'Free the.
By Tania Blanich
HE VIRTUAL 9 are free and well .. and
dancing in Ann Arbor. Thursday evening's U of
M Dance Department studio concert "Free the Vir-
tua1 9" proved that beyond a doubt. "The Virtual 9"
are graduate students in dance who have
choreographed, designed and produced the nine dar-
ces being performed throughout the weekend in two
different programs. No easy task, all that! But the
concert, for the most part, succeeds.
Thursady's concert of four works was brief: Only
40 minutes long. It's amazing how much good dancing
nd choreography can be packed in such a short
time. If the program hadn't the magic seen in other,
recent University dance concerts, it still provided for
an entertaining break in the flurry of this week.
Of the four dances, Arena, choreographed by
Pamela Mundy, was the most complete, and cer-
tainly the most amusing. The five dancers, in gym
shoes and shoyts, transformed the dance studio into a
basketball court right before the audience's eyes
Mundy's choreography perfectly parodied an all
star basketball game. Whether dunking hookshots or
guarding one-on-one, the dancers conveyed the grace
Rdcordsnc
MichaelSmotherman - hand in co
'Michael Smotherman' (Epic) artists like
Michael Smotherman grew up in Tucker, an
klahoma, calls Nashville his second past. Smote
oine, and has been residing in performing
Southern California for most of his vocalist -
adult life - a combination that may ex- cessfully.
plain his music. It's a mixture of what
you might call "California bop", rhum-
ba an All-American, glossed-over
studio rock beat, and a definite touch of Jerry Ca
country-and-western. Heaven'
"On his recently released debut This rec
album, appropriately titled Michael ever gets w
Sinotherman, the blond singer sounds thing that
almost like a cross between Robert made in An
Palmer, Jimmy Buffet, and Loggins Before I
and Messina. That's actually quite a favoritism,
compliment, because Smotherman actually so
isn't as talented as any of those artists. although th
Smotherman relies on a lot of boogie- still lacks t
woogie background music from myriad would hav
iistruments - saxophone, piano, New York.
organ, etc. - to cover up his vocals on ' Still, it's
the fast- songs: But in songs like the put the fou
slow, shmaltzy, countryish "Do I Ever of the best
qross Your Mind," Smotherman's "Thrown I
. spmewhat scratchy voice serves as the And, I mu
mpain course, and it's simply to weak heritage sh
to cut the mustard. two ballad
The songs all have-potential in them- melody a
slves - all are actually fairly catchy delivery tl
tones - which attests to the writing Smokey R(
4bilities of Smotherman, who had 'a Okay, it
The Michigan Daily-Saturday, April 17, 1982-Page 7
'virtually flawless
Illl
SITi
and strength of athletes, and the humor of the Harlem
Globetrotters.
Mundy incorporated a, stylized movement and
some crazy leaps to tie the whole work together. The
music, composed especially for the dance by
Jonathan Davidson, was perfect. With a trombone,
bass, drums, an electric fan (get it? Fan.. . basket-
ball game) and dropping plastic cups, Davidson cap-
tured exactly the atmosphere of a basketball game.
The team of dancers and musicians played hard -
and won!
Alan Lommasson's Quiet Dance should have been
the tour de force of the evening. With its lovely,
suspending, motion, and consistently strong perfor-
mances of three of the department's best, the dance
had great potential. Lommasson chose not to use
music, letting instead the rhythm of the movement
carry the dancers. The choreography calls for
flowing developes and circular movement, which
Jeannette Duane, Linda Ferrato, and Carol
Teitelbaum handled with grace.
What was missing in the piece was the element of
dance surprise. Quiet Dance was lovely, but not ex-
citing. Nothing made the audience sit on the edge of
our seats, nothing made the audience gasp in awe -
unlike the Lommasson duet performed two weeks
ago. But this was a minor flaw in an otherwise
pleasing dance.
The other two pieces, Mospace and In the City of
Ashes and Shadows were not quite up to standard.
Neither the dancing nor the choreography were bad,
just lacking in certain areas. Mospace,
choreographer by Michael Driscoll, was light, with
the dancers prancing wightlessly about the stage. But
I felt unsatisfied when it was over. The dance had
never build up to a crescendo, it just capered along in
mediocrity.
In the City opened with a dramatic solo by Leslie
McCurdy, who has the presence to hold the audience
with her technique and interpretation. Unfortunately,
the middle of the piece was forgettable. Although the
last few moments of Barbara Djules Boothe's
choreography showed the same strength as the Mc-
Curdy solo, the whole work never quite attained the
tension for which the music called.
The concert will be performed again on Saturday,
April 17 at 8 p.m. in Studio A of the Dance Building.
The second program of the Virtual 9 will be perfor-
med at 8 p.m. Sunday, April 18. Flaws or not, both
concerts will provide even the most casual dance en-
thusiast with interesting and enjoyable performan-
ces.
MON, TUE, THUR, FRI, 7:00-9:00
SAT, SUN, WED, '
1:00-3:00-5 00-7 :00 9:00
WALT DISNEY
PRO"UCTIONS
© 1973 Walt
MON, TUE, THUR, FRI, 7:00-9:15
SAT, SUN, WED,
1:00-3:00-5:00-7:00-9:15
The Wfiineins
ad gsoee.Nw
rei corddin new
CC 1140 WALT OISNY G1
PRODUCTIONS I
WINNER OF
3 ACADEMY
AWARD
A UNIVERSAL
MON. TUE. THUR. FRI. 7:15-9:25
SAT, SUN, WED.
1:5-:1 .7 1, 9:5'
5ience createa him.
Now Chuck Noris .
must destroy him. ,
HAPUPPER LEVEL)
MON, TUE, THUR, FRI, 7:25-9:35
SAT, SUN, WED.
1:25-4:25-7:25-9:35
(UPPER LEVEL)
MON, TUE, T UR, FRI, 7:30-9:35
SAT, SUN, WED,
30-4:30-7:30-9:35
a M&JJ
MON. TUE, THUR, FRI, 7:26-9:25
SAT, SUN, WED,
1:20-4:20-7:20-9:25
S ACADEMY AWARD NOMINATIONS
INCLUDING "BEST PICTURE"
ATLANTIC
CPTY
APRMOUNTPCUE
,
mposing every song on the
d who has written pieces for
Waylon Jennings, Marshall
d Rita Coolidge in the recent
herman just doesn't have the
talent - at least not as a
to carry the tunes off suc-
-Mark Fischer
rr - 'This Must be
(Cherie-Atlantic)
ord is as good as a record
ithout being great. The only
holds it. back is that it was
n Arbor.
get accused of geographic
I should say that this record
unds like it's from Detroit;
he production is quite good, it
the razor-sharp edges that it
e gotten in Los Angeles or
got enough bodily umph to
r dance tunes across as some
around (with the title cut and
Down" the real standouts).
ust admit that the Detroit
hows to the advantage on the
s, which have lilting drift of
nd the soft sensuality of
hat could only come from
obinson or Michael Jackson.
is a great record onoits own
merits. The only drawback is that if
Leon Sylvers III had produced it for
Solar Records, you'd be hearing it all
over the radio and on national
television. As it is, you'll be lucky (and I
do mean lucky) to hear it on local
radio, in local clubs, and (if you're
smart) on your own turntable.
-Mark Dighton
Tenpole Tudor -'Let the Four
Winds Blow' (Stiff)
All Adam and the Antz fans should
(A) be ashamed of themselves and B)
listen to the new Tenpole Tudor album.
Let the Four Winds Blow will undoub-
tedly show them how much more The
Ants could be if they were more about
pop than pomp. Tudor have all the
same ingredients - the yelpy lead
vocal, pirtate choruses, hard-rocking
drums, and twangy C&W guitar; But
they mix these elements with a much
greater sense of flair and taste, and
(crucially) with a much stronger basis
in rockabilly rebelliousness.
Adam Ant's fatal flaw is in thinking
himself so handsome that songs
become only secondary accessories.
For obvious reasons, that will never be
a problem with Tenpole Tudor. They
put a much higher priority on strong
songwriting and arrangements. If they
err on the side of self-indulgance, it's
only in straying too far into the
territory of the dangerously loud and
dumb. But it's always done with an in-
fectious aplomb and devil-may-care
sensibility that only proves just how
winning they can be. They can even get
away with material as ridiculous as "I
am the King of Siam./Oh yes I am"
because it's so obviously all in the name
of fun.
Truly, Adam Ant should be ashamed
of himself, and so should you if you even
listen to another of his records without
first giving Let the Four Winds Blow a
listen.
-M.D.
II iii WITHIN
M/UNITED ARTISTS
E-- oa.K O A iA -AND-
NOW OPEN FRI, SAT, SUN,
BOXOFFICE OPENS 7:00 PM
SHOW STARTS AT DUSK
UDy &S~fV*
.I
If you have, Uso1-ed Boks-I
i
,;'1 . .
YOU'RE ONE. YOU'RE IN
GXDD COMPANY
jl
As the Semester end approaches-bringing with it a period of heavy
book selling by studenfs-ULRICH'S would like to review with you their
BUY-BACK POLICY.
Used books fall into several categories, each of which-because of the
law of supply and demand-has its own price tag. Let's explore these
various categories for your guidance.
CLASS I CLOTHBOUND
A textbook of current copyright-used on our campus-and which the
Teaching Department involved has approved for re-use in upcomir'g
semesters--has the highest market value. If ULRICH'S needs copies
of this book we will offer a minimum of 50/0 off the list price for copies
in good physical condition. When we have sufficient stock of a title
for the coming semester, URLICH'S will offer a "WHOLESALE PRICE"
which will be explained later in this article. (THIS IS ONE REASON
FOR SELLING ALL YOUR USED BOOKS as soon as you are finished
with them!)
CLASS II. PAPERBOUND
Paperback are classified in two groups: A. Text paperbacks; B. Trade
Paperbacks.
A. Text Paperbacks will be purchased from you as Class I books
above.
B. Trade Paperbacks would draw an approximate offer of 250 of the
list price when in excellent condition.
CLASS III.
Some of the above Class I or Class I books will be offered which have
torn bindings, loose pages, large amounts of highlighting and under-
lining, or other physical defects. These will be priced down according
to the estimated cost of repair or saleability.
1
1
.
F i
i
l
f
...._
r
..,r
l i '
1 p.
f ' )
CLASS IV.
Each semester various professors decide to change text for a given
course. These decisons on change of textbooks are made in echelons
of THINKING AND AUTHORITY far above the level of your local book retailers, AND ULRICH'S
HAS NO PART IN THE DECISION. (Quite often we have MANY copies of the old title which
you have only ONE.)
However, 'ULRICH'S does enter the picture by having connections with other bookstores
throughout the country. We advertise these discontinued books and sell many of them at schools
where they are still being used. ULRICH'S does this as a service to you and pays you the best
possible ''WHOLESALE PRICE" when you sell them to us with your currently used books.
CLASS V.
Authors and publishers frequently bring out new editions. When we "get caught" with an old
edition, let's accept the fact that it has no value on the wholesale market, and put it'on the shelf
as a reference book.
Congratulations, Graduates!
You're about to join the good
company of Pulitzer Prize-
winning playwright Arthur
Miller, CBS investigative re-
porter Mike Wallace, opera
singer Jessye Norman, actress
Gilda Radner and the 300,000
sociation can advertise, free
of charge, in our "Employ-
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bership dues enable us to
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You see, we really would
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You're one. You're in good
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You will find that you come out best in the long run when you sell ALL your books to ULRICH'S.
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