Newspaper Page Text
February 1982
Spelman Spotlight
Page 11
Spelman Sports
Water Ballet Club Presents Lecture/Demonstration
3
By Carol Robinson
P.E. Reporter
On February 1, 1982,
Spelman’s Synchronized Swim
ming Club hosted a Water Ballet
seminar at Read Hall in the
swimming pool. The lecture and
demonstration was instructed by
a former Spelman Synchronized
Swimming teacher, Ms. Joan
Holmes. Student participants
consisted of the members of the
Spelman Water Ballet Club and
other advanced swimmers.
Ms. Holmes wasted no time in
getting the seminar going. She
gave a brief introduction and
began the workout. The
swimmers started off with some
very basic skills that must be
perfected before one can master
the sport. The art of sculling
(modified finning that uses the
hands and arms) was first on the
list, The class went through a
series of sculling exercises which
included the head scully, feet-
first scully and an overhead
scully. They also worked on the
ballet lay fundamentals. A few of
the students who were
beginners in water ballet were
drilled on other basic skills such
as the tub and the tub- flutter.
Coach Holmes could not stress
enough how important it is to
work at what you’re doing. She
feels that one should practice as
often as possible and especially
go over the basic drills which are
the backbone of a good water
ballet performance. During the
lec- ture, she emphasized, “no
matter how good you are, you
can always get better and
stronger.” Body control and
strong abdominal muscles are
essential. Synchronized swim
ming entails an extremely vital
conditioning. Ms. Holmes also
brought to the attention of her
audience that a background in
some type of dance class, (usual
ly jazz and/or modern dance) is a
big plus in water ballet because it
helps with agility and overall
grace.
Another point that instructor
Holmes touched upon
throughout her lecture was the
importance of music in water
ballet. She feels that using corn-
temporary music makes the
programs more interesting for
the athletes as well as the
audience.
When putting on a program,
Ms. Holmes starts with a theme
first. She gave examples of some
of her themes used in the past,
such as “Star Wars” and the
disco. Once the theme has been
decided upon, the next step in
constructing a show is finding
the proper music to correspond
with the theme. Proper costumes
are a definite visual aid and
contribute to the overall show.
Of course, the show cannot
survive unless the choreography
is really together. Ms. Holmes
stated that she begins the
choreography rehearsals at least
two and a half to three months
prior to the performance. The
squad begins their conditioning
period as much as six months in
advance. Coach Holmes feels
that the ideal program has five to
six individual routines consisting
of one or two solo acts. She has
found that it is easier to work
with a small group.
At the present time Ms.
Holmes is an instructor at
Kennesaw College in Marietta,
Georgia. Though she's been
there for three years, this is her
first year with a synchronized
swimming team. During the
summer she hosts a camp at
Spelman College for children
from ages 8-12 years of age. She
teaches them the basic water
ballet techniques.
In the future, Ms. Holmes
would like to work more with
small black children because she
thinks blacks miss out on the
early training. She states,
“blacks, as a whole, have not
been interested because they
see it as too boring or too
classical.” She has found
however, that blacks have a lot to
offer with their innovative music,
which adds so much more to a
synchronized swimming
program.
Intramural Basketball
In Formation
By Carolyn Robinson
P.E. Reporter
Spelman College’s 1982 in
tramural basketball season is
now being formed. Any group or
organization such as dorms,
sororities, clubs, etc., may submit
a team roster to Ms. Veronica
Anthony at Read Hall. There
must be a minimum of seven
players to each squad and a
maximum of ten players. The
deadline for rosters is February
19th. There will be an
organizational meeting for team
captains on the 20th of this
month at 5:00 in the gymnasium.
It is important that all teams are
represented. The tournament is
scheduled to begin on the 22nd
of February. If there is anyone
who is interested in participating
in the tournament but is unable
to form a team, the Physical
Education Department will assist
you in team organization. For
further information and entry
forms, contact the P.E. Dept.,
Read Hall, ext. 273.
Everyone is welcome to come
to the games and cheer, for their
favorite team!
W arm W eather Ideas
The Travel Bug
By Lisa P. Turner
With the recent warm weather
that the Atlanta area has been
experiencing, I began to think
about the upcoming spring and
what I will be doing with myself.
On one of those unseasonably
warm days last week, I heard
many echoes around the dorm
of those who desired to escape
to the park. With the warm
weather just a little more than a
month away, I thought that I
would share some ideas on how
to spend those beautiful days.
An interesting day at the park
can incorporate many activities.
The picnicker may pack such
items as frisbees, books, portable
music equipment, a volleyball
net, skates, and so forth. The
possibilities are endless if one
just uses his/her imagination and
a little planning.
A day at the park can also be an
inexpensive date. A day at the
park might conjure up visions of
ants, hot beverages, and soggy
paper plates. This picnic can,
however, have as much class as
the French restaurant down
town, if done properly and with
pizzazz. If you have ever seen
those costly picnic basket sets in
various stores, than- you have
seen how fancy the baskets can
be. A cheaper student version
can be made if one is willing to
spend a little time and creativity
to make one's own unique
basket.
The first step to a stylish picnic
is the basket. This may be a
wicker basket, a large straw
sewing case, ora wire grid basket
coated in plastic like the ones
found in food freezers. Some
suggested stores to look for
these baskets cheaply are:
Kessler’s. Woolco, Woolworth,
Sears, J.C. Penney, , K-Mart,
Zayre’s, and thrift shops. After
the basket has been bought, it
can be spray painted and/or
lined with a piece of material
(about a half of a yard) that
square napkins can also be made
out of. The lining can be at
tached to the basket with glue
such as Elmer’s Dip ‘N Dab. A
large piece of matching material
can be used optionally as a
‘tablecloth’. The next items of
concern are the plates and
utensils. These can also be
purchased for little and still be
decorative. They can be bought
in colorful sets of plastic that will
not spill when loaded with food.
A matching set of utensils, plates,
and tumblers certainly will be
chic, but some may prefer to add
a little flair with old silver uten
sils, plastic champagne glasses or
real wine glasses.
Now that you are equipped to
impress that ‘special’ friend, you
might want to invest in an
inexpensive wine or champagne
to put a festive light in the day. Be
sure to choose a scenic place for
your picnic with a minimum of
ants. A picnic on a hill overlook
ing the park might be advan
tageous for privacy. Some parks
in the area are: Atlanta Botanical
Gardens (Piedmont Park), Stone
Mountain, Tobie Grant
Recreational Park, and Lake
Lanier. This is all just suggestion
and the main idea here is to use
your imagination to create good
times at little cost. If you have any
ideas that you would like ex
plored, please send them to The
Spotlight Attn. Lisa P. Turner. I’ll
be talking to you next time and
until then, just remember that
those warm days are right
around the corner. How will you
spend them?
By Pamela Hurst
Are you bored? Do you want a
change of scenery? Why not visit
some of Georgia’s recreational
park and resort areas? An ideal
place for couples to visit is Jekyll
Island. It is located off the
Southeast coast of Georgia. One
of the six beautiful islands of
“The Golden Isles,” Jekyll Island
has ten miles of beautiful beach
area. The setting is perfect for a
romantic stroll with someone
special. In addition to the beach
area, there are six tennis courts, a
picnic area, a bike trail, and daily
boat cruises.
Another island included in the
“Golden Isles” is St. Simons. It is
approximately 12 miles long and
four miles wide. Also, it is one of
the largest of the six isles. It is
really a great place for swimming
and relaxing. It is located near
Brunswick, Georgia. One other
sceriic island with an Atlantic
Ocean beach is Cumberland
Island National Seashore. St.
Simons is located in St. Mary's,
Georgia. All of these are great
islands to visit, so why not take
advantage? There is an entrance
fee charged in some areas of the
National Park system. The fees
range from 50 cents for an
individual to $3.00 per passenger
car.
Georgia, also, offers many
recreational, sites. A really fan
tastic place to visit is Lake Lanier.
It is located in Buford, Georgia. «
The admission price is $2.00 per
car. The fun attractions are
horseback riding, white, sandy
beach, lake swimming, and
water slides. Lake Lanier also
provides cottages.. For further
information, call (404) 945-6701.
Another fun place to visit is
Stone Mountain Park. It is
located only sixteen miles east of
downtown Atlanta. It has a nice
beach area. A few of the attrac
tions are the Skylift, the River-
boat, and the Railroad. Attrac
tion hours are 10:00-5:30 (winter
months). A park permit is re
quired for each vehicle entering
the park. The recreational
facilities include basketball,
ping-pong, volleyball, and a
heated outdoor swimming pool.
For individuals who would like to
rent a cottage, they are priced as
follows: one bedroom cottage
per night-$18.00, two bedroom is
$24.00 per night, and three
bedroom is $30.00 per night.
All Georgia State Parks are
open to the public year- round
from 7:00 a.m. tO 10:00 p.m.
(Eastern time).
For an exciting outing, Six
Flags is a wonderful choice. It has
more than 100 rides, shows, and
attractions. Some of which in
clude the Mind Bender, Great
American Scream Machine, and
the Gasp. Open weekends only,
early March to mid- May. For
opening and closing times, call
(404) 948-9290. So, as you can see,
Georgia offers many womderful
things to occupy one's time.
Have a terrific time.