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Show - Arts & Leisure SOUTHERN UTAH STATE COLLEGE, CEDAR CITY THE THUNDERBIRD MONDAY, APRIL 23, 1990 PAGE 10 RDT portrays emotion in motion Stars, with choreography by Doris Humphrey and Charles Widman. DANCE REVIEW BY KARA LYN POTTS To be a modern dancer you often have to be a superb athlete as well as a sensitive artist, said Linda C. Smith, the artistic director for Repertory Dance Theatre. RDT dancers lectured and The Utah-base- d demonstrated highlights from the history of modern dance in Thursdays Convocation, and also taught a series of workshops for SUSC students. The troupes 10 members are at the University of Utah, as well as being a professional touring company. The company members come from all over the country. They chose to dance in the West instead of New York so they could work as dancers and also live rich, rounded lives. The concert was a tremendous exhibition of the dancers ability and the evolution of modern dance. The program consisted of brief historical narratives that preceded selected works. The background information gave insights that heightened the enjoyment of the dances, making it easy to see why the choreographers featured in dance. were considered revolutionaries One of the more popular dances performed was dance, which Sendoral, an Oriental-influence- d featured brightly colored skirts and bells on the d dance was set dancers ankles. Another to the humorous poem The Moth and the artists-in-residen- AJ Repertory Dance Theatre performed at Convocation. The well-like- Grimms tale comes to life BY NATALIE SPARKS Caught in the witchs magic H 'sel spell, caged to be fattened and Daked into gingerbread while Gretel is made a servant.... Hansel and Gretel, the favorite childhood fairy tale by Grimm, comes to life with the performance of Oakland Ballet on April 25 at 8 p.m. in the SUSC Centrum. Melvin and Carmen Hepworth, presidents of the Cedar City Music Arts Council are excited to have the troupe come and perform the last program in the 1989-9- 0 season. This is a good all around show for everybody to enjoy. We are pleased to end our season with this delightful ballet, said Melvin Hepworth. To see this troupe perform anywhere else would cost up to $24, but for this CCMA-sponsore- d performance the price is $10 at the door. SUSC students can attend free by show of activity cards, and Iron County students can also attend free with an adult ticket holder. Oakland Ballet is one of the Wests major professional ballet companies, founded by Ronn Guidi who is the artistic director. Guidi studied with the Russian dancer Adolph Bolm from the famous Kirov Ballet School. Under Guidis direction, the is company has performed a number of ballets such as Coppelia, Giselle, Nutcracker, Crystal Slipper and now Hansel and Gretel. The troupe maintains an extensive touring schedule from national to international performances four months of the year. They recently returned from the East coast. Hansel and Gretel appeals to audiences of all ages, noted reviewers. The whole performance, from sets to costumes, music and movement, was infused with unusual grace and charm, said Rapid City Journal. The New Bedford Standard company stated that the dancers captured the ballets childlike quality of enchantment and wonder without a loss of finesse. To see Oakland Ballet.. .is an enthralling, bewitching, riveting experience.. .the company dances it as if it were new, as if the dancers were relishing its primitive energies for the first time, wrote the late dean of American dance critics, Walter Terry of Dance magazine. Cedar City Music Arts is looking forward to next season. The schedule includes performances by Vienna Boys Choir, Utah Symphony, Las Vegas Ballet with the Nutcracker, and the return of pianist Xiang-DonKong. g ' ' In modern dance, space is an important aspect of movement. The dancers did well considering the limited space in which they had to perform. Scenery set up for Thursdays performance of On the Verge limited the stage space. The narration, besides giving background, extolled the many virtues of dance. Concert dancing can express our most noble thoughts, as well as other art forms do, said Smith. Modern dance is particularly motion motivated by emotion the theme of choreographer Isadora Duncan. In 1910, men didnt dance in the U.S. as did their European counterparts, according to Smith. But Ted Shawn in conjunction with Ruth St. Denis proved that men not only could, but should dance, she said. In conjunction with Convocation, RDT gave a series of four workshops that students could take for college credit or just for fun. At $5, these master classes were inexpensive for dance instruction of this quality. RDTs artistic director announced a. desire to give a concert here in Cedar City next year and extended an invitation for students to come and see a concert up in Salt Lake City. The dancers visit gave students exposure to the quality of the fine arts available here in Utah. |