ARTS
Friday, December 9, 1983
The MichiganDaily
Page 5
Records
Last year, I went bonkers over an EP
by a fellow named Kimberly Rew
called The Bible of Bop. Rew used to be
in the Soft Boys, a semi-important,
early psychedelia revival band that has
garnered more praise and attention
since disbanding than during its
heyday, which wasn't much of a hey,
even in native England. Nonetheless,
on Bop, Rew was backed up by the dB's
on three tracks, the Soft Boys on three,
and the Waves on two. All cuts were ab-
solutely primo.
Now Kim is back with Shock Horror!,
another eight-song EP, but this time
credited to the Waves en masse. Either
he's adding fuel to the fire, or Rew's
allotted himself full-time membership
as a Wave.
These Waves aren't new, which, in it-
self, is a blessing. Curiously refreshing
might be a better way of describing the
music here, like the feeling you get
when it's real hot outside, and the thing
you want to do most is dive inthe cool,
calming ocean. The Waves' music can
be founded on cheap blues ("Atomic
rock 'n' roll," "I caught the milk train
(she took the Deux Chavaux)"), easy.
ballads ("Riding my bike"), pop
travelogues ("Going down to Liver-
pool"), or breakneck boppers ("You
can't stand next to Judie," "Saturday
Week") - all work exceedingly well -
or rather, they sound great.
The players are pretty keen, but Af-
termath did not bless us with any in-
formation on who they are, aside from
chintzy black and white portraits on the
back. All I can say for sure is that
Rew's singing is top-notch; what with
him hitting those unbelieveably high
notes with such relative ease, his tunes
(all eight penned by himself) are boffo,
and as a guitarist, he's no master of
flash, but skilled - yeah! And Shock
Horror's worth it for the garrish,
primitive cover design, if not the
newspaper headlines on the reverse.
Small labels rule! (Import - no adress
available.)
- Larry Dean
1983 Soph Show
GODSPELL
December 8th and
1 0th -at 8:00 p.m.
December 9th at 10:00 p.m.
Mendelssohn Theater
TICKETS are $5.00 and are available
at the Michigan Union Ticket Office
and at the door
Enchanter weaves spell over helpless toys during the Power Center's Production of The Nutcracker Suite.
' The spirit of
Christmas
By Cheryl Baacke
For ballet lovers, Christmas means
e Nutcracker, and for Ann Arbor. the
Nutcracker means The Pittsburgh
Ballet Theatre.
The company is performing in Ann
Arbor for the eighth time, promising to
makl the holiday tradition delightful
for those who can't imagine .a Christ-
mas without the Sugar Plum Fairy as
well as for those who don't know the
Mouse King from the Nutcracker Prin-
ce.
Children will dance in lead and sup-
rting roles for the first time in the
company's history. The two lead parts,
Mary and tle Nutcracker will be filled
by a brother/sister team from Pit-
tibu~glh Amy (10) and Paul (13)
Galds _- _
About 58 Ann Arbor children are part
of the ballet and will dance with the 28
adult members of the Pittsburgh
Ballot.
Anbther first for the company is the
use of choreography by George Ballan-
chine, formerly of the New York City
Ballet.
His version is much lighter, more
technically brilliant, and easier to un-
derstand and enjoy. Like most good art,
it is very simple on the surface, and
more complex underneath, said Joan
Stewart from the Pittsburgh Ballet
Theatre.
The Balanchine choreography is the
best of all renditions, said Stewart.
"It's the most modern version. The set-
ting is the same, but the feeling is very
much alive today," she said.
The Nutcracker is a ballet everyone
can enjoy because it is not abstract, but
follows a story line. The Christmas par-
ty, the gifts from Herr Drosselmeyer,
and the dream of enchanted lands is
reminiscent of everyone's own Christ-
mas memories.
On Christmas Eve, a family throws a
party and a toymaker, Herr
Drosselmeyer, brings gifts for the,
children. Mary is especially pleased
with her gift of a nutcracker soldier.
Herr Drosselmeyer's mysterious
magic enchants Mary, who dreams of a
journey with her Nutcracker Prince.
She has visions of flowers,
snowflakes, and candy canes which
dance to the music of Peter Tchaikov-
sky's suite.
The work is based on a fairy tale writ-
ten by E.T.A. Hoffman, and was first
performed in 1892.
Patricia Wilde is the artistic director
of the ballet. Wilde learned her
choreography from Balanchine when
she was the principal ballerina at the
New York City Ballet.
Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre's Nut-
cracker was set by Robert Barnet who
also danced under Balanchine.
Although the costumes, the dancers,
and the score are all different from last
year, the tradition of the favorite
holiday ballet will continue December
16, 17, and 18 in the Power Center. A
limited number of tickets is still
available at Burton Tower: $810,
balcony and $10-12 main floor.
Showtimes are 8 p.m. Friday and
Saturday with a 2 p.m. matinee Satur-
day and Sunday.
The American Coll
is aliveand well
and living in Paris
For information,
please write:
Liz Schiff
U.S. Representative
American College in Paris
222 East 83rd St.
New York, N.Y. 10028
indicate your interest in
the academic year and/or
summer session.
loge
you could be, too...
. summer session,
. one semester,
" one year,
study abroad options
within the
American College in Paris
. BA andSS
j degree programs.
Dancer warms-up for The Nutcracker Suite.
h~lidav gift
v.
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