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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 6, 1996)
Page B Wednesday • November 6, 1996 lursday. '3ls, billed; about a polk squad, is gc | ring. ect, starring riter on a 1 ts second ye;| time slot, hasn't quit; its, a bleak.-j na revolving ve (Ken Olin) ots him?: merit o Calif. (AP)- (ued with R; sr disability te- i mgressman's o t himself to dec aid gunman, yrj t immediate f :mself once irf at a hospital. ;sman Terry fj mtered the tr and talked t orking in the!: d he had a' ‘Don’t firetl me round ink aid. ive of Hungar Northern Calq 81 and is cod 1 gressional ft( £hs & Lows I s HxpectedH 81°F ’s L-xpectKiOil 63°F bmorroyji pectedHil 70°F o morrow's, peered Low 48°F irtesy ot TAMfd' ncnt of Student l npus Student So 112 41 'ou Special to The Battalion The 35-member Tibetan song and dance ensemble from the snow fields of China will perform tonight at Rudder Auditorium. Ensemble revives dying Tibetan culture By John LeBas The Battalion I n 1959, the Communist Chinese gov ernment occupied its neighbor to the west, Tibet, and began to sys tematically dismantle the 2,500-year- old Tibetan culture. In less than 20 years, the Communists destroyed all but eight of Tibet’s 6,000 Buddhist monasteries. And the Chinese government forbids Tibetans from cele brating their heritage through traditional songs, dances and music. But the Tibetan Institute of Perform ing Arts is determined to halt this cultur al disinte gration. Formed by His Holi ness, the 14th Dalai Lama, to perpetuate Tibetan heritage, the insti tute’s 36- member Song and Dance En semble will share traditional Tibetan songs, dances and music with the Texas A&M commu nity tonight at Rudder Auditorium. MSC OPAS is sponsoring the performance. The Dalai Lama, Tibet’s government and spiritual leader, brought 100,000 refugees out of Tibet to India following the Chinese occupation. There he set up the Tibetan Government-in-Exile, a satellite government, under which he “It’s to put the audieneeinto a different level of awareness.” Jeffery Cranor OPAS director of audience education created the Institute. Jamyang Dorjee, the ensemble’s direc tor, said the Dalai Lama wanted to save the backbone of the Tibetan people from the Communists’ methodical destruction. “He’s always believed that Tibetan re ligion and culture are the backbone upon which the Tibetan national identity exists,” Dorjee said. “He felt it necessary to preserve the traditional dances in their original forms, and to do this, he started the institute.” The institute has paid close attention to detail in reproducing the songs and dances in the performance, Dorjee said, changing little except to adapt the perfor mance to the stage. In Tibet, he said, song was a way of life, not just a performance. “Every act a Tibetan indulges in, they do it singing songs,” Dorjee said. “It shows how peaceful it was before 1959 — everyone is a singer in their own way. The wording is dedicated to a par ticular deity or god; there are very few romantic songs.” Jeffrey Cranor, OPAS di rector of audience educa tion and development and senior journalism major, said Tibetan singing does not focus on performance like Western singing. “The focus of that style is not like that of American opera, to entertain,” Cranor said. “It’s to put the audience into a different level of aware ness.” For example, Cranor said, the en semble features five monks, each of whom can sing an entire chord at a time. “On that level, people can take in the awe of being able to sing in that way,” he said. Dorjee said, in contrast to the monks’ deep meditational chanting, the ensem ble’s women sing in high pitches. The in struments used further diversify the mu sic, he said. “The musical instruments are very melodic, but very simple,” he said. To help ensure accuracy, Dorjee said, the Institute makes its instruments and the performers’ costumes. The cos tumes are colorful and reflect the wide range of traditional costumes found in Tibet, he said. The ensemble has traveled around the See Tibetan, Page 4 The Association of Former Students Induction Banquet SEN, CiffEof? ; Editor ual Arts Eof 1 b Editor o Editor Dartoon Edik :K Christie H* L, Courtney W®' i n LeBas, lj rtick, Colby Bryan Goodwin Jackson, Sean ■►dgers ■ri & Ryan f t Ed Goodwin, 1 "": ; -vision of Student ilding. Newsroom ^"/bat-web.tan 111 ' •on. Forcampn 5 ' edvertising oM 651 -2678. J gje copy r» y Visa, Masted spring semesteq periods) atTe»5 changes to Wednesday Sc Thursday, November 13 & 14, 1996 COLLEGE STATION HILTON BALLROOM GRAND BALLROOM - 6:20 P.M. All December ’96 graduating seniors and graduate students* are invited Complimentary tickets may be picked up in the MSC Hallway, November 5, 6, 8c 7 (9 a.m. - 3 p.m.) TICKETS GIVEN ON A FIRST-COME, FIRST-SERVED BASIS Student I.D. Required to Pick Up Tickets Compliments of The Association of Former Students ^Graduate students who are not already a member may attend either night. Controversy, drama color student play By James Francis The Battalion I n The Baltimore Waltz, which runs tonight through Saturday in the Fallout Theater in 144 Blocker, the character of Anna faces a family situation common in society. Her brother is facing an un changeable state in his life and for this, she has conjured up the fan tastical actions that are in frame work of the play. Cody Bland, director of The Baltimore Waltz and a senior theater arts major, said the play starts and ends in the thoughts of Anna. “The Baltimore Waltz is an imaginary trip through Europe to resolve the conflict within Anna’s mind,” he said. Bland said one of the problems he encountered with the play was his venture in directing. “It keeps you up at night, but there’s something cathartic about it,” he said. “As a director, you get to see the vision you’re creating.” Bland, who compliments his actors on their performances, said it is the people who make the job so enjoyable. “Another thing that’s great about directing is to watch these great things happening,” he said. “Watching new people come in and find their niche in theater — it’s magical.” Bland said the true magic of The Baltimore Waltz is in the end of the play, which he expects will surprise the audience. “Expect everything,” he said. Tim Moog, The Battalion Joel Ray(left), Amanda Young and Chris Voss exchange bunnies in a spy scene in The Baltimore Waltz, which runs tonight thru Saturday. “This play leaves no stone un turned, no moral dilemma uncon fronted. To me, it’s a roller coaster.” The moral dilemma Bland refers to is revealed in the play’s program booklet, which warns the audience of profanity and adult sexual situations. “College Station as a city is a “Expect everything. This play leaves no stone unturned, no moral delimma un confronted. ... It's a roller coaster.” Cody Bland Director of The Baltimore Waltz haven very unaffected by the out side world,” Bland said. “Part of the reason I chose this play is to chal lenge what is established here.” Bland said in retrospect, that he hopes audiences will leave be lieving the hope and faith in the good of man. The loss of hope and faith are two things one of the main char acters must face. Amanda Young, a junior the ater arts and psychology major, plays Anna. “[The play is] her world, her dream, her way of coping with her brother’s fate,” Young said. “In the dream, she is totally crazy and See Waltz, Page 4