2008 Woodie Awards
Khary Turner uses art to talk about ideas
Lizz Wilkinson
Issue date: 4/9/07 Section: Inside WCC
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The MLK Student Celebration of the Arts took place in the Towsley Auditorium on April 5. The idea behind the event was to "use art to talk about ideas," said Cole Jordan, a WCC counselor. Jordan was the driving force behind the event, along with Terrence Boyd and Tom Zimmerman. They wanted Turner, as the artist in residence, to act as a "bridge between faculty and the students." This artist "helps to explore and celebrate the art that students practice, such as hip hop, dance, and poetry," said Jordan.
The evening opened with Turner performing a piece on Detroit-"we've got the worst mass transit/That's why the brothers got bellies and the ladies got hips."
Following Turner, three of the WCC music professor's took the stage for a programming demonstration: Mechial White, on a Roland keyboard; Ken Kozora, percussion and sound effects on a Zendrum, a midi controller; and Johnny Lawrence, on guitar and synthesizers, which made his guitar "sing."
"I always wanted to sing and everybody knows I can't sing, so now I got a guitar that can sing for me," said Lawrence Following the demo, Turner came on stage to do a short peace on love which is "10 percent of what you do but love is 90 percent of who you are," while the next group, Top 40 Combo, a group of students from Lawrence's class of the same name, prepared for three Motown Numbers: "Baby I Need Your Loving," You Can't Hurry Love," and "Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)."
A number by Cazzie called "Waiting for Love" followed. Cazzie had a music failure, but he still stepped up, chose to perform the song a cappella, and "knocked it out of the park," as Turner said.
A surprising highlight of the show was the impromptu addition of a young man called Savant, who chose to serenade a girl, who was reluctant to stand for recognition, in the audience with "Gotta Go." His performance included jumping off the stage and strong, heartfelt vocals.
Yoshimi, a WTMC student and head of the WCC Dance Club, presented the crowd with a hula number next. She also went on to be in the two big dance groups of the evening: Dance for Unity, a hip hop group featuring five girls and one male, and La Raza, a twelve person reggaeton group were the girls wore fishnet tops and color-coated tank tops and the boys wore black and spray paint.
A diverse group of students took the stage after Yoshimi's performance: Erin Hoyes, an adorable and heartfelt a cappella acoustic blues singer; Ray Spears, a poet that left the stage smiling; and Heaven Ross, with a surprisingly seductive dance number.
The poetry interlude of the evening ran next, featuring four members of Zimmerman's WCC Poetry Club, including Zachary; Mike, who had a dynamic piece about "socially loved good people," the homeless; Matt, who accompanied both Mike and himself on guitar; and Marcel, who challenged the audience to see him, "not the outside but the in."
A feature display by Terrence Boyd, who is also known as AKA, and Mario was geared towards the ladies and a crowd pleaser. One audience member shouted that the duo were "out cold."
The student performances ended with an incredible 5 member, b-boy group called Chicago Tribe, which Turner accurately described as "one of the most exciting parts of hip hop culture."
"It was really, really well. The talent pool is so deep here." Zimmerman stated at the end of the evening. "It was a great show, and I am again flabbergasted by something I had no idea was out there."
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