*an I have this dance? Go online for our preview of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, brought to Detroit by the University Musical Society. RTgS michigandaiLy.com /arts WEDNESDAY JANUARY 31, 2001 5 'Sugar and Spice' lacks everything nice By Wilhelmina Mauritz Daily Arts Writer Is it just me, or have we had entirely too many cheer- leader movies lately? From Kevin Spacey's nymphet cheerleader in "American Beauty" to this summer's "Bring it On" I thought Hollywood had gone as far as it could with this genre. I was wrong. The main character in "Sugar and Spice" is Diane Weston (Marley Shelton). A Barbie doll perfect girl who starts off every morning saying into her mirror "these are the best days of your life, Sugar and so far." It doesn't take long for Spice Barbie to meet her Ken in Jack Grade: C (James Marsden), the new football hero, and the two fall madly in love. At Showcase The night of their homecoming and Quality 16 dance, the couple announce to their parents that they are a) getting mar- ried and b) pregnant. The latter being the major cause for concern. The two get kicked out of their respective homes and have to fend for themselves. It doesn't take long for Diane to realize that her life is going downhill. So. with the help of her fellow cheerleaders, the six girls exe- cuite their plan of robbing a bank. By the time "Sugar and Spice" even begins, all of this has already happened. The movie is told entirely in flashback form from the perspec- tive of Lisa (Marla Sokoloff), a bitter cheerleader who has ver been able to make it onto the A squad. 'Sugar and Spice" knows it is a stupid movie. It does- n't try to hide it and instead flaunts it in our faces. The movie starts out very generically with pictures of all the girls and one-liners like "the rebel," "the virgin," and "the brain" underneath their names representing, I suppose, their one-dimensional character traits. To give "Sugar and Spice" some credit, it does manage to pull of some very "Clueless"-like dialogue, that is, at times, both witty and quite funny. There is a hilarious scene where all the girls are fighting with each other over the stress of robbing a bank and Diaie finally tries to call -whole thing off with a commentary about how "we're V acting like cheerleaders, we're acting like sorority girls." I felt like the audience the writers had in mind to enjoy "Sugar and Spice" was a college aged crowd. It included 'Dances of Passion': An evening full of entertaining rhythm, heat By Charity Atchison Daily Arts Vriter The University Dance Company will inflame souls with their produc- tion, "Dances of Passion." Touching on passions of love, crimes of pas- sion and war, this evening of modern dance has something to offer every- one. Special guest choreographer Carlos Orta will premiere his work, "Breaking the Silence." Based on the Picasso wartime mural "Guernica," Orta uses sticks and large pieces of fabric to contrast the cubist images with the three dimensional forms of the dancers' bodies. The most striking part of this piece is the bull solo, danced by University graduate student Jodi Leigh Allen, with its powerful movements con- trasted by red fabric held in a semi- circle by the other dancers of the piece. This is the first performance of the completed "Breaking the Silence," which had been set in pieces on the Jose Limon Company. Orta has been a choreographer and principal dancer with the Limon Company since 1979. In addition to Orta's piece, the per- formance will include two pieces by three faculty choreographers: Bill DeYoung, Sandra Torijano and Robin Wilson. "Rauxa," choreo- graphed by DeYoung and Torijano, is drawn off of time spent in Spain on sabbatical. The dance celebrates the juxtaposition of common sense and creative chaos. Wilson celebrates the 100th birth- day of Louis Armstrong, with her piece "Hot Five Rondo." Weaving together two themes of passion, Armstrong's passion for music and crimes of passion, Wilson considers her piece a tribute to everyone who dances. Wilson said of the theme "Dances of Passion." her work "tied into the theme - his music was so passionate, the passion of the dancers who danced to that music. The music had so much love of life and pushed so many boundaries." Interweaving the idea of crimes of passion with the passion of 1930s dances creates an energetic piece. The dances to Armstrong's music are attributed to the genres of ballroom and social dances of the period: soft- shoe, hoofing, the Charleston, the Suzy Q, the Shorty George and the Lindy Hop. "While one is in black and white, one is in color, they are all about passion, just of different kinds," said Wilson of the combina- lion. "Dances of Passion" will be ar evening of entertaining, inspiring and thought-provoking dance. Of the performance as a whole, Wilson says, "it tries to inspire people to gd dancing in the streets.' Courtesy of University Productions University Dance Company leaps in excitement for their upcoming performance. 12 ('\) =1Micyhi n Oper-V \Alrks Courtesy of New Line Cinema .ABOVE: The naughty cheerleaders of "Sugar and Spice" prepare for a furious bout of "Light as a feather, stiff as a board." BELOW: "I don't know, officer, can I see them from the back?" jokes about Madonna (we're talking "Like a Virgin" Madonna), references to staple movies like "Point Break" (Keanu, post-"Bill and Ted" but pre-"Matrix") and even a plug for a childhood classic "The Apple Dumpling Gang." I fear that so many of these good jokes will be lost on the majority of youngsters that will actually want to go see this movie. They probably won't even know who Madonna is considering their main idles today are Britney and Christina. Overall "Sugar and Spice" was a mediocre movie that was definitely smarter than it first appeared but far from being the next "Clueless." - "'.-'t'' presents MOZART Le Nozze Dt Figr THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO CONDUCTED BY TIMOTHY SEMANIK iadvance at MUTO (734) 763-8587 6 Students S14 Adult Tickets at Door 8 Students S16 Adult Tickets in S Sf Fri. 2/2 8 p.m. Wed. 2/7 8 p.m. Sun 2/4 3 p.m. Sat. 2/10 8 p.m. University of Michigan East Quad Residential College 701 East University, I iiTyler (between Willard and Hill Screen) zurich capital markets rogram Define your career with a hands-on position in Hedge Funds, Alternative Investments, Marketing, or Research.