Dancers hit the stage at Extravadance

Performers in Dance Alliance, Collegiate World, Collegiate Ballroom and Collegiate Contemporary groups have spent approximately nine and a half hours every week to build up the Extravadance shows on Nov. 11-13.

There are two stages of Extravadance. The first starts in the fall, and the second one is in the winter. The dancers in Extravadance are committed to both semesters.

The fall performance of Extravadance is the first half of a tour. In the winter they learn more dances, perform them and complete the second half of their tour show.

This year Extravadance will be touring in Texas. In the past it toured Florida, Georgia, Eastern Canada and Russia. Dance Alliance is made up of 34 dancers. They perform different styles and genres of dance.

At Extravadance, they performed a dance called “Ring of Liberation,” which was performed by males only. “Ring of Liberation” is a Brazilian Capoeira dance. Capoeira dancing was started by slaves in Brazil.

“The slaves couldn’t actually fight, or their owners would get mad. They were allowed to dance, so they came up with a dance that they could practice fighting in.

They practice fighting moves, but they do it to a beat, and to music,” said Kevin White, a junior studying exercise physiology, and a member of the Dance Alliance team.

Dance Alliance also performed a hip hop routine called “Appertaining Rage,” all the dancers in Dance Alliance were featured in this dance. “Appertaining Rage” is a crump style of hip hop. Each dance performed by Dance Alliance told a story.

“In ‘Appertaining Rage’ two friends are in opposite gangs. They want to be friends, but their gangs don’t want them to be, so it’s a battle between two gangs. At the end the two gangs separate, leaving the stage and the two guys are still able to be friends,” White said.

The Collegiate World team has 13 dancers.  The World team focuses on many different cultures of dance.

They performed a dance titled “Stormy Streets.” This dance fused Irish and hip hop dancers.

It featured a duet at the beginning, and then introduced the rest of the dancers.

“The lyrical part in the begining is the hardest because there was no set choreography. We had to make up our own [choreography], and every performance it was a little bit different. We just kind of feel the music,” said Robyn Smith a junior studying child development, and a member of the Collegiate World team.

The Collegiate Ballroom team performed a dance called “Helplessly, Hopelessly” with 16 dancers. “Helplessly, Hopelessly” is a Vietnamese Waltz. The waltz featured a main couple, with other pairs dancing around them.

“Our coach, who choreographed the dance, danced it to his wife, so it was the aftermath of that [dance],” said Adam Diamond a senior studying health science, and a member of the Collegiate Ballroom team.

The Collegiate Contemporary team has 14 dancers. They performed a dance called “Pandora’s box.”

At the beginning of the dance there was a soloist who danced, around a vase in the middle of the stage, she opened it and then other dancers came in crawling across the floor.

Throughout the dance the soloist would join in with the different groups symbolizing that she was becoming a part of them. Finally she shut the “box” and was herself again.

Extravadance featured other dances by each of the teams. Audiences were able to see several different dance styles all in one evening.

Footwear selection can reflect personality

Shoes may be the last thing a person slips on before heading out for the day, but they can have a lot to say about personal style.

Books such as “The Perfect Fit: What Your Shoes Say About You” highlight how choices in shoes can help tell people about their personality or their personal style.

There are also other fashion books, websites and resources that focus on the history and meanings behind the various shoe styles.

“I am a pretty laid back person, and I feel like most of my shoes represent that. I have many pairs of Vans and other skate shoes, as well as a lot of different flats. I have heels, too, for those token days I feel like getting all dolled up,” said Katie Reed, a junior studying biology.

Shoes can either be the highlight of the outfit or something that pulls the outfit together.
“It depends what jeans you wear … I like to match my shoes with my purse or my jacket. I don’t do the shoes with the shirt. Sometimes I’ll match my shoes 
to my hair accessory. What I think about most, is I’ll want to wear a pair of shoes and then I’ll pick the outfit,” said 
Kat Constandse, a junior studying 
health science.

Some of the elements of a shoe 
are color, texture and height.

“What attracts me to a shoe? Texture and combinations of the color. People are more interested in combination 
of color, not just the color of the shoe,” said Andrew Matthews, a sophomore studying communications.

Comfort versus style is one of the 
age-old fashion questions. People can give up comfort for fashion and accept 
it as a part of life.

“My shoes from a year ago gave me eight blisters when I first started wearing them. After a little breaking in and callusing, they were fine and the ladies loved them,” said J Farmer, a junior studying communication.

Shoes can be fashionable as well as comfortable, depending on your efforts into picking out a pair of shoes.

“If you’re going to spend money on a shoe that you want to wear a lot, 
then you might as well make it be a 
good quality [shoe], which might be a little more expensive,” Constandse said.

On campus a variety of shoes can be seen ranging from high heeled knee-high boots, flats, running shoes, hiking shoes, Keds, Converse and skater shoes.

Students may want to choose carefully the footwear that reflect their style.

Masters of the Fiddle perform as part of Center Stage

Center Stage presented husband and wife fiddlers, Natalie MacMaster and Donnell Leahy, in Masters of the Fiddle. MacMaster and Leahy were joined by pianists Mac Morin, and Erin Leahy, Donnell’s sister.

MacMaster and Leahy are currently on a tour called Two Fiddles, Two Pianos.  For this concert, both MacMaster and Leahy have left behind their usual bands and are playing together with two pianists
accompanying them.
“I really love being Canadian when I watch Natalie MacMaster. She represents her country really well. Not a lot of people know how much family means to her,” said Mandy Atwood, a senior studying art.

A special treat in the performance was when their three-year-old son, Michael, joined them onstage and danced while Leahy played the fiddle. Michael walked onto stage with his mother and Leahy introduced him as their son, and explained that they didn’t know that Michael was going to be joining them.

“We travel a lot with little ones, and they try to be like mom and dad. Tonight Michael said, ‘I want to dance I want to dance’,” Leahy said.

MacMaster and Leahy played a variety of tunes, including a song entitled “Madness Medley”. In “Madness Medley” each musician (including the pianists) took a time to play a solo, of whatever they wanted. They would begin and end with the same notes and meld the songs together to create their own song.

“My favorite part has been when they started doing the impromptu music. I like how they break out and can start out in the beginning and end at the end of the song together,” said Lilly Russell, a freshman studying elementary education. 

Masters of the Fiddle featured dancing as well as the fiddle. Each of the four musicians took their chance to show off their dance skills. According to nataliemacmaster.com, MacMaster started incorporating step dancing into her performances when she was 16, and continues to do it while she is pregnant to help get the crowd excited.

MacMaster and Leahy have different cultural backgrounds. Both are from Canada, but grew up with difference influences. MacMaster is a virtuoso Cape Breton fiddler according to her website nataliemacmaster.com. She plays “traditional Canadian sound for contemporary times” according to the Center Stage program description.

“Her [Natalie MacMaster’s] music is very much, culturally rich. If you want to know what the culture is like in eastern Canada, especially in Cape Breton this is it,” Atwood said.
Leahy grew up with parents who played the fiddle. He described how his family played together and learned to play by ear. They also picked up on influences from whatever they heard on the radio.

“In our case we didn’t have a lot of music around us…so, we don’t sound like a distinct culture or style. When I met certain people or listened to certain types of music it influenced me,” Leahy said.

MacMaster has been to BYU-Idaho previously, and she said that she enjoys performing here. She played here right after her first child was born. 

When asked what she likes about playing at BYU-Idaho MacMaster said, “The crowd, the crowd, the crowd, [it’s] unbelievable. I remember the crowd because they aren’t shy. They’ll holler out.  It’s so good when you’re on stage playing and people don’t wait until the very end to do anything. As you’re going along, you change progression of tunes and tempos and things and they holler stuff out and they’re alive and they’re young, It’s great.”

Student achieves internship with congress

Alexandra Walborn, a junior at BYU–Idaho, procured an internship with Congressman Peter Hoekstra from the second congressional district of Michigan.

Walborn has had the opportunity to be a disciple leader while she has been interning in Washington, D.C. When her co-workers found out that she was a member of the church, they responded with, “That explains a lot”.

“I think it is great how no matter where we go people are always watching us, observing how we will act under certain pressure. I'd like to think the reason those staffers reacted that way means I'm setting an example of discipleship here,” Walborn said.

According to Walborn, her co-workers have respected her because she has upheld her standards[i1].

“My co staffers have treated me differently; they don't swear in conversation with me, like they do in casual conversation with each other, and they seem to trust me more and more every day in the office,” Walborn said.

Obtaining an internship in Washington, D.C. is very competitive. Most congressional internship positions go to seniors, but Walborn has just finished her sophomore year, and will begin her junior year in January.

Walborn is a native to Shelby, Michigan, which is in the second congressional district of Michigan.

“I did have a couple of things going for me: first, each congressional office favors intern applicants from their[i2] own congressional district and second there is more competition in the summer than the fall,” Walborn said.

[i3]Walborn says she is an English major and wants to have a career in writing.

“I wanted to intern in D.C. to work to improve my writing skills and possibly see if I might ever be interested in press work.” Walborn says.

The qualifications for an internship in Hoekstra’s office require knowledge of American government, a subject that Walborn was not very familiar with, being an English major.

“I'm not a political science major, so it took some time to get caught up to speed with all the terminology. To anyone thinking about working for the federal government, don't feel discouraged from applying for an internship just because you aren't a political science major. All you have to be willing to do is pay attention to detail and come ready to learn.”

Interns in Hoekstra’s office are responsible to assist the staff, prepare correspondence for the legislative staff, answer constituent inquiries, conduct research, and help with day to day operations, according to Hoekstra’s websitehttp://hoekstra.house.gov/ConstituentServices/internships.htm

The pros of Health Care Overhaul

The saying “at least I have my health” isn’t true for all citizens under the current health care system. There is no point in denying that we need to make changes to the current system. The President, House and Senate are all working to fix the issue; however, their bill, “Affordable Health Care for Americans Act,” is not the fix we are looking for.

The “Affordable Health care for Americans Act” will raise taxes. The bill would also expand Medicaid and would add more taxpayer-funded subsidies. Finally, the bill would allow for a government or public sponsored option, which would be cheaper than the private sector. The private sector would be unable to compete and would go out of business.

The Democrats have a good idea in the fact that they are trying to provide every American with affordable health insurance. The Democrats health care reform sets up a “cookie cutter” outline for what is an “acceptable health care plan.”

In the House’s plan, 96 percent of Americans would have health insurance. To have a majority of Americans covered, businesses would be forced to provide coverage. Section 412 mandates that employers cover a minimum premium of 72.5 percent of individual coverage and 65 percent of family coverage. If the House’s bill goes through, many people who already have insurance through their jobs would actually be at risk to lose their coverage.

Businesses are strapped for cash as it is. If they are required to pay more on health insurance, it could mean layoffs. We already have a 10.2 percent unemployment rate, and we don’t need to continue raising it.

Making sure that every American has sufficient coverage sounds like a noble goal. The government plans to set up an outline of what every basic plan should cover.

This should allow every person to receive medical attention. However, many people choose to have less coverage than the bill would allow. Americans don’t want to pay for coverage that would cover more than they need. If the government mandate creates an option that has more coverage, the private companies would be forced to charge more.

The government also plans to fine those who don’t have coverage. The fine could be cheaper than having coverage. If people aren’t able to choose their own coverage and don’t like how much they have to pay for coverage they don’t need, many people would choose not to be covered. They could save money by dropping their insurance all together.

The House’s bill is estimated to cost $1.2 trillion over the next 10 years. We are in a recession — how can we afford to spend more money and in such large amounts? Health care costs will be paid for by more taxes. The government will charge a new income tax on single people who make more than $500,000 a year, and married couples who make more than $1 million. In addition, those who refuse to buy insurance will be charged a fine, which will be used to help pay for the bill. Both the House and the Senate plan to expand Medicaid. By expanding Medicaid the taxpayers will be paying for more people’s insurance. The plan to expand Medicaid would let people who are 100 to 150 percent at or below the poverty line to be eligible for Medicaid. If Medicaid is expanded, approximately 21 percent of the United States population would be on Medicaid, according to The Heritage Foundation.

The expansion of Medicare would increase taxes. It is unfair to keep asking hard working taxpayers to pay for more and more. Medicare is also one of the government’s lowest performing programs. It does not make sense to try and expand an already failing program.

“I will be the first to admit that it is irresponsible to just say no to the current health legislation without offering commonsense alternatives that will actually bring down the cost of health care,” said Representative Mike Simpson of Idaho’s second district. “For these reasons, I support measures to make health care more affordable and accessible without further drowning our nation in debt.”