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Show X J i i The Thundcrbivd Monday October 8, 1984 Page 9 Folk ballet and Mann are both unforgettable by Jennifer Jones Burch Mann, that amazing lady, and 24 gifted performers presented a show not soon to be forgotten Oct. 3 at the Cedar High auditorium. Like the Mississippi River, she gathered substance from many sources, as its sure anyone who saw the brilliant performance of Mann and her American Folk Ballet will agree. With dances ranging from Indian rituals to Scottish and Irish Jigs to Ragtime Jazz and Stoney Mountain Clogging, the entire show kept you glued to your seat with anticipation of what was yet to come. As the stage lights come up, narrator Rick Lantz appears in a black suit, white shirt and old fashioned country tie. He talks of the pioneers, the prairies and the West. Following the brief history, Floyd Rigby sets the mode for the first dance with a song entitled The Ox Drivers Song. Then the dancers gracefully leap on stage, executing intricate footwork and elevating in leap after leap. Following the prologue, the first act begins with an Indian ritual focusing on a wreath, a peace pipe, a feather and a flowering tree branch. This flows directly into the next scene, depicting three Indian women, complete with bells on their feet, padding onto the stage in colorful native costumes and dancing a dance full of strong movements and rhythmic footwork. The heavy mood of that scene is replaced by a lighthearted tribute to the Irish and Scots, including jigs and reels in traditional plaid dresses, a gaelic song performed by and Jacqueline Taylor-Sutto- n some down home Irish girls just having a good time. Next comes a song and dance routine focusing on the old time foot peddler who would leave his home to go west and sell goods to the pioneers. This later led to a historical look at the pioneers interpretation of God. After a brief intermission, performers launch into a Burch Mann's Folk Ballet gave a performance to Cedar City residents in the high school auditorium Wednesday as part of the Cedar City Music Arts 1984-8program. 5 Ragtime display, showing bits of jazz, flapping, soft shoe, tap and the blues. Near the end of the show, Lantz again appears to introduce the exuberant steps of the Stoney Mountain Cloggers, accompanied by a vesty rendition of blue grass music. The performance concludes with the sound of excited yells, enthusiastic applause and a standing ovation. Chavez, Aras Hidalgo, Roland Morrissette, Greg Neuman, Heide Nielsen, Alaris Hershi, Glen Nelson, Scott Fletcher, Performers include Rick Lantz, narrator; Georgia Brown, Eric VanWaggoner, Jim Kelley, all dancers; and Jacqueline Gwen Grimes, Sally Kane, Taylor-SuttoLise Mills, Scott Kelly Krabel, Lise Mills, Mary Louise Rogers, Kim Robertson, Fletcher and Floyd Rigby, Victoria Tavlor, Gingi Yee, Joe singers. The costumes make the production by James Knowlton It is opening night. The unmistakable stench of envelopes the backstage area. The stage make-u- p players, nervous but sensing a moment they have long awaited with wild anticipation, pause in the wings. The curtain rises slowly, almost reverently, like a flower opening its petals to the sun. The stage suddenly comes alive in the spirit of the theatre. The costumes, as always, are a bountiful banquet for the eyes. The colors, shapes and textures of the various costumes seem to sing out with a vibrance and a vigor all their own. The costume designer, as she has been for the last six years at SUSC, is Sandra Stiglinski. Stiglinski spends anywhere from 12 to 16 hours each dav in her costume shop below the Auditorium. Currently, she is working on the costumes for the upcoming theatre production, Harvey. CostumeDesigner Sandra Stiglinski spends anywhere from 12 to 16 hours each day making costumes for theatre productions. Although she usually makes the costumes for lead characters, Stiglinski stated that she pulls costumes out of stonge for use by supporting actors and actresses. All costumes have to be ai'ered for each different character for each production. They have to lb the time period, and must be designed according to the custom and fashion for that era. Stiglinski said she has approximately 1,000 costumes in storage for such use. Stiglinski works closely with the director of each production. She designs the costumes, then gives ' them to the director to be critiqued. The director V decides what he likes or doesnt like, and she alters them accordingly. Stiglinski has a policy that she never goes backstage during a performance. Once the costumes have been completed, her job is finished for that production. My feeling is that I do not want to infringe on the authority of the backstage people, she explained. Stiglinski collaborates with other professional designers on the costumes for the Shakespearean Festival. She must rely solely on student help to make the costumes for the years productions. She said it is easier to do the costumes for the Shakespearean Festival than the contemporary ones. The main reason is that although my assistants work very hard, she said, they are not experienced in designing, and in fact do not even know how to sew. However, in Shakespeare I am which makes working with professional-designers- , it a lot easier. Stiglinski said an interesting experience she has had as a costume designer was the time SUSC presented The Wiz She had to send the actor who was to play the cowardly lion to the beautician to have his mane groomed. Stiglinski said that one of the funniest things about being a designer is something that happens every year. Every year, there is a girl who always she said, until thought of herself as she tries on a showgirls costume, and discovers cleavage. Because of the amount of time spent designing costumes, Stiglinski said there is time for little else. Besides, she said, "Cedar City is too small for . i |