Page 4
April 12, 2000
^lortlanb ©baeruer
-< Focus >-
contributed story
for The Portland Observer
Diva Diana: A tribute
to Diana Ross
There ain ’ t no mountain big enough
to hold today’s divas plus their hair
and egos.
First used in B ellini’s 1831 opera
Norma, the word “diva” has gone
from describing an extraordinary
singer whose onstage passions often
spilled into h er d aily life, to
encompassing any finger-snapping
female celebrity with a bad attitude.
V H l’s hugely successful divas
concerts, which initially aired in
1998, h av e u n q u e stio n a b ly
contributed to the term ’s current
ubiquity.
When the French thriller Diva was
m ade in 1981, the film ’s title
character was, as expected, an opera
star.But in the forthcoming Whitney
Houston remake, she’ll be recast as
an R& B goddess. Has the aria gone
MIA?
This past fall, the diva o f old met
her modem counterpart when the
MTV Music Awards brought an
array o f vocalists to New Y ork’s
Metropolitan Opera House.
The ads featured M adonna as
Nonna ( a role defined by “ La
Divina” - the quintessential diva,
Maria Callas), and the show hit a
haughty high when Diana Ross
bounced the exposed breast o f her
co-presenter, Lil’ Kim. It was a
mentor’s move, as if to say “Girl,
what are you thinking?”
But while the Supreme Miss Ross
k n o w s a th in g or tw o about
commanding center stage, she may
not have understood that a key
characteristic o f today’s diva is
exhibitionism.
This explains a lot - like Madonna’s
Sex book, Jennifer Lopez’s recent
fashion choices, and Cher’s decision
to bare her butt in public.
And let’s not forget the massive
tresses. Any diva worth her weight
in wigs understands that high hair
brings her closer to “goddessness.”
L ook at T in a, D olly, Patti
LaB elle... At Divas ’98 Mariah and
Shania sported frizzy falls to give
them extra height; unfortunately
Aretha had demanded that the air
conditioni ng be turned off to protect
her vocal chords, so the girls’ curls
took a beating in the ultra-humid
theater.
The Queen o f Soul can get away
with such behavior because her
voice can still melt the stoniest
hearts; skill will always separate
the fabulous from the fatuous.
Besides, an amazing singer who
acted like a down-home gal simply
wouldn’tbeadiva. We require divas
The Focus
to be demanding, dramatic, and
often outrageous. “I could never get
away with behavior like that,” we
shake our heads half in disgust, half
in admiration, upon learning about
Miss Thang’s latest stunt.
The diva creates drama and ritual
from life, and that’s why we love
her: she is a human embodiment of
the divine, excused from common
behavior by virtue o f the gifts she
shares with us.
The problem is, there’s a very thin
line between acting like a prima
donna and being a spoiled brat. So
have that cake and eat it while you
can, diva. W e’ll look for you in our
next yoga class.
s
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An Afternoon of Russian Chess
CO NTRIBU TED STORY
tor
T he P ortland O bserver
T he O reg o n C o u n cil fo r the
Humanities and Literary Arts Inc.,
in partnership with the Portland Art
Museum, will host Russian Chess
Grandmaster Roman Dzindihashvili
for a thrilling afternoon exploring
the culture o f Russian Chess and
the game itself. The event takes
place in the Whitsell Auditorium
and the Sunken Ballroom o f the
Portland Art Museum on April 15,
2000, from 1 -5 pm.
The afternoon will commence with
a lecture by Dzindzihashvili on the
culture o f chess in Russia. His
lecture will address the role chess
plays in Russian culture o f chess in
Russia. His lecture will address the
role chess plays in Russian culture
and how chess players are selected
and trained. He will also discuss the
ways in which the cold war affected
the playing style and perceptions o f
chess in both the Soviet Union and
the United States.
F o llo w in g
th e
le c tu re ,
Dzindzihashvili will play 50 games
simultaneously with chess players
from throughout Metropolitan area
including 15 young cham pion
players from the after school chess
program Chess for Success. We are
also honored to have Portland’s own
Arthur Dake, the oldest grandmaster
chess player in the world playing in
the exhibition. The afternoon will
close with an informal chess clinic
fo r you n g p la y e rs led by
Dzindzihashvili.
Winterfest exemplifies the best o f
community collaboration, enabling
a wide and diverse audience to
embrace and understand the history,
the culture, and the Russian art that
StroganotT brings to Portland.
i(f((HEDY SCU oq »
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Meet Your Match
1-900-896-2323 Ext. 1712
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Serv-U (619) 654-8434
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Portland, OR 97211
TEL: (503) 249-7329
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