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march 8, 2012
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Cirque du Soleil comes to A&M ‘Dralion’ combines culture, art and tradition Naila Dhanani
COURTESY PHOTO
More than 8 million people worldwide have seen Dralion since its premiere in 1999.
The Battalion East will meet West, complete with acrobats, gymnasts, musicians, singers and comedic entertainment, when Dralion premieres. Dralion is a product of world-renowned artistic entertainment company, Cirque du
Soleil. It is the first time Cirque du Soleil is coming to College Station in its almost 30-year history. More than 8 million people worldwide have seen Dralion since its premiere in 1999. “To see Dralion is a once in a lifetime opportunity,” said Vanessa Napoli, assistant public relations manager for Cirque du Soleil. Cirque du Soleil, in a press release, said Dralion is a “fusion of ancient Chinese circus traditions and the avant-garde style of
Cirque du Soleil. It derives much of its inspiration from Eastern philosophy with its perpetual quest for harmony between humankind and nature.” Dralion derives its name from the symbols associated with the East and West. The dragon represents the East while the lion represents the West. The fusion of the two is Dralion. “In Dralion, the four elements that govern the natural order take on a human See Dralion on page 6
Photos by Josh McKenna — THE BATTALION
Co-founders, John and Lisa Januskey, and Adrienne and Dean Brundage, laugh with craft beers in hand. New Republic Brewing is a local establishment, with a connection and involvement in the community that includes brewer tours and fundraiser involvement.
New to the brew Former students craft local brewery To get involved For those interested in New Republic, the brewing process or volunteering, visit the brewery’s website: www. newrepublicbrew ing.com
sports Aggies host invitational The softball team will host its second annual tournament at 6:30 p.m. Thursday against Monmouth and continue through the weekend against North Dakota State and Liberty.
Road for NCAA title The women’s basketball team’s road to a second consecutive NCAA title begins as they face the Kansas Jayhawks in the tournament quarterfinals to be televised on FSN at 7:30 p.m.
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Barrett House The Battalion When it comes to beer, College Station is known for Northgate, dance halls and ring dunks. That was until May of 2011 when a team of four people, including three Aggies, decided it was time for Aggieland to have it’s very own independent brewery, promoting the statewide push for craft beers. New Republic Brewery, while still small, is brewing up quality beer at the demand of thirsty Aggies. The founders, John Januskey, Class of 2002, Lisa Januskey, Class of 2002, Adrienne Brundage, forensic entomology graduate student and Dean Brundage said they felt there was no reason not to have a brewery in College Station. “This is an area where there’s many beer drinkers, especially people who are desperate for good beer,” Adrienne
said. “To not have a good brewery, a good micro brew, right in town is crazy. We saw an opportunity and found some partners we really wanted to work with and they found us.” After some initial hurdles, such as finding an actual location and dealing with the endless paperwork required for a small business in College Station, the brewery served its first beer, Cuatro de Mayo, in 2011. Currently the brewery has two beers, Bellows Texas Amber Ale and Skylight Dunkelweizen. “We make the beer we want to drink,” Dean said. John described how Aggies contribute to the decision process, which is usually based on what they want to drink. “There are times where we’re not really sure what we want to brew for the next tour, so we’ll open it up and say, ‘Hey what should we do?’” John said.
“We did an [India Pale Ale] that one of the guys recommended. Sometimes we just look at our pile of grain and go, ‘Well what do we have?’” Starting what Dean described as a tiny, little, glorified home-brew scale gave the group the ability to learn about brewing while allowing them to make mistakes. “Dean and I are both home-brewers, and we had no formal industry experience,” John said. “Here we’ve had the opportunity to make mistakes and learn some things. Starting small and learning as we go has been really valuable.” Part of the learning process has been visiting other breweries and seeing different techniques utilized by the industry. “We visit other breweries and talk to all of their owners, and they’ve been Co-founder Dean Brundage very helpful,” Lisa said. “Everybody’s tapping a special sample of the New Republic Brewing year-round See Brewery on page 6 signature beer, Skylight.
A&M-62, OU-53
march in
Aggies win in tournament opener
Corps leadership plans for change to pregame tradition Emily Davis
Chandler Smith The Battalion Just as the A&M men’s basketball team seemed to have collapsed beyond repair, the Aggies — playing for mere survival — decisively defeated the Oklahoma Sooners in the first round of the Big 12 tournament, 62-53, Wednesday night in Kansas City, Mo. The Aggies, with Big 12 title and even NCAA tournament hopes still on the line, garnered commanding efforts from an array of contributors, as four players raced to double-digit points. Senior forward David Loubeau and junior forward Khris Middleton spearheaded the scoring effort with 15 apiece, while junior guard Elston Turner, 14 points, and junior forward Ray Turner, 12 points, rounded out the prolific quartet. A&M head coach Billy Kennedy said
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Texas A&M forward Khris Middleton makes a basket during the second half the game. he was pleased with team defense and didn’t think he had seen as balanced, and formidable, an offensive attack as he had Wednesday night. “I thought it was a great team win. See Basketball on page 6
The Battalion Review and March In at Kyle Field are Corps traditions that take place before every football game. But there may be upcoming changes to the pregame tradition as soon as fall 2013. An SEC rule could complicate March In for the Corps, but University officials said A&M traditions would not change. The SEC “No Pass Out” rule states that students cannot enter the stadium, leave and then reenter with the same ticket. Since the Corps of Cadets enters Kyle Field to do a review before every game, leaves, then reenters for the game, there is a question as to whether the SEC is going to allow that to continue. Pat Reeves, current Corps commander, said they have a plan in place in case the SEC shuts down the current
system for March In. “Worst case scenario is that we wouldn’t be able to go into Kyle Field,” Reeves said. “We are looking at using the MSC and Simpson Drill Field to do our reviews, and then we’ll proceed directly to Kyle Field.” Jason Cook, Texas A&M University vice president for marketing and communications, said none of this should be an issue for the SEC in the first place and that March In will continue as it always has. Cadets do not use their tickets to enter Kyle Field for March In, only when they return. So the “No Pass Out” rule will not impact pregame activities, Cook said. “There may be minor tweaks to game operations, but none will impact our traditions, our uniqueness or the Twelfth Man,” Cook said. See March In on page 6
3/8/12 12:14 AM