth year, Dworkin also hopes that Sphinx will evolveVand grow beyond what it has already achieved. "We certainly have a lot of work to -o," Dworkin said. "To really have a lasting impact, our mission will take some tine." The competition will culminate in senior division finals concert, which;will take place at Orchestra Hall in Detro n February 25th at 3:00 p.m. Ticketse available at (313) 576-5111.