THE MICHIGAN DAILY
Sunday, February 14, 1971
THE MICHIGAN DAILY Sunday, February 14, 1971
dance
theatre
I
A
study
in Ailey
By DIANE ELLIOT
Alvin Alley calls his company
a American Dance Theater, and
ie look at his sixteen dancers
u action affirms the company's
rength as a typically American
lecticism. Not only all shapes,
zes and skin colors grace this
arvelously versatile troupe,
it their movement style fuses
i the major American dance
ends of this century. Sit in the
hong darkened theater on the
fternoon before a performance
ad watch the company warm
p: absorbed in a world of mus-
es and inner rhythms, dancers
ex and stretch and twist, ob-
vious to clatter of stage hands
ad lighting technicians on lad-
ers.
Grasping the edge of the stage,
veral dancers perform the set
tual of the ballet barre to the
ecompaniment of recorded ex-
'cise music blaring from the
ings; others sit on the floor
Risting sinuously through the
o less precise regimen of the
raham exercises; a few mark
irough the intricate Jazz foot-
*rk of the pieces to be rehears-
d. All these dance traditions con-
Tbute to the unique Alley style;
ach dancer brings the individ-
lity of his dance training, his
hnic roots, and his personality
spice the choreographic stew.
This mix of dance styles and
ople flavored all the events of
ie Alley Company's schedule at
le University. During their two-
ad-a-half day residency in Ann
rbor, company members taught
lasses in Ypsilanti, community
Lasses at local high schools and
t' Detroit, and five master class-
v in our own Barbour studio, in
cldition to staging a lecture
emonstration and a concert. 'o
fe insistent beat of a drum or
e lilt of piano accompaniment,
4ey taught jazz isolations, sim-
le Graham combinations, runs
,nd leaps which smacked of
frican primitive. But whether
e class was taught by petite,
the Linda Kent, carefully ex-
laining the Graham contraction,
r by Alley himself, smiling
roadly beneath his woolen cap
ndl yelling to "get those legs
ver your heads," the emphais
'as the same: the sheer joy of
&oving, the effort to achieve
)tal commitment and utter con-
entration of energy whin allow
dancer to transcend seeming
physical limitations.
Alley himself, no longer a per-
)rmer, throws all of his expio-
ive exuberance into the teach-
ig of a class. Walk into the mid-
le of an Alley class . . . fifty
odies totally involved in move-
ient, struggling to keep up with
erbal cues thrown out by the
weating, corpulent figure perch-
0 on the stage at one end of the
cs He mumbles, he yells, but
ou know what he wants-non-
hinking Joyous commtment,
hrowing yourself into ,he move-
tent to the point that you forget
sars and body outstrips mind.
,nd always the incessant, primi-
pie beat of the drum inseparable
om the movement; he seems as
oncerned with the small army of
ecompanists (piano, d r u m,
roodblocks) as with the dancers.
/mile a Graham class proceeds
'it the staid decorum o a Uni-
arian service, Aley's class
ursts with the eye-rolling arm-
,aving frenzy of a Baptist re-
ival. The drums beat, legs arms
rains strain, and at the end,
weating, smiling, your body tin-
les all over.
If Alley's movement style and
boreagraphic approach have
evolved through years Af experi-
ence with different teachers and
different genres of theatre, his
great artistic energy, ',is love of
movement and music received
their impetus from his first teach-
er, Lester Horton. When Ailey
speaks of those early seminal
years in Horton's small Los An-
geles theatre, he glows. An all-
around man of the theatre, Hor-
ton had developed by the mid-
forties his own dance technique
and was choreographing, coni-
posing music, creating lighting
and costumes for his own reper-
tory group. He had always taken
a special interest in ethnic mi-
norities-the Negro,-the Spanish-
American, the American Indian-
and Ailey happened to hear of his
w9rk while a student at UCLA.
He remembers enteing the thea-
tre to watch Horton teach:
"There he was, up on the stage,
beating his drums, and all around
above the stage, were musical
instruments . . all kinds cf
drums and bells . . . he loved
American Indian lore and ai-
mals; he would paint animal
tracks, like bear tracks leading
from outside the theatre through
the .door, down the aisles, and
right onto the stage."
So, in 1948 and 1949 Aailey be-
t- dance, dividing his time
r the classes at Horton's
heaLe and his language studies
at UCLA. There were times he
was tempted to quit dancing-
too hard to be a student and
dance too-but Horton wouldn't
let him, 'You keep coming,"
young Alley was told. "You could
be a dancer." Ailey's early train-
ing prepared him well for his
present role as choreographer
and artistic director of a com-
pany: Horton insisted that his
dancers learn to do everything
from the reading and performing
of a percussion musical score to
the changing of light gels betwesn
dances. After Horton's death in
the early 'fifties, Alley experi-
mented with some scenarios of
his own and made his first
dances. Of these early efforts
Ailey says, "The critics panned
them. But you know . . . all I
knew how to do was to imitate
Lester." Shortly afterwards,
Alley went to New York to be in
a musical, House of Flowers,
and stayed in the city, studying
with various teachers, perform-
ing, and eventually forming his
own company at the Clark r eei-
ter.
Over the years Alvin Alley has
molded a company in the dance
world. His own choreography
often takes the form of what
might be called "jazz ballet," al-
though this term doesn't ade-
quately describe the special mix
of modern dance, balletic move-
ment, and primitive rhythms
which is Ailey at his best. Using
the bodies in front of him, their
shapes and the knowledge of
what they can do, Ailey often
takes his inspiration from strong-
ly rhythmic music and ethnic
themes which are close to him.
His fast-paced ballets and lyric
solos designed for specific mem-
bers of his company serve to
show off the brilliant technique
of the Alley dancers, many of
whom are ballet-trained; each
develops an individual presence
on stage, partly because Ailey
knows how to use each body to
best advantage. Ailey's is a high-
ly theatrical stage, a "hot me-
dium," to use McLuhan's term.
its gutsy images, often achieved
with the aid of a striking prop
or costume, elicit strong and im-
mediate responses from audi-
ences in Western Europe, Asia
and Russia as well as in The
U.S. In contrast with the cool'
sometimes unhuman use of h-
man bodies made by many
avant-gardists, Ailey's dancers
are always people, often people
with a past. His work seems al-
most nostalgic at times, recall-
ing hot jazz and red, red lipstick
of the late fifties. While always
technically breathtaking, his
dance sometimes disappoints in
its triteness of theme and pre-
dictability of structure. Ailey
senses the need to branch out as
a choreographer, and talks of ex-
perimenting with some new
choreography which "doesn't
rest so heavily on the music.
And yet he senses too, and
rightly, that his most brilliant
work has always been that
which deals with the experience
closest to him, and this is most
often expressed in human and
dramatic terms. And wherever
his "art" may be, Ailey's stage
always crackles with energy; his
dancers are exquisite.
The survival of a dance com-
pany, however-even one as ob-
viously successful as Ailey's
American Dance Theatr-is ten-
uous. So far the company has
managed to keep its head above
water through government grants
an dtours, such as its present
U.S. tour under the auspices of
the National Endowment for the
Arts. However, Ailey admits
that touring is rough on a com-
pany; dancers need a place, a
studio-theatre in which to study
and perform, a kind cf psycho-
logical home. The company was
born at the Clark Center in New
York City and spent its first ten
years there; now Aile:, hopes to
be chosen one of the resident
companies at the City Center. In
the meantimes, plans for the es-
tablishment of his own school in
New York are progressing. Ailey
wants to center his future activi-
ties around this school, which he
envisions as "a center for the
arts." All types of dance will be
taught, as well as stagecraft
music and choreography; here
Ailey will be able to train the
kind of strong versatile dancers
he seeks for his growing com-
pany.
It is a shame that dance, unlike
theatre which has begun to
spread a network of fine regional
repertory companies, remains
firmly rooted in New York City.
Dancers and dance buffs still
flock to New York to study, view
performances, and absorb the
most concentrated mnergy and
momentum in the dance world.
The residency programs organiz-
ed through the University Mu-
sical Society do provide, how-
ever, some chance for students
and community to move with the
best of them. And, rushed and
harried as htey were, Alvin Ailey
and Company seemed to have
enough energy to get us ail mov-
ing.
______ - l/:&I,
Continuing excellence:
Ann Arbor Drama
By MARCIA ABRAMSON is interested in playing around, ed
Alternative entertainment con- not plays. sev
tinues strong this weekend at All four players-Mike Brooks, the
the Drama Festival with the Im- Elizabeth Kalvin, Leora Mani- thot
provisation Group and panto- schewitz and Terry Lerner - stud
mime by Clive Sykes. knew their characters and situ- wal
Improvisation groups like The ations well and made the most the
Committee and S e c o n d City of them. All were adept at han- H
have been springing up all over dling a variety of accents and mor
to puncture the surface of social poses, from the Southern sheriff Jar
behavior with comedy, and you to the tough old New York talent of t
don't have to pay $5 to join in agent. mat
the fun. The group's improvisation of wer
Last night's performance by props was inventive and funny. the
the Improvisation Group - the Kalvin and Manischewitz made est
Lost Script Playever a fine truck, and Manischewitz ual
funny look at the subculture also did a great job as a record I
most Ann, Arborites know and player. perf
love. Two couples, one yearning At the end, the returnees Hea
to get out and one just coming succeed in convincing their
back, meet, and the returnees friends to go off, inherit what and
describe the glories of America. they really want - the apart- gen
He has been On The Road on ment, and begin to bicker, just forn
his cycle, and she has been as the piece 'began. rec
Acting in Meaningful Theatre My only complaint about the rc
in New York. group was their ridicule of a sch
As the returnees glory in their homosexual truck driver who the
adventures, the scene shifts to was treated as a stock comic < inI
the cold truth. The Groovy figure, and at times became as
Chick on the Road is very silly much offensive as comic.
and uncooperative; the distin- Clive Sykes put on a one-man
guished off-Broadway producer show of pantomime and show-
Ppet showul vs are
for the young
t Festival
Shows at
1,3,'5, 7,9 pm.
DIAL 5-6290
"One of the
Year's Ten Best!"
his considerable talent 'in
eral different scenes. Most of
bits were quite well done, al-
ugh some could have been
died more. Sykes' tightrope
ker, for example, never left
ground.
Sere the main problem was
re with the writing by Greg
boe than with Sykes. Some
the scenes, like the midnight
tador and picnic with ants,
e such stock situations that
pantomime lost some inter-
for the audience. However,
es' control of the stage us-
.y managed to rescue the bit.
did not stay for the 11 p.m.
formance of Martin in
aven (the presses must roll
3 all that) but judging by the
erally high standard of per-
mance at the festival I would
ommend all t h r e e pieces
eduled for tonight: Sykes,
improvisation, and Martin
New York Daily News
PARMOUNIPCTURES PRESENTS
Ai Macraw Ryan O'Neal
The Yes
' Best Seer
k EE
I
f
A HOWARD 6 MINSKY-ARTHUR HILLER Production
John Marley & Ray Milland ERICH SEGAL ARTHUR HILLER
hou b "ut" hlum Rroh Wc Scoredbr IN COLORi
HOWARD 6. MINSKY DAVID GOLDEN FRANCIS LAI A PARAMOUNT PICTURE
SOUND TRACK ALBUM AVALABLE ON PARAMOUNT RECORDS _"I _-
FREE LIST SUSPENDED DURING "LOVE STORY"
I
Heaven.
T
''S
By IAN LAWSON
EDITOR'S NOTE: Ian Lawson is
7 years old, He has been interested
in drama since he was 2. He has
previously reviewed, but this is his
first Daily review. His leanings in
drama and movies is toward action.
He splits his free time between
school and home. T.raveling exten-
sively in the U.S., Ian has also been
in Italy and canada.
The Ann Arbor Drama festi-
val continued at Canterbury
House, with the Poor Sid Thea-
tre presenting a puppet show
which appealed mainly to adults
and very young children. They
are the only ones who would
not be distracted by what was
going on backstage.
It was a very short presenta-
tion of the fairy tale, "Rumple-
stiltskin." But they put lots of
things that were new in it, and
took out the non-interesting
stuff.
My main complaint with the,
production was that it didn't
look like it was real. The out-
side scenes were done with t h e
same scenery as the inside
scenes. The puppets looked like
regular puppets. And the voic-
es were mixed up. Like they had
voices that wouldn't be any-
thing near the regular people's
voices. It was like having one
person with another person's
voice. This detracted from the
enjoyment.
The rest of the production was
normal. If I were two or three,
I would have liked it. But since I
knew the story, I knew where
they had made changes in it. This
made it almost a different story
altogether. They could h a v e
changed the name and I would
not have known that it was
"Rumpelstiltskin."
The play, though, was inter-
esting because there was lots of
goofy stuff that would be in a
play for small, small children.
EZY m
,1 11
11111
4
13
TODAY-1 day only
RESIDENTIAL COLLEGE AUDITORIUM (East Quad)
MGM
4-
IFi
r
RC PLAYERS presents
THE FROGS
an original play for children
R ate~ .,
r.w« a
SUN., Feb. 14-2 P.M.
East Quad Aud. Admission 50c
I
Shown at 4:20, 6:30, 8:40& 10:50 P.M.
ADMISSION $1.00
- - ------ - - - - - -
k&-rnl"f- Rlrvrr4 AAncc nnil flpmnnnlnnv
vyicncrar, auK muasana .u m.n.i..
john whiting
THE DEVILS
at 8:00 P.M.-Wednesday-Saturday, February 17-20
TRUEBLOOD THEATRE-Box Office Opens 12:30-764-5387
University of Michigan Players
OPENS WEDNESDAY-TICKETS NOW!
SEATS ON SALE! $1-$4.50!
I
LAST 3 DAYS
"Remember
'PSYHO'
I
-
There are scenes
with that kind of
impact!"-ABC-TV
"A scary
murder mystery!"
-NY Times
SUN.-3-5-7-9
FirTH irbr uM-
Fv^v orWNTOWN ANNd AR:S
I OAMATIO#4 781-VIOO
MV
Ottiefy In The Hflcthcock Tradition.
FGAM (M COLOR
BONUS FEATURE-STARTS TOMORROW t
"LEAVES '3B & CAROL & TED & ALICE'
AT THE STARTING GATI" -Bob Salmaggi, WINS
| Nil C9
immei
Con n~cions
WITH
The University of Michigan Symphony Band
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14-3:30 p.m.
HILL AUDITORIUM
A provocative
new DI
TICKETS:
$2.00
$2.50
$3.00
SEATS STILL AVAILABLE
I