Alyssa Griffith

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Ballroom dancers strut their stuff

By Alyssa Griffith | August 26

You don't have to be an ex-boy band member, reality show princess or Grammy Award winner to ballroom dance. Unlike contestants on ABC's "Dancing With The Stars," anyone can learn to dance through the UNC-Chapel Hill Ballroom Dance Club and Team. Lauren Bailey, the club's president, said the number of students who participate has doubled in the past four years. "Ballroom dancing isn't just for debutantes or senior citizens anymore," Bailey said.

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'Two Masters' misses mark

By Alyssa Griffith | August 25

Masquerading as her dead brother is the least of Beatrice's woes as one of the stars of Deep Dish Theater Company's production of Carlo Goldoni's "The Servant of Two Masters." The theater's season opener, which plays Aug. 21 to Sept. 13, is a fast-paced and humorous type of Italian comedy known as commedia dell'arte. The clichéd plotline of doomed marriage, mistaken identity and the quest for true love is comedic when mixed with speedy entrances, witty banter and several pratfalls.

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Deep Dish Theater Company presents 'The Servant of Two Masters'

By Alyssa Griffith | August 21

Theatrical icons Lucille Ball, Mickey Rooney and "The Three Stooges" all had to find their inspiration somewhere. These actors - and others known for their slapstick brand of humor - were inspired by playwright Carlo Goldoni and one of his most famous works, "The Servant of Two Masters." Members of Chapel Hill's Deep Dish Theatre Company intend to inspire other theatrical hopefuls by performing Goldoni's work Aug. 21 through Sept. 13.

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Music Festival to offer taste of world dances

By Alyssa Griffith | April 18

This weekend, UNC students won't have to travel out of the country or flip to reruns of "Dancing with the Stars" to experience the sensuality of salsa. The World Music Festival, sponsored by the Carolina Seminar Program and the UNC Department of Music, will celebrate music and dance from Indonesia, Cuba and Ghana. The festivities will be hosted from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday at the FedEx Global Education Center. The festival offers salsa lessons from the UNC Ballroom Dance Team, as well as a Ghanaian drumming workshop.

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Concert to benefit Carson's fund

By Alyssa Griffith | April 11

CORRECTION: Due to a reporting error, Friday's article, "Concert to benefit Carson's fund," incorrectly states that Tau Kappa Epsilon is the newest fraternity at UNC. The fraternity is considered a colony at UNC and has yet to receive recognition from the University as an official chapter of the fraternity. More than a month after Student Body President Eve Carson's murder, members of student government and Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity are working to fulfill one of her aspirations for the University.

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'80s dance transports crowd to decade of excess

By Alyssa Griffith | March 31

Editor's Note: Campus radio station WXYC held its annual '80s dance Friday. Staff writer Alyssa Griffith dressed the part and relived the decade at Cat's Cradle. As I attempted to grab one last strand of pearls from my dorm room to add to the already excessive amount around my neck, my vintage lace dress ripped. But once I got to Cat's Cradle, few around me seemed to notice as I celebrated the decade of excess with a couple hundred other '80s lovers at the venue Friday for WXYC 89.3's biannual '80s dance.

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Let the music play

By Alyssa Griffith | March 28

It might be difficult to imagine a time when big hair and even bigger shoulder pads were the height of fashion and Michael Jackson was seen as a sex icon rather than a sex offender. This infamous decade was known as the '80s, when the Brat Pack dominated the silver screen and people reveled in Madonna's antics instead of Britney's. And beginning at 9 p.m. tonight, UNC's campus radio station, WXYC 89.3, will pay its biannual tribute to the decade as Cat's Cradle will fill with material girls, punks, metal heads and yuppies flash-dancing to stellar jams.

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African filmmaker to teach techniques of film, preserving history

By Alyssa Griffith | February 25

Acclaimed independent filmmaker Haile Gerima travels the globe teaching cinematography workshops for interested film students. That journey has led Gerima to Chapel Hill, where today he will begin a weeklong residency at the Sonja Haynes Stone Center. Much of Gerima's work chronicles themes and story lines within the context of the Stone Center's film series, "Cinemas of Resistance."

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Lab! Theatre Production delves into human psyche

By Alyssa Griffith | January 24

For the past few months, the cast and crew of Lab! Theatre's latest production have faced their share of creative frustrations and artistic epiphanies.And for some of the UNC students preparing for the opening of David Lindsay-Abaire's award-winning production, "Rabbit Hole," perfecting the production has been the top priority."I knew immediately that this was an ambitious project from all angles: directing, acting and technical production," said senior Nikhil Pai, the show's director. "I felt the most important goal would be to honor the intricacies of the play."

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PlayMakers showcases emotion in '2.5 Minute'

By Alyssa Griffith | January 10

Lisa Kron's acclaimed performance in "2.5 Minute Ride" blurs the boundaries between pain and comedy. Kron unveiled her award-winning one-woman show Wednesday for PlayMakers Repertory Company's second-stage series, PRC2, at the Elizabeth Price Kenan Theatre. The autobiographical show intertwines three separate experiences in Kron's life. Audience members might find themselves unable to remove their eyes from Kron's smiling eyes and animated features.