12 | ARTS
& LEISURE
The Phillipian
ARTS AND LEISURE
February 15, 2013
Faculty Spotlight:
Nef Francis Compiled byThomi Pamplin
Ji Lee Explaining delta H equations by day and choreographing complex hip-hop routines for her dance students by night, Nef Francis, Instructor in Chemistry, describes her two major passions as teaching chemistry and dancing in front of live audiences. Although she danced as a child, Francis fell in love with the art of hip-hop and improvisational dancing as a sophomore on Swarthmore College’s dance team, Rhythm and Motion. Francis said that practicing with the dance team gave her the confidence to teach dance as a sport at Andover. Majoring in Chemistry with a minor in Mathematics, Francis divided much of her time in college between academics and dance. Dancing helped her to cope with stress throughout her years at Swarthmore. “Since there are so many dimensions to hip-hop dance, it can be considered as a very intimate dance; the dancers can express themselves through the freestyle movement, which adds to their own personality and style,” said Francis. “I would say that [Francis’s] dance style is a combination of old school hip-hop and modern hip-hop. Her moves are quick,
constantly changing in fluidity. Because of this, she basically has a wide range of different dance moves,” said Jorge Piccole ’14, who was Francis’ student in winter dance. Francis now encourages her students to take risks by choreographing their own routines. Her personal experience with stage fright has helped her understand and appreciate the difficulty of dancing on stage. Francis said she was initially shy and nervous when performing in front of a live audience. “Seeing students with no background in dance being able to learn the choreography and perform in front of their peers with confidence is the most rewarding [feeling] a hip-hop instructor can have,” said Francis. “It was actually the connection I have with hiphop that finally helped me overcome the feeling of nervousness.” Francis believes that an outstanding dance performance requires both passion and true personality, so she encourages her dance students to bring their own creativity and individuality to their choreography. “I love watching students gain confidence after adding their own dance moves to the repertoire. I believe that improvisation is one of the keys to become a better dancer,” she said.
A.AVVAKUMOVA/The Phillipian
Nef Francis always brings her enthusiasm for teaching both to the classroom and to the stage.
Write for Arts! E-mail shendarta or hshin No-Bake Cheesecake Look of the Week: Olivia
Berkey ’15 “Modern Vintage”
Campus is Cookin’: Victoria Skrivanos
Stand out from the crowd of chocolate and candy bearing romantics this Valentine’s Day weekend by giving your valentine this simple yet elegant no-bake cheesecake! For a delicious, crunchy crust, finely crush a handful of graham crackers, which can usually be found in a basket at the soup counter. Add three tablespoons of sugar and three to four tablespoons of softened butter to the bowl of crushed graham crackers. Make sure that the butter is not melted. Solid, softened butter will give your cheesecake the best texture. Mix until all the ingredients are combined. Be patient because it will take a few minutes to come together. Set aside the crust mixture. Take another bowl and combine half a cup of plain cream cheese with six tablespoons of sugar, all of which can be found in the bagel bar. Add one cup of whipped cream to the cream cheese and sugar mixture, and make sure everything is thoroughly blended before continuing. Next, plastic wrap the bottom and the sides of a clean bowl. Spoon the graham cracker crust into the bowl. Using your spoon, pat the crust down in the bowl until the crust is evenly compressed along the bowl’s interior. Make sure the crust covers the bowl all the way up to the rim. Scoop the cheesecake filling evenly on top of the crust. Bring your cheesecake batter back to your dorm and refrigerate in the dorm refrigerator for approximately three hours. Before serving, top your cake with additional whipped cream and strawberry preserves. Don’t forget to return the bowl! Long gone are the days of generic Valentine’s day gifts—surprise your special someone with this heartfelt, homemade dessert!
A.WESTFALL/The Phillipian
The perfect Valentine’s dessert for a sweet tooth.
DJ Bierwirth The closet of Olivia Berkey ’15 is full of vintage style items, such as 1910-inspired Victorian lace up boots and bell-bottom jeans popularized by the legendary musical duo of the 1960s, Sonny and Cher. Enthusiast of the 20th century fashion, Berkey has been a fashion trendsetter since she was young. Even though she no longer pins 20 colorful barrettes into her hair or wears her brother’s shorts over tights, she can still be spotted donning clothing items that turn heads around campus. “When I was very young,…I would come up with the most ridiculous outfits, and no one could talk me out of wearing them. I guess that still occurs, but I’ve toned down some of my ‘fashion risks’ since then,” said Berkey. One of Berkey’s most creative outfits includes an authentic World War II lieutenant pilot’s jacket, complete with badges and crests, paired with 1960s-inspired orange suede boots. “I found [the jacket] at a vintage shop in my town. I was hunting through piles of old coats when I found this cool jacket and decided to try it on for fun. It actually ended up fitting me perfectly! I didn’t have any money with me, so I left it and spent the next hour lamenting to my brother about this ‘tragedy.’ I guess he got tired of my infatuation over the jacket because he snuck back to the store that afternoon and got it to surprise me!” said Berkey. Her love of mixing and matching clothing items from different eras became more obvious to her
as Berkey got older. Berkey believes in the philosophy of individual fashion. “I don’t really have a personal fashion icon or inspiration. I really admire movements in fashion rather than specific people,” she said. “Why would I invest efforts in trying to recreate s o m e one’s a p p e a rance when I could be developi n g m y
own style?” Berkey defies common fashion by dressing in a boldly colored red and blue men’s flannel shirt tucked into a light wash denim skirt, topped with an oversized jean jacket and a pair of black combat boots. “[Olivia’s style] is so laid back, clever and, in a way, intricate. You find this trait in her clothes too, because she puts together things that you wouldn’t expect,” said Alexia Rauen ’14, one of Berkey’s dormmates. “She is probably the only one who can pull certain outfits off, like making an oversized men’s shirt look so high fashion!” Berkey attributes her fascination with men’s flannel shirts to growing up in her lakeside home town in North Carolina. “Being from North Carolina definitely explains why I have so many men’s flannel shirts. It’s also because I’ve stolen some from my brother! It’s funny because if you see me wearing plaid flannel, which is quite often, you probably assume I overslept,” said Berkey. Even though Berkey has a distinctive fashion style, she said that she has never been someone who pays too much attention to what she puts on in the morning. “I don’t put too much thought into my routine. I think I probably reach for the closest pair of pants or a skirt and then form an outfit around that, picking what works best or what sort of motif I want to display that day,” said Berkey. Keeping an eye out for ageless clothing items in different antique stores wherever she goes, Berkey said the words ‘spontaneous’ and ‘vintage-retro’ best describe her constantly-changing fashion style.