1980_09 The Daily Collegian September 1980

              tOances summarized
centuries of
country's history
by Karen Krfoger
The musical and spiritual cultures of
nine regions of Mexico came to CSUF
Friday night, compacted into the enthu¬���siastic and vibrant troupe of dancers
known as the Ballet Folclorico National
de Mexico.
Enhanced by beautiful hand-made
costumes and superb dancing, the 65-
member troupe performed for a near-
capacity crowd in the university amphi¬
theater as part of the fall semester's
college union programming.
The ballet represents the work of
Silvia Lozano, who has spent some 20
years preserving Mexican folkloric cul¬
ture through the dance troupe she
created in October 1960. Lozano creates
the choreography, costuming, set
designs and orchestration for the three-
and-a-half hour show.
Lozano's program, which summarizes
hundreds of years of Mexican history,
was designated the official national
folkloric company of the country of
Mexico In 1977. The ballet has perform¬
ed around the world for heads of state
and international festivals.
The program began softly Friday night
with the Tarascan Wedding Dance, a
combination of celebratory dances and
comic relief. Humor was evident in the
Dance of the Old Men, who supposedly
warded off old age and death by their
vigorous rappings of heels and canes.
Dances of the Mexican states of
Oaxaca and the Isthmus of Tehuantepec
were followed by the brisk Fiesta Vera-
cruzana. The women were dressed in
exquisite gowns of white satin and lace,
while the men were attired In white
shirts and slacks. The fast stiletto of
white shoes created a picture of preci¬
sion dancing, as the musicians faded out
to the tapping of 44 heels.
Costume changes during the presenta¬
tion went almost unnoticed as both
marimba and mariachi bands enter¬
tained the audience with familiar
Mexican folk songs.
Following a brief intermission, the
dancers celebrated the Jaball (boar)
dance and traveled farther back Into
Mexico's colorful history with a Mayan
Indian dance from the state of Puebla,
depicting the Quetzal bird.
The original maypole dance, the
Cuadro Nahuatl, featured women with
garlands of flowers, intertwining their
blossoms around an ornamented pole.
Many of Mexico's dances tell stories,
and an excellent example was the
Sonoran dance of the hunters and the
deer, which required physical and emo¬
tional agility from the three male per¬
formers. During the dance the hunter
took on the characteristics of his prey.
A rousing finale, featuring dances
from the state of Jalisco, combined the
Mexican Hat Dance, Fandango and the
Moorish Zambra. Two lariat twirlert,
one a small boy, whirled their ropes In
time to the mariachls. Jumping over and
through the loops they created with a
flick of their wrists.
The effect of the ballet's performance
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LARIETS PART OF MEXICAN FOLK BALLET
Mexican national folk ballet performed at CSUF Friday
Photo by George Agulrre
was an overwhelming sense of apprecia¬
tion for the dance culture of Mexico and
the efforts of the members of the troupe,
who smiled throughout the program,
obviously enjoying their work.
The costuming was one of the main
strengths of the show, which, combined
with the lighting provided by the college
union sound stage crew, created the
mood of each dance effectively. Unfor¬
tunately, the lighting system failed near
the end of the finale, but the dancers
swirled on with the helpful beams of
spotlights.
Although the sound was a bit over¬
powering during the first half of the
program, the amplifiers were turned
down for the remainder of the show,
which featured more dance than musk.
The audience responded enthusiasti¬
cally, often singing along with the
performers and clapping to the lively
Mexican beau Even the trees behind
the stage entered the act, as a cool
breeze swayed the branches back and
forth to the music.
Ballet Folclorico played to packed
houses during its first major tour of the
United States in 1978 and 1979. This is
the second sold-out, coast to coast U.S.
tour.
Lozano's group, which has also toured
Europe and Japan, has enjoyed a one-
month residency at the Cannes Festival
In Paris in addition to a four-month stint
at the Frontier Hotel In-Las Vegas. Ballet
Folclorico was honored with first place
at the International FoUdoristic Contest
of Latin America in 1977, the most pres¬
tigious folkloric dance competition
Lozano, who is stationed with the 85-
member troupe in Mexico City (a separ¬
ate unit from the traveling 'group),
studied at the Mexican Academy of
Dance and earned degrees in modern
dance, ballet and Mexican regional
dances from the National Institute of
Fine Arts and the Conservatory of Plastic
Arts of the San Carlos Academy (a
branch of the State University of Mex¬
ico).
She spent seven years In intensive
research, studying and cataloguing the
customs and costumes of Mexican
regional dance. She has starred In and
written major television and film produc¬
tions distributed in the Spanish-speaking
world.
Ing. Demetrio Crimpalis, the ballet's
technical director accompanying the
traveling unit, said that about four-and-
a-half tons of equipment and costumes
are transported during the tour.
*We travel Six to eight-months per
year,* Crimpalis said. The cost of such
a tour is 10 million pesos ($4.4 million).
We will finish hare with shows in
Concord and Cupertino, then go on to
Tempe (Arizona) and finish with San
Diego "
The Ballet Folclorico also has a 40-
iTwrtsbaf (roup which will soon poffonti
with Liberace in Las Vegas, Crimpalis
ing, although the troupe is represented
by performers of various ages. The
median age of the troupe is about 20 to
23 years, Crimpalis said.
The age of the 'performer doesn't
matter,* Crimpalis said with a smile. 'It
is how you feel when you do it. That Is
very important."
Daily Collegian
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DAIltCCMItXaAH
Pages
looks for change
by Karen Kriegrr
Trying to make the university *an
-staler place to deal with' will be the
main goal of newly appointed CSUF
Dean of Student Affairs William H.
Corcoran.
Corcoran had served as interim dean
since August 1978 when Dr. David C.
Bell left the university to accept a posi¬
tion with the Saudi Arabian Educational
Mission to the U.S. and Canada. Cor¬
coran had been an assistant dean of
student affairs at CSUF from August of
1971 until hit interim position.
Prior to his positions at CSUF, Cor¬
coran was director of Informational ser¬
vices and student Information at Calif¬
ornia State University, Northrldge,
where he was also the assistant housing
director.
The 41-year-old Corcoran graduated
from CSUN with a BA in Journalism and
a master's degree In educational
guidance and counseling, doing grad¬
uate work in education administration at
the University of Southern California.
Corcoran then worked for the Los
Angeles Times for eight months, but
decided he liked to work 'normal hours*
and became a writer for advertising and
sales promotion at the western division
of Prudential Insurance Company. ?
*l had been an English major, but I
decided to do something more practi¬
cal,* Corcoran said. 'But the newspaper
really wasn't my bag-*
As the dean of student affairs, Cor¬
coran oversees programs not directly
related to academics, the programs that
assist the student. The student affairs
directory in the CSUF general catalog
covers some 16 pages, listing services
such as financial aids, counseling,
student activities, career planning and
placement, the Educational Opportunity
Program and veterans/handicapped
student services.
While at CSUF, Corcoran has served
on the College Union Board, the College
Union Budget Committee, the Housing
Petitions Committee, Food Service Study
Committee and the Student Health
Service Review Committee.
He likes to teach a class every semes¬
ter to maintain direct student contact
and this fall is teaching a course for in¬
ternational students.
The dean's office specifically admini¬
sters the student grievance procedure,
student   discipline   and   maintains   a
liaison with the other rsJaihilstrative and
academic areas of CSUF.
'Much of the k* is administrative,*
Corcoran pointed out. *l don't have as
much contact with the ttudents as I'd
late. The contact I have is mainly in the
oros of discipline rind problem towing.
'Our office wants to assist students In
dealing with the bureaucracy; in the long
run we want to help the student,* ha
explained. 'Our most difficult problem is
trying to stay in step with changing
student needs and demands.*     ^V~
Corcoran said that in dealing with red
tape there Is a lag 'at times very frus¬
trating. It can take a couple of years to
initiate something."
*l would like to speed thetadmlnlstra-
tion things along,* Corcoran said. 'For
instance, we could eliminate 75 percent
of the red tape involved with obtaining
financial aid If we could ignore federal
and state requirements in the process.
But in doing so we would Jeopardize the
student; the students would be penal¬
ized.'
Corcoran would like to enlarge his
staff In order to more effectively deal
with some of the programs. Staffing
student affairs 'is based on a formula,
and the formula is based on the number
of ttudents. In our case it's a lean for¬
mula.
There it a tendency for the staff to
become impersonal but only because of
the largeness of the university," Cor¬
coran added.
Corcoran, who commutes from
Coarsegold daily, sees a definite differ¬
ence in the attitudes of students from
Northridge and Fresno.
'One of the real joys of coming to
Fresno was the different student body,*
Corcoran said. 'Here the students are
more relaxed and open. In some ways
they are conservative, but not necessar¬
ily politically. They are much more
inclined to work In a cooperative atmo¬
sphere with the faculty and admini¬
stration.*
Corcoran said that the metropolitan
area of Los Angeles 'Is too big. There is
too much pressure in the way of life, and
that Is reflected in the lives of the
students.*
The dean said he is looking to see
some 'dramatic changes* at CSUF.
'And student affairs is part of the van¬
guard to see these changes,' Corcoran
r
At a glance
Applications for the Chihuahua
Road Run Scholarship are now avail¬
able In the Tutorial Services Depart¬
ment at CSUF.
Applications for the two $300
scholarships can be picked up in
room 116 of San Ramon 3 and the La
Raza Studies DepsjUneiit In room
116ofSanRamon4.
The deadline for applying is Octo¬
ber 31.
Applicants must have completed
60 units prior to this semester, have
a declared major with a CPA of at
least 2.5 In that major and be a full-
time student.
The CSUF library staff has started
conducting orientation tours de¬
signed to familarize students with
the library and how to use K proper
hr-
The two-hour programs will
consist of a tour of the library, an
Introduction to the card catalogue
and the Reader'! Guide to Period¬
ical Literature and simple exercises
in using these toots.'
Programs win be presented once
each week during the first six weeks
of the semester and studs fits should
sign up In advance at the loan desk
In the library lobby.
DEAN OF STUDENT AFFAIRS WILLIAM CORCORAN
Served as interim dean last year
FREE MOVIE
Robert Redford
"BRUBAKER"
KOHrXrKKDIOKD-BRllrlAKKH-
YAPHbTKimtl JANKAU:XANI>KR
MURRAY II AMI1.TON iw/uiKiflii TIM MclNTIRK..^
-'      ^lH,,MinW W,l,BINMU.rfUMIIM1to,t,|jU««MMn
*-sspa-- '-_;•    f*i
8:00 pm Saturday. Oepteratsr 13, i860
At The Arr0*heater
Plua A Ronald Fteaqen Fern "r'rteoner C4 War"
Sponsored By Your Aasw plated Students
And The Coeege Union
Fftctt FxPol aPOPvOftN
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