The Communicator • A Student Voice

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Photo By Cheryl Mann

On Saturday April 24th I had the unique opportunity to interview Laura Halm, one of the dancers from the Hubbard Dance Street Company. We sat a room off of the lobby at the Power Center and she answered my questions about her training and career. Laura Halm became a dancer in Hubbard Street Dance company in 2006. Prior to Hubbard Street, Halm was in Hubbard Street Dance Company 2, a company of younger dancers between the ages of 17 and 25 who perform the dances of promising young choreographers.

More…

Photo by Todd Rosenberg

Hubbard Street Dance Company, the Chicago-based modern dance company, performed on April 22, 23 and 24 at the Power Center. Lou Conte founded Hubbard Street in 1977, and under his leadership the company had more of a jazz dance focus. He retired in 2000, and the company has since started to center more on modern dance. Under the artistic directorship of Jim Vincent 2000-2008, followed by Glenn Edgerton 2008 to the present, the company reached out to international contemporary choreographers. They often feature some of the most prominent choreographers currently working in Europe. The performance on Saturday, April 24th featured three works: Bitter Suite, 27′ 52″ and Walking Mad, all choreographed by Europeans. More…

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

My Dear Disco is dance band located in Ann Arbor composed of graduates from the University of Michigan’s School of Music, Theatre and Dance. The band used to be called Tool box when it started with two people and a computer. The band kept expanding with different people, so they decided it was not the same band anymore and renamed it My Dear Disco. They are very popular around Ann Arbor and are beginning to get well known in other places around the country. The process of building their reputation included recording a CD, distributing it and performing locally and on tour. First their friends came to their concerts, then friends of friends and before too long they established a name for themselves.

Michelle Chamuel is the lead singer in the band. Chamuel likes to write her own melodies and lyrics for her songs. A goal of hers is to make music that makes her and other people feel really good. From the Boston area, Chamuel has been singing since she can remember. She stopped around her middle school years due to her fear of singing in public, but started to sing again at age 14. At the U of M Chamuel majored in performing arts and technology and focused on sound design and recording. “We all just like to play music together, and just rock out late at night to dance music and have parties… and pretty soon it just became a dance band,” said Chamuel.

My Dear Disco does quite a bit of touring on their grease fueled bus which is both economical and ecological. Earlier this month they opened for the band Boys like Girls in Colorado. My Dear Disco was recently invited to play at Lollapalooza, a prominent music festival in Chicago. Big names like Lady Gaga will be performing at this event. This could be a big step in their career, because many new people will discover their exciting music.

To hear some of their music you can go to their website : www.dancethink.com

Photos by Andrés Perez and Monika Anderson

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

February 27 was a stressful and nerve racking night  for my cousin Felipe Lorca while waiting to hear from family in Chile. Just weeks after the devastating earthquake in Haiti, Chile was struck with an 8.8 magnitude earthquake. As of March 4th, the death toll is 799, with many injuries. Lorca lived in Santiago, Chile all his life until two years ago, when he moved to the United States to marry my cousin, Abigail Downs. Lorca’s family and many of his friends are still living in Chile.

More…

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Sarah Taylor and Corey Wellik are both Freshman at CHS. Both are athletes at Huron and are finding it difficult to balance their time between homework and sports. They also talked about what they think of Community and why they like it. Wellik also talks about being split enrolled at Huron.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.