Page 6 - The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, November 1, 1983
Kozlovs provide dynamic dance
By Ellen Rieser
F OR THE ANN ARBOR stop on their
1983 National Dance Tour, the
Kozlovs brought a lot of magic into the
Power Center. Coming hard on the
heels of Wednesday's disappointing
performance by the Caracas New
World Ballet, it was a pleasure on
Saturday evening to see challenging
pieces presented by dancers who were
technically up to performing them well.
The selections presented were largely
demanding pas de deux that left no
place for inadequate technique. Despite
the minor disappointment created by a
shortened program (a contemporary
version of Papillon had been scheduled
to be performed) and a substitution
(the flashy and often seen Le Corsaire
pas de deux was substituted for one
rarely excerpted from act II ofGiselle),
the performance was a satisfying one.
Balanchine's "Tchaikovsky Pas de
Deux" led off the program. Originally
created for the New York City Ballet in
1960, this difficult pas de deux has
become a modern concert classic. The
variation combines the symmetrical
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form of a Petipa grand pas with the ex-
traordinary angles and intricate en-
chainements of Balanchine's NYCB
style. Tamara Hadley and William De
Gregory, both star dancers with the
Pennsylvania Ballet, sparkled in
"Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux." Hadley
was perhaps a bit too careful in the
opening section. However; for the rest
of the piece she pushed her technique
further against the variation's
challenges and came out on top with
nary a bobble or miss of a beat. William
De Gregory, a frequent partner of
Hadley on stage and off (they are
engaged to be married), showed off his
excellent extension and secure turns.
The second work presented on the
evening's program was "Grand Pas
Classique," a bravura pas de deux with
choreography by Victor Gsovsky set to
a selection of ballet music from Fran-
cois Auber's operas. "Grand Pas
Classique" is a Bolshoi favorite. As its
name suggests, "Grand Pas Classique"
is a sort of charming knock off of vir-
tuoso classical variations - notably
those of Petipa.
After the excitement of the
"Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux" and
"Grand Pas Classique," the Power
Center audience was perhaps looking
forward to the quieter romanticism of
the Act II pas de deux from Giselle. But
when the curtain was pulled back and
Leonid Kozlov appeared not in the
black mourning clothes of Albrecht but
in tastefully torn pantaloons, it was ob-
vious that the pas de deux from Le Cor-
saire was being substituted instead.
Although the ballet from which this pas
de deux is derived has been largely
forgotten, the pas de deux itself has
risen to become one of the most popular
in the classical repertoire, particularly
for male dancers. For the man, Le Cor-
saire requires exotic arm positions,
unusual transitions between steps, and
frequent risky landings on the knee
from jumps and turns. This is not to
suggest that the woman simply stands
by and watches during the variation.
Prolonged poses and excruciatingly
slow but beautiful turns make Le Cor-
saire a challenge for the woman. The
Kozlovs danced the pas de deux well.
With three members of the Pen-
nsylvania Ballet in Ann Arbor as part of
the National Tour (and with other dan-
cers from PBC having been on the tour
earlier), it was inevitable that a work
closely associated with the Pen-
nsylvania Ballet be performed. Sure
enough, a pas de deux from Under the
Sun (choreography by Margo Sap-
pington, commissioned score by
Michael Kamen), Pennsylvania
Ballet's famous celebration of the
mobiles, circus, toys, and mechanized
sculpture of Alexander Calder, was
performed.
The fifth work on the Kozlovs'
National Tour program was the pas de
deux from The Flames of Paris, a
Bolshoi ballet infrequently seen in the
West. The ballet is based on songs of the
French Revolution. Despite the difficult
choreography, Anne Marie De Angelo
and Mark Lanham (a former principal
dancer with Ballet West and the San
Francisco Ballet, now with Ballet El
p aso) looked as if they were having fun
together in this piece. Both danced well.
In particular, De Angelo seemed to
whiz through her fast turns on pointe
interspersed with turns in the air.
The bouncy little pas de six from La
Vivandiere broke up the program of
bravura pas de deux. Set to the music of
Cesare Pugni, La Vivandiere was
originally choreographed in 1844 by the'
great dancer Arthur Saint-Leon. The
Kozlovs' concert version of this rarely
performed work is based on the Bolshoi
staging of the ballet.
The program ended with a "Diver-
tissement" from Don Quixote. Essen-
tially this was the Kozlovs performing
the well-known grand past with a few
small parts for three soloists (Duffin,
Ichino, and de Rose) thrown in. Leonid
Kozlov approached the variation in a
weirdly intense but effective manner.
Valentina Kozlova performed one of the
less common versions of the female
part of the variation. Due to the version
chosen which eliminated many of the
usual turns and jumps for the woman, it
was not as lively a grand pas as Don
Quixote can be. These small quibbles
aside, when dancing together, the
Kozlovs looked superb. It was a fine
way to end a rare occasion - world
class dancers on the Power Center
stage.
Deidre Duffin on tour, with the Kozlovs danced deftly at the Power Center
Saturday night.
Fred Sm-al sings bi~g
By Joe Kraus
IF THE PEACE Dragon didn't fire
you up or the supply side didn't leave
you a little wild, then it was only
because you missed Fred Small at Joe's
Star Lounge on Sunday.
_I
Small, a folk-song writer/guitar
playing singer, made it an inspirin
evening. He performed original con-
positions criticizing economic policies
military misdeeds and discriminatio
against the handicapped. His main ac
complishment, though, was to cast
shadow of intensity and validity - tha
yes indeed, something can be done.
Small opened with "Peace Is", a cla
and sing-along anthem from his ne
album The Heart of the Appaloosa, an
then continued with a mixture of his o
and new songs. Some of the mor
memorable numbers were "Walk o
the Supply Side", a spoof of Lou Reed'
"Walk on the Wild Side" that makes fu
of Reagan's economic policies; "
Remeber the Man", a touching son
about the father he loves but doesn'
feel he knows; and the title track fro
The Heart of the Appaloosa, a balla
about our government's driving out an
killing of the Nez Perce Indians an
their Appaloosa horses.
, While he is not yet a "superstar"
the folk circuit, Small is on his way.
Within the last couple of month
Priscilla Herdman, Peggy Seeger an
Peter Alsop have begun to cover som
of his songs - in addition to Pet
Seeger and Charlie King to name tw
who are already doing'so. In addition,
The Heart of the Appaloosa is on Roun
der Records :which is a step up from
Aquifer, the label that recorded his firs
album, Love's Gonna Carry Us.
Small espouses th typical liber4
views of anti-war and anti-nuclear send
timent, but he presents an interesting
angle when it comes to the issue o
equal rights for women. Making it clea
that he was in favor of equal rights,
Small said, "It's important for men to
actively change their behavior rather
than just support them (women ac-
tivists)."
Small said his two biggest influences
have been Phil Ochs and Tom Paxton
The Ochs influence is particular)
evident in his "No More Vietnams", a
song which defiantly declares, ". . . we
ain't marching' anymore." Small said
he had heard the late Ochs perform his
own famous anthem "I ain't marchin'
anymore" eighteen years ago, when he
(Small) was only twelve years old.
Denying comparisons to Tom Lehrer,
the comdian/singer/Harvard
professor, Small said, "It's impor
tant to do more than to be acerbic... I
want people to feel empowered to act.'4
Small said his next project, although
only in the planning stages, is an album
of peace songs for children. Also in-
volved in the project are singers Pax-
ton,,Ruth Pelham and Betsy Rose. In
the long term future Small said, "I just
want to get the music out."
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