`Synaptic Misfires' explores identity via diversity

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by Vanessa Curto

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The pieces in this year's Rice Dance Theatre production, Synaptic Misfires ... and Other Stories , express a search for identity that reaches across gender and ethnicity, ranging from the Yellow Rose of Texas to American swing to Vietnam to Handel to Latin America.

This performance is a tribute to the intent of modern dance: that aesthetic forms through their very structure redefine our situation, our concepts, our identity. We don't need to do much more than open our mouths and let ourselves pour out, because expression itself is power.

Synaptic Misfires contains excellent choreography by both students and staff. Student choreographers include Christina Crawford, Lillian Cho, Jennifer Olson, Margaret Sledge, Chelsea Valdes and Joy Winkler. The staff choreographers are Linda Phenix, Chris Lidvall (who choreographs a concerto for bodies in her interpretation of Handel's Concerto Number Five) and Juanita Lindley, who choreographed "Funf Frauen Und Manchmal" ("Five Women and Sometimes a Man").

Phenix's piece, "Two Women in Exile," begins with a dance based upon the life of a Vietnamese exile, Ngoc-Ho, who is forced to leave her country during the Communist occupation. As she escapes on a boat with no drinking water, her infant son dies of dehydration.

Cho dances the role of Ngoc-Ho, reenacting her grief and the river boat scene in her memory. The movement of the other dancers imitates the buoyancy of water or the rocking of the boat. The interaction between these women creates powerful images, such as the criss-cross of supporting arms helping Ngoc-Ho make her first shaking steps toward self-recovery.

The second part of Phenix's piece is a torture scene -- of El Salvadoran political activist Maris Teresa. Jennifer Olson is the soloist whose opening moments on stage portray her, clenched-fisted, as the other dancers tie her up with an airy white sheet.

Olson's "Unfolding Harmony," is performed to the flamenco music of Ottmar Libert. The choreography is a fascinating mix of the modern dance of Western Europe and North America, combined with Spanish and Latin influences. Lively colors, sensual curves and twisting hands characterize this dance. Foot stomping is also an element of this dance form, which takes its strength from heaviness and from the earth rather than the weightless grace of classical ballet. Olson says that flamenco, with its winding arm motions, emphasizes the strength and sensuality of the upper body. Her choreography was also inspired by the sculpture of Rodin.

"Unfolding Harmony," along with Cho's solo "Wearing her Weakness" and Lidvall's "Handel en L'Air" will be performed at the American College Dance Festival later this month.

Also of note is Keith Hoffman, one of the first male dancers in Rice Dance Theatre in several years. He performs in Lindley's piece."

Synaptic Misfires runs Feb. 15, 16, 17, 22 and 23. It will be performed at the Harjo Dance Studio in the gymnasium. Tickets are $5 for students and $7 for the general public. Call 527-4808 for more information.

This item appeared in the Arts & Entertainment section of the February 16, 1996 issue.

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