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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 22, 1985)
— 6uizt|DU0Uiuioo Adu — fiuijouiojd 0J_A0X^L ISDOD Ol }SDOO UIOJ) SJ0]ID}0J pUD SJSSIiJOApD O} S^UDqi SDUIISIJLJQ e^t| ;o| o °i fcuiuuiBoq S}( en^si syui ui POTPOURRI Hubbard Street dancers put on diverse, energetic show By WENDY JOHNSON Staff Writer The MSC Opera and Perform ing Arts Society's presentation of Hubbard Street Dance Com pany opened and ended with a bang Sunday evening. Best of all, the middle was no less im pressive. Artistic director Lou Conte has combined popular moves with serious dance styles, creating routines with the grace of ballet, the strength and force of jazz and the rhythm of tap. In the first number, Line Drive, which was performed to music that demanded high en ergy, the entire company partic ipated in a standing routine and then moved to the floor. Looking like an honors aerobics class — sans fat ladies — the dancers were perfectly synchronized and coordinated in their navy unitards and sneakers. Switching to fiery red leo tards, tiny Kitty Skillman and solid Carlton Wilbom performed a duet in ''Go!” Said Max. At first slow and somber, they grad ually became more intense, Skillman throwing Wilborn's weight around almost as effort lessly as he tossed her. The au dience was especially tickled by this, and the two dancers re lished the responses. As the evening wore on it be came clear that these two were the stars of .the show. Wilbom was crisp, sharp and exact in all his movements. His predictable precision was a pleasure to be hold. Skillman, on the other hand, was a pbried Pied Piper, if she was on stage, your eyes were glued to her, following her The Hubbard Street Dance Company's Carlton Wilbom and Kitty Skillman perform a duet in the number "Go!" Said Max. every move. In Gershwin Dances, a dance and music medley performed by an ensemble of dancers, we were treated to Rick Hilsabeck as a gigolo tap dancer, flirting and dancing bis way through a five-part vaudeville number, complete with straw campaign hat and flappers in satin and fringe. In the fourth "act," Claire Bataille, one of the company's choreographers and original members, performed a slow solo. Michele Eylar revved things up with a peppier and prissier number and the ensem ble went into a rousing finish with more tap. In Tiempo, Kitty Skillman, Al berto Arias, Susan Parker and Ginger Farley each performed a similar routine to a Stravinsky clarinet piece in different tem pos. Movements ranged from mime-ish to puppet-like, with some comic outcomes. A highlight of the evening came in .Appearances and its black stage with white tuxedos and black dresses fading in and out. As the lights came up, the tuxes slowly came off and the black dresses changed to skirts, pants, hoods and the dancers ended up scantly clad in slinky red satin outfits. The dancers danced alone, and then to gether in a sexually-charged routine set to music by Pat Meth- eny. The music increased in in tensity and volume to an almost frenzied pitch, quickly subsiding and leaving the audience breathless, their psyches ma nipulated. Claire Bataille and Jeffery Meyers performed Diary to mu sic written and sung by Judith Lander. The personal nature of the two interpretive solos was a bit hard to follow, but the inti mate duet was easily recog nized as a celebration of love. The 40's was big fun with a big band sound, performed by the company and featuring Kitty Skillman, the elfin dancer who stole every scene she danced in. The jazz feeling of the music was exuded in every dancer's feet and face. The dancers all had fun in their bowler hats and canes but the impish Skillman was having a ball. □ Producers, Executives to play night before Bonfire burns Gone, for this year at least, is the tradition of the big concert the night of bonfire. They never went over that well anyway, accord ing to undisclosed Town Hall sources. In its place, however, music lovers will be treated to a smaller, audience-participation event on Tuesday night, Nov. 26. MSC Townhall will bring The Producers, with special guests The Executives, to Deware Field House at 8 p.m. The event is co-sponsored by Miller Brewing Company. The Atlanta-based Producers will perform their hits "She Sheila" and "What's He Got," as well as other songs from their recently re leased album, "Run For Your Life," during the three-hour concert. The four-man band can be seen in several MTV videos and has performed with such artists as Duran Duran, U2 and Huey Lewis. And if not exactly complex, their pop/bop music gets your feet tapping, and is more suited to dancing than to formal concert-lis tening. Performances in other towns have led to chairs being pushed back to make way for informal dance floors. The band consists of drummer Bryan Holmes, guitarist and vocalist Van Temple, and new member Tim Smith, who plays bass for the band. The most popular mem ber of the band, however, is keyboardist Wayne Famous, who's a show unto himself. The balding Famous regularly propels him self from one side of the stage to the other with his trusty hand-held keyboard, playing the four or five chords required of him. This show is a first for Town Hall, says Chris Besheors, PR chairman for the event. "This is the first time Town Hall had done anything like this," she says, "MSC Base ment used to handle things like this. We made the decision to do smaller shows like this and we think it will be fun." Admission will be $5 for the Tuesday night event, and tickets are available at Rudder Box Office. □