Point Park University's Student-Run Newspaper

Point Park Globe

Point Park University's Student-Run Newspaper

Point Park Globe

Point Park University's Student-Run Newspaper

Point Park Globe

Cultural District features fi re, fi lm, Latin fl air in annual Gallery Crawl

 Point Park University students have never had a better opportunity to experience the artsthan the Cultural District’s “Gallery Crawl,” scheduled for Friday, Jan. 28th from 5:30 p.m. to9:00 p.m.  Presented by the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust’s Department of Education and CommunityEngagement, the Crawl not only offers free admission but exhibits and performances that willengage and excite students, with a lineup that includes live tango music presented by Cuidado, a showcase of local films at the Harris Theater and fire dancing from Steel Town Fire.”It’s such a visual and sensually engaging show that, salted with a bit of implied danger, [it] is very thrilling for all audiences,” said Erika May, artistic director of Steel Town Fire, a Pittsburgh fire manipulation troupe that has performed locally since 2009 and will entertain a Downtown audience in Katz Plaza this weekend.  The plaza, located at 7th Street and Penn Avenue, will be a hot spot for students interested in experimental art forms.”Everyone that sees it is entertained by it,” said Josh Ross, a sophomore chemistry major at Duquesne University and a six-month fire dancer.  Fire dancing, or “spinning,” is Steel Town Fire’s specialty.  The troupe’s shows consist of tricks done with poi, which are arm-length chainswith handles and flammable wicking at opposite ends, as well as staffs and scimitars.  Fire eating and breathing also typically grace their lineups.”[Fire] is a living, breathing thing,” May said.  “The ability to manipulate the element of fire [is] really a magical experience.  People that have never seen fire eating, breathing or spinning of any sort really get a kick out of this.”Steel Town Fire’s goal is to present fire as a genuine art form, one just as worthy ofrespect and wholehearted devotion as traditional forms of expression.  According to May, the troupe has been highly successful in that regard.”[There is] a diverse range of people that come up to us after a show with their praises,” May said.  “These are children, young couples, older folks, business professionals, artsy typesand literally everything in between.  I think our appeal is really pretty broad.  The act of fire performing really can excite any imagination.  [And] obviously, college kids love coming to our events.”Just as Steel Town Fire enjoys collaborating with the Cultural District, Soichiro Suzuki, leader of the Pittsburgh tango band Cuidado, hit closer to home for Point Park students.”Last year we visited Point Park,” said Suzuki, Cuidado’s euphonium instrumentalist and workshop dance instructor.  “We go to a lot of universities [and] do a lot of university workshops.  I worked with your students and I know that you guys have a great dance program.”Dance students in particular will likely enjoy Cuidado’s performance, which will be held on the fourth floor of the Trust Arts Education Center at 805/807 Liberty Ave.  According to theGallery Crawl website, Cuidado is “Pittsburgh’s most dangerous tango band” and fuses “backgrounds in tango, classical and jazz music to create a fresh sound.” The band has been local since its inception three years ago and holds anywhere from 60 to 70 public performances a year.  Shows take the form of a “social dance party,” according to Suzuki, and audiences are often more than willing to dance to the lively music.”That’s the idea, but it depends on the venue,” Suzuki said.  “At the Gallery Crawl, we will be doing more of a performance.  Typically, I do a dance demo.”Cuidado, which according to the band’s website consists of alumni of Duquesne University’s Mary Pappert School of Music, has quickly become Pittsburgh’s premier tango band and routinely satisfies musically inclined youth and adults alike.”[I] always have fun playing music with this group,” Suzuki said.  “[And] much of the audience feedback is positive.”Point Park’s cinema and digital arts students have, perhaps, the most compelling reason to attend the Crawl.  Pittsburgh Filmmakers will present a reel of short films directed by local moviemakers and looped throughout the evening in the Harris Theater, located at 809 Liberty Ave.  In addition to works by Moshe Mahler, Justin Crimone, Hanna Marno and Leena Vahelainen, “Ghost Searchers,” the senior thesis and short film directed by 2010 Point Park graduate Noel Marie Schermaier, will also be in the limelight.”I’m very honored,” said Schermaier, currently the administrative assistant for the Cinema and Digital Arts department.  “Ghost Searchers,” inspired by her infatuation with the Syfy show “Ghost Hunters” during a semester of Production III, tells the story of Edgar, an intrepid but honest ghost-hunter who clashes with his show’s supervisor, who would rather Edgar sacrifice his integrity than surrender his broadcast’s ratings and, eventually, its time slot. “I wanted to do a movie with a protagonist who had that sort of essence, this honest goodwill about wanting to find ghosts,” Schermaier said.  “He’s set up against people that symbolize all the other ghost hunting shows, where they’re just out to get ratings.”Schermaier, who graduated with a concentration in directing, emphasized fact as being of greater importance than fiction in her film, believing that the virtue of candor was no longer fundamental to most contemporary ghost hunting shows.”I think now they’re not so much being truthful and being a little bit more about ratings,” Schermaier said.  “Two or three years ago, when this all started off, people had [a more] honest approach.”

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