“Body Type,” a performance done in collaboration with gallery showing of artwork done by Fritz Leidtke that showcased the different body images of the world, addressed the common misconceptions about dancers. The gallery opened Thursday, Feb. 23, 2012 in Phillips Fine Arts Building.

The dance department performed a ten minute dance on body image and the stereotypes that come along with being a dancer.

“This piece is about body image, anorexia and eating disorders that people believe all dancers have,” said Brian Palmer, chair of division of theater and dance. “It’s something of a controversy, but these disorders do happen in reality.”

The dance department has goals to integrate the disciplines at JU and create the potential for everyone to work together. This was one of those opportunities.

James Morrow, an adjunct professor at JU, choreographed the performance. His area of expertise is site specific movement, meaning he choreographs dances to fit the space and the atmosphere.

“Dance doesn’t have to be on stage to be significant, it can be anywhere,” Palmer said. “Morrow created this piece to pull the different art areas together. The two disciplines are working together to create something magical.”

The dance department, with 13 dancers, worked hard along with Morrow to send a message to anyone watching.

“I really think people will understand that sometimes you’re in the deepest state of depression and you just need someone to hold you, but you won’t let them because this is the one thing in your life you have control over,” said freshman Madeline Shaffer, one of the thirteen dancers who performed in “Body Type.”

Palmer believed the importance of this piece was to show a connection to our culture, to challenge the audience and to really make them analyze what they are seeing.

“All artists believe in the potential to make the audience think,” he said. “Each person should have a different thought about the piece and that is what makes it amazing. Art is never perceived the same way but that is what makes it art.”

The audience can see the connection between all the girls from the beginning of the piece when they are leaving each other but running right back towards one another. This connection continued through the piece as the main dancer stood up from her chair in the back and slowly walked forward with it.

Marisa Dolan, the main dancer, stood for everything the other girls were not. She was the leader of the group while the others followed her.

The other dancers followed as Dolan sat her chair down and they all moved as one with the same movements. Each movement they made represented cutting off a part of their body they did not like.

“It is a reflection of them,” Palmer said. “It’s like waking up and looking in the mirror and saying you hate this or that. This is what is it like when you say that. You are stripping a part of yourself away.”

The dance ended with each girl standing up one at a time and kicking their chairs back as if kicking all the things they have done away.

The audience was moved by the performance, and as Palmer said each person took away something different.

“You could clearly see the struggle each girl was having in the beginning,” said sophomore Vincent Domena. “Sometimes people don’t see when they really need help and they push people away.”

The community and consolation of the dancers was the real magic that happened throughout the piece. The lack of awareness people have for eating disorders and anorexia has now been brought to the foreground on JU’s campus.

Roaring laughter could be heard down the road across from the Terry Concert Hall Wednesday Feb. 22 at 7:00 p.m.

By 7:30 p.m. everyone was in stitches and holding onto their chairs. Michelle Buteau a widely known comedian, kept the youthful Jacksonville University crowd entertained throughout the duration of the program.

Buteau, who is from New York, always knew while growing up she wanted to make people laugh and standup comedy was the best way she knew how. She was born into a diverse family. Her mother is originally from Jamaica and her dad from Haiti.

“A lot of inspiration for my work comes from these two people, they raised me to be the best version of myself and no matter what to be unique”, said Buteau.

Her Jamaican influence can be seen through her dance moves and favorite phrase, “from the waist down.”

Originally from Miami she now resides with her husband in the place she grew up, New York. She has performed at a multitude of famous places such as Comedy Central, VH1 and Lopez Tonight.

Although the Hall was only filled with more than 50 students, mostly freshmen, Buteau managed to maintain the full attention of the crowd and included them in her jokes the whole night.

She made one of her jokes about a student in the audience whom is obsessed with Harry Potter, “Gangster Harry Potter.” Her material included interracial dating and relationships; life as a college student and a lot of stories from her numerous endeavors.

Her comedy show came at a right time during a hectic week.

“She was a refreshing change to monotonous campus life,” said junior Brian Mwango. “Hopefully, she will be back to perform more shows at JU, for a life without laughter is no life at all.”

Pisces     February 19- March 20
As a water sign, you are generally adaptable to your surroundings and can flow with change as it occurs. However, if some of these changes don’t seem right at the moment, don’t be afraid to take a stand. There may be a reason why you are questioning them.

Aries     March 21- April 19
Feelings of restlessness seem to overcome you lately. Planning a getaway could be the perfect remedy, but think carefully when choosing a destination. Those who share the sign of Aries are thrill seekers who naturally thrive on adventure so think twice before booking a relaxing retreat.

Taurus     April 20- May 20
You’ve been very self-absorbed lately, and it hasn’t gone unnoticed. While it’s important to always look out for yourself, you can still do so while keeping an eye on the ones around you. Be mindful; you are going to need a huge favor from one of them very soon.

Gemini     May 21- June 20
All of those little things that you have been neglecting to do are beginning to pile up, and it’s starting to take a toll on your mind. Take some time this week to tackle your seemingly endless to-do list before it ends up tackling you.

Cancer     June 21- July 22
This sign is known for being loving and sympathetic. Someone close to you is taking advantage of your compassionate nature. Stand up to them and remind them to not mistake your kindness for weakness.

Leo     July 23- August 22
Despite what some may tell you, there is nothing wrong with your desire to be the center of attention provided that you are not going about it in an obnoxious fashion. You’re a natural-born leader and shouldn’t have to dull your personality to give others the opportunity to shine.

Virgo     August 23- September 22
There’s something that’s been plaguing you for quite a while now, and you’re finally ready to address it. Whether it’s a relationship that ended on bad terms or a friendship that needs mending, it’s time to make things right. They’re just waiting for you to take the first step.

Libra     September 23- October 22
You often take it upon yourself to be the peacemaker in situations of conflict, but in some cases your help is neither needed nor wanted. Although your intentions are good, you need to let people sort out their contentions on their own and learn to mind your own business.

Scorpio     October 23- November 21
It may feel that lately your life has been all work and no play. Fortunately, it’s about to payoff. Reap the benefits as they come, enjoy the feeling of accomplishment, and revisit this moment in the future when you need motivation to reach your next goal.

Sagittarius     November 22- December 21
You need to learn that things cannot always be in your control. While it is normal to fear the unknown, you must also find a way to embrace it. Instead of being troubled by uncertainties, try to take advantage of the fact that you have a number of options that lie ahead of you.

Capricorn     December 22- January 19
Your social life is causing you to neglect some of your obligations. It’s normal to indulge in vices from time to time, but you seem to have forgotten how to do so in moderation. Get back on track before too much damage is done. You will thank yourself later.

Aquarius     January 20- February 18
They say that bad company corrupts good character, and unfortunately someone close to you has become a victim of this. It may seem difficult to have this person’s back at the moment, but be reminded that they are not being themselves and this is only a phase.

Photo by Grace Singer

Soothing, startling and stimulating, the music filling Terry Concert Hall on Feb. 15  challenged powerfully the claim that those who can’t do, teach.

Composerfest, an annual Fine Arts tradition, features works written and performed by university faculty. This year’s event marked the premiere of at least five completely new pieces, according to Jianjun He, program coordinator and associate professor of music composition and theory.

“New music is always important,” He said. “We always need composers, new compositions, otherwise, music dies.”

At Jacksonville University, the drive to create is very much alive. Thomas Harrison, associate professor of music business, said that while the number of full-time positions in JU’s music department is typical for a school this size, the creative atmosphere at JU is unique.

In addition to He and professor emeritus William Schirmer, who started Composerfest, “we have five others who all compose, which is insane,” Harrison said. “You never see that anywhere.”

According to Tony Steve, associate professor of contemporary and world music, considerable collaboration takes place within the Phillip Fine Arts Building.

“What’s kinda nice is up here on the second floor, we talk to each other about our work, and it’s an open discourse,” he said.

Harrison said that although professors rarely collaborate on the initial writing of a piece, they do share input and challenge each other. Last year, for example, assistant professor of piano Scott Watkins commissioned a piece built on techniques Harrison had never used before. The resulting work, “To the Power of Nine,” is an otherworldly composition based on a tonality of nine notes. Harrison described how he and Watkins discuss ideas.

“He might say, ‘This is weird’ or ‘I can’t reach that; my hand isn’t that big,’” said Harrison. “We do nothing but talk about music all the time, talk about our pieces.”

The result was a program brimming with surprises. The pieces of Composerfest incorporated saxophones, piano, guitar, trumpet, drums, cello and the human voice. They blended the mellifluous with the jarring, often within the same song.

“I hope my music is stimulating to listen to,” Harrison said. “I don’t want it to just be happy or upsetting, but interesting. It’s like, how many different ways can you say, ‘I love you?’ You want to hear more about the ins and outs of the story. What I feel my music represents are the peaks and valleys, ebb and flow of the sincere and the sweet and the challenge and the dissonant.”

“People tend to connect better with music that comes from a place that’s more organic,” Steve said, while he also acknowledged that there is a place for “contrived” music.

At Composerfest, he performed a revision of “I Can Eat Glass and It Will Not Hurt Me,” a percussion piece originally written to commemorate the installation of a glass light sculpture in the Times-Union Performing Arts Center. In a conscious parody of academia, the title of the second movement has been translated into Latin. The first movement’s title, meanwhile, is given in Pig Latin.

“We can’t take ourselves too seriously,” Steve said. “I mean, we take our work seriously, but when we take ourselves too seriously, then we get into trouble.”

The program ended on a similarly lighthearted note, with two short pieces by Schirmer. Soprano Kimberly Beasley, assistant professor of voice, sang two of Dr. Seuss’s works as Watkins accompanied on a trilling piano.

Alfred Meneses, a senior and piano major, said that those two songs were his favorite part of the program.

“They really capture the whimsicalness of his poems,” Meneses said.

“The word is diversity if you describe today’s music,” He said, using the word “colorful” to describe the selections of Composerfest. He added, “We don’t know what the next piece sounds like because it’s the 21st century.”

He’s “Ballad for Solo Cello,” an affecting blend of eastern and western elements, was freshman Morgan Christiansen’s favorite selection of the night.

“That one was really cool,” Christiansen said.

Peter Dutilly, a viola and composition major who will begin work on his Master’s degree in the fall, appreciated the varied music of Composerfest.

“It’s great to have so much talent on the faculty,” said Dutilly.

Harrison and He both expressed hope that students like Dutilly find inspiration in the event.

“I hope they respect that the composers are also active, that we’re not just sitting around teaching them and then watching TV,” Harrison said. “What we’re asking them to do, we’re doing ourselves — writing and performing.”

Watkins, who performed four of his colleagues’ pieces on the program, views Composerfest as an important event.

“It’s a great opportunity to celebrate the creation of new things,” said Watkins, “which is what music is all about.”

Photo by Ninoska Nunez

The early evening of Feb. 14 saw an overcast and gloomy river front. Members of the honors program at Jacksonville University had their fingers crossed that the rain would hold off long enough for them to get through the final night of their Italian Summit.

They feverishly arranged their scene: columns to bring a piece of the past to the present, a cardboard gondola, a home-made fountain to create an ambiance and various Italian desserts and coffees to bring a bit of culture to the Dolphin Green from the other side of the pond. If all went according to plan, the evening would be an outlet for students to come out and dance away their stress or frustrations with friends or just spend a nice night out in the open air with a loved one.

The evening started out a little slow. Everyone was not quite comfortable letting loose in front of each other. DJ Mark Whitted played some toe-tapping tunes in hopes of enticing some moves out of the people who came out for the occasion.

After a bit, students got more comfortable mingling with each other. A couple of line dances brought people out on to the dance floor. Twenty to 30 students of all years lined up to dance the Cupid Shuffle, Electric Slide and Macarena. Later in the evening, a competition between a couple of juniors, Joseph Babadi and Eric Smith, president and vice-president of the honors program respectively, broke out. Each tried to prove himself the best at cat-daddy-ing.

By the end of the dance all present were happily engaged in either dance circles or conversations with their friends. Freshman Oyin Hunyinbo from Nigeria impressed and amazed the friends she had come with when she uncharacteristically busted a move off in a corner of the dance floor that she had hoped was inconspicuous.

The night rounded off around 10 p.m. with one last Cupid Shuffle in which everyone participated. It came right on time. With the crowd disappearing into the distance, the clouds started to drizzle on the honor students breaking down their set. The drizzle turned into a light rain and the light rain into a frigid and constant rain. The spirits of those left behind to clean up were not diminished by the weather change.

“I feel gangsta’ yo!” said Emily Sammons, a freshman in the honors program, who throughout the course of the night could be periodically seen swaying and dancing what she dubbed “the gangly white girl dance.”

President and Vice-President Joseph Babadi and Eric Smith were both very satisfied with how the long-awaited evening panned out.

“All the time and effort was worth it,” said Joseph Babadi. “As with most events, things don’t always come out how you see them, but this hit the mark of what we were aiming for.”

“I feel like everyone had a lot better time than I expected,” said Eric Smith. “Everyone dancing the Cupid Shuffle and me teaching people how to dance the cat daddy were highlights for me.”

Photo by Kalli Unthank

Dolphin Productions does it again, this time bringing comedian Jessica Campbell to Jacksonville University’s campus. JU played host to the comedian Feb. 16 as Campbell spread laughter throughout Gooding Auditorium.

Practicing comedy most of her life it was no hard task making the JU audience laugh. Campbell has been seen on Country Music Television’s (CMT) Next Big Comic and in the magazine Life & Style.

“We all thought she was hilarious when we saw some of her video clips,” said Brittani Wyskocil, sophomore and member of Dolphin Productions. “She’s a really awesome person and we were sure everyone on campus would love her too.”

From the very start of the show Campbell showed off her sense of humor by making fun of herself.

“Security at the airports are lucky, they get to see this when I go through the body scanners,” she said as she points to her voluptuous backside which caused laughter among the audience.

Campbell performs most of the show making fun of herself and how much she likes to eat.

“I think I eat so much because I’m afraid of so many animals,” Campbell said and continued to tell the audience about her honeymoon. “I was in the water snorkeling for eleven minutes, and I was stung six times,” she said. “Animals don’t like me either, so I’m going to eat them so they can’t hurt me.”

Campbell spoke of her other biggest fear which is dying.

“Zombies are going to take over the world and we’re all going to die,” she said.

Campbell also expressed her feelings about the several victims of shark attacks coming together to ban the killing of sharks.

“Those people are crazy,” she said. “Why would you want to help something that attacked you? I would hunt that shark down and kill it myself.”

Many members of the audience agreed and laughed along with Campbell.

Sophomore and DP member Maddie Varner left her cell phone on stage while Campbell performed and Campbell responded to text messages Varner was receiving from a friend. By the end of their conversation, Campbell announced she had gotten into a fight with Varner’s friend.

“I think she’s really mad at you. She says she’s not going to live with you anymore,” Campbell announced to the audience which started an uproar of laughter.

At the end of the show Varner spoke out about the supposed fight.

“It was all good fun,” she said. “I explained what happened to my friend, and she said she’ll live with me again.”

Campbell kept the audience laughing right until the very end of the show.

“There were moments not as funny as others, but not many,” said sophomore VonHayes Switzer. “I really enjoyed it though, I thought Jessie was really cool. She even stayed after the show to speak with me.”

Photo by Kalli Unthank

A handful of audience members were transported to new levels of experience and emotion by the magnificent pieces performed by The First Coast Wind Ensemble. Attendance may have been lacking due to all of the other events taking place on the evening of Feb. 16, but the lucky few present at the show were touched by the talent of our students and faculty and their ability to convey the stories behind the music through their execution.

Many of those present were Jacksonville University students and several were members of all ages from the community coming to see friends and family who are in the ensemble. All of those who attended were enthralled from the first note.

“I thought it was amazing, phenomenal and breathtaking,” said sophomore Olivia Patton. “I was pleasantly surprised.”

The title of the concert, “Where Music Takes You,” expresses each of the pieces and presents the listeners with a scene. Ensemble Conductor Artie Clifton assisted the audience to see the setting that the composer was trying to portray by describing the time period in which the piece was written and the emotion that is being depicted.

The concert began powerfully with a piece entitled “Procession of the Nobles,” which set the tone for the entire performance. This regal composition from the failed opera Mlada gives the impression that royalty is actually in the room with the audience. As the concert progressed, each piece became more moving than the last.

A talented musician performed a magnificent clarinet solo during the “Concertino for Clarinet.”  The soloist, Dr. Phillip Paglialonga, executed the difficult piece flawlessly, receiving an encore from the awestruck audience.  The piece contains a range of emotions and tempos, maintaining a sorrowful connotation while simultaneously being upbeat and lively.

The last five compositions of the performance were composed by Richard Saucedo, the director of bands and department chairman at the William H. Duke Center for the Performing Arts at Carmel High School in Carmel, Indiana.  The highlight of the collection of works was “Song of the Gandy Dancers.”  “Gandy dancer” is a term that describes railroad workers that maintain railroads. The composition is based on a chant that was meant to keep up the spirits of the workers as they labored away day after day.  During the song the listener was able to hear the whistle of the train as it approaches and the clacking of the wheels on the track. The instruments combine perfectly to give the audience the experience of being right next to the train tracks as the train comes and then hearing the whistle as it fades into the distance.

“The Song of the Gandy Dancers was my favorite,” Patton said.  “How they made it sound like the train was right there was amazing.”

The First Coast Wind Ensemble is a community band that is made up of musicians from a wide range of walks of life, from letter carriers to music teachers to JU students.  This performance was the Winter Concert of the group’s twenty-second season, and the band is scheduled to return to JU on Feb. 25 to perform a partner concert with the Jacksonville Private Schools Honor Band.

Speaking to the small assembly gathered in the Gooding Auditorium, Cheryl Sowder, Ph.D., associate professor of art history, described Italy as the country that inspired her life’s work and ignited her artistic and archaeological fire. Cumulatively, this art history professor has spent close to a decade physically on Italian soil and the majority of a lifetime researching, studying and immersing herself in the culture.

On this particular evening of Feb. 13, she and two of her colleagues, Carole Barnett, Ph.D., professor of humanities, and Ginger Sheridan, assistant professor of photography, were addressing a fairly intimate gathering of students about Italy. This informational summit was organized and hosted by members of the Jacksonville University honors program.

Dr. Barnett began the festivities with an overview of Italian history and culture. She set the record straight about spaghetti; it is indeed from Italy and not something that Marco Polo brought back from China. Other interesting slides from her power point presentation included a recording of the Italian national anthem and a picture of carbonized pizza from the Pompeii archaeological site.

Next, Dr. Sowder presented on what Italy means to her and how it has impacted her life. She chronicled for the rapt audience her life story starting with her first trip to Italy when she was 20 years old to the present day. Her very favorite moments spent in Italy range from special moments on an archaeological dig site where “every time you scoop up a bit of dirt you’re encountering the past” to the quotidian stops in the coffee shops.

“I love the idea of the outdoor cafe. I try to replicate it every time I go to Starbucks,” she said.

Following Sowder was an entrancing operatic performance by JU honors student Jessica Thomas. She sang just two songs, but only one was necessary for her audience to fall in love with her voice.

After Thomas came Sheridan, who grew up in Florence, Italy. Right off the bat she sent the students into fits of laughter with her comparisons of the two kinds of Italian men. She used two famous statues of David to illustrate her point. There is Michelangelo’s David who is muscular and manly, and then there is Donatello’s David who is more effeminate. Both are accurate depictions of the two main types of men. In the end, however, she says all of their pants fit too well to put anything in them.

Sheridan painted a picture of Italy. She described the “Passagiato,” or the daily stroll that everyone takes between 4 and 7 p.m. to show off their fashion to their neighbors, and the difference between sitting and standing in a coffee shop. If you want to sit in an Italian coffee shop you can expect to pay anywhere from five to nine euros more than the lonely one euro you pay if all you plan on doing is standing there. Her presentation on these daily quirks brought the country to a whole new light for some listeners.

To round off the evening, a couple of representatives of Moon River Pizza did a pizza making and dough twirling demonstration. While the audience dined on some sampler pizzas that they had brought with them, they flung pizza dough up in the air and across the stage at each other.

“It went wonderfully,” said Dr. Haavisto. “The speakers were fascinating, particularly because they’ve not only studied Italian culture but they’ve lived there and worked there so they were really able to address the societal and cultural differences of today. They’ve made me really want to go. And Jess’s singing was just exquisite.”

The night got rave reviews by those present.

“It was an incredible exploration in to the pure essence of Italian culture and history,” said sophomore William MacIsaac. “[It was] educational, inspirational and defyingly brilliant.”