4 Ndge 8 -The Michigan Daily-Monday, December 7, 1987 Copley captures essence of O'Keeffe By Jose-Arturo Martinez -This past weekend, The J. Parker .opley Dance Company opened Ohir fall season with an evening 1ength tribute to artist Georgia U'Keeffe at the Trueblood theatre. I tend to approach evening length dance concerts with a sense of Irepjdation. They are the hardest kind of work on both the choreographer and the audience. I shouldn't have .Vvorried. When the concert ended I found myself wondering where the tilno went. Portrait of an Artist., dedicated to Georgia O'Keeffe, is the latest work byJ. Parker Copley and is by far his best work yet. It was alternately fast laced, moody, and attention riveting, anil was unquestionably some of the best dance in Ann Arbor this season. ; Beginning with the first glimpse of the set, designed by Ray Wetzel, the viewer was transported into the cOurtyard of O'Keeffe's home in Santa Fe, New Mexico, complete with adobe brick house, tumble- weeds, and sand. The work show- cased the life of the American artist, who was played in differing rendi- tions by Noonie Anderson and Julie Guy, with a very strong performance by the supporting cast. Performed as 12 vignettes, O'Keeffe came to life in the context of her New Mexico home. Anderson, who appeared at vari- ous points of the work, gave another high quality performance with the company. She reminded the audience that it was the themes created by O'Keeffe that were the strand of consistency throughout the produc- tion. Her grace and suppleness, in what were at times difficult exten- sions to hold, were simply a marvel to watch. The seventh movement, "In the dusk of a late winter... in the valley of disarming shadows," was a haunting portrait of a woman on the verge of a mental collapse. Ander- son, dressed in black, was reminis- cent of the sorrow O'Keeffe experi- enced in the 1930s. In the piece, Anderson was haunted by a wraith- like figure, played by Guy, who embodied all of O'Keeffe's insecuri- ties and fears. This figure haunted her bedroom and was an ever-present- force during her two year period of breakdown. Guy appeared in a pale beige leo- tard and combined a sinewy style of movement with a some of the most anguished and haunting facial ex- pressions since Edvard Munch's lithograph of "The Shriek." Though reminiscent of desert ghosts (she played one in the next movement), she was actually the naked and vul- nerable side of O'Keeffe. This image may have been better served if she had danced this section in the nude, as she had done in "Zeitgeist," an earlier part of the program. How- ever, the costume served to protect her modesty as well as that of the audience. Terri Sarris and Mary Fehrenbach performed the only two solos in the program. They were both impressive in their movements and their ability to hold the audience's attention. Fehrenbach, who is new to the company, adapted Copley's style and incorporated it into her repertoire very quickly. The only marks against the per- formance were some rough spots on the "tech" side of the dance. Missed music cues at the onset were mildly irritating but did not detract from the quality of the performance. The J. Parker Copley Dance Company's tribute to Georgia O'Keeffe was an interesting and sen- sitive look at the career of the artist both as a woman of her times and in terms of her personal conflicts. The performances and choreography rein- forced the themes within the perfor- mance, while staying independent of this innovative concept of artistic tribute. Follow Personal Lives Every day in the Michigan Daily | L1Ri l SI' Records Frank Allison and the Odd Sox "The Rodent of Love"/l"Some Odd Girl" Relapse Records Frank Allison and the Odd Sox are one of Ann Arbor's finest garage- bred pop bands.With loads of energy ,and a genuine ragged feel, the Sox carefully tote all the paranoias and frustrations of our urban youth scene but without any of its distasteful pretensions. Trouble is, they also don't seem to get the notice they de- serve - probably because they also don't put out much in the way of :vinyl. But when you're in a position where you've gotta do it all yourself, one fine single ("This Is Your Father Speaking," released about two years ago) is worth more than a shoddy LP and with a new single that's just ,as catchy, the Odd Sox are sure on ,the right track. "Some Odd Girl," this new record's B-side, is a rolling, guitar- strumming good time. Allison's singing is as emotion-soaked and yenjoyable as ever but, like the band's playing, has abandoned the rough ,edges that characterized his more angsty last 7". Instead, the Odd Sox have gone into the studio and smoothed out their touch; they've left all the feeling, but have added some polish. Strangely, these tracks sound like ;they were written by two different ;people. The bouncy, carefree B-side, xfreminiscent of early Stones, is pmatched with "Rodent of Love," a : more structured, jagged tune in something like the Cars' tradition. t"Rodent"'s lyrics are pretty odd-set. 'They're too clever for their own good and tend to drag down Allison's -hiccoughing vocals. Luckily, the fervent playing keeps it afloat. If you missed the Odd Sox's record release party at the Blind Pig last week, keep on the look-out for them. With enough encouragement, maybe they'll be able to scrape up a full LP. -Beth Fertig WEEKEND MAGAZINE Fridays in The Daily 763-0379 Burnham Associates Drastic Rent Reductions No Added Fees Low Security Deposits The University of Michigan SCHOOL OF MUSIC Mon., University Band/Concert Band Dec. 7 Eric Becher/Eric Rombach, conductors Program includes music by Copland, Grainger, Hanson, Arnold Hill Auditorium, 8:00 p.m. Free. Tues., Early Music Ensemble Dec. 8 Edward Parmentier, director Featuring Elizabethan and Jacobean music for voices and instruments, plus works by Bach and Handel Blanche Anderson Moore Hall, School of Music, 8:00 p.m. Free. For up-to-date prgraminformation on School of Music events call the24Hnour Music Hotline, 7634726 4 Arbor Forest 721 S. Forest, Ann Arbor 1215 Hill, Ann Arbor Albert Terrace Apartments 1700 Geddes, Ann Arbor 4 Call your mummy You remember. She was always there when you were frightened. And if you got hurt, she was standing by with bandages. 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