Gk Honorary Members

Honorary Members Breathing New Life Into Choreographic Masterpieces for the Dance Industry................58

H KUM YUEN ANDREW BOEY, EDITH COWAN UNIVERSITY

Leading Students by Example .........................60 CARLIEN JOOSTE, NELSON MANDELA METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY

Valerie Zackerman: Volunteer Extrodinaire .......61 GENE ZACKERMAN, NORTHERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY

Un-squash-able: The Reigning Queen

in the Glass Enclosure....................................62 SHERI-ANN TAN, CHEAH CHUN YEE, UNIVERSITI SAINS MALAYSIA

Remembering Wendy ....................................63 RITA EARLEY, PATRICK GOMEZ, FRAN TREHEAME, UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA

Breathing New Life into Choreographic Masterpieces for the Dance Industry KUM YUEN ANDREW BOEY, EDITH COWAN UNIVERSITY

hrissie Parrott was brought up in Kwinana, a small town in Western Australia. At age 19, she became interested in the fine art of arranging the sequence and pattern of movements in contemporary dance and ballet. This prompted her to join the West Australian Ballet, where she began her professional dance career. Her first major breakthrough came in the early 1970s when she made her first choreographic work in 1976, Like Hiroshima: Just Another Fallout. Catherine's Wedding (1978) was her next successful work. She left Australia in the late 1970s to spend a decade in Europe and America. Working with Tanz Forum in Cologne and later commissioned by the dance company, she widened her knowledge and expertise in contemporary dance. Some experimental works were created in London and France. On returning to Australia in 1986, she decided to

commissions came from West Australian Ballet, Australian Dance Theatre, Queensland Ballet, One Extra Company in Sydney, and the Sydney Theatre Company. She also danced with overseas partners such as the Festival Ballet Nicic de Monte Carlo, Switzerland; Crameer Balletten, Sweden; Sinfionetta de Lorraine, France; JeanPierre Perreault in Montreal, Canada; Theater Vorpommern in the Baltic city of Stralsund; and the Tanz Forum Koln, Germany. The Chrissie Parrott Dance Company has always been a regular contributor to the nation, performing commissions such as Mirror Coda (1989), Off the Wall (1991), Software Dragon (1993), Factory (1993), Satu Langit (1994), The Tower (1995), Impasse (2000), the highly successful Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night’s Dream (June 2006), and Terminal Velocity (March 2007). Her performances at festival events have charmed many people of all ages. A partnership with Montreal’s Jean-Pierre Perreault resulted in the work Eironos which premiered at the Perth International Arts Festival (1996). Other works include the Telstra Adelaide Festival (1998), Margaret River Wine Festival (2001),Tasmanian’s inaugural Ten Days Island Festival (2001), City of Joondalup Festival (2002), and The Melbourne

start the Chrissie Parrott Dance Collective, which she did in 1990. It was renamed the Chrissie Parrott Dance Company in 1991. By then, she had created over 30 works. Other

Inter-national Festival (2006). A three-year ArtsWA fellowship to study new innovative technologies for capturing dance movements on screen was her dream came true.

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Her keen interest in the use of computer technology applicable to dance movements has generated a series of new choreographic works. Towards the late 1990s, she spent two years commuting to Paris, France, to attend the world's leading commercial motion-capture studio, Medialab. She did her own superb recordings by connecting a professional dancer to a wireless motion-tracking rig and then capturing her fine dance movements via a computer, thereby producing a digital dancer figure whose movements could be reprogrammed to create a series of new dance sequences. An internationally renowned choreographer and a brilliant role model, Chrissie Parrott was inducted as an honorary member of the Edith Cowan University chapter in October 2000. To serve the increasing need of dance companies worldwide to have university graduates with some relevant experiences join their ranks, Chrissie created the new Link Dance Company in 2002. Highly pleased with the opportunity of coming back to Kwinana, the small town where she grew up, to run dance workshops in September 2004, the world-renowned choreographer was glad to pass on her extensive experience in dance to the young people of her childhood place. Back from overseas performances in Europe in 2005, Chrissie Parrott began to choreograph a new dance work. She is actively involved at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) at Edith Cowan University where she works as an Adjunct Professor; first-, second-, third-, and honour-year student dancers journey from amateur performances to beyond as experienced guest choreographers. They are well trained in classical ballet and contemporary dance techniques. The Chrissie Parrott Dance Company has been seen nationally in Australia; regionally in the Asia-Pacific; and internationally in Europe, America, Asia, and Pacific-Oceanic at a wide variety of venues in choreographic works that are much influenced and well refined by the unique style and blend of aesthetic qualities specially created by Chrissie Parrott in more than 3 decades of her dance career. Recordings via film and video are used to complement the computer to produce new dance patterns and to place unique aesthetic feelings in the air. She introduces new technology

to redefine the principle of time, space, speed, movements, composure, and their relative relations. Her dancers need to communicate intelligently through visual, spatial, kinaesthetic, and auditory senses to complement their welltimed movements which are crucial for success. Respected for her impeccable performances and dedication to the dance industry, Chrissie Parrott won the prestigious Sydney Myer Performing Arts Awards for outstanding contribution to national choreographic practice, the Swan Gold Award for outstanding theatre development, the Sounds Australia Award for a continuous commitment to commission Australian composers and live music in performance, the 2000 Western Australian Citizen of the Year Award, the 2003 John Howard Centenary Medal Award, and the 2006 West Australian Dance Award. Media reports commented on her new choreographic works on radio, on TV, and in the press. Her oral interviews regarding usage of computer technology in dance were archived at the Australian National Archive. These focussed on her interests in motion capture and the software program Life Forms. With a tight working schedule, she finds time to attend the annual honorary member breakfast hosted by the Edith Cowan University chapter. She interacts freely with Golden Key members and provides them with invaluable insights to the dance industry. At the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA), Chrissieprovides valuable advice to university students. Many members of her dance company have completed WAAPA's dance diploma and basic degree courses conducted by Edith Cowan University. They have auditioned to become part of the fourth-year honours program to perform with professional dancers and guest choreographers. A computer science graduate with straight Distinctions in all course modules, the author, Kum Yuen Andrew Boey, became fascinated by the art of dancing the day he joined Golden Key International Honour Society as an Assistant Vice President of the Edith Cowan University chapter. Dancers could paint beautiful pictures with their

elegant bodies, using body language, in the process of telling a story through their coordinated magnificent dance movements. They could help non dancers to dispel the notion of a mortal fear of committing both feet on the dance floor by trying to boogie one's way into the audiences' hearts. On being interviewed for this story, Chrissie feels that it is fruitful, rewarding, and satisfying to be in the dance industry, to breathe new life into her choreographic masterpieces. Through effective usage of dance movements, stage, lighting, background, visual effects, and computer technology amid a sense of humor, she could turn a lighthearted play into a dance in the process of telling a story. Characters would come to life in a story, beautifully presented, that is filled with love, emotion, feeling, and mischief amid a great sense of humor. Audiences have the privilege of viewing effortlessly seeming dance movements that would be impossible for most of us mere mortals. Truly, she has helped to raise the level of fine choreographic works in all her truly heartwarming works in Australia and abroad, with a repertoire of more than 60 works. With the art of dancing blending with cutting-edge technology amid live music performances, Chrissie marries music with dance and captivates audiences with a rich-textured backdrop and well-designed set. Chrissie produces a top-class masterpiece of choreographic work that is filled with variety and uniqueness to superb sophistication and intense awe that are beyond the wildest imagination of the audiences. She has been active in promoting young choreographic talents through training workshops. Today, an Adjunct Professor, a company director, an international visionary choreographer, a researcher, a collaborator in dance animation, and an integral member of the Golden Key family, Chrissie Parrott is truly an exemplary individual in her contribution to the dance industry. Looking ahead, she continues to strive to present audiences with a rich and varied program of classical and contemporary dance works that draw upon her expertise, choreographic wisdom, and immense experi-

ences in dance and the richness of the 21st century dance vocabulary. There never was any moment of time that did so highly exult the positive spirit of a dedicated choreographer whose superb, sustained contribution to the dance industry draws unanimous respect. She is truly one of the most accomplished honorary members of GoldenKey International Honour Society at the Edith Cowan University chapter in Perth, Western Australia.

Characters would

come to life

in a story, beautifully presented, that is filled with love, emotion, feeling, and mischief amid a great sense of humor.

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EXAMPLE EXAMPLE by example Leading students

CARLIEN JOOSTE, NELSON MANDELA METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY

ith a vision of internationalizing a university, Dr. Nico Jooste was fascinated with Golden Key International Honour Society. Soon after talks between the University of Port Elizabeth (now Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University) and Golden Key were initiated, he persuaded the higher powers of the institution that this academic Society would be an asset to the university. He saw that Golden Key provided the opportunity to highlight the academic achievements of those students who normally do not get the necessary recognition. It also created the opportunity for South African students to, through Golden Key, develop a global network with the world. On 9 May 2001, the University of Port Elizabeth Chapter of Golden Key was chartered, with Dr. Jooste as Primary Advisor. Over the past six years, Dr. Jooste has taken this role very seriously. He has supported the chapter on various levels, always keeping a watchful eye and offering advice as necessary. He strongly believes that the students should take the lead and make the primary decisions so that the chapter is run in such a way to attract even more students to the Society. Nicolaas Jacobus Jooste started his career at a renowned South African higher education institution. The University of Fort Hare was the first university for non-white people; it was established in 1916 and, during the Apartheid era, became the academic beacon of the struggle against the regime. Graduates of this university included political freedom fighters such as Govan Mbeki (father of the current South African president); Oliver Thambo; Steve Biko

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and the most famous one yet, Nelson Mandela. Starting at the bottom, Dr. Jooste worked his way up from being the Examinations Officer (19771982) to Senior Lecturer in History (1982-1992) to Acting Registrar (1996). Dr. Jooste joined the then University of Port Elizabeth in 2000 as the Director of the Office for International Education. This provided him with a basis from where he could realise his dream of an internationalized university. He has participated in the annual Association of International Educators (NAFSA) conferences since 2001 and presented papers in 2003 and 2004. He is recognised as one of the leaders in international higher education, and he serves as the Chairperson of the Directors Forum of the International Education Association of South Africa, which plays a leading role in developing new theories on internationalization of higher education. Currently, he is part of an exclusive team of academics from the University of Johannesburg and Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) who are working on internationalising the South African curriculum. The Office for International Education has provided the NMMU chapter with a huge amount of support, financial help as well as international visibility. From providing sponsorship for both local and international conferences to a periodical column in the office’s international newsletter, the NMMU chapter owes Dr. Jooste and the Office for International Education a lot of gratitude. Annually, his office donates R10,000 towards the chapter’s activities. It is also with his help that the NMMU chapter survived the merging of the University of Port

To me, he is an example of how hard work and believing in one’s dreams can make them come true. Dr. Nico Jooste 60 | Concepts

Elizabeth, Port Elizabeth Technikon and Vista University. During this uncertain time, the NMMU chapter was still able to be recognized as a Gold-level chapter, two years in a row. Any Golden Key committee member, as well as numerous international students, can testify to this man’s inspirational spirit and good-heartedness. To me, he is not Dr. Jooste, but Dad. From a very young age, my parents led by example and made it clear how important a good, solid education is. My father completed a master’s and Ph.D. while working full time and raising a family. To me, he is an example of how hard work and believing in one’s dreams can make them come true. Concluding this article, I cannot really be objective. I write the above words from comments strangers make about him and the way students speak about him in general, and it makes me proud: proud to be his daughter and honored to have served Golden Key under his guidance.

Valerie Zackerman:

Volunteer Extraordinaire

GENE ZACKERMAN, NORTHERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY

very child deserves to read. That was the vision of Golden Key honorary member Valerie Zackerman, who saw a need while volunteering at an offsite educational resource center while attending a Golden Key International Conference in Atlanta. A lifelong career of educating children inspired Valerie to develop an innovative literacy project in conjunction with Make A Difference Day for the Northern Kentucky University chapter that would unite two disparate groups of young people who share a common interest, stimulating their young minds with new reading materials. As a long-time Golden Key volunteer, Valerie has regularly assisted headquarters staff at nine of the last ten International Conferences in areas such as registration and t-shirt exchanges. Her passion for the Society and its student members comes as no surprise to students from Northern Kentucky. Although her energy is always evident at Golden Key conferences, the local chapter truly benefits from her dedication to the Society. After volunteering at an educational resource center for economically disadvantaged school districts in the Atlanta area, Valerie devised a literacy project that would bring together students from Spaulding Elementary School in Goshen, Ohio, with children living in shelters in the Greater Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky area. Now in her thirty-seventh year on the faculty of Goshen Local Schools, Valerie envisioned a project where fourth-grade students at Spaulding would donate children’s books to provide libraries for children living in crisis centers. The fourth graders in Valerie’s class would work with students from the Northern Kentucky Golden Key chapter to package the collected books for delivery to the shelters. By donating 3,000 books in the first year of this annual project, the Spaulding students demonstrated compassion for children whom they had never met as they learned about the lives of youngsters who often had to fear for their own safety. The fourth graders exuded a passionate commitment to share resources to stimulate the minds of the shelter residents. To protect the safety of the children living in the shelters, Golden Key volunteers often had only limited contact with the residents. At one shelter, however, the volunteers interacted with a house full of exuberant children. One little boy enthusiastically tore into the boxes of literature, proclaiming "I’m going to read all of those books!" After visiting with the children,Valerie and fellow Golden Key volunteers Aimee Shandy and chapter co-advisor Gene Zackerman shared an emotional response to the wide-eyed innocence of these children.

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The expressions of

excitement on the children’s faces created lasting memories for all the volunteers.

In October 2006, members of the Northern Kentucky chapter delivered 2,200 books to the Brighton Center in Covington, Kentucky. Facilitators at the Brighton Center invited youngsters from the economically distressed surrounding area to celebrate the Halloween season with a day of pumpkin painting and reading with Golden Key students. Valerie and a group of over a dozen volunteers assisted the children with their artistic pumpkin projects. Following the artwork, Golden Key members read to the local children from the collection of new literature. The expressions of excitement on the children’s faces created lasting memories for all of the volunteers. All of the children took home as many books as their little arms could carry, courtesy of Golden Key students. With the support of principal Darrell Edwards, a Golden Key alumnus from Miami University, this fall the Spaulding fourth graders will hit the 10,000 mark for books collected. Valerie will continue to coordinate the efforts while Golden Key members like Jeff Fox will continue the tradition of rewarding the top class of donors with an ice cream party and offering additional words of congratulations to the children for being teammates who have the opportunity to enrich the lives of the shelter residents. No stranger to volunteerism,Valerie Zackerman has coordinated Spaulding Elementary’s annual Math-A-Thon to benefit the St. Jude Center for Cancer Research. Over the years, students have earned over $33,000 for the program. She has participated in Golden Key new member inductions at the University of Cincinnati, Miami University, and the University of Louisville, in addition to her host chapter at Northern Kentucky, participating in activities like registration, selling tshirts, and taking photographs. Chapter members at Northern Kentucky University look forward to a continuing relationship with Valerie Zackerman, their most active honorary member. The collective results are an inspired Golden Key chapter and an increasing numbers of children who enjoy the priceless gift of literature!

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Un-squash-able: The Reigning Queen in the Glass Enclosure SHERI-ANN TAN, CHEAH CHUN YEE, UNIVERSITI SAINS MALAYSIA

young girl lugs her squash racket–specially modified–to the centre of the glassenclosed court.The metal-handled apparatus was terribly heavy for the small-framed player, yet there was no hint of exhaustion; she was squealing with glee as each ball she hit bounced off the wall. Eyeing the enormous opacity before her, this squash enthusiast harboured a silent dream, to someday become world champion. "Now, I have achieved that dream," she beams, "and have done so twice!" This was on January 6, 2007, during the GK Universiti Sains Malaysia chapter’s New Member Reception Ceremony 2007. At the aforementioned ceremony, Nicol Ann David was conferred as an Honorary Member. Her favourite pasttime, she recalled, was to hit a ball against any wall in the house with her racquet. "Of course, my parents were not too happy about that!" she grinned. Nicol’s father, Desmond, was a squash enthusiast and shared this passion with her and sisters, Cheryl and Liane. Nicol revealed this during a talk-show session in an event, "Inspiration of a Young Sports Champion," which was organised for Nicol to talk about her success and to inspire the youth of today. She added that her childhood days were "happy and normal" like any other kid. "I did play with dolls like other little girls," she mused, "and I loved watching Ninja Turtles [a popular animation in the 90s]!" Nicol Ann David is officially the World Number 1 in women's squash and is the current British Open and World Open champion (as of

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2006), the first Asian woman to win the World Open Squash Title. She is also the first and the only female squash player to have won the World Junior title twice in 1999 and 2000. On December 6, 2005, the Malaysian Prime Minister, Dato' Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, was quoted as saying that Nicol was "now more famous than me." Nicol also excelled in major public examinations during her high school years. Instead of being a distraction, squash actually helped her to prepare mentally for the examinations and taught her to keep her mind focussed. "When it comes to squash, I give my all.When it comes to studies, I give my all. It’s a matter of managing your time well and know what you’re doing," she says. At 11, she participated in her very first international tournament in Hong Kong, which she cited as her most embarrassing moment. "It was the first time I wore a skirt on the squash court! It was a birthday present so I had to wear it, but I remembered feeling so self-conscious because I had really skinny legs," laughed Nicol. Emerging as champion in the Under13 Category, however, changed her mind. "Now, I call it my ‘lucky skirt’ because I won." One of her dreams was to play against top-seeded player Sarah Fitzgerald, and she achieved this at the age of 17. Despite the tough competition, Nicol and the other players often mingled with each other during tourna-

ments. "It’s a friendly environment, and we’re really a small, close-knit community of squash players," she explains. She added that she simply loved the game and enjoyed the traveling required of her career because of the opportunity to go sightseeing. To avoid being overtly pressured before each game, she stays completely focussed on the moment, but cautioned that "thinking too much can cause one to under-perform." Nicol stresses that time management is essential. She also advises everyone to set a goal and strive towards it. Despite already achieving a world championship, Nicol feels she still has a long way to go. "A gold medal at the Commonwealth Games would be fine!" she winks, referring to the highest possible achievement on the international squash circuit. Nicol hopes to pursue an interior designing course in the near future. She has expressed the possibility of setting up a Nicol David Foundation to help fund young athletes and needy students in Malaysia. The authors wish Nicol all the best in her future endeavours.

Remembering Wendy

n March 8, 2007, the University of Alberta Golden Key chapter suffered a terrible loss. Wendy Coffin, Honorary Member, former Chapter Advisor and Director of the University of Alberta Career and Placement Services (CaPS), died at the age of 54. She had been diagnosed with a brain tumour only weeks before her death.

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Patrick Gamez, President of the Golden Key chapter at the University of Alberta, remembers Wendy… "Wendy was a remarkable person in whom there was absolutely no pretension and no distance. By this, I mean that to know her was to be close to her and that, with Wendy, no matter what, you always got Wendy. As the recipient of a good number of warm smiles and a greater number of stern glances, I was always aware of this; she gave her full attention and her whole person to whomever she was with."

One of Wendy’s favourite poems was "An Easy Decision" by Kenneth Patchen: I had finished my dinner, gone for a walk. It was fine out. I started whistling. It wasn't long before I met a man and his wife riding on a pony with seven kids running along beside them.

RITA EARLEY, PATRICK GOMEZ, FRAN TREHEAME, UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA

I said hello and went on. Pretty soon I met another couple, this time with nineteen kids and all of them riding on a big smiling hippopotamus. I invited them home.

"Wendy’s door at CaPS was always open to those who needed her. As an executive member of the University of Alberta Chapter, I often needed her advice and assistance. Her fastidious attention to detail was a saving grace for our Induction Ceremonies, fundraisers and weekly meetings. Her letters of reference contributed to two Golden Key Scholar awards for University of Alberta students, and though she formally retired from her position as Advisor last spring, her spirit has always helped us make this Chapter the best it could be." "I would like to encourage everyone who reads this to take a few moments for a cup of tea (Wendy's favourite) and think about what you would do, should you ever come across a family on a big smiling hippopotamus?"

Fran Trehearne, Wendy’s husband, remembers Wendy… "I know that Wendy thought highly of the students with whom she worked over the years and that she worked tirelessly on behalf of the students who asked her to serve as a reference on their applications for employment, for scholarships or for further educational opportunities. I know she was sometimes driven to distraction by the difference between her sense of organizing an event and the students’ sense of organizing an event. I know her socks were knocked off regularly by the work of the local Golden Key Chapter. I suspect she was a factor in the development of many of the executive members. I know she built bridges among members of the Society and others in the university community. I know she brought a wonderful sense of humour and an ability to bring out the best in people to her work with GK." "I know I loved her more than crunchy peanut butter and she loved me more than fresh raspberries. I know I miss her every day."

Rita Earley,Golden Key Advisor,remembers Wendy… "I thank Golden Key for giving me the opportunity to meet one of the best friends I've ever had. Wendy was hard-working, supportive, empathetic, beautiful and loads of fun. The two of us met for Golden Key meetings whenever possible and we discussed life, love, hate, husbands, ex-husbands, gardens, hopes and dreams. I confess that we often forgot to discuss Golden Key matters. I miss her awful."

May we always remember Wendy… for what she was and will always be.

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