ARTS The Michigan Daily Sunday, April 3, 1983 Page 5 Baryshnikov in Detroit By Julie Winokur T HE AMERICAN BALLET Theater returns to Detroit this week with a *.line-up of dancers and choreographers to rival an edition of Who's Who in Dan- ce. Under the artistic direction of Mikhail Baryshnikov, ABT seems to have chosen variety as their foremost goal and the company's April 5-10 appearance at the Masonic Temple promises a goal fulfilled. Tuesday night's opening will feature three Detroit premieres: Jerome Rob- bins' Other Dances, John McFall's In- terludes and St'gust Bournonville's La Sylphide. Baryshnikov will appear with Gelsey Kirkland in Other Dances, a lyrical piece originally choreographed for Baryshnikov and Natalia Makarova at the New York City Ballet. Baryshnikov, whose credentials are perhaps the most impressive in the world of dance, seems to personify en- tertainment itself. His abilities are un- surpassed and the scope of his talent has been explored through American debuts with American Ballet Theater and The New York City Ballet. The list of choreographers who have f'eatured Baryshnikov includes such diverse artists as George Balanchine, Elliot Feld and Merce Cunningham. In addition to Other Dances, Baryshnikov will appear in three ballets during his Detroit engagement. La Sylphide, a Scottish classic choreographed by August Bournon- ville, will feature Baryshnikov with Cheryl Yeager Wednesday night. Also Wednesday, ABT's prodigy, 20-year-old Susan Jaffe, will appear in Lynne Taylor-Corbett's The Great Galloping Gottschalk. Baryshnikov will appear again in Thursday night's company premiere of Twyla Tharp's The Little Ballet. If this, Tharp's second work for ABT, resembles her first, Push Comes to Shove, the audience is guaranteed an exciting contrast to any of the com- pany's other works. The prowess of ABT's dancers promises to add the polish and technique necessary to make Tharp's choreography dance. Robert LaFosse leaps with the American Ballet Theater this week at Detroit's Masonic Temple Theatre. The Little Ballet will be performed again Friday night along with ap- pearances by Gelsey Kirkland, Robert La Fosse, and The Turning Point's Leslie Browne in The Great Galloping Gottschalk. Swedish-born Johan Renvall will also be appearing this week in two ballets. Saturday night, he will perform John McFall's Follow The Feet with Ronald Perry. At Sunday's matinee, Renvall will appear in Balanchine's Bourree Fantasque with Leslie Browne and Cynthis Harvey. Under the direction of Baryshnikov, ABT's repertoire has expanded and diversified in-a short time. This week's engagement is an excellent sampling of the company's variety and outstanding talent as it showcases the stars of ballet today. Tickets, priced at $5-$25, are available at the Masonic Box Office and all CTC outlets. For further infor- mation, call 832-2232. Pianist Leon to soothe Union GETTING GEARED UP for the end of term? Relax, you've got a couple weeks before study week and enough time to take in a soothing performance of piano music. Providing the aural release is School of Music master's candidate Stephanie Leon, who gives a recital this coming Tuesday in the Pendleton room of the Michigan Union. Leon, one of Michigan's most promising pianists, has won a number of competitions, including the Grosse Pointe Sum- mer Music Festival Annual Piano Competition, and the University's 1981 Concerto Competition. She has also ap- peared with the Detroit Symphony,; the New Orleans Philharmonic, and other orchestras. Tuesday's 8 p.m. concert continues the Michigan Union's successful Concert of the Month Program. Leon will perform Beethoven's Sonata in C major, Sergei Prokofieff's Sonata No. 2 in D minor, as well as several shorter works by Frederic Chopin. Admission is free; take a break for some pleasing piano sounds. - Ben Ticho Leon ... performs Beethoven and more DOUBLE BLIND The blues are alive for all to see By Deborah Robinson ANDY COHEN, a young revivalist guitar player from Ohio, and Blind Jim Brewer, an older Chicago Blues man, kept the basement at the Blind Pig rolling Friday and Saturday nights with a variety of blues, religious music, rags and boogie. Cohen opened the first set demon- strating a great versatility of repetoire which included fast shuffle blues, Salvation Army songs, island tunes of Joseph Spence, Reverend Gary Davis numbers and tunes and songs from ,r a MI.n M-rMin at e :..iti-. ni v r great vigor. He also did a few songs on six string banjo and old time fiddle. Following the opening set, Jim Brewer, straight from Mississippi via forty years on the Chicago blues scene, made his way to the stage. Brewer has the grace of a man who has been playing his music for a very long time. He sang blues in the understated mellow manner that seeps inside you even as you drink and chat; his deep soft voice and the light knowing touch of calloused fingers on the strings picked out many layered patterns of blue. Blind Jim was up there on stage crooning, "I want you to roll me like. grandma rolled the flour dough"; my ears were nutty to the sound. for a few sacred songs at the upright. Technically, Brewer did miss a few notes. He sang a West Virginia version of "Amazing Grace," backing himself up with simple chords, and the result was a deeply spiritual rendition of an often wornout sounding standard. Brewer moved back to guitar with a few more religious songs then slid back into the blues. He could have played all night seemingly, and I could happily have listened.