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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