At a coffee shop open-mic night, John Wayno sat and listened passively to the musicians migrating to and from the stage. Wayno kept his eyes closed as he grooved along to the music, but said he found that the sounds didn’t catch his attention for long. Wayno then saw a guitarist walk onto the stage […]
Author Archives: Shreya Aiyar
Westwood Fine Art Festival features artists from across nation
Tables filled with colorful merchandise line the stretch of Lindbrook Drive between Glendon Avenue and Westwood Boulevard. Jesse Nguyen, a pottery artist showcasing his wares under the shade of a canopy, picks up a delicate plate and hands it to a curious passerby. The customer turns the plate over to inspect the colors – the […]
UCLA Guitarists to perform cultural showcase of Spanish music
In a circle of five guitarists, Hanna Yocute picks up her guitar and strums a few notes to the harmony of “Soleares,” a flamenco piece, with the rest of the group. After a few upbeat riffs in a harmonic minor key, the rest of the guitarists fall silent as Yocute launches into a solo, her […]
UCLA alumni climb to top of pole dancing competition
UCLA alumna Drusilla Ray grasps the pole and pulls herself upward with a fluid movement. Spinning to the beat of Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep,” Ray inverts herself using only her arms and goes through a complicated series of motions that defy gravity. Ray said she was surprised when she heard the results of the […]
Report assesses gender, minority representation in Hollywood
BY SHREYA AIYAR A&E contributor saiyar@media.ucla.edu Many big-screen heroes are white and male, but most of the audience that watches their stories are not. In the 87th Academy Awards, the 20 actor and actress nominees were white and all the screenwriting and directing nominees were male. However, the rest of the country is diversifying at […]
Hip Hop Congress holds freestyle dancing, cyphering workshop
Dancers crowd in a circle, encouraging a lone performer in the center. For the solo dancer, the circle – called a cypher – represents a safe space where he can express himself through hip-hop music and improvised movements to tell a story. As part of Hip Hop Appreciation Month, Cultural Affairs Commission’s Hip Hop Congress […]
Course gives students opportunity to design, install mural of LA
A young man bows to a woman, his height complementing her graceful posture as her skirt swings to the beat of salsa. Another pair joins them, moving delicately up the ramp of a bus filled with monarch butterflies. Others wait in line to enter the bus, frozen in mid-movement as the butterflies wrap around the […]