'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- ment Wanted" column of the Alumnus magazine. Need insurance? You can participate in our l1w-cost term life insurance program. Moving to a new city? Our bership dues enable us to provide services such as student scholarships and teaching awards.) You see, we really would like you to be a part of us. You're one. You're in good company You will find that you come out best in the long run when you sell ALL your books to ULRICH'S. '