University Dance Theater, dir. Marni Wood ( Zellerbach Playhouse, Berkeley)
	April 2001
U. C. Berkeley's University Dance Theater presented its admirable Spring concert-with collaboration from the Art and Music Departments--in the Zellerbach Playhouse during National Dance Week. The two April 28th  shows I saw were well-attended--testament to consistently superior training devised by dance program head, Marni Thomas Wood. Young faculty choreographer Dolder's "Treading" required the dancers relentlessly to toss, reach, float, hurl; his "Le Matin Sans Minuet" had their arabesques and grand jetes devolve into hops, waggles, dorky angles. Program founder David Wood's 1989 "American decades" was a treasure, undated and vigorous, unlike the eminent Paul Taylor's 1975 piece which followed it ("Esplanade"). Wood's huge ideas developed through crystal clear choreographic dynamics, with sound track alternating political speeches with pop music (from Roosevelt and Glen Miller on). In the evening, the University Symphony Orchestra made everything exciting. Marni Wood's brilliant "Soulmate" sustained rare compositional intelligence, in a world of near bug-like organic forms reminiscent of the early Modernist painters. I wasn't sure how to follow Anne Westwick's "September Song"; would happily try again. Dolder's closing "Fractal," created with talented video artist Claudia Vales, demanded respect--a sprawling, ambitious project, with reference to Bauhaus dance, Malevich painting, Moholy-Nagy cinematography.  Bravo!
© 2000 Lissa Tyler Renaud. All rights reserved. Please share this text—including copyright information—with interested private parties and for educational purposes. But please contact me for permission before you reproduce, translate, transmit, frame or store this in a retrieval system for public use. I can be contacted at acttrainproj@earthlink.net. Thank you for your consideration. LTR/ATP