__Mg_____aRTS The Michigan Daily Tuesday, April 7, 1981 Page 7' WHO'S LA TEST: We waited three years for this? Dance Theatre 2, Ann Arbor's only professional modern dance company, performed their spring concert last weekendPictured above are some of the company in a more tranquil moment. Dance Theatre 2: It hurts to watch y JULIE EDELSON The music that accompanied the dancers of Ann Arbor's local group, "Dance Theatre 2,'" was delightful: Stravinsky, Schumann, Vivaldi and Bach. It excited the senses and was as soothing as a lullaby. Unfortunately, it was the only truly colorful aspect present in the company's performance Saturday night, as the group lacked the essentials for a genuinely professional performance. THe basic intentions of the dancers were honorable. They performed smooth, easy movements, perfected etudes, lithe leaps and clever body con- tortions. In one scene, the dancers piled on top of each other to create a somewhat bizarre form. In this in- novative tactic, the simple costumes also helped to accentuate the dance steps. NONETHELESS, the dancers lost themselves in redundancy as each piece progressed. Except for the first piece, "Scribble Sketch," the dancers were exceptionally long and the choreography was routine and repetitive. In "Morningside," a carefree, happy dance, the constant emotion didn't' sustain the audience's attention for the piece's duration, as jits repetitive movements easily became boring. Only in the more creative sequences ,were the dancers truly able to perform. tn "Down Under," a Star Wars journey- through-time-and-space type movement, the company finally managed to convey an eerie sense of mood. IN THE accompanied pieces, though, the dancers did not keep time with the music. Often, they were less lively than r their accompaniment. For example, "Short Threads" could have been a refreshing piece had the dancers blen- ded with the enlightening Spanish castanet music. The company did not do justice to the potentially exquisite dance steps. In- 'stead, the steps were automatic: feet flexed in unison, plies, lunges, and backward contractions. Sadly, their an- tics became monotonous. Christopher Watson, one of the group's directors, exemplified all the ,traits of his company. Extremely gawky on stage, he moved as if con- strained by his large physique, lacking the essential technique necessary. to prove himself a professional dancer.. His extensions were merely adequate, and he portrayed practically no emotion. THE OTHER director, Kathleen Smith, was, thankfully, far better. Her ballet training was apparent from her faultless technique: beautifully pointed toes and graceful arms combine with a genuine feeling for the dance, making for a fine performance. The rest of the troupe could learn from her! Dance Theatre 2 did have one in- teresting technical innovation that ren- dered them slightly above average. The performed part of the show in total silence, creating a subdued,'tranquil ef- fect. Nonetheless, the overall performance was a disappointment. The dancers displayed a wide range of capabilities. Some were far superior than others, leading to a disjointed performance. 'They also_' displayed constant amateurish traits such as thecinability to sustain and hold arabesques. One dancer fell right in the center of the stage! It is really a disappointment that this group is considered the best of Ann Ar- bor's local dance talent. It could be due to the fact that they lack competition from other local groups. Or, maybe my expectations were too high for a local group and I expected them to transcend the local level. Whatever the situation, they are not worthy of their reputatioi'. Daily Classifieds get Results - Call 764-0557 By FRED SCHILL Listen carefully to this album and you will hear a constant rumbling and shaking, a rattle in the foundation that only John Entwistle could create. It is the sound of The Who falling apart. Face Dances is a sagging compost heap of mixed metaphors, fragmented thoughts, treacherous vocals, and jagged moralizations. It is a ram- shackle tenement in which The Who have allowed the waste products of Pete Townsend's mind to gather and stagnate in steaming puddles. It stinks. TOWNSEND OBVIOUSLY recorded all of his meaty material on his own solo album last year, leaving the scraps to be lapped up by The Who. They don't sit well on the stomach, and Roger Daltrey particularly does not seem grateful for Townsend's magnanimity. Daltrey plods lamely through gunk like "Another Tricky Day," glumly reciting rhymes like "Break out and start a fire ya'll/It's all here on the vinyl" with all the fervor of a stock market report. He babbles "Don't Let Go the Coat" with the inscrutable con- fusion the lyrics demand, crooning some of the dreck with Billy Joel pseudo-importance. And even when Daltry appears to give a damn, the nursery rhymes Townsend has given him to sing are humiliating. He sounds silly singing shit like "When I say I love you, you say you better" while back-up vocals sweetly coo "you better, you better, you bet." Oh yeah? Or else what? The lyrics limp along gimpily, dragging lines like "I showed up late one night with a neon light for a visa" enigmatically through the mud and boasting, "I still sing a razor line everytime." Bets? HALF OF THE time he doesn't sound like Roger Daltrey, and its hard to blame him considering what he has to put up with. I'd go incognito too. One of his finest moments is the Police imitation, "Did You Steal My Money?" a sparsely-arranged inquisition that you really don't want to hear much about. Still, the overdubbed vocals Artists' books at East Quad The Residential College will present an exhibit of artists' books by Univer- sity students and professionals today through Friday in room 124 EastsQuad. Coordinator Ann Savageau says the exhibit "spans visual art and literature." Artists' books provide an inexpensive method of obtaining art compared to museums, and is intended to broaden the reach of the medium and interest faculty members in the artists' work, Savageau said. The exhibit will run from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. each day. In addition, there will be a reception Wednesday from 6:30 to 8 p.m., in the same locale, to be followed by a symposium on artists' books. Featured speakers include Art School doctoral candidate Barbara Tannenbaum and RC Professor Ken Mikolowski. Mikolowski also operates the Alternative Press, which publishes literary and artistic paraphernalia. bouncing from wall to wall and Daltrey's tinny, incisive vocals pleasantly and judiciously balance En- twistle's sonic, shattering bass. In fact, Entwistle's bass work is one constant stroke of genius. Almost single-handedly keeping the songs moving, Entwistle contribut s brillian- tly beckoning bass riffs thativary from frolicking bounciness in "Cachs Cache" and "Another Tricky Day" to softly booming bursts in the self-penned "The Quiet One" and "You." Lyrically, he is not immune from mediocrity; "The Quiet One" contains the original obser- vation that "Sticks and Stones may break your bones/But names will never down you." Imagine Roger Daltrey singing that and try not to feel despair. It ain't easy. But this is not an easy album to listen to, particularly for those of us who believe that The Who have been arguably the most consistently ex- cellent rock band in history. Oddly, this abrupt downfall does not stem from the death of Keith Moon. New drummer Kenney Jones plays with the same boisterous rowdiness Moon was famous for, and his exhilarating work in "Daily Records" is one of the highlights of the album. NOR IS THERE any reason to believe Moon's death has so demoralized Townsend as to emasculate his renowned musical virility. Townsend's solo album was superb. This catastrohphe of a record was not caused by Moon's death, but rather by Townsend's sudden inability or un- willingness to write tolerable material. The stuff that isn't downright vapid tends to be t'ritely moralistic; the diatribes against exhibitionism and kids who stuff girlie magazines down their jeans (horrors!) in "How Can You Do It Alone" render a promising theme ineffectively trivial. Even hisbest guitar work is in Entwistle's tunes. Townsend's finest effort is easily "Daily Records," which is blesped with NDVIDUAL THEATRS 77 t$h Arc of lberty 761.9700J We're Back! Better Than Ever! The New Village Bell presents: l ANN ARBOR I ai~ subtitled jerky, bobbing vocals that are thematically consistent with the neurosis of the song. Opening with the brilliant lines, "This could be suf- fering/This could be pleasure/I'm unaware of any difference," the song explores adisturbing musical identity crisis that may explain the confused lack of content that is Face Dances. . Certainly it is the most honest of Townsend's compositions, for it in- volves his recognition that he is on the cusp of very different musical ages. "I just don't know how to wear my hair no more/ No sooner cut it than they cut it even more," Townsend moans, and this is the confusing indecision that paralyzes Face Dances. 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