The Santa Fe New Mexican from Santa Fe, New Mexico • 11

rii Ja 1 I THE SANTA FE NEW MEXICAN Sunday SEPTEMBER 15, 2002 www.santafenewmexlcan.com yeteran Democrats face challenge Innovative Derformance jy dance company the political spectrum, both believe a new generation deserves a chance at power in the Roundhouse. By STEVE TERRELL The New Mexican Two powerful veteran Democratic Santa Fe legislators are facing opposition from political newcomers in Novembers general election. In the east-side District 47, Rep. Aax Coll is being challenged by Republican Michelle Parker. Meanwhile, in the west-side District 48, Luciano Lucky Varela is facing the Green Partys Rick Lass.

In both races the incumbents are One of the first religious orders to spring from America, the Sisters of Loretto celebratel50 years of service fj 74 far grandfathers who have spent decades in state government. Coll and Varela have prestigious positions on important legislative committees and rarely have either had serious worries about getting re-elected. The challengers are lesser-known candidates in their 30s who are considered long shots. Though Parker and Lass come from opposite ends of time solidified the purpose of those four Loretto sisters that day in 1852. Invited by Archbishop Jean Baptiste Lamy to open a school for girls, the sisters traveled from Kentucky over three months, battling cholera and death as they traveled to their new mission.

On that first trip, their mother superior died of cholera and a second nun was left behind to recuperate from her illness. Still, the sisters would not turn back. They rbde into Santa Fe determined to teach the girls of New Mexico, so recently made a territory of the United States but still so much a part of the Mexican frontier. Those nuns became some of the first teachers in the territory, opening schools, educating children and serving the people of New Mexico for decades. I This year, the Sisters of Loretto are marking those years of service District 48 Coll began his legislative career in the 1960s as a Republican from Roswell.

During this first incarnation he rose to the rank of minority whip in the 1970s. He represented his Roswell district through 1974. faith Luis Sanchez SaturnoThe New Mexican on Thursday afternoon. The Sisters of with a 150th anniversary celebration in the city that welcomed them so joyfully so long ago. Many of the schools they founded are now closed; others remain, staffed by lay people instead of teaching nuns.

Only a handful of Lorettos still live and work in the state they grew to love. But their legacy, in the hearts and minds of the students they taught, lives on. They made nice ladies out of all us, said Amelia Romero Hollis, Loretto Academy, class of 1956. They were Very strict. But they were just wonderful people.

The love affair between Santa Fe and the Sisters of Loretto took hold that first day, when the people greeted the first nuns in the territory with an outpouring of love. Please see LORETTO, Page B-3 Coll moved to Santa Fe in the 1970s and 'got elected to his current seat again as a Republican in 1980. In a shocking 1983 development, Coll, at the urging of newly elected Gov. Toney Anaya, Luciano Varela switched parties and voted for Ray- Please see DEMOCRATS Page B-4 Yom Kippur observances begin today New rabbi joins this year's High Holy Day observances By MARISSA STONE The New Mexican During the Yom Kippur service at sundown today, Rabbi Leonard Helman said he plans to talk to his congregation about his sins. After reviewing them in his head Wednesday, Helman, leader of Congregation Beit Tikva, confessed, Im rude and impolite on the telephone.

But Irwin Abrams, a Beit Tikva board trustee, quickly disagreed. Reaching over and touching Helmans arm he insisted, He has no sins. When the rabbi says something, its from his heart, added Vivian Abrams, Beit Tikvas board president and the wife of Irwin Abrams. During Yom Kippur, which starts at sundown and ends Monday night, Jews fast and refrain from work to show were not dependent on material things only, Helman-said. And to show our identity with people who are starving.

On the Day of Atonement, or Yom Kippur, Jews gather to pray the Kol Nidre, a petition to God to forgive sins and grant blessings. If they have wronged another person, they must ask that person for forgiveness. Yom Kippur marks the end of 10 Days of Awe that begin on Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. This year is 5763, according to the Jewish calendar. Helman will be joined at this years High Holy Day observances by the congregations new rabbi, John Feldman.

They will share teaching duties. Both rabbis have law degrees and graduated from Hebrew Umdnj College. Please see YOM KIPPUR, Page B-4 3 fc 7 WV Sister Patricia Manlon stands In front of the Loretto Chapel of Our Lady of Light Loretto are celebrating their 150th anniversary of their arrival In New Mexico. 7 i By TERI THOMSON RANDALL For The New Mexican The Aspen Santa Fe Ballet broke open convention Friday with a new ballet danced in part on the vertical surface of a wall. The Same Wall, inspired by the passion for rock climbing of several company members, set the tone for the evening one filled with innovative movement and beauty of the unexpected kind.

The Same Wall (2002), by Nicolo Fonte, featured five men and five women, yet this was clearly a vehicle for the men. Sam Chittenden, Seth DelGrasso, David Barbour, Eric Chase and Patrick Thompson got to cut loose here, showing their strength and power. With masculine exuberance they ran across the walls vertical surface, flipped over the top, slammed into it and hit it with their fists. Fontes choreography was lightning fast at times. At one point, DelGrasso leapt off the floor, and with the assistance of Chittenden, landed hanging upside down by his knees from the 8-foot-tall wall.

Chit- tenden, an avid rock climber who collaborated with Fonte on the choreography, was beautiful in his strength and ease on the wall, as if it were his natural element. During the first section, the dancers appeared to light up and glow whenever they touched the wall, imparting a sense of symbolic importance to it a nice touch by lighting designer Michael Mazzola. Fonte used five women on toe shoes as a delicate counterpoint to the power and strength of the men. Unfortunately, these talented women seemed merely decorative at times. While it was great to see a piece that showcased the mens abilities, Fonte could haye developed the womens roles much further.

Also, the decision to put them in toe shoes prevented them from making a more equal contribution to the piece and doing anything interesting on the wall. Another shortcoming was the use of Karl Jenkins Vivace as music for one section. The music is too clichdd for a ballet score, now that it used in a television commercial for diamonds. Dancers Irene Joyce and Patrick Thompson were spellbinding with their pas de deux from Gerald Arpino's Light Rain (1981). They appeared like a couple from some erotic mythology, locked in timeless love and pleasure.

Joyce kept her legs in perfect 180-degree splits for almost the entire duet, as Thompson manipulated her lithe body sometimes on the floor, sometimes on pointe, sometimes on his back Dancers Elizabeth Johansen, SOren du Hoffmann and Katie Dehler moved as if they were part of a single organism in Tomm Ruuds Mobile (1969). Slowly, with strength and control, the trio metamorphosed one unexpected shape after another, balancing on each other in unexpected ways. Fontes Vertical Dream (2001) concluded the program. Set to music by -David Lang and Arvo Part, the dance was a feast of con-' trasts for the eyes and ears, and Showcased well both the men and women in the com-pany. Lloyd Sobels stark lighting reinforced the theme of contrasts, with four vertical lines of green neon in the background, and later a sharply defined column of pink light in which was ere- ated the effect of falling snow.

1 This is a solid, well-trained company, and this mixed repertory program showcased beautifully the breadth and depth of their talent By INEZ RUSSELL For The New Mexican Close to a thousand people came that Sunday afternoon to greet these black-garbed sisters, the first to venture into -the Territory of New Mexico. For the Four Sisters of Loretto from Kentucky, the welcome was overwhelming. They had come only to open a school for girls. How could they have imagined Such a celebration upon their arrival? From Beyond the Adobe Wall, by Patricia Jean Manion, Sister of Loretto Such a celebration complete with music, flowering arches, the press of well-wishers and the blessings of priests coming as it did after an arduous six-week journey across the Santa Fe TVail by wagon, must have warmed the hearts and Santa Fe students learn from Broadway pros i free performance The public can attend a free performance with the 100 Santa Fe-area i kids chosen for the Bravo workshop, The show is at 6 p.in. today at the Annory for the Arts, 1050 Old Pecos -I I Broadway profession- jlf ais trained the young cast -r over two days, piano.

Seconds later, the teen-agers dashed across the floor like ballet dancers. Clap. Snap, shouted choreographer Sue Delano, standing in front of wall of mirror as she taught the teen-agers their routine. Dont you know all the world wants to laugh six, seven, eight. Comcast 'cable networks qnd Bravo, a film-and-arts cable network, sponsored the workshops.

We went around to Broadway shows in New York to find performers who are good at teaching and passionate about children, said Haug, Bravo project director with show. It teaches them self-esteem, said Adam a Bravo marketing manager. The workshops started 2Vi years ago when schools By MARISSA STONE The New Mexican James Roybal wants to be an actor because it gives him a chance to be someone other than himself. I like to make people laugh, said the wearing a black shirt adorned with orange flames. At the Armory for the Arts on Saturday, Roybal and other 10' to 17-year-olds learned about acting from the pros.

Twelve choreographers and other professionals from Broadway plays, including The Lion King, Suessical and Grease, gave theater performance and production lessons that included pinging and dancing to 100 students. The twd-diy workshops and today from 9 Saturday p.m.i to 5 p.m. helped the" young actors prepare their own which will happen 6 p.m. today at the armory. During' a choreography workshop, 40 teen-agers lifted their arms above their; heads and twisted their hands as though they were turning on faucets.

Braden Than, a music director with i Jamie Humph reyThe New Mexican Brandon Romero, 11, waits his turn In the mask workshop Saturday afternoon at the Armory for the Arts. The workshop was part of a two-day event, Bravo On With The Show, a national arts-educatlon campaign aimed at raising awareness of the positive Impact theater can have on young people. the Bravo program, played Let Us Entertauy You on the-' Please see BRAVO Page B-5 i A A i AiA 4A. dsi Ain AA.