Awareness Through Arts
Asad Kiyani

On January 26, the campus hosted the first annual Awareness Through Arts Gala, and I had the good fortune to be present. Put on by the Equality Awareness Committee, the show featured performances by Laurier students as well as an art exhibit and a motivational speaker.

The event began with an a capella rendition of Behind the Wall, a Tracy Chapman song that describes the reality of domestic violence. Sung by Angela Peters, it was a fitting beginning to an intense, thought-provoking evening.

The second performance was probably the most memorable. Three dancers (Carrie Davidson, Amy Riddick and Diana Shepard) demonstrated through ballet the "emotional workload" that women endure on a daily basis.

Set to the song Women’s Work, by Kate Bush, it was an evocatively beautiful performance that was near-indescribable. Suffice it to say that my limited skills don’t do it justice.

Linda Chan then took the stage. She played a piece composed for the piano by Betty Jackson King. The reason for playing that particular piece was that it is held by the Black Women Composers Collection and is part of a creative effort that has been held back by traditionally conservative mentalities.

Michelle Phillips then read a poem she composed herself, a poem that described the ups and downs of life and how it unravels before us. While the idea behind the piece was undoubtedly a noble one, the reading was difficult to understand in some areas.

Next to perform were Jill and Jennifer Hedican. Jill played the guitar while Jennifer was on the violin for the first three songs, and they switched roles for the finale. Melanie Doane and Eileen Iverson wrote the first pair of songs that the duo performed, while Jennifer composed the last two. The set was meant to highlight the contributions of various women composers and better illustrate the experience of women and their traditional roles.

Following the Hedican sisters were Walter Guerra and Avril Robinson. The duo performed a sizzling Merengue dance. The most popular of Latin dance

forms, Merengue’s beauty lies in its ability to show the versatility, creativity and universality of dance as an expressionistic form. This part of the show was the most well-received, and for good reason–it was truly explosive.

The final performer was Cory Brayshaw, a female bagpipe player. The most relevant aspect of her performance was that it was a step towards tearing down the traditional stereotype that only men can play the instrument.

The intermission allowed for a chance to view some artwork that was also being exhibited as part of the gala. Of particular interest were the pieces by Fine Arts professor Michal Manson and Waleed Ksaifi.

Manson displayed two parts of her series In the Land of Ire, which is meant

to demonstrate the beauty of a land that has been victimized by sectarian violence for much of the last 30 years.

Ksaifi’s pieces used seemingly abstract curves and lines to connect seemingly disparate images and unify them, in the keeping with the theme of equality and the beauty of diversity.

The final part of the gala was possibly the most striking. Johnny Lake, a speaker from Tennessee, was brought in to speak to the gala audience. Lake took the stage and proceeded to describe current attitudes toward race, racial stereotyping, and moves toward equality, education and awareness.

Lake was certainly a striking speaker. He consistently touched on situations that related to everyone in the hall, in spite of their background. His favorite

phrase was "single, simple, physical characteristic," which he used to great effect in reminding the audience of the absurdity of the problem that underlies racial tension throughout the world.

While he reminded the audience of the impact of slavery and the dominance of rich white men throughout most of the world, Lake was far from confrontational. Instead, he stressed the importance of dialogue and was careful to tactfully address the concerns of all in the audience. He was one of the gala’s highlights.

In describing the event, Equality Awareness Committee Co-ordinator Amy Arnold was very impressed with the turnout, but stressed that it would have been a success regardless.

"We were pretty content with that [turnout]," said Arnold. "Next time, I’d like to see the attendance double and then triple."

Committee Executive Sarah Donaldson was quick to add that "even if one person came out" the event was a success.

"If even one or two people came, they would be taking away a little piece of it with them," said Donaldson. As it is "everyone is taking away a little piece with them tonight."

As an evening meant to educate and create a greater sense of awareness and community strength, the gala was a success. As Donaldson herself said in closing the gala, "Awareness begins with education."