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Show Dance '66 Is A Groove By MIKE HEYWOOD Dancing Critic The annual dance concert, "Dance '66,"' presented by Orchesis and ASUU opened last night, and will continue tonight and Saturday night, and ought to be seen. The Rockefeller Grant guest choreographer, Jose Limon, and the two local directors, Shirley Ririe and Joan Woodbury, have done a great job. It's hard to speak of modern dance when referring to the work of Mr. Limon. While it's not ballet or folk dancing, it has the feel of a thing of the ages. The first piece is Concerto Grosso in D Minor music by Vivaldi, choreography by Limon early in his career is a good example of this agelessness. Without reading the program, pro-gram, one wouldn't know when it was written, except that it has the Limon touch. Unfortunately, Unfor-tunately, the classic baroque character of the piece pointed up some small lapses in the quality of the dancing. One rather expects the more disciplined characer of ballet. On the whole, however, the dancing was quite adequate. The second part of the program, Progressions, Progres-sions, choreographed by Ririe and Woodbury, is a smash. It's done in seven parts a flow ofivisual and tonal wildness interspersed by grupulous transperancies cast on a scrim. And if that sounds unbelievable, it has to be seen. The music for the seven parts is by John Cage Ned Rorem, Gyorgy Ligetti and William Russell. Rus-sell. Cage, for one, never sounded better than when complemented by such things as "Indeterminate "Inde-terminate Interlude ... Of The Instant," which isare the beginning and ending pieces. One of the more effective parts is "Shadow Play," which is done to the sound of laughter from the audience no more. Ririe is the one responsible for this bash, and good for her. The last number on the program is a masterpiece: mas-terpiece: well written, well danced, well choreographed choreo-graphed and well sung. The music, Missa Brevis in Tempore Belli, was written by Zoltan Kodaly at the end of World War II and was first performed in the cellar of a bombed-out church. Limon created the piece in 1958. The lead dancers are Betty Jones and Fritz Lubin from Limon's own company, and both are great. The University Civic Choral did the singing honors, though how they pack all those people in the orchestra pit and still sing is a mystery. There's some question whether the special lighting required for the chorale warrants having them in person rather than on tape. The most effective parts of Missa Brevis are "Crucifixus," danced by Miss Jones, and "Sanc-tus" "Sanc-tus" with Llidin, Jones and Ririe, in which the local girl again makes good. The -set by Ariel Ballif is quite sparse and quite well gives the feeling of a bombed-out church. The lighting, especially in Progressions, Progres-sions, is also pretty impressive. If, among Good Friday, the prom and missionary mis-sionary reunions, a couple of hours can be found, they would be well-spent at "Dance '66' . - - V - - '' ' |