4 | Wednesday March 6, 2013 | The University Star
TRENDS
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Dance students will be performing a modern routine called Pueblo-Mujeres at the Sans Souci Festival of Dance Cinema March 7 at Evans Auditorium.
Festival brings cultural dance experience to campus By Fiona Riley Trends Reporter Dancers moved across the stage with fluidity, then stopped suddenly to stare intensely into each other’s eyes. Rehearsal of their up-close-and-personal choreography was in full swing in preparation for the Sans Souci Festival. Texas State dance students will be performing live March 7 at the Sans Souci Festival of Dance Cinema. They will perform a modern dance called PuebloMujeres, composed by Cecilia and Yseye Appleton during their artistic residency at Texas State. “It’s about women in Mexico who have to struggle to create a community for themselves while their men are gone,” said Eileene Vicencio, anthropology senior. The dance emphasizes eye contact, which took practice and development of trust among the performers. They practiced with exercises that included staring at each other without speaking. “First you want to laugh because you feel awkward, but once you get past that awkwardness, it’s really humbling,” said Taylor Wasmer, dance junior. “You realize that we don’t look at many people in the eyes without speaking. When we just stared at each other it was kind of nervewracking, but you really grow a bond and a trust with one another that you don’t have with other people.” The dance requires the group to move as one in mul-
“Hoosiers” actor recalls Texas State memories By Fiona Riley Trends Reporter Movies, television, voice-overs and plays—Texas State alumnus Chelcie Ross has done them all multiple times in his career as an actor. Ross has spent 40 years in his profession, but he did not initially plan on pursuing an acting career. Ross was undecided on his future career upon arrival at the university, known then as Southwest Texas State. It was only when a class required him to do something in the arts he auditioned for the play “Noah,” written by Andre Obey and directed by Gresdna Doty, who taught at the university. Ross was cast in the leading role. “Noah” was his first play. “I was so impressed with him,” Doty said. “He had a wonderful voice, and he was tall, and he moved beautifully. Everybody in the department was impressed with his ability right away. He just seemed like a natural.” In “Noah,” Ross wowed Harold Tedford, a Southwest Texas State theatre and speech faculty member at the time. “What I remember about Chelcie is that he was a superb actor,” Tedford said. “He was always such a surprise because he was so believable and so good.” Ross had only seen approximately four plays, two of which were amateur works, at the time he auditioned for “Noah.” Even after starring in “Noah,” Ross pursued a degree in English and went on to serve in the military. Ross was sent to Vietnam and later employed by the Pentagon, where he was working when Ramsey Yelvington contacted him, requesting his return to theatre. “He kept writing to me and telling me I should come back to the theatre, and that I was the best acting talent he’d seen in his 30-odd years of teaching at Southwest Texas State,” Ross said. Ross remembered enjoying his time as an actor and decided to return to the theatre. “I resigned my commission at the Pentagon and packed my wife and babies in the car and drove back to Texas to pursue an acting career,” he said. Yelvington helped Ross with the ca-
Photo courtesy of Suzanne DeWalt
reer change by securing him a scholarship with The Dallas Theatre Center. That was in 1970, and little did Ross know to this day he would still be actively pursuing acting as a career. Ross additionally has a love of sports. He was on the baseball team while attending Southwest Texas State and has acted in many sports-themed movies, including a basketball movie called “Hoosiers.” “I started getting a few little film and television roles, and then Hoosiers happened in 1985,” Ross said. “Hoosiers of course is still around and doing very well all these years later, and that kind of opened the door for bigger and better roles. The progression to really getting into films and television started with Hoosiers.” Ross said he is fond of his time in sports films, such as “Trouble with the Curve,” the Clint Eastwood-produced movie that came out last year. “It’s what I aspire to,” Ross said of his acting career. “It’s what God intended for me to do. The challenge is still there. I’m 70 years old, and the chase is still on. One of the things I tell young actors is, ‘If there’s anything else you can do, if you don’t have to do this, go find some other work, because it’s not an easy thing.’ Everybody wants to be an actor, and not everyone can be.” Ross’ next film, At Any Price, will debut April 26.
tiple instances throughout the performance. “It makes you feel like you’re a part of something bigger than yourself,” Vicencio said. Some of the dancers aspire to one day perform professionally. “The dancers who are dancing in this event definitely have a huge commitment to it,” said Ana Baer, assistant dance professor. “It’s their priority. They’re really motivated to do this. They really like dancing, and they really like performing. The people we select to participate are the ones who can really commit.” A Texas State experimental music group called Mysterium will play the dance’s music. The festival will feature videos from around the world in addition to live performances. There will be videos from multiple countries including Spain, Ireland, Canada and Denmark. The festival’s evening at Texas State is partially funded by the City of San Marcos Arts Commission, The Common ExperienceGlobal Odyssey Committee and the Dance Division at Texas State.
Evans Auditorium 7:30 - 10 p.m. General Admission $12 Students $6 (cash only) Box Office opens 6 p.m.
Photos courtesy of Ana Baer