Nudity, simulated sex shocks Rapid City arts patrons

Performance at Dahl Arts Center is stopped
By Associated Press
Published: March 9, 2007

RAPID CITY – Ben Lemay says a French performance artists’ show that the promoter stopped before it was over at the Dahl Arts Center was jaw-dropping.

“It was pretty much a show centered on shock value,” audience member Lemay said of the performance, which included nudity, simulated violence and sex acts and various “props.”

Lisou Prout and Jean-Louis Costes stripped off clothing, spit potato chips on the crowd, vomited into a commode and threw fake feces and urine before being shut down about 15 minutes before their 45-minute act was to have ended on Wednesday.

Their act contained dancing, singing, spoken word and acting set to a loud soundtrack. Audience members said the act was a depiction of American life from birth to death.

“For me, I think they got their point across, but I think for most people, they were either completely shocked or disgusted,” Lemay said. “You didn’t have to search that hard for what they were trying to get across. But a lot of people were just too shocked to even go into that.”

Those at the performance said the apparent last straw was a simulated sex act involving a carrot.

The promoter, Kevin Dorsman, had rented the art center for the performance and said he knew little about the group before the show.

Dorsman was apologetic.

“I was told they were performance artists from France and were highly recommended; I think I was told wrong,” he said. “I was a bit taken aback and blindsided.”

Dorsman was the one who told the sound man to stop the music.

“I’m still kind of in shock, so to speak,” he said. “It was hands down, the craziest, most insane thing I’ve ever seen in my life, and I have to applaud them. But at the same time, I’m very upset that I was not informed about the nature of it.”

It was much too extreme for Rapid City but well done as performance art, Dorsman said.

“My understanding is nobody had any idea and these two performers just decided to drop their drawers or whatever,” said Barb Evenson, who handles rentals for the Dahl Arts Center. “They (the promoters) weren’t hoping to have this happen, they were completely blindsided. As far as I know, everyone involved was just blindsided by it.”

It was not a Rapid City Arts Council event, art center officials said.

Dorsman stressed that the art center had nothing to do with bringing in the group and should not be criticized.

“I did not expect this. I did not want this,” he said.

Bobby Morast at the Angus might do a story on Band posters in Sux Falls. I sent him these.

This is French Socialist presidential candidate Segolene Royal. If Hillary looked this good I would vote for her! call it the John Thune Syndrome.

ALBUM OF THE WEEK.

I snatched up this treasure on CD at last stop. My cassette tape was worn out.

This ALBUM is a classic. While bands like TAD, The Melvins and Nirvana were doing Grunge, Mudhoney was putting out stuff like this; Part Deadmilkmen, CRAMPS and Violent FEMMES. This is their best work.

I submitted this to the Angus. This project is so ridiculous. It is impractical for MOST of the citizens in SF. Who will benefit? Looks like the city coffers and the already filthy rich developers. Doesn’t Sioux Falls RULE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

These are some experimental photo’s I took Saturday night at the TOE. I did very little adjusting in Photoshop, mainly contrast.

I got towed Saturday night because I was parked on a street that had been plowed about 12 hours before that? Makes sense, right?

This is what I emailed my councilor, Kermit Staggers:

Kermit-

I’m writing to you about a concern I have with snow removal in downtown Sioux
Falls during a recent snow alert.

Early Sunday morning (1:15 AM) my car was ticketed and towed on 12th St. in
front of Tommy Jacks bar.  I was able to talk to the officer who ticketed my
vehicle during that time. He said it was being towed because downtown was
under a snow alert (which was true) but as I pointed out to him the spot I was
parked in was clear, and I also pointed out to him it had been plowed probably
Saturday morning because you could see the parking line paint on the street
pavement. He said “NO VEHICLES can be parked on the street during a snow
alert, and I don’t make the rules.”

BUT this is what I found on the City website:

‘All vehicles parked in a snow alert zone are subject to ticketing and towing
during snow plowing operations until the streets have been plowed. ’

NOTICE: ‘Until the streets have been plowed’.

This is why I parked there, because it had already been plowed.

But it gets better, the towing company that towed me ‘Lightning Towing’ would
not let me pick up my vehicle until 8 AM Monday morning, and when I did pick
it up, I got into an argument with them because they wanted to charge me for 2
days of impound (Even though I had no way of getting my vehicle on Sunday). I
won the argument, but it makes me wonder how many people they take advantage
of?

The sad part about this is all is even if I was asking to get my ticket
dismissed, I am still stuck with the $116 I had to pay to get my vehicle back.
Another flawed city ordinance, that no one cares to fix.

This ordinance needs to be fixed for several reasons:

The officer who ticketed me is ignorant to the city ordinance, as I pointed
out above.

If it was necessary to scrape the dry pavement one more time on 12th street,
couldn’t it have waited until after 2 AM? I found out later everyone who
parked on that DRY street was towed. Is this how we promote people to come
downtown by towing law abiding citizens?

I paid the ticket, I figured if I had to come down there and argue with them
about it, it wouldn’t be a pretty site. I found dealing with city employees is
frustrating to say the least.

I’m asking two things to come from this:

Police officers need to use common sense when enforcing laws and they need to
learn the ordinances.

I just hope that $25 dollars isn’t spent on another 3 Million dollar street to
nowhere, but my guess is it probably will be, and I won’t be parked on it.

Scott L. Ehrisman