Apr 27, 2018 | News |
By Nicole Pilote Contributing Writer
Weekly practices beginning at the end of January paid off for the forty-four UMF dancers who took part in BAM’s spring showcase. During the week of their shows, BAM put on four performances held for the student body and their parents. The dance numbers included upbeat hip-hop, tap, and contemporary routines.
A beautiful dance, “Body Love” choreographed by freshman Abigayle Weston, left the room quiet with only the sniffles of the crowd before the round of applause. Weston found the song a few months back, decided which dancers would work best with the choreography, and “everything went from there with ease,” she said.
BAM 2018. (Photo courtesy of Sylvia Brooks)
“The “Body Love” routine was elegantly put, with motions that matched to the vocals on the song,” said Eliza Halbig, a UMF student in the audience. “It focuses on how girls see themselves in society today, and that they can be strong and beautiful the way they are.”
Junior transfer student, Jamie St. Pierre, has been dancing for only two semesters. BAM was St. Pierre’s first experience with dance. “As a transfer student coming into UMF, I didn’t have many friends because I didn’t know anyone,” St. Pierre said. “When I joined BAM I got to know so many great people, and have made my closest friends through the program.” St. Pierre looks forward to continuing dance next semester and aspires to be apart of the clubs eboard.
Olivia White, a Sophomore at UMF, started her journey with BAM this spring. “I went to their fall performance and just took a chance. It’s been two years since I’ve danced in front of an audience, it was pretty nerve wracking,” said White.
Meagan Ring has been with the group for 4 semesters, and has been president of the group for 2 of them. Ring has been dancing since she was three years old and continued to dance throughout her college career. Remarking that the shows will be her last with the group, Ring said, “BAM has provided me with an opportunity to meet many new friends. I will miss the wonderful people I have met as well of one of my favorite parts of the club, recital weekends.”
Disco Mashup was the last big group performance of the night. Co-choreographed by Ring and Junior Vanessa Shaeffer, the duo put together classic disco moves to hit 70’s songs, while everyone added their own twists. The atmosphere on the dance floor gave you the urge to join the party. The eleven graduating seniors came together in centerstage dressed in colors of the rainbow ending the night as they took their last bows of the dancing season.
Apr 27, 2018 | News |
By Dale J Rappaneau Jr. Contributing Writer
After six years of hosting the curated monthly reading series known as Word Portland, UMF alums Danielle LeBlanc and Emily Jane Young are retiring as curators and seeking to pass ownership of the reading series to a new two-person team.
“It has been a gradual coming to terms that it’s time to move aside and let other voices have some space curating this series,” said LeBlanc in an email interview.
The Portland-based reading series has been held on the first Monday of every month since its inception in 2012, always beginning at 9 p.m., and has continuously featured a curated selection of award-winning local and regional writers reading their work before a live audience at LFK, a bar and restaurant on Portland’s Congress Street. Anyone could email their work to Word Portland, then LeBlanc and Young make the final decision as to which three writers would be invited to read at the event.
“Emily and I started this six years ago, and at that point, a 9 p.m. event on a school night was totally our speed,” wrote LeBlanc. “But now, with the lives we’ve built around Word Portland, it’s a lot harder to support the schedule, no matter how much we love the event, which is a whole lot.”
Rather than close the doors on the entire reading series, the duo are accepting applications for a new two-person team to take on the roles of event hosts and curators. “Being both cis, white women, we have learned a lot about how we might unintentionally be taking up some artistic space that could be owed to other voices,” wrote LeBlanc. “We’ve made mistakes here too, and we are hoping that new eyes could help make this space an inspiring one for many years to come.”
At the time of writing, LeBlanc and Young are still in search for candidates to take over the event. Their ideal candidate would have the following qualities: “A special interest, if not a background, in creative writing. Passionate about local arts and events. The time and energy to put into said passion. Patience and compassion when communicating with potential readers.”
They also claim to provide “extra points” for candidates “already connected with any of Portland’s wealth of artistic communities.”
LeBlanc and Young met while attending UMF as Creative Writing majors, and they credit their experience in the school’s creative writing program as foundational for their artistic careers. “The workshop model I think is still one of the best teaching strategies for any kind of writing,” wrote LeBlanc. “I made such close friends through my BFA classes, including Emily, and we were treated like artists and equals. It was very empowering at a young age, and I think that gave us the confidence to think that our artistic ambitions were meaningful.”
Individuals interested in applying for the position(s) of curators for Word Portland can send their applications to wordportland@gmail.com or go to wordportland.weebly.com for more information.
Apr 27, 2018 | News |
By Richard Southard Contributing Writer
Androscoggin Home Care and Hospice will be holding their annual Hospice 5K and Remembrance Walk on May 5. The event is fundraising to support low-cost hospice care for people of all ages in Maine communities, and will be one of two annual events put on by the organization.
Androscoggin Home Care and Hospice is a non-profit organization that has been putting on this event for several years, and has been raising funds for over fifty years. The last hospice 5K helped to raise more than $1.3 million dollars in free patient care.
Katie Kassidy, a member of the planning board for the event, is trying to set an even higher mark for this years race. “We need help to make that number even larger this year,” Kassidy said in an email interview, “so that all patients are cared for, including end-of-life care at the Hospice house.” Currently, the event has raised more than thirty-five thousand dollars.
To Kassidy, the 5K is a significant service to the community. “The importance of Hospice Care in our community is huge,” Kassidy said. “Caring for the patient and families during the final months of life can make the experience more pleasant in whatever area you may need support.” For terminally or chronically ill patients, hospice care helps provide pain and symptom management, medical care, counseling for patients and families, and more.
While hospice care can be expensive, the event is aimed at helping mitigate those costs for future patients. “The event helps to provide top of the line care at minimal to no costs for families who need it,” Kassidy said.
For teams that register, each fundraising milestone gives an example for the care they are providing. For example, if someone raised $250 dollars, that money will provide supportive patient therapy, and raising $1000 provides a full day of care for an uninsured patient.
Kassidy has experienced hospice care first hand and is devoted to helping the cause. “Personally, the Hospice House provided end of life care for my great-grandfather and most recently, my nana,” Kassidy said. “Not only did she receive the best care my entire family could imagine, they cared for all of us as though we were patients as well, whether we needed an extra blanket to sleep on the couch or warm hugs.”
The event this year will be taking place at the district court parking lot. Registration will open at 7:30 a.m., and the race will begin at 9 a.m.
Apr 27, 2018 | Feature |
By Nathan McIvor Contributing Writer
Novelist Hannah Binder is a freshman in the Creative Writing program who has published her first novel, “Why We Don’t Wave” under the name Hannah Paige. The novel is an ode to sisterhood and family.
Binder describing the novel in an email interview, said that the plot concerns four sisters who “grow up scattered across the U.S. unaware of each other’s existence .. [and] the trials that come about when four lives try to converge.”
Binder wrote the novel in “the lowest point I’ve ever been in my life so far,” crediting her older sister with spurring her improvement. “When I started writing, I wanted to dedicate this book to her. [The novel] was really a project to try and depict the importance of having a sister and it was an ode to her for all that she has done for me. The four sisters in the novel all depict pieces of who my sister is,” Binder said.
Binder began writing at six years old and finished “Why We Don’t Wave” at sixteen. Binder said that she enjoys “creating characters and establishing a story that I hope many people will be able to connect to” through her work.
When asked about the publishing process, Binder replied, “My age was most likely the biggest hurdle to surmount. I was sixteen and had absolutely no idea what I was doing. I was not about to let my age keep me out of the publishing world, so I held myself to the same standard that writers twice my age do. I edited my manuscript as best I could and started submitting.”
Despite rejections, the UK-based Austin Macauley accepted her manuscript. Much to her surprise, Binder had to ask for a modified contract, ”I needed a place for my mom to sign as well, they had no idea how old I was.”
As a freshman, Binder appreciates “close-knit” campus. A native Californian, Binder had “a bit of a culture shock … but the Creative Writing program and the professors … are exactly what I’d hoped they would be.”
She continues her craft and has already written another novel. Austin Macauley recently accepted “30 Feet Strong.” Binder hopes to have the book released this year. “Writing is a huge part of my life and who I am as a person. That process of finding the perfect word, of composing a page of text that evokes so much emotion or just paints an especially effective image is exhilarating. It’s everything to me.”
Apr 27, 2018 | Feature |
By Jane Metsker Contributing Writer
This year’s UMF production of “Rocky Horror Picture Show” will be showcasing its K-Pop influenced dance numbers under the leadership of new directors senior Zach Roberge and junior Nate Red.
Roberge and Red were assistant directors last year, and both have a few years’ experience with show. “We are making it awesome. We’re focusing more on choreography, keeping what we’ve liked of previous shows, taking everything else and amping it up by ten,” Roberge said.
Sophomore Chloe Woodward, who is assisting the directors, said the show will be unique this year because of the new direction and the dancers’ involvement. “We’re adding a lot more to it. We changed some of the
This years Rocky emphasizes consent and dives into K-pop. (Photo by Jane Metsker)
scenes and we have more extras,” said Woodward. “The dancers are a lot more involved and there’s more scenes they’re involved in than in the movie.”
Part of the directors’ visions was the addition of K-Pop to the pre-existing dance numbers. Red said, “As part of our new vision for the show Zach [Roberge] brought up the idea of around the world for spring fling,”
There is further freedom to change up the production as almost every member of the cast has not performed in the show before. “Generally, the whole concept is to mimic the show, but we’re taking it a bit further, and adding a lot of our own aspects and touches,” Red said.
While the topic of consent has been a prevalent aspect of previous performances, this year the directors are making a point to emphasize the importance of it.
Roberge and Red were motivated by the idea of consent and decided that all the proceeds from the show will be donated to sexual assault prevention services. “Rocky’s always been this place of consent and freedom of sexual expression, that’s the kind of atmosphere we’re trying to set in this place,” said Roberge. “It’s a movement that Nate [Red] and I can get behind and really support.”
Freshman AJ Saulnier, who is playing the role of Columbia, said that auditions were consent-based. “During auditions and the first few rehearsals we would constantly ask each other for consent,” said Saulnier. “With stuff like this there’s so much trust.”
Darby Murnane, who is playing Janet, said, “I think it’s more comfortable to dance on the edges of sexuality here because it’s comic relief, it doesn’t feel dirty or unclean. It’s all for the punchline.” Murnane expressed that she feels completely comfortable in the environment created by the directors and the cast.
There will be raffle tickets sold for a chance to win copies of the “Rocky Horror” DVD, sculptures, and posters signed by the cast. Penis gummies, penis pops, and miscellaneous Rocky items will also be sold at the event.
The UMF Production of Rocky Horror Picture Show will be April 28 in the Lincoln Auditorium at 9 p.m. and midnight.
