<div dir="ltr"><br><br><span style="color:rgb(0,255,255)">••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••</span><br><br><b>Spotlight on Groundworks, Apollo’s Fire and the Cleveland Pops Orchestra</b><br><br>Roy Berko<br>(Member, Dance Critics Association, Cleveland Critic’s Circle)<br>
<br><b>Groundworks Dance Theater</b><br><br>Since
1998 David Shimotakahara’s Groundworks Dance Theater has delighted
Cleveland and national audiences with its creative contemporary and
modern dance. Original music, world premieres, and dance were designed
to fit into various settings including churches, an ice house,
libraries, museums and traditional auditoriums.<br><br>It’s most recent concert, housed at the Breen Center, featured two pieces from the company’s repertoire and a world premiere.<br><br>FOR
LIFE OF ME, choreographed by former company member Amy Miller, was a
gymnastic piece with abandoned movements in a controlled setting. Sans
storyline, it showcased life’s issues to a variety of music and spoken
accompaniment. <br><br>LUNA, choreographed by Shimotakahara, was
performed to electronic sounds created by Peter Swendsen, which
consisted of echoes, piercing instances and clicks. The physical
cacophony of movements well fit the music. A solo segment by Annika
Sheaff was keyed by her Pilobolus training.<br><br>Choreographer Rosie
Hererra, who was attending the world premiere of her piece, HOUSE
BROKEN, used various mechanical and societal attitudes to develop the
eight-segment piece. An operating lawnmower, golf balls, a large paper
box, and lawn chairs were used to develop mini-themes created via the
selected music, which included “It’s Not Unusual,” “Little Boxes,”
“She’s A Lady,” “L’Arena,” and “Cranking an Old Lawnmower.” Though not
totally effective, the piece had some nicely conceived segments.<br><br>The
evening of dance, while entertaining, had a fairly languid effect.
Maybe watching the company for so many years has allowed for the
expectation for groundbreaking choreography and landmark presentations
being the norm. Whether its their age or physical condition, the male
dancers generally lacked dynamics. The women were fine, but not totally
compelling. The usual audience cries of “bravo” and within-dance
spontaneous applause, were missing in this concert. <br><br>Capsule
judgment: This is not to say that the latest Groundworks’ program was
poorly received or was poorly danced. For many dance companies, it would
have been a fine concert. It was just was not of the high-level
enveloping presence usually experienced at a Groundworks concert. <br><br>Groundwork’s
annual benefit, “It Takes Two!,” will be held at the Silver Grille in
the Higbee Building, on Saturday, April 26. For information go to:
<a href="http://www.groundworksdance.org/benefit">http://www.groundworksdance.org/benefit</a> or call 216-751-0088.<br><b><br>“SEPHARDIC JOURNEY,” Appollo’s Fire</b><br><br>Many
people in the United States, both Jewish and not, are familiar with the
liturgical and joyous musical sounds of Eastern European Jews. These
Ashkenazi tunes are sung in synagogues during Sabbath and high holiday
services, at weddings, bar mitzvahs, and home ceremonies. Less known
are the sounds of the Sephardic, Spanish Jews. These Spanish-originated
musical traditions, were spread around the Mediterranean world when in
1492 the Jewish inhabitants of Spain were expelled by the Catholic
monarchs. <br><br>Ladino, rather than Yiddish, was the language of
these people. Their pronunciation of Hebrew was influenced by their
“native” language, their music was played by the instruments of Spain
(e.g., lute, shawm, tiroba, castanet, other stringed instruments, and
drums), and the sounds reflected by their social customs. <br><br>Apollo’s
Fire, noted for their distinctive sound and memorable style, recently
presented a five-concert series entitled, “SEPHARDIC JOURNEY:
WANDERINGS OF THE SPANISH JEWS.” The well-attended concerts exposed
audiences to the vocal and instrumental sounds of the Sephardim.<br><br>Traditional
prayers, such as “Adon Olam,” “Lecha Dodi,” and “Avinu Malkenu” took on
sounds quite different from the Ashkenazi versions.<br><br>The
mesmerizing concert featured vocalists Nell Snaidas, Jeffrey Strauss and
Karim Sulayman, as well as musicians trained in the instruments used to
create the unique music.<br><br>Capsule judgment: Bravo to Jean
Sorrell and Nell Snaidas, co-directors of the concert, as well as the
entire Apollo’s Fire assemblage and the guest soloists, for creating an
educational and illuminating concert.<br><br><b>Cleveland Pops remembers Marvin Hamlisch</b><br><br>Marvin
Hamlisch, who recently died, is probably best known for composing the
score for the legendary musical, “A CHORUS LINE,” including “What I Did
for Love” and “At the Ballet.” Hamlisch also wrote such memorable
songs as “The Way We Were,” “Through the Eyes of Love,” “Nobody Does it
Better” and “They’re Playing Our Song.” <br><br>Carl Topilow is the
musical director of the Cleveland Pops Orchestra. Now in its eighteenth
concert season, the assemblage offers a unique blend of music,
entertainment and audience interaction. <br><br>The composer’s mystique
and the pops talents came together recently in the Severance Hall
program, “THE LEGACY OF MARVIN HAMLISCH: ONE SINGULAR SENSATION.” The
program included Broadway legends Donna McKechnie, who starred in the
original Broadway production of “CHORUS LINE,” Jodi Benson, noted as
the voice of Ariel in “THE LITTLE MERMAID,” and Doug LaBrecque, who
starred in THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA.” They not only sang Hamlisch
songs, but shared their personal experiences with him.<br><br><i>Capsule
judgment: The exceptional evening was a true once-in-a-life-time
experience of great instrumental music, stellar vocals and a tribute to
one of America’s greatest Broadway and pop composers.</i><br><br><span style="color:rgb(0,255,255)">•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••</span><br><br><br></div>