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Show 4 Wednesday, March 10, 2010 ARTS www.dailyutahchronicle.corn Modern dance presents eccentric pieces Sofia Strempek STAFF WRITER This weekend, "XII: a Contemporary Dance Event" provides an opportunity for the department of modern dance's graduating class to showcase its take on the genre. The performance features choreography from seniors—personal and often quirky self-expressions through dance. The department's senior concert is notorious for being on the fringe of odd. Last year, former student Michael Watkiss had his dancers read Dr. Seuss' Oh! The Places You'll Go! while absently traversing the stage. In another piece, a mass of dancers participated in a ceremonial dance, "XII" "A Contemporary Dance Event" premieres Thursday through Saturday and April 1 through April 3 at 7:30 p.m. at the Marriott Center for Dance's Hayes Christensen Theatre. Tickets are available at the Marriott Center for Dance box office one hour prior to the performance. $10 general, $7 students, seniors and U faculty and staff. messily shuffling to music provided by a hodgepodge group of musicians and singers huddled together on stage. Those pieces were the oddballs of last year's show, and other dances were more accessible to the average audience. This year's concert promises to have an equally broad array of styles, as modern dance students still have a penchant for the eccentric. Twelve pieces, all six to seven minutes in length, preview this weekend. Three of the pieces incorporate dance for camera, a genre that allows choreographers to direct the audience's focus to the perspective and movements they would like to emphasize. Maryann Wang, who choreographed "Strike, Shaboom, Swish," said using a camera allows her to "manipulate movement, to show the audience a dance the way I want them to see it, with close-ups, speeding it up or slowing it down." Kelli Colson, whose "Being Tender With Things" is an impressive display of the human body's strength, said developing a piece that will be presented on such a large scale at the Hayes Christensen Theatre, which is in the Marriott Center for Dance Building, is "the best experience I've had all semester. It is the first chance I've had TANER PASAMEHMETOGLU/The Daily Utah Chronicle The modern dance graduating class will be performing "XII: a Contemporary Dance Event" this weekend. to choreograph on other people, for such a large audience." Colson said it will most likely be a while before she has the opportunity to work with the same caliber of venue and dancers. But with the training that the past four years has provided for the graduating modern dance stu- dents, such performances are only a glimpse at what these choreographers are capable of. s.strempek@chronicle.utah.edu `Wallace' portrays 2 influential Utahns Novel looks Alexander Bala STAFF WRITER Plan-B Theatre Company's newest world premiere, "Wallace," is a portrait of the lives of two literary men who called Salt Lake City home. The play was created from two one-act plays that were separately conceived and written, then compiled to create a poetic reflection with Salt Lake City roots. "Fire," by Jenifer Nii, is an energetic look at the Harlem Renaissance through the eyes of Wallace Thurman, and "Where I Come From," by Debora Threedy, is a meditation on a reflective Wallace Stegner. Stegner's influence on the literary world has been well recognized. Often called "the dean of Western writers," Stegner has been widely celebrated during the past few years, especially in Utah—former Gov. Jon Huntsman declared Feb. 18, 2009 Wallace Stegner Day in celebration of what would have been Stegner's moth birthday. In her play, Threedy examines a fictional Stegner looking back on his life. In contemplating writing an autobiography, he realizes that his life is contained in his fiction. Stegner the character explores through his fiction some of the major themes that dominated his life, such as his family relationships, religious views and environmental activism. Richard Scharine, a professor in the department of theatre, captures the character of Stegner with subtlety and grace. Wallace Thurman might be a lesser-known Utah native. As part of the Harlem Renaissance in the 192os and 193os, Thurman was a central figure in a literary circle that contained acclaimed writers such as Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston. The play captures the pulsating vibrancy of a significant era in American literary history. Thurman, played spiritedly by Ogden native Carleton Bluford, describes for the audience a people's self-actualization. The play tells us that this important group of Harlem writers helped their community to "find and define who we are." Jerry Rapier's direction, and the simplicity in the staging of this play, helps to highlight the beautifully poetic language of these two playwrights and the heartfelt and committed performances of the actors. The sold-out play is being performed at The Studio Theatre in The Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center through Sunday. a.bala@chronicle.utah.edu at gay, LDS tensions Devin Richey STAFF WRITER "Wallace" is a play that looks at the lives of Wallace Thurman and Wallace Stegner. The play will be performed at The Studio Theatre through Sunday. Concert to honor former music dept chairman MIKE MANGUM/The Daily Utah Chronicle The A Cappella Choir practices for the Leroy Robertson Legacy Celebration Concert on Friday. Robertson was the chairman of the U's music department for 14 years. Mariko Nagashima STAFF WRITER Leroy Robertson, one of the foremost composers in Utah's history, will be honored at the Leroy Robertson Legacy Celebration Concert on Friday, presented by the School of Music. Robertson, chairman of the U's music department from 1948 through 1962, was influential as a professor, composer and advocate of classical music. This is the first concert in which music written by Robertson is the main feature. The opening piece, "All Creatures of Our God and King" is one of Robertson's most famous works and will be performed by three choirs and accompanied by the U's Brass Ensemble. The remainder of the choral con- cert will feature pieces composed by Robertson and some of his most distinguished students, performed by the U Singers, the A Cappella Choir, Salt Lake Choral Artists Chamber Choir and the Salt Lake Choral Artists Women's Choir. The internationally acclaimed U Singers, who took first place at the prestigious International Chamber Choir Competition in Marktoberdorf, Germany, last summer, will be performing some of Robertson's most well-known pieces. These include "Song of Praise," "How Beautiful Upon the Mountain," and the world premiere of "Psalm XCVIII." In addition to Robertson's notable religious works, the choir will also be singing several of his folk songs, including "Aura Lee" and "Beautiful Dreamer." The pieces will be recorded and compiled into a CD. Robert Cundick's composition `And What Is It We Shall Hope For?" will be performed by the A Cappella Choir. He is a former organist and composer for the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and received his doctorate in music composition under Robertson's tutelage in 1955. Cundick has since traveled the world performing Robertson's work and composing his own. He describes the time when Robertson worked at the U as an "eruption of artistic activity in Utah." At that time, Robertson worked closely with Maurice Abravanel, then conductor of the Utah Symphony, and Willam Christensen, founder of Ballet West. `All three organizations just exploded at the same time," Cundick said. "I called those three 'the triumvirate.' It was during this golden age of the arts in and around Salt Lake City that Cundick says he was first inspired to compose as result of Robertson's classes. All proceeds will go toward the U Singer's upcoming international tour to Argentina. m.nagashima@chronicle.utah.edu If You Go •• When: Friday at 7:30 p.m. Where: Libby Gardner Hall. Tickets are $7 general admission and $3 for students. The tension between The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the gay community has escalated in the past year. Although all sides have experienced stress and heartbreak in the conflict, the people who have been most severely affected are those who attempt to identify with both groups. In Jonathan Langford's new novel, No Going Back, the reader follows a young boy trying to come to terms with his newly discovered homosexual attraction while retaining his LDS faith. Langford, an active member of the LDS Church and recipient of two English degrees, wrote the novel after noticing the lack of books in which the protagonist deals with this issue. "So far as I know, there still aren't any novels out there written for the Mormon young adult market where a teenager— Mormon or not—has a friend who turns out to be gay, which is just unrealistic, given the world we live in," Langford said. The book begins with Paul Ficklin, the teenage protagonist, telling Chad Mortensen, his best friend and the son of the local Mormon bishop, about his attraction toward other men. The rest of the story follows the reactions of characters as they discover this fact—intentionally or not—and face the same perceived conflict between how they should feel toward gay people and the reality of the situation. No Going Back is a coming-of-age story, but it manages to not fall into the formulaic pitfalls of that genre. Langford handles the characters with an authenticity that might baffle those who have already made firm assumptions about either of the groups. Although there are many characters who retain a strict us-versus-them attitude, they mainly serve as acknowledgement of the closedmindedness of some people. In one such example, a close loved one disowns Paul and prohibits any interaction with his kids because of the "risks" involved. Although the story is well-written, it is unlikely that it will hold much interest with people who are not involved in either side of the subjective conflict. People who do hold opinions one way or the other, however, will find allies in the book and might be surprised when ideological opponents defy their generalized and expected behaviors. Regarding the effects he desires for the book to have on readers, Langford said he hopes No Going Back "might help (Mormons) to see same-sex attraction not as something utterly alien, but rather as simply a challenge some people struggle with." He said that he hopes non-LDS people will gain understanding of how someone could make the decision not to act on orientations because of religious beliefs. The novel is being published through Zarahemla Books, which specializes in literature with Latter-day Saint themes that is too unconventional to be marketed by retailers such as Deseret Book and Seagull Book. It is also a finalist in the General Fiction category of this year's Whitney awards, which specialize in acknowledging literary achievements by LDS authors. d.richey@chronicle.utah.edu |