Page 10 -The Michigan Daily -TuesdayMay 7, 1'983
AABT is alive
and wel but lacks
consistency
4
By Lou Fintor
O VERALL, COMMUNITY BAUET
is alive and well, despite tight
finances and part-time dancers.
Saturday evening at Power Center,
the Ann Arbor Ballet Theatre proved
professionally produced, quality dance
can be succesfully attempted by a
small local company.
The AABT, in Saturday evening's
production of Beauty and the Beast,
featured good costuming, lighting, and
props, but unfortunately offered little in
the way of consistent dance.
Cynthia Weidner, in the title role of
Beauty, provided well executed moves
making good use of the floor, but
seemed to overdramatize her role by
concentrating too much on facial ex-
pression and arm position.
Making his company debut as the
Beast, Jim Schroeder seemed to over-
shadow Weidner with a good balance of
movement and theatrics, thus con-
tributing to a much stronger stage
presence.
Although it was the program's
highlight, Beauty and the Beast was
disappointing due to several "rushed"
scenes which gave the audience only
the bareboned skeleton of the fairy tale.
At times, the curtained pauses seemed
to last longer than the scenes them-
selves.
Supporting roles were strong
however, as illustrated by Jill James
and Robert Bloom who were cast as
Amethysts. James seemed confident
with good spotting in the many turns
her role called for while Bloom
provided professionally executed lifts
with what appeared to be relative ease.
Kathryn Scharp, as the Fairy of En-
chantment, gave an eloquent perfor-
mance with lightly executed moves,
strong, confident positioning and subtle
theatrics.
The company's Artistic Director and
chief choreographer, Carol Scharp,
cannot be faulted for bad composition
in this piece. But fresh, original,
choreography only make the audience
hunger for more and Beauty and the
Beast - with extremely short dance
sequences - did not satisfy the need.
For what Beauty and the Beast
lacked, however, three of the four
opening pieces more than made up for.
Medieva, a neo-classical
"renaissance" piece performed to the
music of David Monrow was by far the
program's most outstanding work.
Choreographed for five women, soft-
toned lighting and professional
costuming beautifully complemented
the delicately executed movement.
Scharp gives her dancers a real
workout in this piece, making extensive
use of the floor with some technically
difficult use of the feet.
. Rather disturbing however, was the
use of musical accompaniment that
was obviously poorly recorded. It was
difficult to ignore fuzzy sound and
scratching noises that made the recor-
ding project like something found in
grandma's attic.
In Four Plus Two, a series of
mazurkas performed in classical style
and set to Chopin, Scharp's
choreographic affinity for the Pas De
Daily Photo by ELIZABETH SCOTT
Ann arbor Ballet. Theatre's Jim Schroeder discovers he has been transfor-
med into the beast in 'Beauty and the Beast.'
Deux comes shining through.
Jill James and Mark Bush, did not
seem to give their roles proper charac-
ter in an attempt to bring light humor to
the stage..
Bush, cast as an "impatient" par-
tner, crosses his arms, wrinkles his
brow, and taps his feet as James hap-
pily pirouettes through several moves.
Perhaps the use of this clever ( and
much overused cliche) attention-get-
ting device has grown just slightly
tired.
Overdramatization focuses too much
attention away from dance quality and
toward theatrics.
In Heliotrope, performed to Satie's
"Gnossiennes," three Pas De Deux
brought an exotic, oriental flavor to the
stage. Particularly noteworthy were
Scharp and Schroeder, who executed
several difficult moves that reflected
good technical ability.
While at times the choreography
seemed beyond the scope of the dancers
in this piece, Lamon Snyder gave a
commendable performance with Lynn
Szura and both are obviously ready to
take on even more demanding roles.
Gypsy, performed to Prokofiev's
"Stone Flower," was an interesting and
lively piece to open the program but
despite good shows by Scharp, Bloom,
Laura Adams and Schroeder, it's
potential strength did not seem to shine
through.
But overall, Saturday's program
reflected a strong community dance
ensemble blessed with excellent
choreography demonstrating the poten-
tial to tackle bigger things.
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STES-5:15 7:30, 9:45
WED.-14:45, 3:00, 5:15, 7:30, 9:45
"SUPERB. BRILLIANT."
-L.A. TIMES
"EXTRA ORDINARY"
-SATURDAY REVIEW
"SHOULDN'T BE MISSED"
-NEWSWEEK
CANNES FILM FESTIVAL WINNER
No more 'fowl'musicfor Rick's
R OCK AND ROLL may be stepping
aside for 'new' music, but it cer-
tainly isn't stepping down. With bands
like the Roosters there's proof that rock
'n roll is here to stay.
Comprised of Charles Hoeker as lead
vocalist and guitarist, Rikki Carter also
on guitar, Rick Bryant on bass, and
Steven Carter on drums (yes, they are
related), the Roosters make their first
performance tonight at Rick's.
The band formed two months ago
when the two Carters and Bryant, from
Germany and formerly of the Dirty
Rats, teamed up with Hoeker, who had
recently relinquished his position as a
member of the group Hoi Polloi.
"As their name may indicate, the
band plays good, cockey rock 'n roll,"
says manager Brandon Kaye. Being a
new group on the music scene, the
Roosters perform some originals, while
much of their show will consist of
recent rock hits.
So if today's syntho-pop music has
got you down, come enjoy an evening of
goodtime rock 'n roll with the new
masters, the Roosters.
-Mare Hodges
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TUES-4:50, 7:10, 9:30
WED-2:30, 4:50, 7:10, 9:30
THE oose
UNIVERSITYuesday
CLUB
530 S. State st. Wednesday 00
Ann Arbor, MI
9:30pm
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