February 26, 1971

The Alvin Ailey Dancers

lEAP Aims To Control local

by Marilyn McKenno

Local Efﬂuents Abatement
Procedures, popularly known
as LEAP, was originally div-
ided into several steps. The
first step, carried out last
semester, was to identify and
to some extent quantify the
efﬂuents in the Grinnell Col-
lege community. The second
step, being launched this sem-
ester, will be to devise action
campaigns aimed at control of
the local efﬂuents, and the
final step, hopefully to be im-
plemented some time next
year, will be to integrate the
LEAP program into the exist-
ing city pollution control st-
ructure. Followingthese steps
it seems possible that an en-
vironmental quality control
package might be construct»
ed that will act as a guide for
other communities (like Grin?
nell) for running their com-
munity in an ecologically
sound way.

This semester, the approxi-
mately forty people officially
registered in the Zacredit
LEAP pilot project, have sub-
divided into six LEAPTeams,
each to deal with one of the
following areas: Propaganda
(in the best senseofthe word);
Chemicals; Waste? Inorganic;
Auto; Energy- Heat and Elecr
tricity; and Waste- Organic. A
Coordinating Committee,
made up on one representative

Two Concerts Set For Weekend

The Music Department will
complete its presentation of
winter student concerts this
weekend with two performan-
ces.

Friday night at B the Colleg~
iutn Musicum,withJames Wy-

Peters Talks With
Suspected Attacker

Rumors that Grinnell's ”mad
rapist” has been apprehended
are not true, according to
Grinnell Police Chief Bill
Peters.

Last Thursday, a college fe-
male was approached by a
man in a car, who proposed,
"What's the action?" or some
such. She wrote down the lice
ense number, and the suspect
was soon found by the police.
The girls on campus whohad
previously been approached
by someone were called down
to the station, but were unable
to identify the man. Three or
four other suspects have been
investigated, but no leads have
proved fruitful.

Thursday's suspect was told
to stay out of town, and no
further trouble is expected
from him.

from each of the six Teams,
acts as a general organiza*
tional body for the group as a
whole. Although the action
campaigns originate in the in-
dividual LEAP Teams, they
very often will involve all the
LEAP members as well as
volunteers. LEAP develop
ments to dateare brieﬂy sum»
marized below.
"'LEAP PHONE”'

One of the steps taken to
facilitate communication be-
tween the members of the
community and LEAP is the
installation of a LEAP phone
--ext. 635. The phone will be
manned 7-10 pm. Monday‘
Thursday. Call if you have
any suggestions, questions,
complaints, etc. LEAP is
largely experimental. and
needs to know your reactions;
"'REFERENDUM O.K.s EX-
PERLMENT‘” /
The Referendum conducted
last Friday requestioning die
consent of the student body to
lower the dorm temperatures
5 degrees passed and the ex-
periment will be conducted.
If you have any complaints or
reactions to the temperature
in your room, please contact
the LEAP representative in
your dorm (the name or names
should be posted on the dorm
doors) or (211 the LEAP phone
next. 635 from 7*10p.m.Mon~
dayeThursday.

1y, conductor, will present a
short concert. Songs from
“Orpheus Britannicus" by
Henry Purcell will Open the
concert, followed by Bach‘s
“Ich geh' und suche mit Ver-
langen". A Lebertoul motet,
five secular pieces byvarious
composers, five carnival
songs, William Billings “La-
mentatlon over Boston" and
Richard Dering's “The Cries
of London" will complete the
concert.

William Conner will present
an organ concert Sunday night
at 8 in Herrick Chapel. Ace
companied on some numbers
by Ellen Ferry, viol d'gamba,
Kathy Kabrick, violinceilo,
and Louise hall andjay Souths
ard, violins, Mr. Conner's
performance will consist of
mainly classiml pieces. Jos-
eph Haydn’s "Concerto No. 3
in G" and Bach's "Trio Sal-r
ata No. 5 in C" will begin the
concert, followed by two
pieces by R. Ortiz, “Recer-
(ado Primera Sobre" and
"Recerdado Quinta". Coup~
erin's "Messe pour les Con-
vents" and Mozart's "Kirchr
lichen Sonaten" will complete
die program.

THE SCARLET AND BLACK

Page 5

Alvin Ailey Dancers Here Tomorrow

THE ALVIN AILEY AMERI-
CAN DANCE THEATRE, a
company of fifteen exciting
young dancers, that has eleca
trified audiences and stunned
critics into superlatives since
its birth in New York City in
1958, will be at Grinnell this
Saturday for two shows, 8 and
9:30. The company begins this
U. S. tour fresh from its fifth
triumphant European tour, a
performance in the White
House for former President
and Mrs. Lyndon B. Johnson,
a week on Broadway in janu-
ary at the Billy Rose Theatre,
and a week at the Hollywood
Bowl with the FifthDimension.

As Alvin Ailey has taken his
company around the world, he
has presented the legacy ofthe
American Negro through the
medium of modern dance and
with his music. The dancing
is joyous, dramatic and vital.

Effluents

“‘Presorting your Junk‘“
Because paper is one of the
major effluents of Grinnell
College, a recycling project
is to be one of the first LEAP
undertakings. The Inorganic
Waste Team has announced
that during the next. week, two
additional boxes will be placed
on every dorm ﬂoor near the
regular trash containers. One
box will be for what is termed
“clean paper",which includes
paper which has been written
on, but not wet, dirty, waxed,
or greasy paper andnot cello-
phane or plastics. The other
box will be for clean (not wet,
dirty, greasy) newspapers and
magazines. What LEAP is
asking of Grinnellians is that
they simply separate their
recyclable paper, newspap—
ers, -and ma-gazines’vfrom the
rest of' the junk they throw
away. The paper collected in
the boxes will be transferred
to two on- campus storerooms
”one in Loose basement and
the other in North Younker
basement—mntil it is taken to
the paper company in Des
Moines which will buy it for
reprocessing. ‘
The same 2-boxarrangement
will also be set up in the post
office in addition to the regu-
lar junk containers. The idea
is to presort the bundles of
junk mail that you are getting
so that the excessive amounts
of paper can be recycled.
Eventually, it is hopes that
these pre-sorting arrange-
ments will be extended to in?
clude faculty offices, library
offices, downtown office build-
(continued to page 8)

“THE COCKTAIL PARTY"Bpened

And the whole experience is
total ”dance theatre".

Alvin Ailey choreographs to
communicate--with his aud-
ience and with his dancers-*
and they all respond comple-
tely. In Hamburg, the people
refused to go home--the com*
pany received an unpreceden-
ted 61 curtain calls! The Aus-
tralians have invited the Alvin
Ailey American Dance Thea-
tre back again and again, each
time extending the length of
the tour. In the sophisticated
world capitals of London, Fa-
ris and New York, the unique
troupe was cheered by aud-
iences which packed the thea-
tres each year they appeared.
The U. S. State Department
sponsored their Afrimn tour
as dancing ambassadors of
America. Walter Terry, in
his weekly world ofdance col*
umn in the Saturday Review,
03115 Alvin Ailey one of Am-
erica's most experienced,
most successfulandmosthotr
ored Negro dance leaders."

As a greatmodern dancerand
choreographer, Ailey has
created stunning dances for
the Metropolitan Opera Come
pany, the Harkness Ballet and
other major companies. His
own American Dance Theatre
performs a wide-ranging re~
pertoire of Aile'y creations as
well as works by Other major
choreographers, such as Tale
ley Beatty and Geoffrey Hol-
der.

It was through Lester Horton,
a pioneer in the world ofmod-
ern dance, that Alvin Ailey
began the ascentthathas taken
him to the top of his profes—
sion. He attended Los Angeles
City College, but also, on sch-
olarships, begn composition
and technique classes and Sate
urday workshop sessions with
Horton, also doing stage work
and performing as a member
of the company’s corps.

After City College, Ailey
went on to San FranciscoState
College, intent on pursuing
courses in the Romance Lane
guages. While there he began
dancing in a night club. Later
the act went to Los Angeles
and finding himself totally in-
volved with dancing, he re-
joined Lester Hortcn and his
company.

When Horton died in 1953,
Alvin Ailey began choreogra~
phing for the company which
planned on staying together . . .
His first efforts were per-
formed in Los Angeles and
were ”Mourning Morning"
and "According to Saint Fr-
ancis". In New York, Ailey
studied modern dance with
Martha Graham, Doris Hume

i

phrey and Anna Sokolow, am~
ong Others. He appeared In
such shows as “The Care-
free Free", “Sing, Man,
Sing" and "Jamaim".

With a group of dancers dr'
awn from Broadway, Alvin
Ailey formed a group who ap-
peared in New York in March
and December 1958 at the
Kaufmann Auditorium at the
YMHA.

Dance News reported "the
stage world created by Alvin
Ailey an altogether stimulat-
ing, exciting, beautiful, funny
and original entertainment,
meticulously presented.”
During the 1959*60 season,
the company was again at the
YMHA, but the Clark Center
for the Performing Arts in
New York’s YWCA became the
company's home off the road
in 1960. There the Alvin Ailey
American Dance Thmtre re-
hearses and there Ailey tea-
ches young dancers.

1962 found the Alvin Ailey
American Dance Theatre on
a lseweek tour of ten count-
ries in the Far East sponsor-
ed oy the U.S. Smte Depart-
ment. Ailey's suite of black
folk danCES, “Been Here and
Gone", was premiered on the
tour which was a huge success.
In Sidney, Australia, for ex—
ample, tickets were so in de-
mand, scalpers were getting
as much as $25. per ticket.
There were 20 curtain calls
opening night and Australian
res engagements are a matter
of course.

The Alvin Ailey American
Dance Theatre toured during
the next few seasons, appear-
ing at colleges and universitv
ies with great success. Regu—
lar engagements at Jacob's
Pillow, New York concerts at
the Brooklyn Academy and the,
Clark Center, South Ameri~
can and European tours folr
lowed.

The company‘ still tours
Europe and the United States
regularly. As one of the resi‘
dent dance companies at the
Brooklyn Academy of Music,
the Alvin Ailey American
Dance Theatre has two two-
week seasons, in the Fall and
Spring, 1969 and 1970, at the
Academy. Africa and Israel
have both seen the company

on extensive tours: .
Between touring With his own

company, and dutiesasa guest
choreographer with various
important companies, Ailey
has choreographed theatrical
productions and staged the
dances for the Met's opening
production of “Anthony and
Cleopatra". He is also the
recipient of a National Coun-
cil in the Arts Grant.

Wednesday night in Arena Theater. Directed by Ned;

Donahoe, the castis,from left, BobSimmons, David Gaines, Jenny Gordon, Blake Blakesly,
Rob Sackett, and Mary Brown. Friday, Saturday and two Sunday performances are sold out,
but check at the theater for possible seats.

(Photo by Marty Sachs)

 

