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The Entertainment Report |
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May 20, 2000Music from the Heart For Nokuthula Ngwenyama and Melvin Chen, music is the passion of their lives. Ngwenyama has been playing the viola for more than 17 years, and she says she plays the music out of sheer passion for the art. "I just go into music because I feel in love with it." Just like her name, which means Mother of Peace and Lion, the music she plays can soothe the soul or roar with excitement. Ngwenyama grew up in Los Angeles where she studied music privately and then continued her studies abroad at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia and then two years in a Paris Conservatory. As for Melvin Chen, his list of credentials is just as impressing. He began when he was five and attended Yale for his undergraduate studies, then the Julliard School of New York. He later studied Chemistry at Harvard. Chen considers himself an interpreter of music and plays everything from sonatas to preludes and nocturnes. While it's difficult to become a professional, classical musician, the concert pianist says, "Music is something that should be a part of everyone's life." And for these two, this is just the beginning of more music of the heart.
And now…your latest entertainment news! La Boheme Makes Its Way to Guam Both have appeared in a number of operas and have traveled all over the world sharing the vocal abilities. Bringing the opera to the island only seemed fitting for the couple, who starred opposite one another as star-crossed lovers. Flores says, "It's very sentimental of course. We get to see it and hear it again done by professionals and it'll be wonderful for us to watch." But it hasn't been an easy process for the two directors. Possibly one of their greatest challenges was to find a set that could be shipped out to Guam. After some research, Flores says they were able to find a set from the Seattle Opera House that will arrive next week. Flores says, "We'll take a blank stage and turn it into a garret in Paris set in the 1830's. We hope by way of illusions of light and the back set we can take you to winter Christmas Eve in Paris." SKIP Dancers Groovin' And for some of them like Justina and Jason Anderson, it's been a passion for most of their lives. Justina has been dancing for 13 years while her husband Jason has been dancing for almost 15 years. The two say it's been worth all of the long hours of practice and dedication. "Nobody forces us to do it. We're here because we want to," the happy couple said. Their desire for dancing comes from their performances and their love for the sport. Justina says the best thing about dancing is, "meeting people and getting to go places representing Guam". But besides the travel, both have learned a variety of dance styles. Then there's 17-year-old Tanisha Franquez who's been dancing with SKIP since she was six. Franquez says, " Dancing in general and just being up there on stage is great. We just dance from the heart". But like most kids Franquez had to find her passion for dancing, and now a little older and a little wiser, she's realized she's a part of another family. "The people here just keep you coming back." SKIP Entertainment has taught the dancers here more than a few good moves. The dancers have learned the true art of dancing- dancing from the heart. And it shows in their performances and on their faces.
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