sealPurdue Arts and Entertainment News _____

December 19, 1997

Dance company celebrates African-American tradition

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, a modern dance company rooted in the African-American experience, will perform at 8 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 17, in Loeb Playhouse in Purdue University's Stewart Center. The performance is presented by Purdue Convocations with support from Friends of Convocations and Purdue's Black Cultural Center.

The dance company's founder and artistic director, Jeraldyne Blunden, will lead a discussion of the evening's program at 7 p.m. in Room 214, Stewart Center. The discussion is free and open to the public.

Dayton Contemporary Dance Company participates in the American Dance Festival's Black Tradition in American Modern Dance project, which is reconstructing and touring great black works in American modern dance. The company has a repertory that includes works by such choreographers as Alvin Ailey, Talley Beatty, Donald McKayle and Eleo Pomare. The New York Times has called the dance company "one of the nation's most vital and accomplished small modern-dance troupes."

Dayton Contemporary Dance Company's participation in the American Dance Festival on Tour is funded in part by a grant from the Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Fund, which promotes the vitality of the arts nationwide by encouraging interactions between artists and communities. The fund is one of the largest private supporters of the performing, visual and literary arts in the United States.

Tickets for the Jan. 17 performance are $16 for the public and $11 for Purdue students at campus box offices. Charge by phone at (765) 494-3933 or 1-800-914-SHOW.

CONTACT: Jeff Langford, Convocations publicist, (765) 494-9712; e-mail, jilangford@convos.purdue.edu

Purdue Christmas Show radio, TV broadcasts set

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- The spirit, sights and songs of Purdue University Musical Organizations' acclaimed Christmas Show will be seen and heard far and wide during Christmas week.

Public TV stations nationwide are broadcasting a one-hour highlights program produced last year. The Channel Earth rural satellite service also is beaming the production to subscribers. Most Indiana PBS affiliates and other outlets will air a new production of the 1997 show. Additionally, dozens of radio stations, mostly in Indiana, will broadcast a special one-hour production of this year's show, and the Voice of America has requested the program as well.

The new radio and TV productions will feature highlights recorded during the six live performances of the 64th annual Christmas Show, staged Dec. 12-14 in Elliott Hall of Music on Purdue's West Lafayette campus. Thousands of people from throughout the Midwest annually trek to campus to enjoy the show, which plays to sellout audiences in the 6,027-seat hall.

A December tradition since the 1930s, the Christmas Show celebrates both the popular and religious aspects of the Christmas season. Featured are the student members of the five PMO ensembles: the Varsity Glee Club, Purduettes, University Choir, PMO Express and Purdue Bell Choir.

Among radio outlets broadcasting the 1997 show are Purdue's WBAA radio stations. It will air on WBAA-FM 101.3 at 5 p.m. Dec. 20 and Dec. 24. On WBAA-AM 920, it will be heard at 2 p.m. Dec. 22.

For the TV production, Indiana cities, stations and local broadcast times are:

A frequently updated World Wide Web page containing the most recent information about TV broadcast times nationwide is available at: http://newsgopher.uns.purdue.edu/pmolist.html

CONTACT: Greg Zawisza, Office of University Relations, (765) 494-2086; e-mail, greg_zawisza@purdue.edu

Purdue TV magazine's Indianapolis broadcasts set

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- "Purdue: A Closer Look," the weekly television magazine that takes a closer look at the university's people, programs, research and services, makes its season broadcast premiere Jan. 4 on WFYI-TV, Indianapolis.

Weekly broadcasts of select programs from the fall series and the entire upcoming spring series will be seen at 11:30 a.m. Sundays on WFYI, Channel 20, the Indianapolis Public Broadcasting Service affiliate. Several cable outlets statewide also show the program at various times.

Each half-hour program includes a campus news update, feature segments and a studio interview.

The Indianapolis broadcast schedule on WFYI and topics for the first six programs in the series:

Jan. 4 -- In step with the Purdue Repertory Dance Company; the Ackerman Center for Democratic Citizenship; the work and achievements of Purdue Nobel laureate Herbert Brown.

Jan. 11 -- Technology initiatives on campus; the benefits of full-day vs. half-day kindergarten; making good use of the state flower.

Jan. 18 -- Research in the School of Nuclear Engineering; the role of liberal arts in today's university; the 1997 inductees of Purdue's Athletic Hall of Fame.

Jan. 25 -- Helping young fathers learn parenting skills; progress in using pig intestines for human tissue repair; the surprising Purdue Water Ski Team.

Feb. 1 -- Budding entrepreneurs compete in special competitions; a look at the new Animal Behavior Clinic; student archaeologists make an intriguing discovery.

Feb. 8 -- The Computer Integrated Manufacturing Technology laboratory means hands-on experience; the good side of kids' fat intake; International students and scholars add to the tapestry of campus.

"Purdue: A Closer Look" is jointly produced by the Center for Instructional Services and the Office of University Relations. Program hosts are Beth Forbes, news coordinator at Purdue News Service, and Greg Zawisza, director of special projects at University Relations.

CONTACTS: Zawisza, (765) 494-2086; e-mail, greg_zawisza@purdue.edu
Forbes, (765) 494-9723; e-mail, beth_forbes@purdue.edu

Compiled by J. Michael Willis, (765) 494-0371; e-mail, mike_willis@purdue.edu
Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; e-mail, purduenews@purdue.edu

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