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  • Publications (documents)
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• Source institution
  • Western Carolina University
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  • HL_WesternCarolinian_2018-02-23_Vol87_No01_11

The Western Carolinian Urban Bush Women Elora DuClos Staff Writer As they celebrate their 34th anniversary this year, the Brooklyn- based contemporary dance group Urban Bush Women visited Western Carolina University on Feb. 6 with their perfor- mance of Hair and Other Stories. The two-hour show consisted of an intriguing and thought-provoking blend of contemporary dance, music and story- telling infused with the history, traditions and culture of the African Diaspora, which refers to the communities throughout the world that have resulted from the en- slavement and displace- ment of Africans during the Atlantic slave trade. The group, made of DuBois AKeen, Court- ney J. Cook, Chanon Judson, Tendayi Kuum- ba, Stephanie Mas and Samantha Speis, engaged and even interacted with the audience, first defin- ing some words related to black hair such as the kitchen, which is the hair at the nape of the neck, as well as nappy, which refers to tight, Close curls typically seen on people of African descent. Their costuming. brought African culture to the stage as well, with bright patterns and beaded necklaces mixed with modern and con- temporary style. Even Aminata, the two-year- old daughter of one of the dancers, displayed her own flashy style on stage with a silver jacket and patterned leggings. The little dancer was also featured in a short film named after her, which screened during the 15-minute intermis- sion and detailed her life in the group, especially highlighting her cuteness and impressive dancing skills. The company also performed and danced to their original songs like Break It Down by Tendayi Kuumba and I Am Not Yours by DuBois AKeen after telling stories about their experiences with their ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT February 23, 2018 3.5 hair, especially with white people wanting to touch their hair or people judging their natural hair. One of the Hair Hell Stories they performed involved an African American woman with . her natural hair enter- ing an elevator with other African American people who commented on her hair, saying You think she need a comb? I KNOW she need a comb. Hair was the central point of the companys show. With their Hair Hell Stories and other relatable narratives, mainly of black women, Urban Bush Women explored the values and negative perceptions surrounding race, body image and economic inequities in America. They also included an enlightening part to the show that highlighted the major issues thwarting the downfall of institu- tional racism and color- ism in the United States, such as white people not taking the time to un- learn racism and colorism or talk about tlfOse issues with their families. They then asked the audience to shout at random what could be used to help aid the end of institutional racism and colorism, some answers being love, kindness and under- standing. The company then explained that those traits make the space, which means they create a space where people can overcome their ordinary struggles to become their Extra-ordinary Selves. Urban Bush Womens show was incredibly inspiring and liberat- ing. Though there were dances that did not seem explicitly meaningful in their visuals, overall the group reflected tones of struggles stemming from racism, colorismand gender identity, especially in African American women. The dance company was founded in 1984 by award-winning, Artistic Director and Visioning Partner Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, who envisioned a company founded on the energy, vitality and boldness of the African American community in which she grew up. Zollar also serves as the director for Urban Bush Womens Summer Leadership Institute, a community engage- ment project established in 1997 to connect community-based artists and activists with dance professionals in order to use the arts as a conduit for civic engagement in the local area. The company has another extensive engage- ment program called Builders, Organizers, & Leaders through Dance or BOLD. The BOLD program utilizes a network of facilitators who travel around the country and even around the world to conduct workshops that bring the histories and culture of local communities for- ward through dance. The company also launched the Urban Bush Women Choreographic Center in Jan. 2016, which encour- ages and supports the development of female ut on a show choreographers of color. Urban Bush Women has been awarded many honors throughout the years, including the New York Dance and Perfor- mance Award or Bessie in 1992 and 2006, the Capezio Award for Out- standing Achievement in Dance and two 2004 Do- ris Duke Awards for New Work from the American Dance Festival. The company ex- pressed an essential connection with the audi- ence, which was, mainly comprised of women of color, with their personal stories and experiences. Their core values, found on their website, were also echoed in their performance, especially catalyzing for social change and celebrat- ing the movement and culture of the African Diaspora. For more history and information on Urban Bush Women, visit their website at www.urban- bushwomen.org or their YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/UB- W Dance. Evasons mentalist amazes all in attendance Kristie Watkins Staff Writer On Thursday, Feb. 8, Western Carolina Uni- versitys Last Minute Productions hosted the mentalist duo known as The Evasons. There was a high attendance and everyone left the event in awe of what they had witnessed. Jeff and Tessa Evason are husband and wife. They have been perform- ing their mentalist act since 1983. They have performed in over 35 different countries and made many T-V. appear- ances. According to their website, Whether per- forming for an intimate ohare or a crowd of undreds, these psychic entertainers have the kind _ of universal appeal that'll draw everyone in for an extraordinary encounter _ filled with suspense and wonderment. The response ofthe _ crowd at Western Caroli- na proved that to be true. estern Carolina Webi Emanuel Villegas who participated in the show said, it was definitely. an experience. I definitely feel like this was all real. It all seemed very legit The brent held in the Grandroom of the University Center, began with the couple introduc- ing themselves and ex- plaining that Tessa was a psychic and would try to connect with members of the crowd throughout the BAC Fine Arts Museum host Emma Kaye Thomas Staff Writer In the Fine Arts Mu- seum at Western Caro- lina University, there is currently an exhibit showing off some of the simplest of todays mate- rial objects: boards and cloth. The Willie Cole: Soles and Boards from Highpoints Edition, and Lining: Sheathing Fine Arts Museum Exhibit, is currently showing Off pieces of work that represent small, but senti- mental pieces of art. This art represents different cultures, memories and even history through dif- ferent pieces of everyday materials. When walking through the entrance of the ex- hibit, visitors will notice a large art piece resembling a small bedroom sitting show to read their minds. The first act involved a randomly selected audi- ence member. The girl in- volved in the act gave her phone to Tessa and Tessa was able to guess her password to unlock her phone. She then asked the audience member to + select a random number from her contact list and Tessa was then able to tell all the digits in order and the name of the person having never seen her phone. This act started the crowd off in complete shock as they watched ready to see how the next acts could possibly top the first. For the next half of the show, Tessa was com- letely blindfolded and feff went to the crowd and selected countless people to participate. The random audience mem- bers would bring for- ward items such as their drivers license, credit card and CatCard, and Tessa would be able to tell them names and numbers written on them, never even seeing the person or their item. Jeff then asked people to bring more personal items. Some people brought forward pictures or pieces of jewelry. She was not only able to describe the items but tell a completely unknown piece of information such as the fact that a girls grandmother gave her a ring and what her grand- mothers name is. A man brought a picture and in the middle of the col- lection. There is a piece of cloth on the ground that almost resembles a bed and around this bed, there are drapes of linens hanging from the ceiling, creating a three-walled room. On these linens, there are bright colors such as creams, reds and whites on the outside, but there are also darker colors on the inside such as deep grays, blacks and faded whites. Surround- ing this main piece of art are other drapes of linen hanging on the walls of the museum. Each of these drapes are cotton with dyed silk on top, cre- ating the faded but deep colors on all of the linens. This exhibit, being the Lining: Sheathing Fine Arts Museum Exhibit, was created by Denise Bookwalter and Lee she described what the picture was and the name of the friend who was in It. All of the information Tessa was able to gather rocked the crowd. No one could understand how she was able to give such random and spe- cific information about so many different people and items. The show ended with a dramatic act. A girl from the audience sat on stage with two other girls hold- ing a blank sheet behind ~ her. There was nothing on the sheet and two audience members stayed on stage to verify that there were no tricks to the act. After a few min- utes of moving around the girl sitting down, Jeff asked a man from the crowd to take a Polaroid picture of the girl and the sheet. When the picture came out, the blank sheet had a womans face on it. The face was that of the pris grandmother who ad passed away. This act resulted in the audience erupting in shock and confusion. They ended the show and everyone gave a round of applause. Kaylynn Wilson, Western Carolina Junior said, I went in kind of skeptical because I like to watch shows that debunk a lot of this stuff. But this was legit. It was pretty crazy. Just the fact that she never met any of them, theres no way she couldve known that stuff. You just have to watch it and believe it. The duo stayed around to meet the members of the audience and answer Magician couple the Evasons guess the contact of a participant's address book. Emma Running, two women who have been working on this idea for around five years. The whole point of the exhibit is to show off the fabric that is always so near to the skin of humans, to represent the detail of the exact fabric that we are in contact with every day. Additionally, the exhibit shows.the spe- cific details of materi- als such as embroidery, handmade paper, custom garments and woodblock prints. For example, on display on one of the walls are two bed jackets hanging, representing different embroidery and rabbit fur. ; In the Willie Cole: Soles and Board from Highpoints Edition exhibit, there are colored prints and images of old ironing boards hung on the walls of a barren room. The colored prints, labeled The Virgins, represents the relation- ship between the ground and the figure by using the color theory. For ex- ample, there is an image of a green ironing board that is color printed, and the label for it is Virgin of Healing. Through the colors and the image itself, a visitor or student is able to take away that the color green represents more of the healing as- pect of the painting and is able to show what the iron was used for in the first place. ~ On the wall facing The Virgins, there are the Five Beauties Rising. These images are of different ironing boards scavenged from places such as the Salva- tion Army, Craigslist and thrift stores. The artist, Willie Cole, sent the Cole and Highpoint press to work by pound- ing and smashing the ironing boards to where they were able to be used as a printing matrix. These ironing boards, in simple black and white, represent the idea of slave ships, showing wounds and wells in the iron- ing boards; this piece of work is very emotionally driven. Along with this stun- ning exhibit, the Fine Arts Museum in the Bardo Arts Center will be hosting a reception on April 19th from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the Bardo Arts Center Star Atrium, cel- ebrating the exhibit and showing off its beauti- ful work. Visitors may find them- selves surprised that the questions about the show. This event was a great success and would defi- nitely be attended again by the people who went. No matter if the acts were just illusions or she was really able to read the minds of the audience, Tessa and Jeff Evason put on an entertaining show for all. For more information about other upcomin: events visit LMP in the Campus Activities page at.wcu.edu/experience/ campus-activities/index. aspx. ; Photo by Gabraella Witter/STAFF s Soles, Boards and Linings simplicity of the exhibits are much more emotion- ally engaging than they appear to be. Should one look deep, they will find a history, culture and idea all its own exemplified in a splendid metaphor through amazing works of art. Reading the de- scriptions of the art will help provide an under- _ standing of each piece of art as it was envisioned by its creator. Overall, this exhibit is a beautiful representa- tion of what pure art is. It is simple with a deeper | meaning than most people could imagine, but when they step inside of | the exhibit and actually read the art instead of just looking at it and moving on, they receive a full story and experience that is stuck in their mind for days.

The Western Carolinian is Western Carolina University's student-run newspaper. The paper was published as the Cullowhee Yodel from 1924 to 1931 before changing its name to The Western Carolinian in 1933.

• Creator
  • Western Carolina University
• Format
  • Publications (documents)
  • Text
• Type
  • Text
• Date
  • Date original: 2018-02-23
• Extent
  • Dimension: 22.5" x 11.25"
  • Pages: 12
• Subject - Topic
  • College student newspapers and periodicals
  • Cullowhee (N.C.) -- Newspapers
  • Universities and colleges -- North Carolina -- Cullowhee -- Newspapers
  • Western Carolina University -- Periodicals
• Location
  • Jackson County (N.C.)
  • Cullowhee (N.C.)
• Source institution
  • Western Carolina University
• Source Collection
  • WCU Students Newspapers Collection
• Identifier
  • HL_WesternCarolinian_2018-02-23_Vol87_No01
• Repository
  • Western Carolina University Hunter Library