I
Lynch Mob...
Come to a free screening of David
Lynch's "Mulholland Drive" tonight
at the State Theater. 7:30. Tickets
available at The Michigan Daily.
michigandaily. com/arts
TSdgu mg gi
WEDNESDAY
OCTOBER 17, 2001
Chunky Move to
bring captivating
,dvoyage of dance
Dual Booker Prize winner
Coetzee to read on campus
By Ryan Blay
Daily Arts Writer
He is the only author ever to win
By Shannon O'Sullivan
Daily Arts Writer
In a dance for a dance's sake,
Australia's most daring and individ-
Chunky
Move
Power Center
Saturday at 8 p.m.
technical works.
ualistic
porary
troupe,
Move,i
contem-
dance
Chunky
is dedi-
cated to both
inspiring and
communicating
to audiences.
Along with
black humor,
eclectic and
erotic content
matter and
form, Chunky-
Move will per-
form two new
and wildly
"Crumnled" and
"Corrupted 2," at the Power Center
on Saturday.
With goals of taking audiences on
a physical and psychological, mind
captivating voyage, director Gideon
Obarzanek redefines the typical
exchange between dancers and the
audience. As one of Australia's
leading choreographers, Obarzanek
certainly lives up to his trademark
combination of theatricality, intense
choreography, and technicality with
a hard-hitting industrial soundtrack
that sends electricity through the
performers, resulting in deliberately
awkward gestures and solos that
twist in and out of each other.
Committed to maximizing cre-
ative outcomes, as well as creating
audacious dance works that go
beyond existing choreographic
forms, Chunky Move's "Crumpled"
is a structural niece that revolves
C~ourtesy 0f Chiunky Move
Choreographer Gideon Obarzanek.
around the notion of being viewed
or not, as dancers are propelled and
turned off by the opening and drop-
ping of the curtain. The constant
exchange that is developed with the
audience fulfills Chunky Move's
artistic statement, in that it creates a
dynamic fusion between high art
and popular culture.
"Corrupted 2" takes a different
spin, creating a manifestation of
corruption with the point of take off
being a digital premise. Bodies flip-
ping in awkward sharp directions to
a dominating revolving static
screen, suggesting the results of
data overload. Additionally, the
dancers twist into deliberately
unnatural ways, which creates at the
same time striking beautiful
images, carrying implications for
the loss of human innocence. Wear-
ing see-through plastic wraps, the
performers' sporadic patterns com-
bine with flashing lights and
smoke, making this techno-ridden
performance a journey to techno-
logical hell.
"Perverse, erotic, sick, and beau-
tiful" are the words Obarzanek uses
to describe his new inconclusive
work. Yet this hard-core, diamond-
ridged dancing dares audiences to
be taken on a whirlwind journey to
the next contemporary level.
J.M.
Coetzee
Art & Architecture
Building
Tomorrow at 5 p.m.
two Booker
Prizes (the
highest British
l i t e r a r y
award). His
eighth work,
"Disgrace,"
has met with
as much criti-
cal success as
his previous
enterprises.
After penning
such works as
"Foe" and
"Life and
Times of
was awarded a
at the University
Michael K," he
chair of literature;
of Cape Town in his native South
Africa. And now he's coming to
read at the University of Michigan
this Thursday.
J.M. Coetzee, one of the biggest
names in fiction to take part in the
English Department's Visiting
Writers series, has spent years
challenging readers and creating
invigorating literature.
Coetzee was born in Cape Town
in 1940. After receiving his Ph.D.
from the University of Texas, he
returned to South Africa to teach.
He spent two weeks at Stanford as
a distinguished visitor several
years ago, and has had numerous
other prizes and awards bestowed
upon him, among them the Lannan
Award for Fiction, the CNA Prize
(South Africa's premier award for
literature), the Jerusalem Prize and
the Irish Times International Fic-
tion Prize.
Coetzee's novels never fail to
amaze. In his first work, "Dusk-
lands," he contrasted Americans in
Vietnam, and the early Dutch set-
tlers of South Africa. In "Waiting
For the Barbarians," Coetzee
exposed the brutal human condi-
tion, again using his native land as
a backdrop.
"Disgrace," the focus of the
reading, involves a professor of
languages in Cape Town. In his
mid-50s, Professor David Lurie
sees his personal life crumble and
his academic career path remain
stagnant. When Lurie seduces a
student, his behavior comes into
the public eye. Coetzee has suc-
ceeded again in blending masterful
use of language with entertaining
storytelling.
Courtesy of Penguin
J.M., the man behind the beard.
The New Yorker has said, "what
seems striking about it, right from
the start, is its almost unnatural
sense of poise..." This succinctly
describes many of Coetzee's
works, which are challenging with-
out being tedious, and hard to put
down. Another trademark is the
sheer bleakness of the work., Many
leading critics here in the United
States have come to associate
Coetzee with bleak as they have
linked Stephen King with horror.
In a rare, free public reading
here, Coetzee is sure to be an able
speaker, and the reading from his
latest work should be intriguing.
j. Ni.
C OETZE
The longer you look at this picture, the more you see.
Chemistry between characters make
'Ed'
an irresistable, heartwarming hit
By Christian Smith
Daily Arts Writer
At the end of last year, fans of
the NBC dramedy "Ed" received
quite a surprise at the end of the
freshman show's season finale. The
long-awaited kiss between Ed
Stevens and
Carol Vessey
was finally
about to hap-
Ed pen, only to be
interrupted by
the return of
NBC Ed's former
Tonight at 8 p.m. flame, that doe-
eyed vixen
Bonnie Hayne.
\ . But viewers
would have to
wait until Octo-
ber to see what
would ensue.
They got a real treat last week,
when the season premiere of "Ed"
arrived one week early to accom-
modate the shifting s'chedule of
"The West Wing."
Last spring's cliffhanger ending
would be difficult to outdo, but
"Ed" got off to a flying start, pick-
ing up right where it left off. As the
inconsistent "West Wing" and
quickly fading "Law & Order" wal-
lowed in their mediocrity, last
week's season'premiere of "Ed"
stole the show right out from under
NBC's Wednesday night one-two
punch.
Beginning with Ed, Carol and
Bonnie's hilariously awkward love-
triangle, and concluding with a
touching moment of consolation,
we can see why the story of Ed
Stevens turned out to be one of last
year's most enjoyable new TV
arrivals. Unlike most shows,
"Northern Exposure" comparisons
be damned, "Ed" mixes just the
right amount of clever comedy and
heartfelt emotion to stay consistent-
ly fresh and funny.
Written and created by "Late
Show with David Letterman" pro-
ducers Jon Beckerman and Rob
Burnett, the show tells the story of
Ed Stevens, a big-city lawyer
returning to his hometown of
Stuckeyville, Ohio, to pursue the
girl of his dreams. On an impulse.
Ed buys the local bowling alley,
remarkably likeable andtalented
cast features Julie Bowen ("Happy
Gilmore") as Ed's focus of affec-
tion, the smart and beautiful Carol,
"Spy TV's" Michael Ian Hall as
sardonic and effervescent Stuckey-
bowl manager Phil Stubbs, and
Josh Randall as Ed's low-key best
friend, Mike.
Most notable are the youthful
efforts of scene-stealing Justin
Long as high-school student War-
ren Cheswick. Long impeccably
showcases Warren's socially inept
behavior and nervous desperation
with an assortment of awkward
chuckles and gasps. Somehow
through his misbegotten schemes
and foibles, he maintains an air of
charming appeal, and often reminds
Ed of a younger version of himself.
What truly makes "Ed" so engag-
ing is the razor-sharp chemistry of
its centerpieces, Ed and Carol. The
will-they-or-won't-they tension is
always apparent, whether it is lin-
gering on the backburner, or is the,
focus of the episode, as was the
case last week. While it is difficult
to root against Rena Sofer's Bonnie,
as she inexplicably gets hotter every
time she's on screen, we know that
Carol is truly the one Ed wants.
Apparently, in the world of Stuck-
eyville, it is possible for two gor-
geous women to pine after a regular
guy like Ed. But this isn't exactly
"Survivor", and realism isn't exact-
ly "Ed's" specialty. Its understated
focus on themes of love and friend-
ship are the reason this show is so
endearing.
With wit, warmth and intelli-
gence, it taps into a range of emo-
tions, while proving there is still a
place for fun, cheerful entertain-
ment on television today. While it
may not yet be a runaway ratings
smash, "Ed" had already won our
hearts.
Courtesy of NBC
GLOBAL
PERSPECTIVE
"Ed" brings the excitement back into bowling.
"That's what you'll find at New England School of Law. Our
international law courses continue to expand in areas such as
human rights, international organizations, environmental law
and international business transactions. We offer the unique
War Crimes Prosecution Project, an international law clinic,
L,
and conferences through our Center for International Law and Policy. We've even
pioneered a program incorporating international law components
into domestic law courses. We're looking
to the future of our students
-Michael Scharf Professor
Director, Centerfor International Law & Policy
Chairman, Board of Directors,
Im. F,.,w..F. r 7 r. '. . i>rn... 1}. ni* .J l
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