Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, September 22, 1995 TAG: 9509220054
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: DONNA ALVIS-BANKS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
The people dance to keep away their enemies, to ward off starvation, to celebrate the first corn crop, to praise the Great Spirit.
The faithful gather around a fire and sing songs of hope and gratitude. Dancing is a sacred experience.
Intertribal dancing is part of the ceremonies for this weekend's Native American Pow Wow at the New River Valley Fairgrounds in Dublin. Sponsored by Rebirth of a Nation, the event also includes art and jewelry displays, food concessions, storytelling and exhibits for children.
Leonard Fiddler of Eagle Butte, S.D., a member of the Oglala Reservation, will be master of ceremonies. Native Americans from as far north as Canada and as far south as Florida will participate in the Pow Wow.
Phillip Sturgill of Piney Flats, Tenn., is the head man dancer. Although Sturgill is not American Indian, he learned about the culture after being inducted into the Order of the Arrow, an honorary fraternity of Boy Scouts.
Blanche Whiteface Griffin, an Oglala Sioux from Mountain City, Tenn., is the head lady dancer.
The Qualla Boundary Warrior Society, representing the Cherokee people of North Carolina, will be at the Pow Wow. The group, much like a color guard, performs special ceremonies at Native American gatherings.
New Buffalo, a group of eight from Charlottesville, is the host drum. The drummers will be performing throughout the weekend.
The Pow Wow gets under way at noon today and runs until 10 p.m. Saturday's hours are 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Events resume Sunday from 1 to 6 p.m.
Admission is $5 for adults; children 12 and under get in free. Weekend passes are $10.
Art Hoover of Christiansburg, organizer of the event, said all proceeds will go to Native American children in South Dakota who live in poverty often worse than Third World countries'. Hoover said the Rebirth of a Nation committee also welcomes donations of cash, clothing and nonperishable food for this cause.
For more information, call Hoover at 382-6753.
HE'S GOT RHYTHM: Al Wojtera, director of jazz and percussion studies in Radford University's music department, will give a solo percussion recital Monday at 8 p.m. in Preston Auditorium.
The highlight of the recital will be Wojtera's performance of a piece by David Hollinden, ``focusing your awareness into ... Slender Beams of Solid Rhythm.''
Wojtera calls it ``the hardest piece I've ever played.''
He promises a completely improvised piece. Joining him will be Margaret Devaney, head of the university's dance department. She will follow Wojtera's lead with a spontaneous dance.
You'll hear works for solo marimba, timpani, drum set and a multiple-percussion piece written for 20 instruments at Monday's performance. What more could you ask for?
Admission is free with Radford University identification, $3 for adults and $1 for children.
SIMON SAYS: Take three giant steps to Blacksburg's University Mall.
Playmakers & Company's latest production, Neil Simon's ``Chapter Two,'' opens tonight at Playmakers' Playhouse in the mall. It will run weekends through Oct. 8.
The play, an autobiographical sketch about a writer whose wife has died and whose matchmaking brother tries to rekindle his interest in life, is a romantic comedy. The Playmakers' rendition features Steve Brown as George, the writer, and Sara Shoemaker as Jennie, a newly divorced woman who meets George while he is still grieving the loss of his wife. Randall Meade plays Leo, George's misguided brother; Lynda Conley plays Faye, Jennie's confused best friend.
Curtain time tonight and Saturday is 7. You can catch the Sunday matinee at 2.
Tickets, $6 for adults or $4 for students and senior citizens, are on sale at the Virginia Tech Weight Club in University Mall.
FROM TV TO VT: Malik Yoba, star of the television show ``New York Undercover'' on Fox, will visit Virginia Tech on Saturday for an 8 p.m. talk in 100 McBryde Hall. The appearance is sponsored by the Black Student Alliance and the student chapter of the YMCA.
The 27-year-old Bronx native has dedicated the past eight years to serving as a role model for Harlem youths, especially his 10-year-old son, Gregory. He works with a number of youth groups and frequently teaches leadership skills in high schools. For six years, Yoba was vice president of The City Kids Foundation, an organization for youth empowerment.
Yoba's success in films (playing the lead in Disney's ``Cool Runnings'') and television (appearing in ``Law & Order'' and ``Where I Live'') has helped bring him success on the streets. Kids look up to him.
The actor says he's excited about his work in ``New York Undercover.''
``This is a continuation of the work I've been doing with young people for many years,'' he said. ``It's in a large part why I was cast.''
Yoba will talk about the importance of getting involved in your community. Following his presentation, you're invited to a reception at the Black Cultural Center.
The talk is free and open to everyone. For more information, call Saranette Miles at 231-6076.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN: The Glenn Miller Orchestra has been around since 1938. These days, the band covers more than 100,000 miles each year, performing most every night for 50 weeks out of every 52.
You may catch a glimpse of the big blue-and-white bus with the words ``In the Mood'' above the windshield in Blacksburg on Monday.
The Glenn Miller Orchestra performs at 7:30 that evening in Virginia Tech's Burruss Hall. The concert is part of the Virginia Tech Union's Entertainment Series.
The group features band leader Larry O'Brien, five saxophone players, four trumpeters, four trombonists, three rhythm musicians and two singers.
``Mostly we play the old songs,'' O'Brien said. ``We manage to insert new ones from time to time, but these are the songs that lend themselves to the Miller sound.''
At Monday's concert, you'll hear the orchestra's Big Band standards - ``Moonlight Serenade,'' ``Tuxedo Junction'' and ``Chattanooga Choo Choo'' - as well as arrangements by contributors such as Bill Finegan, Jerry Gray, Billy May and Joe Cribari.
Tickets, on sale now at the box office in Squires Student Center, are $14 for adults, $7 for children under 12, $11 for Virginia Tech faculty and staff and $4 for Tech students. Call 231-5615 for ticket information.
Keywords:
POWWOW
by CNB