Tom's Life Bits

The first number was Pathetique in which two separate pianists played Beetoven while a group of dancers danced to the music. The second number was Hawaiian “Kahea” in whcih a girl danced in traditional flowing Hawaiian robe but topless with a lei while a Hawaiian guy played a drum. The mood changed while a series of slides showed the traditional hula dancer evolving into the commercialized tili doll. She finished by pulling up a white top and wearing a grass skirt and danced while a toy hula doll moved and shook. The next, timedrift, was weird. A man and a woman seemed to lose each other over time. A star field was projected and the dancers swayed in unison forward and backward. They took different positions on the stage not facing each other as if lost in time. The first number after intermission was “self-similar”. I didn't care for this - it was two dancers in red and white candy striped leggings, eventually joined by a third. Projected images via video cam of them on the large screen added special effects. I didn't care for this technique. “Transformed and Function-ed” by Linda Harrell showed off her 13 years of dancing with Alvin Ailey and others. She danced while old footage of gils in dance class played on the screen. Many references to black dancing and being in dance class. It was the best of the night. “So it's like … the deer is dead” was a whimsical piece that involved three girls. Two showed affection while the third was left out. Then she was the one while the third stared up at a pair of antlers suspended from the ceiling.