A weekend of dance: students show talent in varying genres

Last week, supporters of Millikin’s dance department surely had their fill of everything from ballet to hip hop, modern to jazz. In an extraordinary effort from Millikin’s dance faculty and students, three productions were put on over the course of just three days in Kirkland Fine Arts Center (KFAC).

Equinox, the department’s annual dance concert, was held on Thursday, March 31 and Friday, April 1. Directed by Adjunct Instructor of Dance Ya-Ju Lin, this year’s concert featured ballet and modern dance.
Read More...

Oberst's talent shines in new Bright Eyes

I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning

I was originally going to review both of the new albums from Bright Eyes (read: Conor Oberst), the electronic experimentation of Digital Ash in a Digital Urn and the country-fried I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning, but then I realized that I really haven’t listened to Digital Ash all that much. Don’t get me wrong: “Take It Easy (Love Nothing)” is probably my favorite track from both albums; but I’m Wide Awake is just the word “orgiastic” comes to mind.

Simultaneously released with her sister album on January 25, I’m Wide Awake is the work of a maturing, focused artist. After rising to marginalized fame as the king of the Omaha Indie Scene, Oberst recently relocated to New York’s lower east side. His new songs ring with a tension between the veiled optimism of a fresh-faced new New Yorker ready to take on the world and all the Bushes that (de)populate it and the wistful nostalgia of a 20-something suddenly disconnected from the Midwestern roots from which he drew so much inspiration.
Read More...

Making MU Beautiful

“Making Millikin Beautiful: A Day of Service” is a program organized to beautify and improve Millikin’s campus. This April will mark the second year for the program. Last year “Making Millikin Beautiful” was initiated by two Resident Assistants (RAs): Lindsay Senalik, a recent Millikin graduate, and Anne Marie Kramer, a senior at Millikin this year. Their goal, Kramer said, was to create a program that “involves improving Millikin with the help of the entire campus.”

Each year, RAs are required to organize programs for students to participate in; last year the idea of “Making Millikin Beautiful” started as one of these smaller projects. As the RAs made a list of areas they wished to see improved around campus, they realized that this project was much larger than they earlier thought. As their goals grew, so did the program. Each residence hall was made in charge of a different area of beautification. Mills was in charge of music for the event, and Blackburn, Walker, Aston was placed in charge of publicity.
Read More...