Memories in Movement

My vacation has brought me to Connecticut where my family and I went to see the Stop/Time Dance Theater's production "Remember When..." We all had a great time and I came to the realization that I rarely get out to local dance productions - something I can easily remedy.

I've not been one to actively seek out dance performances to attend, yet every time I'm out to see a dance production, I leave thinking the same thing: I need to do this more often. In Portsmouth there is Drika Overton and her wonderful production company. I'm a fan of "Clara's Dream", which will unfortunately be on hiatus this coming holiday season. Another tap giant of the seacoast, Dean Diggins, will be receiving the prestigeous Tapestry lifetime acheivement award next month. But beyond these two local legends and the local ballet schools, I'm not quite sure what get out and see. There are always the traveling shows that come through the Music Hall, but who should I seek out in the local scene?

First, know that there is a background story to why I attended yesterday's Stop/Time Dance Theater production. A close friend going back to high school, who now lives in Connecticut, was the lighting designer for this production. We're currently visiting him and his family (our kids are on school vacation). We took the whole family to the show and the kids loved it. It is best described as a collection of "memories" set to dance. Memories of Catholic school predominated, along with a fixation on shoes and hair (a dancer thing?) and not fitting in with the "cool" or "rough" crowd. The dancers were excellent, the choreography varied and creative, and the production values top notch (although I admit to personal bias). Things I found strange: the insistance of the director to have the dancers lip synch to the music, and the presence of two numbers that were actually sung by dancers (while their voices are well trained, I don't envision any of them heading for Broadway on their singing talent). The dancers seemed slightly distracted by having to remember and synchronize each word. I would have much rather seen them go deeper into the dance without such worries. BUT THIS IS A MINOR COMPLAINT, REALLY. The show was fun and the kids danced their way back to the car.

The 19 music numbers they set were an eclectic mix of such pop favorites as "Goody Two Shoes," "Only the Good Die Young," "It's Raining on Prom Night," and "Bye bye Life" (Ben Vareen and Roy Scheider's rendition of the Everly Brother's "Bye bye Love" as it appeared in Bob Fosse's film "All That Jazz."). The program was the usual mix of ensemble numbers and solo or featured dancer pieces. Four talented young dancers stood out from the crowd: Tiana Mancuso (notably in "All Through the Night"), Tricia Raymond ("Bad Girls" was as bad - in the good way - as it needed to be!), Shari Lynn Boyaji (who kept her composure even though one of her shoe straps broke in the first 30 seconds of "In These Shoes" and effortlessly conveyed the seductivity of the song), and Tyler Knowlin (a talented young tap artist whose a capella performance was reminiscent of the work of Savion Glover). All four proved that community dance productions can be every bit as compelling, enthralling and entertaining as their professional cousins.

So now I wonder where my next dance adventure should be. The Portsmouth Percussive Dance Festival is coming up. That's a given. But what else is out there?

Check out their website: www.stoptimedance.com