CREATIVE DANCES PLEASE ACADEMIC AUDIENCE (DANCE REVIEW)

Cape Girardeau's nascent modern dance community took some baby steps toward maturity Friday night. In 10 pieces choreographed to music ranging from hip hop to a waltz to industrial rock to tangos, the fifth annual Fall Dance concert at Southeast provided an evening of dances that crackled with creativity. The performance was presented before an audience of about 150 at Academic Auditorium.

Foremost but far from alone was "Hallelujah," an elegiac prayer choreographed by Dr. Marc Strauss, head of the Dance Program at Southeast. Dr. Christopher Goeke sang music by Erik Satie, Kurt Weill and Leonard Cohen beautifully as the DanceXpressions Dancers moved sometimes frenetically, sometimes in a tango in which one partner dragged the other across the floor. They finally united in a hopeful stand behind Goeke as he floated Cohen's last haunting notes out over the audience. The dance was artful and moving.

Another outstanding piece of choreography was Kindal Blattner's "Uncaged," a work that began humorously with dancers do-see-doing and fiddling with their clothes to music that mimicked "The Orange Blossom Special." "Uncaged" suddenly plunged into darkness and shocked movements to the doomsday industrial rock of Tool. It looked like a dance for the end of the 20th century.

Blattner is an instructor at Southeast. For flat-out dancing ability, two of the youngest groups of dancers impressed. The Jackson Spear-It Dancers went into a hip hop frenzy of perfectly coordinated movements in a dance called "Time Piece." Their performance contrasted nicely with the more traditional moves of Academy of DanceArts students on Billy Joel's "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me." Though not yet in high school, these spirited dancers displayed finesse and a strong focus.

There also were individual moments worth mentioning. Surrounded by some very able dancing by Dance Club members, Heather Connell spun athletic pirouettes in the middle of the stage during Michael Jackson's bouncy "Keep the Faith." Doug McDermott did more of the same in "I Hope I Get It," a number from "A Chorus Line" he choreographed.

In addition to "Chorus Line," the Musical Theatre Workshop students also reprised their charming version of "And All That Jazz" performed at the recent "A Night on Broadway."The evening included a smart partner-trading dance to Peggy Lee's "Fever," and some fittingly cool moves to Duke Ellington's "Things Ain't What They Used to Be."Bev Reese provided first-rate piano accompaniment on a number of the tunes, which gave the evening the feeling of a real recital. Some of the recorded music suffered from harsh sound. The finale was an exciting interpretation of the Ricky Martin Latin dance hit "The Cup of Life" that filled the stage with twisting and leaping barefoot bodies and colorful costumes. The dancers appeared to be having a great time, and their enthusiasm spread through the audience.