The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, October 17,1990 - Page 7
People Dancing stay On the
by Elizabeth Lenhard
A s Whitley Setrakian tries to
express to her dancers the feeling she
wants them to convey in her satirical
piece, "Aerobic Barbie," her wiry
body flits across the floor, her arms
flailing and her face a mass of
expression. In an attempt to verbally
inspire her company, she blurts out,
"Think of a flight attendant on
quaaludes."
Setrakian, the artistic director of
People Dancing who will perform
On the Run this weekend at the
School of Dance, is a woman with
artistic vision and a strong determi-
nation to display it with flawless
confidence and endless creativity.
The company's upcoming perfor-
mance, the first that the company's
new members will perform together,
promises zany innovation along
with intelligent sensitivity. Fans
will recognize some old favorites,
such as "Barbie," while newcomers
will be delighted at the multidimen-
sional and very different kind of
dance that the company brings to
life.
Setrakian began composing piano
music as a child, studied drama at
New York's High School of Per-
forming Arts, was a dance major at
the University and is a singer as
well. But this choreographer isn't
content to move from medium to
medium. Setrakian, in several
pieces, combines voice, text, and
theatrical techniques with dance to
create a new definition of the genre.
"She's clever. Her choreography is
literate and stylistically unique,"
says dancer Terri Sarris of Se-
trakian's choreography.
Beyond this, it's fun. Setrakian
will be the first to tell you she
doesn't aim to entertain. "Don't go
[to the performance] to be entertained
or to understand. Go to open
yourself to some change... some-
thing to think about or talk about."
However, when watching the wild
and wittily biting movements of
"Aerobic Barbie," audiences may
simply be moved by laughter.
Setrakian has been described as
"untamed" and "quirky," but she does
have a serious side. "She's driven as
an artist with a vision." says Sarris.
She writes much of her own text,
and adapted Shakespeare's Twelfth
Night to create "Jester." The
centerpiece of the program will be
"Mother and Child Were Saved," the
second piece involving Setrakian's
affinity for midwifery.
Setrakian... is a
woman with artistic
vision and a strong
determination to
display it with
flawless confidence
and endless
creativity.
Run
most dances itself." With "Mother
and Child" she hopes to continue the
intensity, showing the ritualistic as-
pect of childbirth as a rite of pas-
sage.
The choreographer comfortably
wears many hats. Walk into one of
People Dancing's rehearsals, and you
will see a small brunette rewinding a
red plastic tape recorder, giving one
of her kids a hug and then jumping
up to fire a string of instructions at
'her dancers. A bundle of high-strung
energy, business sense and
emotional depth, Setrakian has
created a company that brings a wide
variety of colors and flavors to the
dance world: Shakespeare, zoned out
Barbie dolls, and childbirth. It will
make for a very interesting evening
- certainly one that is rep-
resentative of Whitley Setrakian's
bold and endless imagination and the
diverse talent of her company.
Given Setrakian's tendency
towards the outrageous, one might
expect some graphic display of labor
pains and childbirth from this dance.
However, with skill comes subtlety.
Says Sarris, "We don't show the ob-
vious or literal. [Setrakian] suggests
[her points] through text or move-
ment." The artistic director says of
her first piece on midwifery,
"Handmaiden" (which won't be per-
formed this weekend), "The dancers
feel changed by 'Handmaiden' when-
ever they perform it... the dance al-
S
f
s
PEOPLE DANCING will perform
Oct. 19 and 20 at 8 p.m. and Oct. 21
at 2 p.m. at the School of Dance,
Studio A. Tickets are $9, $7 for
students and seniors. Get them in
advance at the Michigan Theater
Box office or call 668-8397.
.Mould's new day has risen
by Annette Petruso and
Kristin Palm
Bob Mould
October 15, 1990
The Nectarine Balroom
S tanding next to the speakers, we
watched Bob Mould's facial distor-
tions as lie spitfully sang. There
were two kinds of expressions: the
one with his eyes closed while he let
his emotions flow out of his mouth
rather than his features and the other,
where he contorted his face and
bulged his eyes, appearing full of
rage.
The concert sounded like a com-
bination of his two ventilations:
tight, raw, hard and gripping with
sweat dripping off the nose. Mould
gave a violently blustering perfor-
mance. His guitar playing seared
through the best stuff from Black
Sheets of Rain and Workbook, mak-
ing it all loud and puissant. His
band, drummer Anton Fier and
b bassist Tony Maimone, proved that
Mould needs to play in a trio. His
guitar needs to be featured promi-
nently and not overshadowed.
Monday night, this singular gui-
tarist lost it, man. No stops were
left unexplored, no energy unturned.
He pierced into the depths of the
songs by cranking them up with
electric guitar. Workbook came off
as more urgent and painful with the
instrument and his voice let loose.
Black sounded even better live for
the same reasons.
Mould didn't really try to sing -
he didn't need to. He stabbed the
words with screams and shouts,
making them as stinging as they
seem in print. His looks explain
how he can sing about personal situ-
ations in front of several hundred
people - by closing his eyes and
unleashing the energy created by
live, untamed rock.
The spastic crowd was equally
charged up, shoving every which
way possible in the limited space.
Breathing was a chore but it became
a secondary function anyway as
crazed fans bobbed and banged to the
beat of "Black Sheets of Rain," lead-
ing into "Stand Guard" leading into
"It's Too Late." As on the album,
momentum built as the tunes fol-
lowed this logical progression but it,
was much more raw, intense and
sweaty than the studio version. Just
as a live show should be.
"Sacrifice/Let There Be Peace"
and "Whichever Way the Wind
Blows" provided climactic moments
as well but the realization that
Mould's final forge into power angst
came in the form of Cheap Trick's
"Surrender" may have been the
evening's clincher. Then again, it
may have been the opening tune
"Wishing Well." Or "See a Little
Light." Nope. No way. Had to be
"Stop Your Crying." The point is
Mould maintained his guitar-driven
intensity throughout the nearly two-
hour set. And we have the bruises to
prove it.
Michg n
Save the LP!
Daily Arts
,- --- -
IE DOESN'T WRITE FOR
ARTS.
Yucn. Call 763-0379.
Members of People Dancing strike an intricate pose. And no, this is not
a literal interpretation of childbirth!
Make A Difference
Michigan Student Assembly
campus
wide student
government
Call for Candidates
Elections Nov. 14 & 15
Representative positions open:
Business (1 seat)
Dentistry (1 seat)
Education (1 seat)
Engineering (3 seats)
Library Science (1 seat)
LS&A (9 seats)
Medicine (1 seat)
Music (1 seat)
Physical Education (1 seat)
Public Health (1 seat)
Rackham (1 seat)
Social Work (1 seat)
and Treasurer
Candidate Packets available in MSA office:
3909 Michigan Union or call 763-3241
for further information.
Application Deadline is
Tuesday, Oct. 23, 1990 at 5:00 pm
H U M A N
R E S OU RCE S
Kidder, Peabody & Co.
Incorporated
Cordially Invites
University of Michigan Seniors
to attend a presentation on
CAREER OPPORTUNITIES
IN INVESTMENT BANKING
AT KIDDER, PEABODY
THIS IS
THE TOP
.> 4I
i.£
In all the world, there's not a company like Pepsi.
Part image.
Part innovation.
Wednesday,
October 17,1990
Pepsi will be on campus to source:
Employee Relations Representatives
Employee Relations Interns
on Thursday, October 18
Kuenzel Room, Michigan Union
7:00-9:00 p.m.
We invite both graduate and undergraduate students to
come share a Pepsi and discuss career opportunities.
fi
7:00 P.M.
Kuenzel Room - Michigan Union
Reception to follow presentation
~4~