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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 15, 1997)
T he P ortland O bserver • O ctober 15, 1997 (Elje IJnrtlanh (iDhseruer EHTERTAIHMETTT Oregon Ballet Theatre Season Opens With Les Sylphides, Street Songs and James C anfield s C armina Burana The musical setting is Carl Orft *s Then the mood, the music and f ballet doesn’t evolve, it will "Carmina Burana" for orchestra and the dance catapult out of the past into die," says OBT Artistic Director choir, which is a cult classic among the contemporary with "Street Songs' James Canfield. And if he has music hurt's with its powerful, almost by San Francisco Ballet Resident his way, ballet and dance will Choreographer Val Camparoli. The pagan drive. This music has be alive and kicking for a very long J| time. Part of Canfield’s mission is bodies are sleek in their Star-Trek become even more widely known to less classically like unitards. to continually provide his audiences The move- oriented ears in with a continuum of the past few m ents dance at each perfor years ■ a w are mance, so that they get a sampling of the traditional, the transitional and the cutting edge. And his fall opening program promises all this. It opens with a turn of the century "white ballet,” “Les Sylphides.” Here are your tradi quick, tionally clad sylphs in a forest setting darting and in stark white, three-quarter-length Romantic tutus. Set to Glazunov’s even playful. orchestral arrangement of some of The music is the percussive Frederic Chopin’s most sumptuous soundscape and popular piano music, this work of Carl O rff’s is considered one of the most “ Music for technically demanding in the classical C h ild r e n ,” ballet repertoire. punctuated by timpani, bells, m a rim b a s , x y lo p h o n e s , and even hand clapping and OBT proves that a foot-stomping. company that has made If “Street Songs” is “just its mark with hip y e s te rd a y ” contemporary ballet can with regard to due, in part, to being take on just about anything dance styles. featured in the films James Canfield’s in the repertoire... "The Doors,” "Highlander," world-premiere, full- length ballet, “Carmina Burana," "Excalibur," “Glory," and others. The lyrics of Carmina come from a promises all the cutting-edge images, Dance Magazine risk-taking, and expansion of dance- collection of 12th- and 13th-century theatre vocabulary that audiences have poems and songs. They are riddled with themes more synonymous with come to expect of him. I PSU hosts piano concerts Jon Nakamatsu International piano gold medalist Jon Nakamatsu launches the 1997-98 Reason of the Portland State Univer- today’s action films than what one associates with art forms from the Middle Ages: debauchery, desire, temptation, gluttony, gambling, k sex and more. In a few words, it’s ' about human nature. It’s about our ideals and our human tlaws. So, what might you see at a balletic world-premiere of Carmina Burana? James Canfield is a unique creator who has successfully merged elements of classical ballet with some hip MTV- and VHl-like production values, growing dance audiences across all social groups. And a world premiere by James Canfield is always a surprise, in more ways than one. In some of his other works, we have seen dancers in shopping carts, on scaffolds, dangling on ropes, silhouet ted behind scrims and even jumping oft' the stage into the orchestra pit. And his production paraphernalia and props have included strobe lights, smoke, scaffolds, balloons, lasers, snow, candles, incense burners and more. “But among all these elements,” CanficlJ says, "we hope our audiences have experienced new dimensions in dance, and hopefully, new perspectives on art, life and theatre.” Participate in some more of Oregon Ballet Theatre and James Canfield’s surprises and new dimen sions in dance...October 10 to 12 and 16 to 18 at Portland Civic Auditorium. With very live music by the OBT Orchestra, Nicl DePonte conducting, and the OBT Festival Choir under the direction of Bruce Browne. For tickets, call 2 - BALLET (toll free 1-8 8 8 -9 -B A L L E T ) or Ticketmaster at 79 0 -A RTS. The A rt Perfected sity piano recital series this weekend. He performs Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 4 p.m. Both concerts take place in Lincoln Performance Hall, 1620 S.W. Park. Tickets are $20 for general admission and $17 for seniors. They are available at the PSU Box Office and may also be avail able at the door. Call 725- 3307. T h o m a s C r o n is e P h o to g r a p h s C e le b r a te C o m m u n it y S p ir it The Velvet Rope? and loss, while "Sad Story (A Dedi f you ever have the good tor cation Song)” and "So Long” weave tune to meet the members of elements of jazz and gospel within Phajja face to face, don’t be Phajja’s elegant harmonies. surprised if they say “hello” in per The songs they chose to record fect, unintentional harmony. "That say as much about Phajja as the way comes from singing together non the group sings them. “Great songs stop,” laughs Kena Epps, who, along are great songs,” says Nakia. “They with her sister Nakia and Karen never sound dated." As lor the group Johnson, comprise this stunning R&B members themselves, despite being vocal trio. Their sultry debut Warner in their early 20’s, they never fail to Bros, album, Seize The Moment, impress with their poise and matu recalls a time when sophisticated rity, traits that can be traced to close R&B ballads dominated the musical family ties, dedication to their art and landscape and love was best ex a love of music powerful enough to pressed in song. sustain them through their ten years Their name means "new begin together as a group. ning” in Arabic, and it well captures When the three "old souls" finally the spirit of the group today. "W e’ve came together, they quickly found been working on this album for a success, sharing the bill in recent long time,” notes Nakia, “and it’s a years with such notable artists as great feeling to see how far we’ve Tony Toni Tone!, Arrested Devel come.” Working with producers and opment, and many others. Serving as songwriters like Roger Troutman, the group’s choreographer, Kena Michael O ’Hara, Troy Patterson, developed a polished theatricality lor Somethin’ For The People and An Phajja, which won tans ifeross the drea Martin, Phajja has indeed at country. "W e’re very dram atic tracted world-class talent to their side. women,” says Nakia with a smile. The results bode well not only for the Not only did audiences take to their group itself, but also lor the future ol high-energy sensuality, critics also R&B. counted themselves as Phajja parti Seize The Moment kicks off with sans. In fact, Kena, Nakia and Karen “I Need You,” an a cappella tour-de took home 1990 Boston Music force that shows just how intricate Awards for Best Vocals and Best Phajja’s harmonies can be. Songs Group. like “Never Be Hurt Again" and Whatever the coming months may "What Are You Waiting For?” (the bring, Phajja should have no trouble first single from the new album) with that. grapple with the mysteries of love I The JAZZ Station with concepts—Control, Rhythm Nation, ■net., Design of a Decade—reficcl- B ^her need toexpress her soul flic jjgL-t Rope ups the ante. Her matu ffl^rauin - h e r stren g th .is ills as a w artist- n §B % m ttngwritcr and sc u lp lie ss . ' singer, musical ion? serio u s n io ie a I h iii intense She lui n , p i HQfffQ^OTc u n iv ersal. l.u k l i n g ih e with sublle charm and Her optimism, the de ationthatdrivesherart, frames The Velvet Rope as her most inspir ing work. Fans who count on Janci for hop will be more hopeful thar ever; fans who count on Janet fot out-and-out pleasure—songs whief composer, performer and producer, she pushes pop music in new and intriguing directions. The Velvet Rope is a triumph of the spirit, a declaration of joy and healing that comes from examining the past while energizing the present. The result is a right-now collection of brilliant songs that define the mo ment even as Janet’s ever-evolving sound anticipates the future. anet has always though big. Since her emergence over a decade ago, her albums have been international events, enormous J beginning of this century,"says Carla ften playful in nature, Simon, OHS Curator of Collections. Thomas Cronise’s pho "The style of professional photogra tographs illustrate the phy through equipment manipula essence of his subject, whether tion and staging was being refined schools boys posing for a "sports” into an art form." photo, a Japanese immigrant family, The twenty photographs in this or a father displaying his brood exhibit were created from 1902-1927 perched upon his hack. The Oregon in Cronisc’s portrait studio in Salem, Historical Society presents The Art OR and represent a cross section of Perfected, a photograph exhibition the bustling capitol city including featuring twenty portraits from The images of community leaders, farm Cronise Collection, October 7 , 1997 ers, merchants, as well as mothers through January 11,1998. and children. During his 25-year career, Salem The Art Perfected exhibit is spon photographer Thomas Cornise pro sored by the Jeld-Wen Foundation. duced thousands of images of people The Oregon History Center is lo and places. “The Collection reveals cated at 1200 SW Park Avenue. the art perfected, “say Susan Scyl, Hours: 10-5, Tuesday-Saturday; 12- Director of the OH S Photo Archives. 5 Sunday. Admission: $6.00/Adults, “It's images capture a people as they $.3 Students with ID, $ 1.50 Children saw themselves, allowing us glimpses 6-12, Free to OHS Members and at life in another lime." children five and under. For more "The works of Oregonian, Tho information, please call 503-222- mas Jefferson Cronise. represent what 1741. was happening in photography in the O Piidiuj ftiemuj BCm from 4 -6 p.m. eueny Fiidtuj... wu) Fiidw)... eue^ty FtuUy REALLY! COMMUNITY COLLEGE * GRESHAM Joy Angela Degray Leary Love Family & Friends
