1. A&E 5
A melting of the frozen within FALL DANCE
G
November 12, 2009 Mount Holyoke News
HE
The force of Neko Case T CO
N N
I
KE
CE
BY FAY GARTENBERG ’ 11 the audience standing before her into a state of
bliss with the many aspects of her profound
RT
TA
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
musical resonance. Her voice, for one thing,
ince arriving at Mount Holyoke, I
S
can range between a spunky 80s punk rocker
have met students who have grasped to a cowgirl crooner and is considered by many
and fine tuned many of the things BY ALEXANDRA MOLNAR ’13 This weekend Mount Holyoke dance
to be her most outstanding and unique vocal students will take the stage for the an-
that give them meaning and that provide them character. And, if her fans could have it their CONTRIBUTING WRITER
with maps of the future. I have also met stu- nual Faculty Dance Concert, a mix of
way, she would perform without microphones pieces drawing from diverse emotions and dance styles. The eclectic program
dents who are experiencing the turmoil and because, whether it’s a murmur or a holler, her
boundlessness of “not knowing.” The latter includes “Gloria,” a piece choreograpy by esteemed modern dance choreog-
passionate delivery envelops you in the entire rapher Mark Morris as well as other new pieces choreographed by Mount
seems existent one day and non-existent the realm of each song.
next. But when you’re in the midst of experi- Holyoke dance faculty. This year’s show is unique in its collaboration across
And while she is generally placed in the departments. Mount Holyoke College music students and faculty will accom-
encing a loss for words on identity, you often music genre of Alt-Country, her musicianship,
find that one thing that warms what is freezing pany the dancers in a small chamber group and a select choir will sing parts
her personality, the siren that she is reaches from Vivaldi’s “Gloria”. Jessica Chang ’12, a dancer in the show, said, “The
and veiled within you. far beyond the boundaries of her musical genre
Maybe it’s because I’m from Seattle which audience will definitely see a strong relationship between the music and the
as she melodiously inebriates and then enlight- dance.”
is 32 miles away from Tacoma, which is where ens the concert-goers with the divine and
the singer/songwriter Neko Case proudly hails “Gloria” originally premiered in 1981 and will be under the direction of
poignant pathways that shape her songs. Marjorie Folkman of the Mark Morris Dance Company at the Five College
from (there are certain songs she only plays for Her songs are equally affecting. Her musi-
Tacoma concerts). Maybe it’s because, in the production. Morris is known for closely pairing music with dance moves.
cians play a critical role in carrying out her “When he is choreographing a work he will use the score to make sure that
most unsettling of moments, many college stu- songs because there is a level of gracefulness
dents place themselves on solid ground the movement precisely matches the music,” Crystal Menninga ’10 said. “The
to her music. Her group is comprised of a gui- audience should expect to see the complicated ways in which music and
through their recollections of home. I admit to tarist, backup singer (the jokey Kelly Hogan),
doing this, but I also know that for all her fans dance relate, quite literally.”
bassist, drummer and a utility player (banjo, In addition to “Gloria,” dancers will also be performing “The Cage,” a hip
(and there are many of them), Neko Case’s steel guitar). The band produces a nasal, eerie
music melts away layers of existential confu- hop piece by Jennifer Weber, “Dance to the Music” by guest artist David Dorf-
tone that gently grips Neko’s voice. The faster man, and “Rêve d’un Clown” by Charles Flachs, an associate professor of
sion. numbers rely on a sensitive relationship as
Tomorrow night, Case will play in dance. There will also be pieces by dance professors Jim Coleman and
well and they all draw from sounds of the out- Therese Freedman. Menninga said, “For Rêve d’un Clown the audience
Northampton at Calvin Theatre to a full house. doors (birds chirping, owls hooting, etc.).
You might think I’m getting ahead of myself, should expect to laugh along and sympathize with the clown who just wants
Case’s voice is an instrument in the band, but to make everyone happy.”
but I have been following Neko Case since she one that encompasses more of a lead guiding
was known almost exclusively to the peo- There are no lead roles in the piece; the dancers all work together to make
role as well. the program come alive. “There are no specific roles in this piece as each
ple of the Pacific Northwest. As she’s Case uses her music to empha-
moved on to bigger projects and dancer has her own designated ‘track,’” Chang stated. Menninga will play
size her lyrical creativity and her the principle clown in “Rêve d’un Clown” who is trying to fulfill “The Clown’s
achieved greater acclaim in the observations on varying human
process, she left Tacoma and pur- Dream” while in Gloria she will perform the Mireille track, named after the
sentiments. She is worth every company member who danced the original part.
chased a former dairy farm in North- one of your dimes. She’s a perfec-
eastern Vermont that she now The dancers have been hard at work since the beginning of the school year,
tionist when it comes to perform- rehearsing five days a week for as much as seven hours per day. They also
calls home and where she pro- ances, but she’s personable, funny
duced her most recent album practice almost every weekend for five hours a day. However, the dancers
and genuinely apprecia- put up with the intensive schedule because of their passion for the work and
“Middle Cyclone.” tive of you, the people who
In every Neko Case concert joy of performing. Menninga’s favorite part of performing is the interaction
pay for a stirring and with the audience. “As dancers we obviously love to dance and have fun danc-
I’ve attended, regardless of soul-rattling night of
whether it ing together, but what truly makes it a successful performance is knowing
music. that we were able to connect with the audience,” Menniga concluded. “My fa-
t o o k
place at an open-air fes- vorite part about performing is to finally be able to show people everything
Neko Case is playing at we've been working on!” Chang said.
tival or in a grand and Calvin Theatre tomor-
Between the frames
elaborate theatre, she row, Nov. 13, at 8:00 P.M.
has never failed to move The Fall Dance show will be performed from November 12-14 at 8 pm in the
studio theatre at Kendall Sports Complex.Ticket prices: $10 gen/ $5 student.
Photo by Jason Creps
A weekend of experimental cinema Write for A&E!
BY JOANNA ARCIERI ’ 10 ences of Abigail Child, in a program entitled “Be-
A&E EDITOR yond Gendered Sound: Noise Film, Scratch Video,
and the New Psychedelic Acid House Vulnerabil-
Email arcie20j or marqu20s
If you have ever walked through the East Vil- ity”. This 95 minute program emphasized how
lage in New York CIty, you probably have never sound and image work together to create a sort of
noticed the Anthology Film Archives. It is located filmic poetry. This screening featured work from
in an indistinguishable brick building without a the last decade, highlighting how new media is
bright, flashing marquee. In fact, you would prob- changing filmmaking. Su Friedrich used her
ably recognize this building as the exterior for Doc screening to show the work of filmmakers who
Ock's laboratory in Spider Man 2, beforeyou ever have influenced her: Majorie Kellor, Leslie Thorn-
knew of the significance the Archives has had in ton and Joyce Wieland. Friedrich also discussed
the history of avant-garde and experimental cin- her transition from film to digital filmmaking.
ema. Stating that she was “over it” already, Friedrich
The Anthology Film Archives has been the called video a lesser medium, but because “this is
cornerstone of experimental cinema since it was what I’m doing, I have to do it.” Ericka Beckman’s
founded in 1970 by Jonas Mekas, Stan Brakhage, screening, “Performing the Image”, showcased
P. Adams Sitney and Peter Kubelka. It is dedicated performance and conceptual imagery. Peggy Ah-
to the preservation and exhibition of experiemen- wesh, except her 1993 film The Scary Movie and
tal cinema. It is at the Archives where I found my- 1910 print of The Wizard of Oz, selected films from
self on Nov. 6 and 7 for a series of four screenings, no earlier than 2008. These works, often by her
sponsored by Mount Holyoke. students at Bard College, showcased the work of
The event, entitled "Origins, Influences, & In- younger female experimental filmmakers who
terests: Four Women Filmmakers", brought to- have been inspired by Child, Friedrich and Ah-
gether four female experimental filmmakers who wesh.
came of age during the 1970s and early 1980s: Each screening addressed a common theme:
Peggy Ahwesh, Ericka Breckman, Abigail Child how these filmmaker’s went against the establish-
and Su Friedrich. Robin Blaetz, Associate Profes- ment of avant-garde filmmaking in the late 70s
sor of Film Studies, asked the filmmakers to cu- and 80s. Their work was criticized by both femi-
rate a program that featured nist critics, for being too “male-like” and by male
work that influenced and critics, for having too much gendered content.
intrigued them. What Leslie Thornton, who was present at the screen-
resulted was over six ings, said that because their work dealt with emo-
hours of films that tional life, “we didn’t fit into the establishment of
represented every our field because we were dealing with things so
end of the avant- charged.” Yet despite these criticisms, what has
garde spectrum. resulted are the works of four unique female exo-
The first night erimental fimmakers whose work is influening a
of screenings began new generation of female filmmakers
with the work and influ-