Spring Break
Poets hit the stage and move the crowd
Alyse Thompson
Issue date: 11/2/09 Section: News
For Antoine Harris poetry readings are not just about walking to the microphone and reciting poems. It's about putting the body in motion and moving the audience.
"It's more of us acting with the crowd, it's the dancing that is incorporated into our pieces, it's the determination that we also try to add to the piece," said Harris, junior physical education major and president of Cultural Expressions at WIU. "It's not just regular poetry that some people look at, not the whole drawn-up Shakespeare poetry."
The Gwendolyn Brooks Cultural Center and its performing group Cultural Expressions presented the third installment of "Poetry in Motion" in the Western Illinois University Union Heritage Room on Wednesday, Oct. 28. ?
The show, emceed by sophomore family and consumer sciences major Shirval Moore, consisted of spoken poetry, dancing and singing. ?
"I would describe it as a collaboration of performance poetry and dance and song, anything that you can imagine busted up," said Kevin Smith, performer and senior art major. "You're bringing all kinds of art collabed together for this show." ?
The artists of the poetry illustrated a variety of topics, such as body image, the loss of a parent and even the differences between males and females in relationships. ?
Aside from the poetry, there were also musical selections and dance performances interspersed throughout the program. Senior music major Johnnie Campbell performed an original selection entitled "Jealous." Senior biology major Whitley King sang an R&B piece, and since it was her anniversary, she also performed a verse and a chorus of Frank Sinatra's "All the Way" for her significant other. The Amazing Grace Dance and Mime Team and House Arrest II each did a routine as well. ?
The show, which featured 23 acts required plenty of effort and teamwork from the group.
"You will be able to see the camaraderie within the organization and how we all work together to put on a big show," Smith said. "Anyone who comes here, they don't see the behind-the-scenes leading up to the show, they just see the finished product. You are going to see the finished product of what it took to put on the show." ?
Despite all of the work needed to put on a show, Cultural Expressions has been an important part of its members' lives since its creation in 1997.
"It means everything to me," Smith said. "This is where I got started at, and it's where I will continue to come back and do shows. This is the stomping grounds, this is my alma mater, so whenever I leave, I always try to rep Cultural Expressions. I have it in my heart. This is where I started writing poetry."
"It's more of us acting with the crowd, it's the dancing that is incorporated into our pieces, it's the determination that we also try to add to the piece," said Harris, junior physical education major and president of Cultural Expressions at WIU. "It's not just regular poetry that some people look at, not the whole drawn-up Shakespeare poetry."
The Gwendolyn Brooks Cultural Center and its performing group Cultural Expressions presented the third installment of "Poetry in Motion" in the Western Illinois University Union Heritage Room on Wednesday, Oct. 28. ?
The show, emceed by sophomore family and consumer sciences major Shirval Moore, consisted of spoken poetry, dancing and singing. ?
"I would describe it as a collaboration of performance poetry and dance and song, anything that you can imagine busted up," said Kevin Smith, performer and senior art major. "You're bringing all kinds of art collabed together for this show." ?
The artists of the poetry illustrated a variety of topics, such as body image, the loss of a parent and even the differences between males and females in relationships. ?
Aside from the poetry, there were also musical selections and dance performances interspersed throughout the program. Senior music major Johnnie Campbell performed an original selection entitled "Jealous." Senior biology major Whitley King sang an R&B piece, and since it was her anniversary, she also performed a verse and a chorus of Frank Sinatra's "All the Way" for her significant other. The Amazing Grace Dance and Mime Team and House Arrest II each did a routine as well. ?
The show, which featured 23 acts required plenty of effort and teamwork from the group.
"You will be able to see the camaraderie within the organization and how we all work together to put on a big show," Smith said. "Anyone who comes here, they don't see the behind-the-scenes leading up to the show, they just see the finished product. You are going to see the finished product of what it took to put on the show." ?
Despite all of the work needed to put on a show, Cultural Expressions has been an important part of its members' lives since its creation in 1997.
"It means everything to me," Smith said. "This is where I got started at, and it's where I will continue to come back and do shows. This is the stomping grounds, this is my alma mater, so whenever I leave, I always try to rep Cultural Expressions. I have it in my heart. This is where I started writing poetry."
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