Newspaper Page Text
Wednesday, February 28, 1962
The SPELMAN SPOTLIGHT
Page 5
Mattiwilda Sings
Several years ago slowly seep
ing into a reluctant consciousness
was the tact that a historical ac
complishment had been made
when Mattiwilda Dobbs capitivat-
ed her audience at the Metropoli
tan Opera House. Looking at her
picture, reading the reviews, ask
ing questions, I established an
affinity with her that was to meet
its climax years later in Atlanta.
Her path led her from one musi
cal triumph to another, mine
meandered along until they both
converged on January 31 at the
Atlanta Municipal Auditorium.
Prior to the concert this reluc
tant consciousness was becoming
more and more alerted. My
brother admired and extolled the
virtues of John Wesley Dobbs, so
able and renowned in fraternal
circles; my niece, an opera fan,
had collected a scrapbook of
Negro [Metropolitan Opera artists;
Spelman became my college;
Mattiwilda’s sister, my co-worker;
her birthplace, my home permeat
ed with the influence of her
achievement and personality. So
when her face smiled from the
posters announcing her in concert
in the city Auditorium, I resolved
that this was a must.
At six thirty I was upsetting my
household ) removing every ob
stacle and making my way to the
Auditorium. I arrived one full
hour ahead of curtain time and
sat lost in the immense auditorium
which could have held a Roman
field day. So here in the half
darkness I sat waiting and watch
ing. The men ushers consulted
ticket stubs, made mistakes, cor
rected them; the women ushers
in an array of formal finery flut
tered back and forth; the audience
enlarged and finally the lights
dimmed, flared, and died out.
THEN CAME MATTIWILDA, im
pressive in a white satin gown
exquisite in its simplicity. She
stood for a moment acknowledging
the waves of warmth and welcome
emanating from the thunderous
applause.
She seemed so petite, so much
at home, so real, so personable,
so ready for the task before her.
Thus she began to sing, entering
into one character after another
as she ran the whole gamut of
difficult interpretations of Bach,
Brahams, Rossini, Offenback and
others.
Mattiwilda’s concert was more
than singing. It was the pooled
energies of churches, colleges,
schools, families; it was a demon
stration of an Atlanta who cares
for its own; it was an achievement
in human relations; it was the
concerted anxieties for a job well
done; it was the culmination of
hours and weeks of planing, or
ganizing, promoting; it was an
occasion for the hearts of twin
boys, swell with pride and grow
more securely in the circle offilial
affection; it was one reluctant
consciousness prodded to its
depths.
Naomi Chivers
Spelman Twisters
On The Twist
Born Yesterday
At M. B. C.
The drama club of Morris
Brown College under the direction
of Mr. Fabrizio is presenting the
“laugh” comedy “Born Yesterday”
by Garsin Kanins at the Morris
Brown Chapel on March 7 and 8
at 8:00 p.m.
This play launched Judy Holi
day to stardom and to even fur
ther heights when she won the
Academy Award for her perform
ance of the same role in the film
version.
The plot deals with a young girl
who has lived a promiscuous kind
of life and has hought of nothing
except mink coats. Through love
she discovers a “better kind of
life,” through an acquaintance
with Brooks and through an
awareness of life around her.
The talented cast Includes Mari
lyn Lyde, John Lawson, Edward
Hallman, Lovett Rainey, Edison
Bedton, Clifton Deeks, Joyce Para-
more, Evelenia Mitchell, Willie
-Mlae Grigley, and Bobby Isom.
General admission is one dollar
($1.00). Students with Morris
Brown ID cards will be admitted
free. Remember: March 7 and 8
at 8:00 p.m.
Nellie Ann Jones
Summer
Service
As a participant in the Sum
mer Service Project which is un
der the auspices of the National
Board of Missions, I was con
cerned primarily with creating
a renewed interest in the relig
ious life of modern Urbanists in
the Bronx, New York. Several
weeks ago, the Reverend Robert
Davidson, in whose church I
worked this past summer, was on
campus seeking students who
would be interested in the Sum
mer Service Project in Chicago,
Illinois.
Whereas the project in New
York is concerned with the chal
lenge that the “Inner City” is
making to the church, the Chica
go project’s main concern is with
facilitating the absorption of the
newcomers from the Deep South
and Peurto Rico into their envi
ronment. To these ends, the work
in Chicago is done mostly in
neighbor hood houses. These
houses serve as living quarters for
the participants as well as centers
What is this thing — called the
“Twist?” (As Reverend Rates
might put it.)It seems that every
body is doing that new dance
craze — the “twist.” Who is there
who cannot do the “twist?” They
say that if you cannot dance the
“twist,” you can sing about it.
Just turn your radio dial to sta
tion L.O.U.D. at any time of the
day and you can be sure to near
Mr. Chubby Checker uttering such
intellectual phrases as “Come on
baby, let’s do the twist. Come
on baby, let’s do the twist. Take
me by my little hand and go like
this,” and this is the way Mr.
Checker goes “round and around
and around and around. . .” A
bit dizzy, isn’t he? Of course, if
you happen to be partial to the
German language, it is possible
that Mr. Checker will tell you how
to do the twist in German. Mr.
Checker is quite versatile, you
see.
Recently, a group of young men
made a recording at the Pepper
mint Lounge, a night spot in New
York. They decided to sing about
the “peppermint twist.” I believe
they named the song after the
lounge, but that is debatable — if
you like to debate. The words to
the song are rather like this:
“Round and Round, Up and
Down, One, Two, Three, Four;
One, Two, Three . . .”
I don’t believe this song is re
corded in German, but just think-
you can teach your parakeet to
count up to four!!
But if everyone is doing the
twist and singing it to, it ought
to be a simple matter to have
someone explain what the twist
is. What is the twist? Well, the
question frustrated me, so I de
cided to consult the experts.
Kathy Kendricks is quite a twist
fan. I felt that she must know
what the “twist’ ’is. So I asked
her, “Kathy, what is the “twist?”
She looked at me a little puzzled,
grinned her characteristic grin
and frantically began wiggling her
lower torso. I assumed that these
strange gyrations were a demon
stration of the dance. When I
managed to communicate with her
in words, she breathlessly uttered;
“Gee, my hip sure hurts.”
Well, that is what Kathy said.
You want the truth, do you not?
She then limped away leaving
me standing there with a not too
favorable view of the twist. After
all, a fox trot or a waltz is far
less strenuous.
(Continued on page 6)
The Boy Friend
“We’re blue without, can’t do
without, our dreams just won’t
come true without, that certain
thing called — The Boy Friend.”
These are a few lines from the
title song of the Atlanta-More-
house-Spelman Players forthcom
ing production. Set in the 1920’s,
at a fashionable school for girls or*
the Riviera, it is a bright, fun-
packed musical comedy telling how
these girls set out to get that cer
tain thing that they just can’t
do without. In it you will see
some of your old favorites, in ad
dition to a wealth of new talent
recently added to the group.
This production, directed by Dr.
J. Preston Cochran, with its per
iod costumes and bouncy charles
ton tunes promises to be a good
show. It will rim for six nights.
The first two performances on
March 12 and 13 will be free to
Spelman students. On March 14,
the play will be opened to the
general public at regular prices,
and will run through March 17.
Be sure to come out and see it.
If you don’t, you will wish you
had. N. J. King
K. Suderis and W. Podineris
Non-western Program
Sponsors Dancers
Magnificent and unique are ad
jectives which are inadequate to
describe the performance of the
Ceylon National Dancers here on
Thursday, February 1, in Read
Hall. The dancers were received
by an appreciative, as well as a
very astonished audience. Many
of the dances were portions of cer
emonial rituals which are per
formed for the various deities of
Ceylon, a country rich in culture
dating back to the time of
ancient Greece and Rome.
The beautiful folk dances of
many varieties exhibited the high
degree to which this art of Cey
lon has been developed. Men and
women dancers comprised the
group. Of special interest and at
traction was the harvest dance
performed by the three women
dancers, who have achieved inter
ior Day Camps and Seminars or
other activities nedded for the
people who are undergoing adjust
ment. In New York, on the other
hand, where the “Inner City”
challenge is of primary import
ance to the church, the particip
ants live with families in the midst
of the environment in which they
are to work.
Due to New York’s Urban Re
newal Program, which incorpor
ates the replacing of slum areas
by new housing developments into
its plans, many families have
moved to new neighborhoods.
Consequently, this rapid form of
changing communities engen
dered the term, “The Inner
City.”
Accordingly, the Inner City pre
sents a challenge to the churches.
For, the church in such an in
stance loses many of its members
to communities that are two to
three hours’ ride away. Or, it
might be that the new people who
settle in the area of the church
are not of its faith. Therefore,
they commute to a church of their
choice, if it is not too far away.
The church, then, in most in
stances, is left abandoned and
is soon unable to function. It
might assume the task of working
with the new members of its com
munity who are not affiliated with
any church, or it has the alternate
choice of moving to a community
where it is accepted. The latter is
the choice that has been made
most often by Protestant churches
that were abandoned in an all
Catholic community.
I worked in an area where ju
venile delinquency had been
widespread. However, it was at a
minimum at the time of my stay,
because of the transformation
wrought by the Inner City. It was
often hard for me to realize that
people had been robbed, killed
(Continued on page 6)
national acclaim in their tours of
Europe and Asia. The characteriz
ation of butterflies, elephants, and
a deadly cobra, all rituals to Bud
dha, were breathtakingly realis
tic. Mask dances and fire dances
for curing patients and warding
off demons highlighted the ex
citing program. To add a final
touch to these exotic dances were
the magnificent costumes of bril
liant white, gleaming with silver
and pearls, other precious stones
and hundreds of shining bells. To
accompany the dances were native
drummers whose skill in rhythmic
expression was equally dramatic,
This company, the first of its kind
here at Spelman, dazzled Atlan
tans just as it has thrilled audi
ences all over the world.
Ida Rose McCree
Glorias Corner
Are you forever pinning up a
drooping hemline or reaching for
a scarf to hide that dirty neck
band? Or are you confident of
your appearance because you
know that everything you’re wear
ing is in good repair and clean.
Let’s see how you rate on the
best-groomed checklist below. If
you don’t rate too highly, then
you’d better make some new se
mester resolutions right noiw!
Do you always . . .
hang up skirts and blouses as
soon as you take them off?
brush wool skirts and jackets
before putting them in the
closet, so they’ll be fresh
when you need them?
empty all pockets to prevent
sagging creases while cloth
ing is hanging?
remove pins from clothing be
fore puttin it away, so you
won’t have to search for the
jewelry?
remove spots and stains from
clothing immediately?
mend rips and tears as soon
as they appear, to prevent
them from becoming bigger?
fold all knitted garments
neatly and put them in draw
ers?
unfasten buttons, hooks, and
zippers on clothes before put
ting them on, to prevent
stretching or tearing?
cover clothes that aren’t worn
too frequently with cloth or
plastic bags?
mend straps on lingerie before
washing?
wash stockings and undergar
ments nightly?
watch shoe soles and heels
and have them repaired when
they need it?
empty handbags at least once
daily even if you use the
same one everyday?
Gloria Willis