University of Hawaii
Charice Simpson hangs for a moment during the
"Fall Footholds" dance concert at Earle Ernst Lab Theatre.
UH choreographers
By Vivien Lee
stage accomplished show
Special to the Star-Bulletin
Fall Footholds: Repeats 8 p.m. today and tomorrow and 2 p.m. Sunday at University of Hawaii Earle Ernst Lab Theatre. Tickets $3 to $8. Call 956-7655
WHAT a surprise to discover that the University of Hawaii Theatre and Dance Department's "Fall Footholds" dance concert features not only four pieces of student choreography and two traditional Okinawan dances, but for the first time, four music student compositions as well. The result is a pleasurable evening of diverse and solid creative achievement.
The highlight was "Haerea" ("Again"), choreographed and beautifully danced by Sandra Chatterjee. In this piece, Chatterjee, an accomplished classical Indian dancer, has literally let her hair down and manages to create a stunningly sensual, contemporary dance out of movements which are almost entirely from the classical vocabulary.
The rock-sounding score by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Michael Brook helps Chatterjee take traditional dance to a freer, more passionate level.
Chiaki Kise shows off her command of male and female Okinawan traditional dance in two solos. She can move equally well with toed-in feminine grace or with turned out, wide-stanced masculinity.
In "...Surfacing" dancer-choreographer Ester L. Izuo pushes up against something that keeps forcing here to the ground, at one point going from standing to lying in one smooth instant. A strong and athletic dancer, Izuo is good at slow and controlled movements, but even better at quick.
The occasional balletic phrase looks out of place here. In a dramatic ending, she suddenly breaks through with upward-reaching arms just before blackout.
Charice Simpson choreographed and performed two dances on the program. In "Anonymous," she and dancer Stephanie Marie Switaj toss their heads and circle their arms around their heads, and circle each other, creating visually intricate spatial relationships. They connect with each other, yet never touch; they relate to each other, but only indirectly.
There are two beautiful moments when they open upraised arms in unison. Unfortunately, their pedestrian costumes, distract from the well-crafted dance. In "Disposition," Simpson pulsates with energy in the cold blue side lighting. This was a short piece; I would have liked to see more of Simpson's fine dancing.
Sending a dancer to review music is a little risky. Instead of hearing Stephen Fox's piano solo "Quandry" (sic), I imagined the dancer that would move to its irregular rhythm and discordant moments. Instead of analyzing the trombone quintet "The Revival" by Eric Barnes for its counterpoint passages, I saw the shiny slides dancing in counterpoint.
I focused more on the tender and respectful hands of pianist Chiharu Fujita playing "Die Verehrung" by Roland R. Davis than on the violent flood of notes. Even the flute and the viola duet by Sterling M. Hutchinson was more seen -- as two swirling, climbing, intertwining vines -- than heard.
Perhaps the next step for these brave students will be to create dance and music together!
Vivien Lee has a master's degree in dance and has taught
creative dance in Hawaii's elementary schools for 15 years.
