February 6,2003 Page 2 The Blue Banner F e a t u r e s Go-Go Girl Asheville swing scene alive and kicking good, campy fun The Jitterbug spun off of the Lindy Bayly Marret Mary Wyatt Hop in the mid 1930s in ballroom Features Reporter Features Reporter dance school organizations. The I see Jitterbug has six-counts, as opposed The Plaeides Productions theatre bikers group perform “The Really Hip You've got to jum p, jive, bend and to the Lindy Hop, which has eight- the n Adventures of G o-Go Girl, Epi­ wail. Why? Because of Asheville's counts. arrive sode 9-Space Vixens With Sassy growing reputation in the swing "Jitterbug is easier to learn than dowtc Attitudes,” on Friday and Saturday dancing community. Lindy," Howell said. eclect: ights at the BeBe Theatre througfi The Grove Park Inn recently Dancers today take the Lindy Hop filled Feb. 8. - I hosted its 12th Annual Big Band/ a step further. They perform the Pavic If the title seems confusing. Di­ Swing Dance Weekend and UNCA dance to electronic music and hip- The rector Lars Clark might be able tp students show off their swinging hop. Trio, better explain the performance. shoes locally, nationally and even "It's fun to apply it to all sorts of left tl “It is more o f a party than a play, internationally. music," D orf said. "It changes the had he said. O n the other hand, maybe "Asheville has a really good repu­ dance a litde bit, but that's kind of crow( that just makes it more confusing. tation, much better than we actu­ the spirit of the dance. back This B-Grade comedy by Marlj ally have a scene for," said Sosh To bring back what they did in ones. Landon Smith combines the feel ol Howell, a junior computer science the past and develop it in this day in Isn; age." low budget science fiction and the throu M any local dancers try to make it teenybopper movies of the ’60s. pastn Filled with tons of dancing and full swing dance workshops in the com­ the street dance it used to be. lets 60’s pop music, this play provides munity on a regular basis. They follow bands around and 'Hov an experience like no other in the- Local swing dancers even started break into the Lindy Hop in the tome up a non-profit dance organization, middle of clubs, like Tressa's in wayti “I’d basically say it was fun and the Asheville Swing Society, to pro­ downtown Asheville. barte: mote more dancing in Asheville. More organized swing dances, like silly and campy. Learning to dance COURTESY OF SOSH HOWELL was the most fim,” said actress Dana UN CA even has a swing club. the Big Band/Swing Dance W eek­ Zoe Whittaker, a sophomore, and Sosh Howell, a student and local dancing teacher, shows off his swing dancing moves with a partner. end at the Grove Park Inn, have Eatman who plays the part of Muffy local swing dancer David B raverman started popping up around town Midway. teach for the U N CA swing club. den to study at the internationally "I cooked hot dogs with Frankie Khaki commercials in which danc too. Fletcher School of Dance plans The opening night of the play sold out the 50 seats of the BeBe theatre The class meets every Monday night recognized Herrang dance camp. Manning this past summer," ers danced the Lindy Hop. to host a swing dance in February. from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. in the Justice He has returned for three summers Howell said. Swing dancing means different D orf started swing dancing two and then more with willing audi­ ence members sitting on the floor. Center dance studio. in a row, and plans to go back to First-generation Lindy Hoppers things across generations. M any and a half years ago at UNCA. "The UN CA swing club is there to Sweden every year of his life. H ow­ inspired Manning in the 1930s. dancer attending the Grove Park Howell began taking swing classes The general feel of the audience encourage students to come out and ever, Howell had company at the Dancers George "Shorty" Snowden Inn's Swing Dance Weekend came three years ago during his senior seemed very relaxed. The audience try it," said Jaya Dorf, a junior psy­ dance camp last summer. and Leroy "Stretch" Jones began for the memories. year of high school. appeared to enjoy the craziness oi chology major. "There were eight people from the swing dance trend during the They traveled from Kentucky, "I saw my mom dancing at the the play as much as the perforjrnejs, “I thought it was a total woncferfiil "If they like it, they can dance Asheville that went last year, which 1920s, in the Savoy Ballroom in South Carolina, Georgia and many beach one summer and said hey, I Ted more in the community." is a huge number represented," said Harlem, according to other places to listen and dance to gotta learn how to do that," said experience. Good music, good The opportunity to swing dance Dorf. "Even though we're so small, www.savoystyle.com. tunes played by the Sammy Kaye Howell. dancing,” said Michael Sulock, has not always been around. W hen and there's not many people here Swing dancing reached its peak in Orchestra and the Charles Goodwin Howell said that he began danc­ senior. Howell wanted to learn the Lindy that are swing dancing, those o f us the 30’s and 40’s, according to Orchestra. ing to improve his social life with “T he Really H ip Adventures Hop, the original swing dance, he that do are getting out there and Howell. "We're retired and this is just what the ladies. Go-Go Girl” tells a comic book­ couldn't find anyone to teach him. learning as much as we can." "It started to lose popularity when we do in our retirement," said However, he does not currently like story of heroine Babs Broad­ "I had to travel. I went to Atlanta, *rhe swing dancers get lessons everyone started staying home to Deane Messer, a dancer from Ken- have a regular dance partner. He way by day, Go-Go Girl by night Greensboro and Durham," said outside of Asheville for many rea- watch the ‘idiot box,’” said Howell. feels pretty lucky to take U N C A TJie play starts out with four beaut)' Howell. "Finally, I decided if I Ironically, the same "idiot box" Many dancers at the Grove Park dance classes, though. contestants competing in the Miss wanted to get good, I had to go to go In Sweden, Howell took classes brought it back somewhat. Howell Inn Swing W eekend dance a style "It's a class with 30 women; how Magic Oval Lift Panty Pageant. to Sweden.” from Frankie M anning, one o f the attributes the comeback of swing o f swing called the Jitterbug or East could it not help me socially?" asked When the beauty contestants ai Howell traveled to Herrang, Swe- m ost famous Lindy Hoppers ever. dancing in the 1990s, to the Gap Coast Swing. Howell. rive in Florida for the pageant, passing comet captures the girls and takes them to the planet Sniggle O ’Cheese. Two o f the contestants, N anette and Phoebe, join Higk II Priestess Marge from Snij O ’Cheese to travel across the “Chicago” sings praises of sex, booze and jazz axy, dancing the pony and the monkey to pop 60’s music all the Diana Kostigen The two other contestants. Mavis Features Reporter and Oma, become victims of“Bouf fant Fusion” during the crash "Chicago" thrills the audience are sent back to Earth with es through a deliciously cynical blend M oo Goo Gai Pan. Their mission: of wit, satire, intrigue and sensual­ to steal “Mystery Formula X, ity. The movie sweeps viewers into a surrealist circus act set in a time of potion the planet needs to survive, sex, booze and jazz. In such a place, Go-Go Girl, cleverly disguised a stay in the big house gets you into Babs Broadway, a popular “college the limelight, not the interrogation co-ed” at Nancy Sinatra State Uni­ light. versity, must defend Earth. Go-Gc It may have been films like "M ou­ Girl, along with her sassy sidekick lin Rouge" that paved the way for Princess Dancing Squaw, takes movie renditions of musical the­ the mission to battle H igh Princess ater, but "Chicago", directed by Marge. Rob Marshall, took it one step far­ Confused yet? The full effect qi ther. Where "Moulin Rouge" failed, “The Really Hip Adventures of Go- "Chicago" delivers the fresh and Go Girl” can only make the new all wrapped up in the old someone w ho’s seen it. and the familiar. Appealing to a M any people may go to theatrical larger, all ages audience. "Chicago" events looking to find a deeper succeeds in bridging the generation message in the overall theme, but gap, a feat not easily achieved in not the audience members of this contemporary film. play- "Chicago" shows a world where “It’s purely fluff, ” said Clark. On the villian becomes a hero, and the the other hand, some people migh hero goes unnoticed. It praises the have gotten more out of it than ji obscene and captivates its audience. entertainment. Roxie Hart, a ballsy broad played COURTESY OF WWW.HOLLYWOOD.COM All the actors and actresses g< by Renee Zellweger, has strength Above left, Renee Zellweger, plays amnitious murderess Roxie Hart alongside Richard Gere. Above right, Catherine Zeta Jones dances a jig. extraordinary performances. The and guts. Despite murdering her audience especially seemed to like lover (Dominic West), andlyingto drawn between good and evil. N o vaudevillian antics he entertains the Queen Latifah plays M omma, an does not really give Latifah the Skip Steel, played by Jason Adams her husband (John C. Reilly) about one walks that tightrope better than girls' illusion, yet also maintains amusing caricature of a warden chance to prove her ability at either and Muffy Midway, played by the affair, she quickly seeks the Velma Kelley, played by Catherine the voice o f reason. His bright cos­ turned public relations manager. song or dance. Eatman. audience's sympathies. She gains Zeta Jones. Unlike Roxie, Velma's tumes lend to the three-ring circus From her undeniable rhythm to Though disappointingly “The whole thing was fun because heroine status all too easily. Roxie evil demeanor has no subtlety. She feel, but his smarts kept him genu­ her hard-nosed demeanor, she acts underused, Latifah provides laughs I’d never been in a play before. The plans on reaching her dreams at any demands exposure and admiration ine, and paid in large bills. like mother hen, but doesn't bat an throughout the film. hardest part was not laughing di cost, even through the most vicious at all cost, evading any moral rea­ Gere played his cards right. He hit eye when prison inmates get John C. Reilly, playing Roxie’s ing my lines because the whole thing soning. She gains the audience's his mark in a role most extraordi­ hanged. Latifah potrays M omm a husband, performs one o f the most was so silly,” said Eatman. Like the character she portrays, respect for her talent and her vi- nary among the three headliners. as a mixture of Carol Brady and fantastic numbers in the film. “W e thought the play was so funny Zellweger shines. H er acting starts He showed his adaptability, and Cruella DeVille. She can even make Through his song "Cellophane" we laughed all the time in rehearsal, out restrained, and disappointingly Jones earns your unwavering at­ proved that his talent compares, you famous- for enough dough, Reilly proves himself an inspiration but it was scary to see how the understated, but Zellweger explodes tention throughout the movie. She and possibly even exceeds, his good that is. to musical theater, combining sheer audience would react to out of her dull character depiction proves not only her acting ability, looks. His vocals started out murky Latifah, one o f the most talented strength of voice, with a tonality of M egan Scheaer, also former Miss with her spine tingling solo num ­ but her vocal and dance strengths in his opening number, but quickly in the bunch, combines attitude incomparable pleasure. Bikini Beach, played the leading ber "Roxie." From that moment as well. took a turn in the outstanding pup­ and genuine talent in this unfortu­ "Cellophane" showcased his tal­ heroine G o-Go Girl. Zellweger finds your piJse and keeps Billy Flynn, played by Richard pet master song, and the larger than nately listless role. ent, in a role that could have easily Schearer has participated in count well after the final credits. Gere, may have been the only "real" the most surrealistic life, courtroom Her opening number, swallowed him up and spit him Plaeides Productions sir The film shows the muddled line one in the bunch. With constant number. "Momma," amuses at its best, but ginning.