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Square Dancing Comes To WGC;
‘Patti-Cake Polka ’ Invades Gym
BY C AROL WESTBROOK
A refreshing change from the normal grueling
day’s activities and classes at West Georgia
would be... a P.E. course?
Yes. for example, if the course is Folk and
Square Dance, which, divided into two classes,
meets twice weekly in the gym.
Unlike most P E. courses, according to one of
he dancers, in Folk and Square one is “thrust
into being an active participant." The dancers
are immediately transported into a revelry of
dances with names like “Teton Mountain
Stomp." or “Patti-Cake Polka,” with genuine
country music to boot.
Miss Patricia Gaston, teacher of the class,
says the goal of the course, aside from the
cultural gains, is “just to have fun. And that is
w hat seems to be accomplished whether any real
cultural knowledge is taken in or not.
“Like any other P.E. course, Folk and Square
lias its hazards, too," commented one of the
dancers “One has to be on guard against such
characters as Ted the toe-cruncher, and other
non-coordinated individuals who might render a
lady toeless if she is not careful
These West Georgia square-dancers are seen
going through the paces of anew dance.
‘Godspell’ Casts Its Spell
BY BLBBA HOVIS
"Godspell” undoubtedly
proved Tuesday night that the
age of the musical has not
necessarily become outdated,
even on college campuses.
The unique musical comedy
drama based on the Gospel of
St. Matthew played to a
responsive capacity crowd in
the auditorium, and left
practically applauding for
more.
It was the eighty-first per
formance of the musical for
Playmore Productions, Ltd.
They have been living with each
other for over four months,
travelling in vans and staying in
motel rooms. It is amazing how
the performers retain their
enthusiasm and zeal show after
show
When doing a critique of
“Godspell", one has to be
careful whether he is speaking
of the script or the individual
performance. The musical it
self, over three years old,
leaves little to be desired. It is a
bright, appealing portrayal of
the life of Christ, and one can
only take issue with it on two
points.
Throughout the performance,
humor in the form of one-liners
is used freely. The humor is
used for relief of tension which
often builds in the audience
during a performance of this
nature But it causes one to
wonder if these lines which are
admittedly very funny, do not
iver-shadow the dramatic
portion of the show.
Ths role of Judas was over
done slightly. He appeared to a
large extent as a wicked villain.
One can question the in
That problem does not seem to present itself as
too much of a threat, though, as the present
classes do not have an over abundance of male
participants.
In one of the classes, the odds are one man to
five ladies, as three are only two men in the class
of twelve. One might well wonder why the men
stayed in a class consisting of so many females.
Larry Jacobs, one of the male participants,
said he “wouldn't mind having more courses like
this one," referring to the male-female ratio. He
added that it was the only course where “his feet
move faster than his mouth" The other male
student agreed with Jacob’s statement adding
that he, too, enjoyed being among such odds.
The female participants, however, do not
appear as enthusiastic about the male-female
ratio as the men do. This is understandable as
Bonnie Clark, one of the female participants
said, “It gets to be confusing when you can’t tell
the gentlerre i from the ladies." And one would
agree if be observed the fast-pace with which the
dances proceed, together with the constant
switching of partners.
The dances taught in this particular course,
according to Miss Gaston, are the square dance,
originating in the United States, and the folk
dance, originating in foreign countries.
“The dances, particularly the folk dance, are
indicative of the people’s customs in the country
where they originate,” she said. "They also are
indicative of the climate in the country. For
example, dances which originate in Russia have
more movement, whereas in warmer climates,
the dances are slower and smoother in
movement.”
One of the differences between folk and square
dance is the absence of a “caller” in folk-dance,
according to Miss Gaston. “This makes it a little
more difficult of course, but most people enjoy it
more."
Miss Gaston said that she hopes to demon
strate more of the folk dances in class in the
future, as they are the most enjoyed of the two
types of dance. Some of the dances which she will
demonstrate have their backgrounds originating
in countries such as Israel, Russian, and Greece.
terpretation of this tragic figure
as someone who really enjoyed
betraying Christ.
The performers were very
lively and convincing in their
roles. Except for unclear
pronunciation of the words in a
few songs, nothing could have
in, A
Members of the successful “GodspeH* tour in action.
been any better. The informal
set and unusual costumes were
clever, and probably were
accountable for the respon
siveness of the audience.
Without a doubt, “GodspeH”
cast its spell over the campus
this week.
David Willingham
PH Horrendous
P Hockey
What 1 saw last Friday night
was horrible. You honestly
wouldn't believe the pain and
suffering I witnessed, the
spectacle of carnage and blood
that I saw. My ears were
assaulted by the shrieks of
injured human beings, and 1
was lucky to escape with my
life.
What was it? An airplane
crash? The usual Friday night
rumble at the Frosty Mug? An
eight car pile-up in the parking
lot of the Varsity? No.
Actually, dear reader, I saw
my very first professional
hockey game last Friday night,
and these innocent eyes will
never be the same.
For some reason I journeyed
to Atlanta’s lasting insult to
Frank Lloyd Wright, the Omni,
with the sole intention of watch
ing a professional hockey
game.
After the usual harangue with
the parking lot attendant, I
bought as customary, the
cheapest ticket available (in
this case $8.50; those guys must
be skating on frozen gin ) and
proceded into the fabulous
Omni. I handed the immodestly
clad usherette my ticket stub
and waited to be led to my usual
seat somewhere above the
American flag at the top of the
building and behind a large
post.
“Right this way," she said,
and began wiggling down the
steps toward the rink. She led
me to a seat only four rows from
the ice and handed back the
ticket with a smile.
“There must be a mistake," I
said, “This can’t be my seat.”
She looked at the ticket stub.
“No sir, this is the right seat.”
“But I usually,” I said
pointing to the upper tiers, “sit
up there. You know, where they
have to issue oxygen masks
because of the altitude, and the
sun never breaks through the
cloud cover.”
“I’m sorry sir. Those are the
S2O seats, and you only have an
$8.50 ticket.”
“Twenty bucks.” I looked at
the indistinct mass of people
high above me. “You mean
people pay S2O to sit up there?”
“Yessir.”
“Why?”
“Notice that low plastic wall
which separates you from the
playing ice." I looked ahead at
the barrier which was some two
feet below my eye level. “Well,
some people feel it’s worth S2O
to keep from being beaned by
stray hockey pucks. Good
luck.”
She left hurriedly, and for the
first time I noticed each seat on
the first five rows had a large
target painted on the cushion.
All around me, $8.50 people
were wailing and tearing their
hair while others awaited their
fate with stoic calm. It was a
touching scene.
I didn’t have long to think
about my position on death row
when the two teams skated onto
the ice, Atlanta’s own Flames
came out first, followed by a
snarling mob I took to be the
Toronto Maple Leaves. The
TMI WIST 010*01 AN. NOVIMMU > 1*74
teams skated gracefully about
for a few minutes then lined up
for the opening face off.
Hockey players are different
from other athletes. Football
stars are big, basketballers are
tall, but hockey players are
simply mean. Size, strength, or
speed doesn’t seem to matter in
hockey; blood lust does. At the
team benches, a trainer was
leading one of the star defense
men on a leash, occassionally
washing him down with a fire
hose or tossing him a piece of
raw meat to calm him.
The game began with a flurry
of violent action. After the
opening face-off, each team
went into a systematic game
plan of hitting, gouging,
frailing, tripping, and generally
knocking the absolute hades out
of opposing team members.
In one of the more memorable
plays, an affable Toronto for
ward skated by two young
hockey fans and acknowledged
their cheers with a smile. In
order to satisfy the tiny tartars’
cries for blood, he then turned
and bashed the Atlanta goalie
over the head with his hockey
stick, kicked a referee in the
groin with his razor-sharp
skate, and punched out a beer
vendor.
I didn’t fully realize how
violent the game was, though,
until I saw an Atlanta defen
seman lose the lower third of his
right ear to an opponent’s
flailing stick and skate on as
though nothing had happened.
The fans loved the game.
They were always on their feet
cheering. Don’t get me wrong,
they weren’t applauding a score
or a good play. Hell, half the
time they didn’t even know who
the teams were -but just let a
fight break out and watch the
crowd come to life. We once
gave a standing ovation to a
mugger who was rolling an old
lady in the twelfth row.
I even saw another West
Georgia student at the game.
The student, whose name I
won’t mention but whose initials
are M. 8., was drinking heavily
throughout the game (I per
sonally saw him consume three
large Cokes and a cup of Omni
coffee) and was pretty well
smashed by the end of the third
period.
As the game was ending,
M. 8., in a burst of wild energy,
dashed (slid, rather) onto the
ice and began slamming
himself wildly into the plastic
boards while challanging all
comers “to a real hockey
match". At that moment, un
fortunately for M. 8., a loose
hockey puck slid by, and in his
excitement he grabbed and ate
the thing. Swallowed it whole.
The last I saw of him, four large
security guards had turned him
upside down and were literally
trying to beat the puck out of
him.
Poor M.B. - Poor hockey
puck. Poor Atlanta sports fans.
I wonder when baseball
season starts.
7