A night of Jazz at Schroeder Hall

On March 2, on a cool winter evening in Schroeder Hall, music department faculty Ian Carey directed an event called Jazz Combos. Seawolves and guests attended to enjoy an evening of lighthearted jazz music. It featured eight students performing works of jazz by composers such as Carla Bley, a local composer/ pianist from Oakland, California that was an influential artist in the 1960s Free Jazz Movement.

Most notable was her jazz opera “Escalator Over the Hill”. Edward Ellington, better known as “Duke”, raised in Washington, D.C and known as a successful composer who was one of the greatest jazz bandleaders of his time. He was one of the originators of big band jazz and led his band for more than fifty years and composed thousands of scores.

Some songs that were performed at the event were “Ad Infinitum” and “It Don’t Mean a Thing (If you Aint’ Got that Swing)”. The performance featured harmonies, rhythms, and most of all, improvisation. Students used a variety of instruments such as flute, piano, drums and guitar while two students sang vocals.

When asked why they had decided to attend the event, Aiyana Evans, a second-year student, replied: “I am in History of Jazz and I am taking it for my upper division GE class and part of that class is having to do concert reports”. She goes on to explain “you go to the concert and write notes during the event and then we have to take each song, do a little bit of background research, and talk about what you saw”.

The student performers were happy to comment on how much they loved performing and how they thought the performance went. “It was awesome. I am the house pianist and in this combo, every year” states second-year and Music major Jomei Greer. After the performance, they went on to say “I guess the only thing I’d add is how proud I am of the group for performing as well as we did considering that most of the ensemble are not jazz majors!”.

June Imler, a third-year student, went on to add “It was very fun. It isn’t the most I’ve prepared for a concert, but the nice thing about jazz is that there’s more leniency if you make ‘mistakes’. As long as everyone visually communicates and we can come together on a chord or the head, it will all work out! We were able to ‘keep swimming’ despite it all”.

At the end of the event, students praised how they liked the performance. “I prefer jazz over classical because I find the way the drum and the piano play very fascinating just to hear and definitely more interesting than classical, in my opinion” states Delaney Hopp, an English creative writing major. The audience marveled at how well the performance went for it being the first jazz show the ensemble had done this semester. The next jazz performance can be found on the SSU website.

SSU students come together at Paint and Sip

STAR // Dennae Taylor

Seawolf working on their painting at Paint & Sip in W&B on Feb. 23.

Feeling artistic or in a creative mood? Paint and Sip is one of the events that ASP (Associated Students Productions) hosts once every semester. Students receive all the materials needed to create any artwork for free.Also, Panera was offered during the event while the students painted. Students have the opportunity to express their creativity and make new connections.

Paint and Sip have not always been free paint activities. Ellie Orona, an ASP staff member explained, “Traditionally it’s them following an instructor, but since I have taken charge it’s more of a free for all.”

Orona emphasized, “It’s interesting to see all the different artwork that students come up with because we have super creative students at SSU.” Students don’t have to be artists to come, many are there to have a good time and hang with friends. When asked, fellow seawolf, Kenyana Hughes what she was painting she responded, “I don’t know going with the flow. I’m painting my spirit.”

Students should come to Paint and Sip because it’s a “free paint party,” said Madison Bryant. Bryan also emphasized how she wanted to be here to make new friends. The event gives you all the supplies you need: a canvas, acrylic paint, a water cup, and paint brushes. ASP worker, Curtis Manley, said, “Well it’s not something you usually do every night. It’s completely free too. That’s the best part: you get Panera and all the supplies to paint a picture.” Seawolves should take advantage of this free and fun opportunity.

ASP makes events like Paint and Sip to create a student community and try to get everyone involved. Orona said, “I’ve seen it before when a student comes alone and when they sit next to each other they talk the whole night.”

Many students love to come to Paint and Sip, it’s been one of the popular events. Manley said, “I can see it happening more next year because of how popular it’s been. I think we have had 80 people show up tonight and last semester we had a similar number. The more students we get the better. It’s nice to see almost 100 people come out to this.” Students should watch out for other Paint and Sip events.

“Other seawolves should come just because they can see what ASP is all about. They will see our workers out there doing their thing and also it will attract them to come to other events that we all put on,” said Orona. Paint and Sip is one example of the many fun events that ASP hosts and many more to come. ASP organized events like this to strengthen the student community. Make sure to check out as.sonoma.edu or follow them on Instagram @as_sonoma.

Analy High School Ensemble joins SSU Jazz Orchestra

STAR // Dennae Taylor

Swing Into Spring with special guests: Analy High School Jazz Band in Weill Hall on March 3.

Analy High School Jazz Ensemble joined the SSU Jazz Orchestra at the Weill Hall in the Green Music Center on March 3. The performance had a big turnout.

The night started out with Analy’s Jazz Ensemble, directed by Casey Jones, playing “Jumpin’ at the Woodside”, a song arranged by Rich DeRosa. The crowd was very engaged and many were moving their bodies to the rhythm. Director Jones came out a few minutes into the first song and received a lot of applause from the audience. He gave credit to each soloist after they played their piece and helped to project the instruments by adjusting the mics to get right up in the horns.

Casey Jones gave a special thanks to Sonoma State and also acknowledged Doug Leibinger, the director of the SSU Jazz Orchestra, as someone who he had learned from. “It was an absolutely wonderful experience going through those Jazz classes,” said Jones.

After the last song was played, Jones gave a shout-out to the students and all the hard work and time they put into not only the performance but the many practices they attended. “Give it up for these amazing students,” said Jones.

The next set of the night, by the SSU Jazz Orchestra, started with the song Tangerine by Johnny Mercer and Victor Schertzinger and was arranged by Doug Leibinger. The audience was again very engaged and excited by the performance.

Following this song was “Satin Doll” by Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn, and Johnny Mercer. This song featured the first vocalist of the night, Michaela Thomas. Michaela did an amazing job and had the audience very excited.

At the end of this song, Leibinger said he’s a firm believer that “Each Jazz concert should have one Duke Ellington.” This concert had two pieces by Duke Ellington, the other one being C-Jam Blues ala Mambo, the last song of the night.

After “Satin Doll” there was another song with a vocalist. Our Love is Here to Stay was sung by Melody Rose Neal, another crowd favorite. Neal was very in sync with the rhythm and the instruments.

The next song of the night, “Solar” was arranged by Leibinger. He noted that most people probably know the writer of this piece as Miles Davis who copyrighted it in 1963, but it was actually written in 1943 by Chuck Wayne, originally called Sonny. “This is our version of Solar.”When the last song ended, the Orchestra received a huge round of applause. Many people enjoyed the show.

When asked how Jazz makes you feel, June Ivanetich said “I like it a lot.” Ivanetich is in the Concert Jazz Ensemble that had played the previous night. “Jazz is the music that allows you to do what you like despite all the rules in music. You can ignore the rules in Jazz. It’s freeing.”

When commenting on both performances of the night, Kristina Lawson said, “They did a great job.”

Lip Jam raises over $30,000 for charity

STAR // Kathleen Mootz

Sororities and Fraternities practice routines for Lip Jam on 2/24 at Green Music Center.

On the evening of Feb.  24 at the Green Music Center, both students and family members arrived, slowly filling the empty seats in anticipation of this year’s Lip Jam.

LipJam is an annual lip sync and dance competition by different fraternities and sororities at SSU, hosted by Alpha Gamma Delta. In addition, it is also a fundraiser where all funds go to the Alpha Delta Gamma Foundation’s mission to fight hunger across the country.

This year’s Lip Jam theme was Billboard 100, where participants had to perform mashups of different Billboard 100 artists, ranging from Bruno Mars, Doja Cat, Pitbull, and more. Despite seeming like a simple dance competition and philanthropy event on the outside, it is so much more than that to the participants.

“There are a couple of different ways that I think about it, and obviously it’s a very big philanthropy event, and the fraternities and sororities take it very seriously because it’s all a charity event. But it’s supposed to be lighthearted at the same time, and we had a lot of fun planning.” states fourth-year Communications and media studies major Daniel Dinerman.

While the planning of these events did require hours of hard work from all parties involved, the experience was something that brought all the Greek organizations and every person involved closer together.

Fourth-year psychology Isabella Gartner, one of the Lip Jam coordinators, said that despite the intimidating amount of workload, something great was still produced from it.“I loved the unification of the other greek organizations and really wanted to have a closer greek life as a result, which I think we accomplished.”, said Gartner.

“Going into it, this was my first lip jam, so I didn’t have any expectations and thought it was just dancing.”, said first year computer science major Jadon Berkson, “But as we were getting closer to the experience, I began to see the meaning of it and got closer with my brothers, and winning made it all the more special”.

As for what the audience members got out of the show, the brothers and sisters of the various organizations hope that people had a fun time first and foremost, while also taking into account that all the money is going towards a great cause. In addition, the other goal is to give some insight in regards to what Greek life is all about.

Fourth-year psychology major, Maia Madrigal-Hernandez, another one of Lip Jam’s coordinators, hopes that people recognize how important philanthropy is to Greek life. “This event not only has members of Alpha Gamma Delta working to raise money to fight hunger, but most greek life organizations on campus are also working hard to bring this event to life and support our philanthropy,” said Hernandez.

“Greek life is very interesting at this school, and not a lot of people know what goes on behind the scenes,” said fourth-year history major Joshua Chavez. However, considering the fact that a lot of people attend LipJam, it’s a great opportunity to show what Greek life is really about and what each organization brings to the table.

Even though the various Greek organizations participating gave it their all, only a few could claim victory in the end. At the show’s end, the winners were announced with Alpha Epsilon Pi winning both People’s Choice Award and Best Fraternity Performance, and Gamma Phi Beta winning Best Sorority Performance. On top of that, the event was also a huge charitable success, with over $30,000 being raised to combat hunger through ticket sales, people’s choice donations, and the penny wars.

Seawolves show their talents at Open Mic Night

Students came out to Weyden and Brewster near the student center for a night of comedy, singing, and poetry. The Associated Student Productions, ASP hosted the event which was attended by around 50 students. There were some students that performed twice and in total, there were about 14 students that took the stage and showed off their unique skills. There were no sign-ups required to participate.

Anyone was welcome to go up and perform whatever they wanted. Some of the songs performed were “Best Part” by Daniel Caesar and “Love is an Open Door” from Frozen. There was also some poetry and comedy which gave the night a nice variety of performances that students could enjoy. The majority of the performance was singing songs. 

The atmosphere of the event was easygoing, fun, and energetic. Many students cheered on their friends as they performed or just enjoyed each other’s company while seeing their fellow Seawolves show off their skills. When asked why open mic night was a good event for students to attend Curtis Manley who is the ASP Event Director said, “students can show off their skills and abilities in a judgment-free non-competitive based environment and this gives them the platform to express themselves.” Curtis was also the MC for the event and would entertain the crowd in between performances with jokes.

Another ASP member Brittey Glor also performed at the event receiving high praise from another member Tucker Jensen who is a third year communications major and film minor. Tucker said, “My favorite part of the night was Brittney’s performance. She sang some opera and it was beautiful.”   

Every performance received applause which made the environment feel friendly, comfortable and gave the performers a chance to express themselves. There were standout performances that students enjoyed. For example, Brittney Glor, a Biochemistry major and biology minor and ASP member said, “My favorite performance was from RA Robbie who sang Golden Hour by JVKE.” That wasn’t the only person who enjoyed Robbie’s performance, Haley Azevedo, a Kinesiology major also expressed her thoughts on his performance she said, “I loved RA Robbie’s performance singing Golden Hour! As he was going up to sing he said it wasn’t going to be that good and I was shocked when he busted out those vocals.”

Any students that are looking to show off their skill should brush up on them. For any students that missed out on this open mic night, there will be another chance to see your fellow seawolves perform songs, poetry, comedy, and other skills on April 20 this time in the Alumni Amphitheater.     

Joyfully We Sing: An Evening at Schroeder Hall

STAR // Dennae Taylor

Krista Wigle and Christa Durand performing on Feb. 23.

As classical music grows further up in the years, the feelings it conveys remain evergreen. Thursday faculty Christa Durand, Krista Wigle, and Yvonne Wormer held a classical music recital in Schroeder Hall named and themed “Joyfully We Sing.” This was the first vocal faculty recital at SSU since the pandemic.

Durand said the event’s name came about because “we’re so full of gratitude to be singing in this beautiful hall post-pandemic.” Durand and Wigle are both seasoned singers as Soprano powerhouses, and Wormer laid the musical landscape on a massive and gorgeous grand piano.

The unmistakable and giant Brombaugh Opus 9 pipe organ gleamed and towered over the stage as it has in Schroeder for almost a decade. The program featured arias (excerpts from an opera) from across history in French, German, English, and Italian. They also performed some art songs which are by composers so inspired by a poem that they write music to it.

On how the songs tie together they nearly all told a story, and Durand said everything ended up being very happy and pretty. “There’s fast songs and slow songs, but everything is kind of pretty. We were just like let’s sing things that make us happy.”

The singers alternated solo appearances on stage, and they concluded with a performance of “Flower Duet,” a song about a countess and her maid who wrote a phony letter to catch the countess’ adulterous husband trying to have an affair with the maid. Many of the pieces featured entertaining stories like this which the singers would explain before the song. Wormer explained, “Operas are drama it’s so fun, that was [people’s] musical theater of the day.”

Both Durand and Wigle stunned the audience with powerful vocals and shined during their sets. Though both Sopranos, the singers have very distinct voices. Wigle explained: “[Durand’s] is full and gorgeous and there’s a lot of body to her voice, and mine’s a little lighter and chirpier. It’s just more of high overtones.”

Performing in Schroeder hall, Durand said “the sound engineering in that hall is nearly perfect. It’s fabulous you can whisper in there and people will hear it in the back room.” Wormer added “Schroeder is just magical. The singers don’t have to try hard it’s just the acoustics are so beautiful.”

Wormer witnessed the building of the Green Music Center in 2012, he is now working at Sonoma State for 20 years as a collaborative pianist in recitals and classrooms. Durand  and Wigle joined SSU as faculty this last fall, and Durand shared that when they met she joked: “our names are both Durand let’s do a faculty recital together.” The working title at the time was “Double Trouble,” and hopefully that recital will come to fruition in the future.

Speaking on what she hopes audiences attending a classical recital for the first time get out of it, Durand said “a certain type of stillness. There’s something in classical music in doing and listening to it it’s almost like you have to be very still inside yourself, and it stimulates a really deep deep emotion.”

Listening and speaking up: Black Student Voices

Amanda Luckett speaking at the Black Student Voices Project on Feb. 15.

To celebrate and amplify Black perspectives, HUB Cultural Center and SSU Common Read committee hosted a reception for the Black Student Voices Project in Ballroom B of the Student Center Wednesday 12-1 p.m. Ten students responded to: “What has been your experience being Black at SSU?” Their quotes plus more were displayed so attendees could discuss them.

Black History Month brings up reflections on the past and how things are, but also the strides toward a better future. Interim Manager of the HUB Cultural Center, Tramaine Austin-Dillon wondered: “Why is BHM the shortest month of the year!?”. HUB Programming Student Assistant Olivia Blades said BHM “has always been positive for me. Yes, slavery was a part of it, but it isn’t ALL of Black History. There’s joy, love, happiness.”  

At Wednesday’s event, Jomei Greer of the SSU Jazz Ensemble kicked things off with a piano performance. Faculty and students shared their stories with the room. Austin-Dillon, EOP Advisor Andre Bailey, and former Outreach Coordinator for the Academic Talent Search Program Ivona Williams shared their alumni experience and the community they built here. Blades and Black Student Union (BSU) co-president Amanda Luckett elaborated on their quotes they contributed. 

Many of the quotes on display had a common theme of unity and support that organizations like HUB and BSU offer. Camille Johnson shared: “I’ve found a great community within BSU.” Jeremiah Kitavi said there are “A lot of great people on campus. I just wish we had more Black unity.”

According to SSU’s website, 3% of the students that attend are Black/African American. Blades identified “that creates a whole ton of challenges trying to find other Black people, and if you did, whether those Black people even like Black people. Dealing with going out and people saying the N-word at a party, being ostracized.”
Williams highlighted the positives of Sonoma which make students want to apply, like an intimate campus and beautiful environment. She encouraged students to bring what’s culturally lacking over to campus from other places. “We would do that, you know? Maya Angelou has been on campus, Cornel West has been on campus, and various reggae artists have been on campus.”

Williams continued: “That’s what an institution of higher education is all about. Bringing in a diverse group of activities to build the richness of the education experience.” Williams shared that when she attended SSU “I would share my cultural experiences with my professors because a lot of them had these misconceptions about who we are as people.” She found that cross-cultural communication helped everybody be better and more aware.

Williams said “BHM is a month for awareness. You should always remember your past because it points to your future.” In terms of Sonoma’s support of black students, Williams praised SSU’s BHM events, and HUB, as well as “putting on programming that is specifically geared towards black students.”

Luckett’s quote at Wednesday’s event read “Seas of white, islands of Black, no bridges, no boats, construction in progress.” By her and everyone else’s willingness to be vulnerable, that construction advances more and more.

Tuesday Night Trivia kicks off

On Valentine's Day, Lobo's Pub hosted a trivia night with a romantic theme. Associated Students Productions (ASP) hosted the event that took place in Lobo’s Pub which stayed open later to serve food to the participants. The night started at 6:30 p.m. with students lining up outside of Lobo’s and then being seated inside. Once inside students were given a whiteboard and marker to write down answers. Five people were the maximum that could be on a team.While most did have five members, some teams only had three or two participants. Before the first question students were given some time to order any food or drinks as well as come up with team names. Many of the participants took their time in crafting the perfect team name as this took around 10 minutes to get everyone's team name in.    

Several of the students who went to the event learned about it from fliers posted around campus. Ryan Shatkin, a History major said, “I didn’t really have anything else going on and saw the fliers so here I am.” The first question that kicked off this trivia night was, “Besides roses, what are the most common flowers purchased on Valentine's day?” By the amount of groups that got this question right you could tell some groups were not as familiar with Valentine's Day trivia. 

However this was not the case for Xavier Swanson, a second-year political science and economy major Swanson said, “We’re going to win because we are confident about being overconfident.” When it was revealed that orchids were the correct answer there was a mix of excited cheers and disappointed faces. The night went on with more questions including: "Who is the Greek goddess of beauty?" and "In which Italian city did Romeo and Juliet occur?" and "What are the names of the two main love interests that Spider-Man has in the comics?"  Not all questions were counted equally, questions that had multiple parts and random double-point questions made answering every question right crucial in order to win.    

After 25 questions that really tested everyone's Valentine’s knowledge, a team by the name of slayers was crowned trivia night champions. The night ended around 7:30 p.m. which was earlier than the 8:30 p.m. that the flier showed. After the event students finished up the last of their meals and started to leave. Chris Hernandez, a second-year Biology major said, “ It was super fun, I wish they had more than one round. I really wanted another chance to win.” Even though they might have ended this trivia night a little early, Seawolves will get more chances to show off their trivia knowledge throughout this semester. 

ASP will be hosting a trivia night every second Tuesday of every month until May. The themes for each trivia night will be “Musical Madness in March” and “Tv and Film” in April and “Are You Smarter than a Highschooler?” in May.                      

SSU Celebrates the return of Faculty Art Exhibition

STAR // KATHLEEN MOOTZ

Sarah Crecelius and Taylor Nelson admire artwork at Sonoma Art Gallery on 2/16.

SSU Faculty and Students came together at the University Art Gallery to celebrate the opening of the SSU Faculty Art Exhibition on February 16. The show itself is a way for SSU’s art faculty to display their work outside of the classroom to students, other faculty members, as well as the general public.

Stefan Kisbye, the Department Chair for the Art & Art History Department and an Associate Professor for creative writing, sees the event as a way for the art faculty to show off their merits as artists. “For me, it's wonderful to see colleagues as the working artists they are. They do fantastic work, and they are not only gifted teachers but acclaimed and wonderful practitioners, said Kisbye.

Carla Stone, the Art Department’s Exhibitions Coordinator, hopes that everyone, from students to faculty, as well as the general public, enjoys the opportunity to learn about the faculty’s personal art practices and displays. As for SSU students, Stone hopes that this gallery is a window for students to see what their teachers and mentors are doing outside of the classroom, and hopefully encourage them to sharpen their talents as artists and further their future careers.

“This group of faculty are all practicing artists who maintain professional careers and participate in regional and national exhibitions in addition to being committed professors in the classroom,” said Carla Stone, the Art Department’s Exhibitions Coordinator.

Sena Clara Creston, an Assistant Professor of Art, whose work is being showcased at the gallery said that she hopes that students and faculty understand what artists in their community are creating. Creston’s own work, Plantscape, is made up of discarded plastic bottles and Walmart bags.“Recent personal memories of these beautiful and destructive plastic materials exhibit how animated, materialistic, and ecological responses reflect the impact of our actions.”, said Creston.

This year’s Faculty Art Exhibition is also a very significant one, as it wasn't just a celebration of the personal art projects of SSU faculty, but also the return of the show after a long, five-year hiatus. In previous years, this event was biennial, but the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the show being put on hold for half a decade. Years later, the show is now back on the road, and while planning for it certainly wasn't easy, the outcome was more than worth it. There was a 12-day period between the art gallery and the gallery’s annual Art from the Heart benefit auction, and this planning process was by no means an easy one. 

As Stone explains, despite all the logistics that required cooperation and adherence to the deadlines of all the artists involved, the work would most likely have not been done in time if it wasn't for the seven student interns working with Stone, who has been invaluable in making this event possible.“There's a great sense of pride and accomplishment when I see the result of everyone's efforts to produce a professional quality exhibition right here on campus," said Stone.

Despite major setbacks and delays, SSU’s art department still managed to overcome many obstacles, and reestablish an old SSU tradition, in the hopes that others will be inspired by the work shown, and motivate them in their own artistic endeavors. The SSU Art Faculty Exhibition will be on full display from February 16 - March 12 at the University Art Gallery.

Students test their music knowledge at W&B

If there is one common unifier that brings people together, it’s music. Knowing that, Friday Night Live: Song Burst is a perfect opportunity to engage with one’s fellow Seawolves. Located in Weyden and Brewster in the Student Center, Seawolves had an hour from 8-9 p.m. to excavate their memories as a team for songs to name. Students pulled from old childhood memories of music as well as TikTok audios they had only briefly heard to compete. Teams took turns naming one song at a time until only one was left.

Hosted by SSU resident advisors (RA) Grace King and Johnny Hershman, at Song Burst students formed teams for a rapid-fire tournament of song association. Over 8 rounds, hosts would give a specific word and the teams had to take turns naming as many songs with that word in the lyrics as possible. In the end, goodie bag prizes were distributed to the winning team. RA and fourth-year psychology major Johnny Hershman spoke on what they hope students get out of the event: “We just wanted to give students a chance to have fun on a Friday night if they want to win prizes and stuff; it was just a fun time.”

Hershman explained how organizing the event was a collaboration between the RAs and Student Involvement “We had a lot of help from Mo Phillips and her people. They helped set up a lot of the event we’re just here more to facilitate it.”

“It’s interesting because everyone has their own different taste in music so you get to hear answers from different genres being bounced around,” said Hershman. Throughout the night students came up with a huge range of songs, including pop, hip-hop, country, rock and roll, and other genres. King shared: “My favorite songs that people named at the program were songs from the Disney Channel Original Movie “Let It Shine”. It showed such a diverse music taste that I really enjoyed.”

Speaking on the community-building aspect of events like Friday Night Live, Hershman said that as a RA in a building for first-years, these events are supposed to be fun and loose so students can feel more comfortable on campus and meet new people, as well as spreading their wings a bit since many first-years have just left their parents’ or guardians’ homes for the first time.

An event like Song Burst is a perfect occasion for community-building because you can learn a fair amount about your teammates and the opposing team’s taste from the type of music they name. You might be surprised at who shares a lot of the same music taste as you and the eclectic type of music some students can pull out.

Even if you are on an opposing team, if someone names a song that is a favorite of yours it can be hard to not sing along and finish the lyrics, so the night felt more like a small community of students playing a game together instead of a competition where they are pitted against one another. For more events, you can check the Seawolf Living website at seawolfliving.com.

FAASSU teaches Pag-Apir to Seawolves

STAR //  Dennae Taylor

Seawolves practicing Pag-Apir in  Ballroom D of the Student Center.

Students from Sonoma State came out to try out some new dance moves. The Filipino American Association at Sonoma State (FAASSU) hosted a Pag-Apir lesson open to all students interested in trying it out. The event was hosted in the spacious Ballroom D of the Student Center. As part of Pacific Cultural Night, FAASSU had a schedule of activities that students were able to try out. Some of the things that students could try out were Eskrima, Kapwa, Bangko, and Tinikling. The activities for Tuesday, Feb. 7 were Eskrima, Pag-Apir, and Kapwa which lasted from 7-10 p.m. Eskrima is the national martial art of the Philippines which involves stick and sword fighting, Pag-Apir is a traditional Filipino dance that incorporates fans, and Kapwa which is a Modern Hip hop style dance.

Pag-Apir is a traditional Filipino dance that shows a royal manner of walking usually performed before an important event and performed by the ladies of the royal court. The dance originated from the Maranao people who lived near lake Lanao. The dancers use fans or apirs as they are known which is why it’s commonly referred to as the fan dance. Leah Vallespin, a fourth-year biology student and the first-time instructor was leading the dance. Although it was her first time instructing, Vallespin had watched videos of Pag-Apir and was ready to show the Seawolves some new moves. When asked about why students should try out Pag-Apir, Vallespin said, “It’s just a fun dance, the simple and intricate movements make it look so graceful.”

Although it takes time and practice to make it look graceful, that didn’t stop students from having fun and giving it their best shot. Laughter and chatter filled the room as traditional Filipino music played and fans waved throughout the air. Another member of FASSUU Yoselyn Navarrete was also there helping out and teaching students about Pag-Apir Navarrete who has done other types of dancing like the traditional Mexican dance, Folklorico was happy to practice Pag-Apir with others. When asked about why dancing is important to her Navarrete said, “My favorite part about dancing is learning new dances from other cultures which gives me a diverse perspective.”  

Students new to Pag-Apir had a great time getting the movements down. Lexi Regan, a second-year women’s and gender studies major was attending the event and gave her thoughts on the event and Pag-Apir, “I saw that they were having a session and I thought it looked pretty and graceful.” If you are interested in attending an event in the future you can follow FAASSU on Instagram @faassu for info about any future events.   

“Once Upon A Mattress” debuts on-campus

STAR //  Dennae Taylor

First premiere of Once Upon a Mattress at Person Theater.

On Feb. 10, students filled up seats in Person Theater to watch the first premiere of “Once Upon a Mattress”, hosted and put on by SSU’s Theatre Arts and Dance Department. The play, “Once Upon a Mattress”, is a musical and comedic version of The Princess and the Pea and centers on Princess Winnifred/Fred as she tries to prove she’s worthy to take Prince Dauntless’s hand in marriage, whose mother, Queen Aggravain states that he must marry a “true” princess. The musical demonstrated this creative take on a classic fairytale, and the cast showcased their acting abilities and musical performances, which were well received by the audience.

“Without giving too much away I was roaring in my seat at the hilarity that ensues as the play goes on.”, said second-year psychology major Luis Escobar, one of the attendees for Friday night’s performance.“The lighting was beautiful as it reflected each vital moment in the play and I loved the music as well as the dancing,” Escobar explained.

However, Doyle Ott, the show’s stage director and musical director Lynne Morrow, also say that the show can be seen as a reflection of how long we’ve come in terms of gender equity and what still needs fixing. Considering that the play revolves around marriage and the need to get married and that the show was written back in 1959.

“First and foremost I hope audiences have a good time. This is a comedy and if people have fun watching it we have largely done our job.”, said Ott. The production of the show was something that took months of behind-the-scenes work, and despite difficulties, the cast has had a meaningful experience.

Ott said, “For theater and music students covid took a few years of precious time learning to navigate being with a live audience, so the learning opportunity here is perhaps even more meaningful.”

Amber Kalijumagi, who portrays one of the princesses and Lady Mabelle, said that one of the best parts of production was growing closer with the other actors.“We have a lot of fun putting on this show, and the entire musical has become an inside joke for us.”, Kalijumagi said.

“Personally, this production means a lot to me because I have grown so much as a performer and person during the run of this show,” said second-year biochemistry major, Lauren Toledo, who portrays Princess Winnifred on stage. Toledo hopes that the struggles her character endure during the play resonate with the many college students in the audience.

“Princess Winnifred goes through a lot of the same emotions that I as a college student go through, for example, she cares what others think about her, she gets homesick, she falls in love, and she feels alone at times.”, said Toledo. “Once Upon a Mattress” will be showing later this week on Friday, Feb. 17th, and Saturday, Feb. 18th at 7:30 p.m., and on Sunday, Feb. 19 at 2:00 p.m. Upcoming performances from the School of Theater and Dance include senior projects from March 16 - 18, “War Circus” from April 6 - 8, and “Spring Dance” from April 27 - 30.