Artists Explore Women’s History Through Different Cultures
February 25, 2010 • By Torie Foster,
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Two major campus organizations paired together to “write women back into history” to celebrate the upcoming Women’s History Month.
Sponsored by the University Health Center Wellness and Outreach (SWO) and the Center for Multicultural Student Awareness (CMSS), Tuesday night’s theme was “Seeing HER in HIStory.” Lively, colorful performances highlighted women’s societal and historical contributions.
Of the nine forms of entertainment presented onstage, several particularly vivid acts stood out, for both content and feedback.
A student trio appeared with three different drums, and began playing music for a traditional Chinese dance. First, a female student dressed in a red and gold robe with a painted mask and fan entered. After dancing for some time, a glittery purple and white dragon puppet followed, as the two performed a “face-off.” The audience was filled with laughter, clearly amused as the dragon fell over several times, tirelessly got back up, performed flips and made exaggerated facial gestures.
The dragon soon revealed itself as two female students from the Chinese Student Association – noteworthy because the dance originally a male-exclusive Chinese custom. The girls were also the first female duo to perform this dance at JMU.
“It’s been an honor,” one said. “It was a huge process learning trust and balance.”
The cultural dance really impressed audience members. “I’ve never seen anything like it before,” said junior Michael Perkinson. “It really demonstrated the unique talents of women.”
Another event that had the theater echoing with laughter was a scene from the “Vagina Monologues.” A number of female students acted as if in a “Through Her Eyes” support group. The group leader posed the question, “If your vagina were to get dressed, what would it wear?” Responses included pink fuzzy slippers, a mink, and a speedo. Sophomore Loleeta Jean Dalton stepped up to perform a monologue entitled the “Recovery of a Repressed Vagina,” a blunt and passionate argument that women should be proud of their bodies.
The last ‘hit’ of the bunch was Note-Oriety, the first all-female a cappella group at JMU. Members demonstrated a large variety of singing talents, as they sung a solemn but impressively strong Indie Arie’s “Heart of the Matter” and Taylor Swift’s “White Horse.” Their last song took a different turn, as the group sung an energetic and soulful cover of Chrisette Michele’s “Good Girl.”
The audience, clapping along and cheering, thoroughly enjoyed this group. One announcer even said, “When I grow up one day, I’m going to sing like them.”
Other artists included senior poet Andrea Mellonakos, the Alpha Phi Heartbreakers, sophomore Emily Iekel (whose narrative involved dead squirrel imitation), sophomore Anna Fronzaglia, the Mozaic Dance team, and students of the “Word is Born Poets Society.” All acts served to draw on themes specifically related to women.
Throughout the event prizes, including Chick-Fil-A coupons and a free massage at UREC, were handed out if audience members could respond correctly to questions about important women.
Feedback was positive, and most seemed surprised at how enjoyable the production was. “This is the best event [on campus] I’ve been to so far,” said junior Courtney Jones. “I really liked all the singers … they were really good.”
“It was better than I expected it to be,” said junior Anthony Santalucia, who also highly praised the a cappella group performances.
Viewers also seemed to feel the significance of this event. “Everyone should be aware that they’re worth something,” said junior Sarah Abouzied.
Courtney Jones, who was one of the organizers of the event, is a graduate assistant for CMSS and saw this as “a wonderful opportunity to celebrate womanhood.”
“It went wonderfully,” Jones said. “It had a much bigger turnout than last year.”
Megan Brill, another overseer and graduate assistant for SWO, viewed the event as an important highlighter of women’s historical and societal contributions.
“Through the Eyes of a Woman” is put on annually by JMU students with a variety of majors and activities, and features different themes each time.
Contact Torie Foster at fosterve@jmu.edu
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