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Show THE UNIVERSITY JOURNAL• SOUTHERN UTAH UNIVERSITY• MONDAY, JULY 14, 1997 THE CAMPUS AFB set for Tuesday, Wednesday concerts With a bevy of new dances and some old favorites, the American Folk Ballet will present " Dance as Heritage" July 15 and 16 in the Centrum at 8 p.m . The dance troupe will featµrc a variety of dance styles from Stoney Mountain clogging to ragtime tap to character ballet with choreography created by the celebrated Burch Mann. The evening of dance will reflect the spi rit of Ame rica's western heritage when, as Mann pointed out, "Th e unfen ced land went on forever and a man's word was h.is bond . Never again will people know such freedom of time and space and will. " The concert will include the inspiring "Mule Train," as well as the humoro us "Camp Meeting," as well as vib rant Scottish dances and "Stoney Mounta in C logging. 11 The America n Folk Ballet itself is comprised of 20 dancers from al I across the counl ry, in cluding crowd favorites such as Kay Andersen from New York's Nicolai Lewis Dan ce Company, Mike Anderson from the distinguished Joffrey Ballet, Frank and Julie Affrunti from Eugene Ballct/Wezstern Ba llet Thealre, Gingi Ycc,and Alanis Hirschi-Trcal from Kay Andersen Los Angeles, Dorcas Adams-Woodward from Sall Lake Cityancl Tiffin Bennett from Boise, Idaho, and, ofcours~ Shauna Mendini, Lise Mills and Shannon Otle, al l of whom now reside in Cedar City. Popular singer C larence Treal is also returning. The American Folk Ba llet has toured all over the world to universa l acclaim. Actress Eva Marie Sa int, upon seeing the performance, lauded it, saying that "one is so caught up in the mood, one leaves the theatre ready to head west with the wagons." Actor Burt Lancaster fe lt Alaris Hirs chi-Treat the same. "Nowhere in the world will you find more powerful dancers. Burch Mann 's choreography is difficult and ~xacting. Y9u won't find a more exciting show on Broadway. I wish the whole world could sec the American Folk Ballet," he said. Tickets arc $10 each. School age children attend free when accompanied by a paying adul t. Tickets for the performances are available by contacting the Centrum Box Offi ce at 5867872. Thro ugh all h er years in dance, Ms. Ma nn, who died last yea r at 87, was always Shannon Otte aware that to create a new taking with them, irreparably, the kind of information young people need in order to feel the' stability and continuity of a rooted past. 11 1 want our audiences to leave the concert renewed, uplifted," she said. "The American Folk Ballet uses America's folk history for theme and style and classical ballet for technical discipline. Every country in the world, except America, h as developed a form of dance uniquely its own; a dance form that reveals the character and spirit of its people," she said. "It was my hope when I began working on the Ame rican Folk Ballet to create a dance identifiable ._.-~-, anywhere in the world as American . For inspiration I returned to our roots; our folk history. "Where in the world is there a more powerful saga of human courage and indomitable will than America's great western migration that puts its stamp forever upon the American character? It was out on the vast, endlessly stretching plains that the Ameri can dream became a reality; the vision fulfilled. "Where cou ld a choreographer find a greater wealth of human Shauna Mendini experience than in America's historypeople differing in a thousand ways, a great ocean of cultures and circumstances. Yet the on ly choreographers who have gone to this source to create important works have been Agnes DcMillc and Alvin Ailey. 11 1 believe America's <lance should show our democratic intentions, directed against pretentiousness and falseness, "putti ng on airs," our individualism, "every tub sets on its own bottom ," our dislike of inherited Gingi Yee privilege, "every m an is what he is, not what he was," our almost childlike optimism, exuberance, a sort of "head 1cm out" attitude toward life. "Out of our natural heritage and fo lk history I have created a valuable artistic whole: something totally unique. I have whittled a place out of the imagination, a permanent realm, a country in the m ind that captures the character and the spirit, the heart and derring-do that made America great: a true American Folk Ballet ." Tiffin Bennett style of dance- one that would capture the essence of the American character-she would have to create new ways of m oving, just as the American experience added new words to the English language, colorful words like Chinquapin, Mustang, and Susquehanna. "I have tried always to bear in mind the philosophy that Art is not an elegant spectacle, but rather the simple record of man's journey across the earth," said Mann. In Burch Mann's own words: "Folk history is the record of a people. It reveals a way of life, spiritual longings that are permanent, unchanging, universal. Each yea r the old folks are m oving out of our lives, Michael Anderson Clarence Treat Callie Caperton |