Author: Fanny Texier
Arriving at 7:30 p.m. at Thorne Hall last Friday night, I thought I would be quite early for Apollo Night. I was surprised to see that, although I was half an hour early, the patio was already crowded with people waiting for the doors to open.
Occidental College’s Apollo Night, taking its name from New York’s famous Apollo Theater, has a reputation of being an important and enjoyable event. Located in the heart of Harlem and founded in 1914, the Apollo Theater is a known symbol of African-American artistic brilliance and accomplishment.
The theater became known as the place where stars and legends were born: great African-American artists and musicians such as Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holliday, Stevie Wonder, Lauryn Hill and even the king of pop Michael Jackson came to fame within The Apollo’s walls.
The Apollo Theater’s powerful history is commemorated at Oxy’s Apollo Night and has become quite the Oxy tradition. As an exchange student from France, I found this historical context very interesting and I was prepared to be impressed by the hidden talents of Oxy students.
Before the show started, Black Student Alliance President Lindsey Fuller (senior) asked the audience to applaud in support of University of California San Diego students who were affected by the recent “Compton Cookout” racial controversy.
While the show had trouble starting because of sound problems, the emcee Julian Mitchell ’09 did a great job of entertaining and warming up the audience. “One must remember the significance of this show: It’s the biggest legend, it’s the Apollo black history. There is a lot of power behind this,” he said. He also stressed the principles that served as the night’s underlying theme: unity and support. Mitchell reminded the audience that a dollar from each ticket sold would be donated to the Red Cross to support the Haitian citizens still homeless after the Jan. 12 earthquake. The proceeds totaled over $700.
The Apollo Theater had a historic reputation for giving unheard voices an opportunity to shine. Apollo Night at Oxy takes on this spirit, offering seasoned Oxy performers the stage while also showcasing new, previously unheard talent.
A diverse sampling of Oxy students showed their talent, performing original pieces of spoken word or song, or covering songs by artists such as Lady Gaga or Jennifer Hudson.
At the beginning of each performance, students engaged in an Apollo Theater tradition and rubbed a stump (“The Tree of Hope”) to wish for good luck.
Thirteen performers took the stage, each bringing something unique to the evening’s program. A highlight of the evening was a reading of “The Cool” by Libby Mislan (senior).
This original spoken word, slam poetry piece was surprisingly powerful and impressed many audience members. “Libby Mislan really blew me away,” said Topei Sosanya ’08.
Kalab Yohannes (senior) agreed, “It was unexpected, and the message [on the cultural evolution and connotation of the word “cool”] was also unexpected.”
All the performances were interesting, but the one I particularly liked was Tony Sandoval’s (first-year) poem “Xtra Xtra.” The very beginning, filled with rapidly spoken foreign words, was so intense that the audience was silent, listening with captivation.
He began his performance speaking in Chicano, a hybridization of English and Spanish language that was unfamiliar to me, and then finished his politically relevant poem in English. “Poetry can reach the truth,” he said. Due to his extraordinary performance, “Xtra Xtra” stands out in my mind as exceptional.
The night ended with many students out of their seats, screaming as loud as possible to select the best performers of the event. Austin Barnum (senior) won the first place prize of $100 for his powerful and totally personal poetic piece; Anthony Greene (first-year) secured the second place prize of $60 for his moving rendition of Ray LaMontagne’s “Trouble,” and Kainoa King (first-year) and Dior Williams (senior) snagged the third place prize of $40 for their powerful duet.
I found Apollo Night to be excellent and well-rounded, and many students agreed. “I have seen the six last Apollo nights at Oxy and [this] one was the most creative I have ever seen,” said Sosanya.
Yohannes echoed this sentiment, and said, “[Considering] the theatricality of Doug Locke [senior] in the end, or the originality of Barnum’s poem, all of the performers were creative in their own way.”Apollo night was an opportunity for Oxy students to display the great talents they have, and as they did so, they paid tribute to African American history.
Whether political, personal or musical, each exceptionally unique and creative performance helped create a truly memorable night.
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