`Guero` barely stays afloat Alpha Psi pursues greatness in dance

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Friday, April 22, 2005
Alpha Psi pursues
greatness in dance
By Bill Greenwood
and Nicole Southern
The Alpha Psi Omega dance concert
is the show that senior Jaime Parker was
born to direct. After starting ballet lessons at the age of two-and-a-half, Parker
became a dance minor at Rider and participated in the concert each and every
year she has been a student. Finally, it was
time for her to take the reins.
“I feel that, with my dance experience, I was ready to take it on,” said
Parker. “Dance concert has always been
one of my favorite shows to perform in.
So, I was really excited getting the opportunity to direct.”
Parker and co-director senior Jennifer
Pagano have been busy ever since. The
two have been choreographing a succession of dances united by the concert’s
common theme, “In Pursuit of.” While
several of these numbers are quite serious
in nature, the show is more well-known
for its comedic aspects.
“We’ve [done] a lot of serious shows
this semester so it’s fun to do something
that’s light hearted,” Parker said. “The
entire show’s not light hearted, but you
can have a balance between having a
dance that’s really fun and goofy and having a dance that’s really serious.”
Each individual dance is unique, but
most of them are fun and convey a good
message, according to junior Harmony
Liff, one of the show’s performers.
“I think that all of the dances are great
and really different,” said Liff. “I’m excited
about the whole thing all together.”
Parker and Pagano aren’t the only
ones choreographing dances for the concert, however. According to Parker, several
numbers are being put together by some
of the cast members themselves.
“We have a lot of choreographers this
year,” she said. “There are some freshman choreographers. ‘In Pursuit of the
Flag’ is kind of a Halo-themed dance. It’s
being choreographed by [juniors] Luke
Klein and Matt Cook, our Alpha Psi Halo
experts.”
Klein is excited to have the chance to
design a dance routine for the concert.
“It was a lot of fun,” said Klein. “You
get to put all of your insight into what
happens on stage just knowing that hundreds of people are going to see it.”
According to Klein, his Halo dance
will involve the concert’s full cast.
“There will be nine dancers on the red
team and nine dancers on the blue team, “
said Klein. “It’s kind of like a capture-theflag kind of dance.”
Whether choreographing or dancing,
all the participants in the dance concert
have put in great time and effort to ensure
that it is a success.
“It takes up a good amount of time,
‘Guero’ barely stays afloat
By Maureen Zahn
In the grand spectrum of Beck albums,
Guero picks up where Odelay left off and,
in true Beck fashion, it is fun to listen to.
There is only one problem—Beck doesn’t
do anything terribly exciting.
Guero gets off to a good start with its
first three tracks. The first single, “E-Pro,”
is already dominating the radio waves.
It’s a bouncy song with an electric-guitar
crunch to which you can’t help but dance
along. Next is “Que Onda Guero,” which
manages to successfully mix hip hop beats
with Spanish lyrics. After that comes
“Girl,” which is a typical Beck-sounding
song that continues the up-beat theme.
Sadly, the album goes nowhere after
that. The happy feeling that says, “Beck
is back!” is undone by the middle section of the album. The five tracks that
follow “Girl” are boring, to say the least.
“Missing” is worth missing. The only
Photo by Al Viciedo
(From left) Senior Jamie Parker, sophomore Ed Egan and junior Harmony Liff practice one of the many dances that make up redeeming quality “Black Tambourine”
has is its catchy beat, and “Earthquake
Alpha Psi’s dance concert.The show will take place on Friday, May 6, and Saturday, May 7, at 8 p.m. in the Yvonne Theater.
Weather” is downright wretched.
This stretch of music is quite disheartbut it’s definitely worth it,” said Liff.
a theme, each dance has a story line, each
“I would love to see the Yvonne
ening
to listen to. One or two mediocre
According to Parker, one of the most dance has the acting aspects.”
Theater packed,” she said. “It’s a great
important things for students to know
Klein feels that a lot of the dances show. I want everyone to see it. I think it songs are acceptable. It happens, and
about the concert is that there is a heavy focus on acting because everything they would be a great break from finals, and I listeners are willing to forgive and forget.
But to have an entire section of subpar
emphasis on acting as well as dancing. do has its own emotion and expression.
think our cast deserves to be seen.”
This quality helps to set the concert apart
“Our simple walking, mannerisms,
The Alpha Psi dance concert will songs on what could be considered a
from other similar events.
pantomimes, [they all] express how we be performed on Friday, May 6, and comeback album is not a good sign.
The good news, however, is that Beck
“[The Rider Dance Team] puts on feel and what we’re doing,” said Klein.
Saturday, May 7, at 8 p.m. in the Yvonne
redeems himself toward the album’s end.
a show as well,” Parker said. “It’s a great
While the dances may be interpretive, Theater.
“Scarecrow” and “Rental Car” reclaim
show, but what makes Alpha Psi different Parker is anything but when describing
Guero’s exciting, bouncy groove. The
is really the acting aspect. Each dance has her hopes for opening night.
1.
2.
3.
Photo copyright Geffen Records
Guero, the new album from Beck,
bounced into stores on March 29.
4.
5.
album concludes with “Emergency Exit,”
a song that has the same techno and
country twang heard in Beck classics like
“Loser.”
The most disappointing thing about
Guero is the potential it has but does
not realize. Audiences have come to love
Beck for his off-kilter mixing of genres.
His last two albums—Midnite Vultures
and Sea Change—were successful in that
they deviated, in some respect, from his
usual sound. It is good to see that Beck
has at last returned to what he’s best at.
However, wherever you place it in the
grand spectrum of Beck albums, Guero is
missing some key elements. It should be
greater than it is.
Overall, this is not one of those
albums that can be listened to from start
to finish. Its strong points are the indi-
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Golden
by Elkland
Songs For Silverman
by Ben Folds
Extraordinary Machine
by Fiona Apple
Lost and Found
by Mudvayne
Bleed Like Me
by Garbage
The Everglow
by Mae
Let It Die
by Feist
Pretty In Black
by The Raveonettes
Kingwood
by Millencolin
Guero
by Beck
vidual songs. Guero is a good album to
drive to on a warm day with the windows
down. Just listen to it when you have a lot
of errands to run.
Great acting helps ‘Degrees’ rise
‘Anything Goes’ brings Broadway to N.J.
By Bill Greenwood
By Lacey Korevec
Nothing is ever what it
seems in the Fine Arts production Six Degrees of Separation.
However, the play itself—a
half-comedic, half-dramatic tale about a homosexual,
African-American con artist named Paul searching for
a place to belong—delivers
exactly what audiences have
come to expect from such productions: quality theater that
elicits laughter while tugging
at your heart strings.
The play succeeds in part
because of incredible acting
performances from the entire
cast. Junior Kim Hausler and
freshman Kevin Feehery shine
as Ouisa and Flan Kittredge,
an upper-class, married couple who have their life turned
upside down after a surprise
visit from Paul. Both performers nailed the snobby accents
and mannerisms of the rich,
grounding the show in reality
while cracking up the audience at the same time. As the
play went on, the two drifted
back toward the serious side of
things as their characters began
to question their own lives. This
Photo by Karly Hamburg
Kim Hausler performs as Ouisa Kittredge in the Department
of Fine Arts’ production Six Degrees of Separation.
transition was done both effectively and believably, showcasing the excellent range of the
performers.
However, senior Justin T.
Beazer, who starred as Paul,
was the true stand out of
this production. The role of
a chameleon-like con artist
is certainly a tough one to
fill, but Beazer managed to
pull it off flawlessly. Beazer
not only became Paul but also
each and every personality that
Paul adopted along the way.
After watching the opening
scene, one would be shocked
to learn about the character’s
true intentions, which makes
it all the more shocking when
the Kittredges find him having
sex with a street hustler in his
bedroom later that night.
The set for this play was
ambitious and, more importantly, got the job done right.
Consisting of a lower-level furnished with two couches and
a tray of drinks and an upperlevel featuring two small openings that were used by actors
during dream sequences and
telephone calls, the set helped
the audience follow the action
rather than distract them.
The flow of the action
was further aided by the play’s
lighting effects. The production both opened and closed
with a single light shining on
a two-sided painting owned
by the Kittredges, symbolizing
one of the shows many themes:
there are two sides to every story. Not only that, but, coupled
with the multi-level set, the
lighting made it much easier
for the audience to distinguish
between dreams and reality.
This was done by dimming the
lights on stage and casting a
spotlight on a character standing on the upper-level of the
set. This is both a much less
ambiguous way of getting this
point across and a good way to
maintain the audience’s attention through innovation.
Overall, Six Degrees of
Separation turned out to be an
incredible performance highlighted by an extremely talented group of actors and a
highly innovative set design.
Rider University’s Department
of Fine Arts should be proud
of this presentation and, hopefully, things will only get better
from here.
Photos copyright In-Touch Magazine
Anwar Robinson was voted out of Fox’s American
Idol on Wednesday, April 20.
‘IDLE’ FROM PAGE 1
showed his true character.
“The image wasn’t really created for me,” said
Robinson. “It was a reflection of who I already was
when I got there. I remained true to things that I felt
represented me. I really didn’t change at all.”
Having the opportunity to do something great
was a goal that Robinson has strived for.
“I’ve always dreamt about it, but I’ve never thought
about how it would come to fruition,” he said.
According to Robinson, leaving the show wasn’t
sad because he knows that he will see the other contestants again during upcoming American Idol events.
“I’ll be back in a month or so, for the finale
rehearsal and the [American Idol] tour,” he said.
Robinson is not so certain about his future, but
one thing he does know is that he will make a trip out
to the Rider campuses to visit.
“Of course I’m going to visit,” said Robinson.
“I’m going to get [to Rider] before I go back for the
finale.”
Light-hearted, Broadway comedy is the only way to describe the
show Anything Goes, which will be
performed at the Westminster Choir
College (WCC) Play House next
week.
Set in the 1930s, the musical production deals with a series of tangled
romances that work themselves out on
a hilarious and romantic cruise ship
voyage.
“It’s the adventure of all these
people traveling together and falling in
love at sea,” said Bill Fabris, assistant
professor of piano and voice, who is
directing the show. “Everybody gets
married in the end.”
Though it will be WCC’s fourth
faculty-run Broadway musical, in a
way, Anything Goes sets itself apart
from the rest, according to sophomore
Kaitlin Manca, who will perform as
Purity, a dancer and member of the
chorus.
“It’s the first big, traditional show
we’ve done,” she said. “At Westminster,
we try to do a lot of unknown shows
but this is kind of a gem of American
musical theater.”
In addition, this is the first WCC
show that has featured tap dancing,
she said.
“All of the musical-theater majors
but, at the same time, she’s drinking
and smoking.”
“High energy” are the words that
Manca used to describe the cast.
“I think, even though the comedy
is a specific type of comedy, it’s kind
of ridiculous and not real. Everything
is big, stylistic comedy.”
The cast has done a “great” job so
far, according to Gomez, who added
that he is confident the show will sell
out.
“Not only do I think it’s going to
get filled up with Westminster students
but I also think with [Lawrenceville]
students,” he said. “It really is a high
level standard that we have for our
musical productions. We’re up there
along with Broadway stuff.”
Since the story features such a universal love plot, Fabris said that many
Photo by Allen Huang
people of all ages will be able to enjoy
Westminster performers rehearse a scene from their upcoming rendition of the show.
the Broadway musical Anything Goes.The show will be performed Monday,
“It’s all PG,” he said. “I hope the
April 25, through Wednesday, April 27, at 8 p.m. in the WCC Playhouse.
audience will love it. I think they’ll be
laughing. It’s a wonderful comedy and
are taking tap classes this year so we a tone too serious for my character. I
they’ll be well-entertained and will
are able to apply what we’re learning need to lighten things up a bit.”
recognize a lot of the music.”
in the show,” said Manca.
Though the show does not dapple
The show will be performed
The show has been a challenge in any really serious subjects, certain
Monday, April 25, through Wednesday,
for senior Gilberto Gomez, who will scenes can be found to have double
April 27, at 8 p.m., in the WCC
portray the male lead, Billy Crocker.
meanings, said Gomez.
Playhouse.
“Most of the shows I’m in are
“It’s all double sided,” he said.
“All of the character interactions
operas,” he said. “Spanish is my first “There’s this one scene where one of
are hilarious,” said Gomez. “It’s just a
language and it’s hard trying to get the characters, Reno, gets on the boat
lot of fun.”
that accent out. Also, I’ve been taking and she’s supposed to be saving souls