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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (March 2, 1984)
Let's get going 4 •* •, “Let’s Get Going" is the theme this spring, as Wallflower Order, the internationally- acclaimed women’s dance troupe, takes to the road with Grupo Raiz, the popular Chilean music ensemble, for a joint tour of 25 North and Southwestern cities. Fresh from their fall tour of the East coast and Midwest, Wallflower Order and Grupo Raiz combine their talents in a final encore performance of “Vamos a Andar’’ — Let’s Get Going. A blend of feminist choreography and Andean rhythms, Vamos A Andar ex plores the ethnic roots of North and South America, uncovering cultural and social links between the two continents. From the Cherokee Indians who perished on a bitter winter march along the Trail of Tears, to the African people brought in chains by slave traders to a "new world," to women freedom fighters in Latin America, the sub jects come alive through dance and music, expressing the universal desire of all people for peace and freedom. Acclaimed by critics and audiences alike from Denmark to Nicaragua, the five-women Wallflower Order Dance-Theatre Collective originated in Eugene, Oregon in 1975. The name "wallflower" embodies the group’s challenge to women everywhere to stop wait ing on the sidelines to be asked to dance and assume their power today. An eclectic blend of dance, theatre, humor, song, sign language and martial arts. Wallflower’s message is both personal and universal, dedicated to empower people everywhere. Grupo Raiz, as the name implies, is "a gathering of roots" in a hybrid sound of An dean flutes, guitars, percussion instruments, and lyrics. An offshoot of the New Latin American Song Movement, which draws on Andean, Chilean, Cuban, and Caribbean musical influences, Grupo Raiz was bom at La Pena Cultural Center in Berkeley, Califor nia in 1980. All seasoned musicians in their own right, five of Grupo Raiz’ six members are from Chile, several in political exile by the country’s junta. Grupo Raiz combines traditional and con temporary music, together with original compositions in songs about the Chilean in- dians, the daily toil of workers and peasants, and the beauty of the Andes. The group has toured throughout the United States, Canada. Latin America, and Europe, and has two recordings: “(Jn Solo Camino," and “Amaneceres." Their third album, “Por America Del Centro” will be released this spring. Wallflower Order and Grupo Raiz are per forming together on Friday. March 9. at 8 p.m. at the Eastside Performance Center (formerly Washington High) at S.E. 14th and Stark. Love Novellas: an art performance by Jerri Allyn “Love Novellas," by Jerri Allen will be per formed on Wednesday, March 7th at 8 p.m. at the Berg-Swann Auditorium of the Portland Art Museum, 1219 SW Fhrk Ave. Tickets will be available at the door for $4.00. “Love Novellas" is a performance art read ing created by Jerri Allyn. Allyn speaks live while a multi-layered audio tape of other voices and music plays in accompaniment to her voice. Wendy Perron of the New York Native writes of Allyn’s work: " . . . you enter one person’s world of dangerous places, strong-willed friends, and clashing ideas. People listening are intensely involved, as though gossiping on the phone___partly because Allyn’s voice is so familiar, unpre tentious, and excited that you feel you could join in the conversation if only she would take a breath. Love Novellas’ contain different narratives about people or phenomena In Allyn’s life, told in a non-stop barrage of details. Her voice is agitated, outraged, and loving; the tone is a combination of quick-witted conver sation. sensual poetry, and a high-pitched New Jersey whine. Allyn is an assertive Alice in Wonderland — curious, ironic, and con cerned — who both learns from and enjoys bizarre situations. Her material is sometimes very funny and also powerful stuff." (Wendy Perron, N ew York Native) Jerri Allyn is a feminist artist living in New York City. Allyn was a founding member of the performance art groups, "The Waitres ses’ and “Sisters of Survival," as well as a founder of the L A Women’s Video Center. Her work has been reviewed in Artforum, ArtWeek, The Soho News, Village Voice, and other publications. Ms. Allyn was a 1982 recipient of a Performance and Conceptual Art Fellowship of the National Endowment for the Arts, and has recently received an Artist in Residence Grant from The Women's Graphic Center in Los Angeles, where she will be in residence the last two weeks in March 1984. She is currently a member of Interac tion Arts in New York City, a multi-disciplinary performing arts group. This performance is part of a west-coast tour which includes performances and lec tures in Vancouver B.C., Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Janna MacAuslen and Kristen Aspen Musica Femina atPSU To kick off the beginning of a four month national concert tour, Musica Femina, a Port land based flute-guitar duo, (Kristan Aspen, flute: Janna MacAuslan, classical guitar) will present a concert/informance on Sunday, March 4 ,3 p.m., at 75 Lincoln Hall, Portland State University. The program, which features works by women composers from 1700 to 1980, is sponsored by the Portland State W om en’s Union and W omen’s Studies Departm ent as part of their Women’s History Week celebration. Because so many of women’s valuable contributions to music history and repertorie have been lost Musica Femina has chosen to deviate from the traditional classical concert format to place the composers in an histori- cal/cultural context by sharing information as well as the music itself. O f the duo’s concert/informance, LC . Hansen, KBOO radio producer, says, "Leave at the door of the concert hall any assumptions you may have about classical performances being elitist and inaccessible. Musica Femina en gages and entertains the audience with new possibilities." The program on March 4 will include works by Elizabeth Jacquet de la Guerre, harpsi chordist at the court of Louis XIV of France, Emilia Giuliani, widely acclaimed virtuoso guitarist of the 19th century, Yvonne Desportes, 1932 winner of the Gran Prix de Rome international composition award, and Ivana Loudova, a Czech composer who in 1961 was the first woman composition stu dent at the Prague Academy of Arts. Kristan Apen has been musically active in Portland for the past 10 years, performing first in a duo with Naomi Littlebear Morena, then with the Ursa Minor Choir. From 1976- 1980 she was a member of the Izquierda Ensemble, a Portland acoustic music quartet whose unique style of original women's music brought the group national recognition and led to the release of an Ip album in 1979. Since 1980 Kristan has returned to classical music and to studying the flute, first with Jane Bowers, then with Marilyn Shotola. Aspen is currently president of the Greater Portland Flute Society. Janna MacAuslan is an accomplished classical guitarist who has toured extensively in the Southwest, Mexico and Germany. She studied guitar performance at the University of Texas, and more recently has done grad uate work at Lewis and Clark College, study ing guitar with Ian Mitchell and baroque lute with Terrell Stone. As a part of her ongoing research for works by women composers, MacAuslan is assembling a catalog of wo m en’s compositions for guitar alone and guitar with other instruments. Janna has been teaching and performing in Portland for three years. Currently she is an instructor of guitar for the Community Music Center, and for Portland Community College. During the course of their 1984 tour, Musica Femina will perform at colleges and universities, conferences, festivals and coffeehouses across the United States. They will also attend the Third International Con gress on Women in Music in Mexico City. To document the research they have done, and to increase general access to music by wo men, Musica Femina has recorded a high quality cassette tape of selected works from their women composers informance. Cassettes will be on sale March 4. Childcare is available at the concert, and tickets ($2.50 student/ $3.50 general) may be purchased at the door. Just Out, March 2-March 16 I