February 28, 1985
Black Ink
Past’ 7
entertainment
Ron Dortch Directs Black History Play For BSM
by Gracie Massey
Staff Writer
“The show must go on,” is a common
philosophy of many Hollywood producers,
directors and actors. Ron Dortch, a visiting
director, actor and writer here at the Uni
versity shares the same view.
Dortch, who has studied in England
arxl lives in New York, is a native North
Carolinian from Goldsboro. He is at the
University to direct an original production
in celebration of Black History Month.
The past five years he has spent work
ing with youth. “I teach from the stage,”
Dortch said in a recent interview. “Basical
ly, I serve as a student motivator helping
young people to find their dreams and make
them come true.”
Dortch sacrificed several years of his
career to come home to Goldsboro and
work in the community with young
children.
“There was nothing there for them as a
social outiet and nothing to inspire them,”
he said. “A lot of them were strungout on
by Kevin Washington
Assistant Editor
It never fails! A professional dance
company seems to always spoil its perfor
mance with poorly recorded music.
Granted, a dance company isn’t a profes
sional orchestra—nor does it necessarily
carry one around—but it seems to me that
good dance needs good music.
And Joseph Holmes Dance Theatre
was no exception. Holmes must have
forgotten to bring a good sound system.
Holmes’ company, a ten-year-old Alvin
Ailey spinoff, recently visited Memorial
Auditorium as a part of the Triangle Dance
Guild Series. Holmes, who studied under
Ailey with the Dance Theatre of Harlem,
brought his interracial troupe from the Win
dy City and made an impressive stop.
Dance Theatre opened with a Gospel
medley called “A New Song” (1984). No
question here—Holmes created a first class
piece which was evocative of the spiritual
power behind the gosf>el music he chose.
Although the first and second movements
carried very well, it is the third which car
ried the audience along into the sweeping
universal feel which Gospel music has.
That was, when the ticks, pits and
saws in the recording didn’t intrude.
Holmes was at fault here, for the dancer
should understand that the music enhances
the dance (as much as dance often enhances
good music).
“Oh, Mary, Don’t You Weep” (1974)
seemed to move much more slowly—which
wasn’t bad. It simply should have been first
to prepare the audience for the power of the
first piece. The symbole of the cross and
the red sash were quite effective however,
in heightening the audience to the emotional
power of the piece. Unquestionably, the
drugs and had family problems to deal with
because they were not doing anything.”
He formed an interracial teen drama
group that toured and performed at
hospitals, schools and retirement homes.
He also produced a children’s tele
vision show called “The Grove Line.”
This show gave children an of^rtunity to
express themselves through their talents.
Working with the local police depart
ment, he produced a show dealing with
drug abuse that was endorsed by Nancy
Reagan.
He also worked with the school system
producing shows that involved various
social issues. After seeing the shows, the
students and teachers would go to seminars
and discuss the issues.
The production Dortch is working on
here at the University also deals with social
issues.
Tonya Smith, performing arts coor
dinator of the UNC Black Student Move
ment, contacted Dortch to ask if he had a
play he could do for Black History Month.
“Usually what I like to do when I go
night, too.
After the first intermission, Hohnes
lost his audience. The male dancers per
formed “Pursuit” (1984) to fusion music
done by Weather Report. It seemed as if
Holmes were looking for a piece to give the
performance variety, yet he sacrificed con
tinuity. If “Pursuit” didn’t break that con
tinuity, “My Brave Young Warrior”
(1984) certainly did. The story of girl in
love with boy/boy off to war/boy dies in
war/girl grieves over boy was well done,
but seemed out of place. The opera music
didn’t have the earthiness of the Gospel that
had preceded it and lacked the power which
good dance needs to be totally effective.
“Aretha” (1983), the end piece, rated
in between “A New Song” and “Pursuit.”
It was fun—certainly the medley of Aretha
Franklin hits which Holmes and dance cap
tain, Randy Duncan, have put together
keep the piece entertaining. In fact, some
performances stood out, such as the female
dancers in Evil Qal Blues and the
company’s performance in I Wish It Would
Rain.
At the same time, other dances during
the medley lacked conviction—it was as if
the dancers were simply going through the
motions more than anything else. Do Right
Woman, Do Right Man especially seemed
rough around the edges as well as rather
unemotional—a sin when dealing with
Franklin’s music.
Needless to say. Holmes Dance
Theatre could easily be considered an Alvin
Ailey dance theatre. The quickness, style,
technique were all Ailey trademarks.
Nevertheless it was good Ailey. One does
not walk away wishing he had seen good
Ailey, only that Holmes had better music.
some place I haven’t been before is find out
what the spiritual needs are at the institu
tion,” Dortch said. “Then I create the
work centered around that information.”
The show, titled “It’s Time for a
Change,” evolved out of interviews with
BSM members. Black faculty and Black
students on can^nis about some of the pro
blems and issues that Black students face.
“Because I’ve put together a program
that communicates the information I got,
it’s a documentary,” Dortch said. “But its
purpose is to teach and entertain.”
However, the plot of the show gives a
better understanding of what it is intended
to do.
The story line begins with Stevie
Wonder (an actor) performing at the
Greensboro Coliseum. A group of BSM
members ask him to come to the University
because he is such a positive role model for
Black students; they want him to speak at
the Black History Month celebration.
Wonder wants to know what some of
the problems are for Blacks at the Universi
ty. Dortch uses a series of flashbacks to il
lustrate these problems.
After Wonder agrees to come, the
scene changes. BSM subgroups and some
local talent serve as opening acts at his per
formance.
In the finale. Wonder appears. But
before he actually sings he makes a speech
encouraging the students to be proud of
their accomplishments and to remember
that their strength lies in God. The show
concludes with Wonder singing “Heaven
Help Us All.”
Dortch has been in Chapel Hill for
three weeks. The first week was spent
. researching issues on campus, and the se
cond was spent recruiting and organizing
talent. The final week was spent in rehersal
with the BSM subgroups.
The time element is one very in
teresting factor surrounding the production.
What many people think should take
several months to do Dortch said he will
prove can be done in one week.
Remembering his days as a student in
England, he described a production that he
was involved in that only took three days to
do. “The professor made us think very
fast,” Dortch said. “All the time you waste
trying to think you could be thinking.”
“The object of any meaningful piece
of work is to teach students what can be
done and how to make it entertaining and
educational at the same time,” Dortch said.
“Since I’ve been doing this in a lot of
schools, I know it can be done.”
Dortch said he wouldn’t worry about
the small amount of time left for rehersals.
“Anything can be done if you have the will
to do it,” he said. “And I know it can be
done because I’ve got some of the best
talent in the world in this show.”
He said he had seen no concern about
the time element from the students involved
in the performance. “They’re ready to go;
they’re telling me they’re all fired up,” he
said.
Dortch said his only advice to the
students to help insure the success of the
production was; “Whatever you do, do it
like its the last time you’ll have it to do in
your life.”
He said he was confident that the show
would be a success, because he had the full
support of the performers.
“The Black students here are the type
of people who go on and get the job done
while others are still thinking about doing
it.”
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Dance Theatre Music Takes
Away From Performance
costuming here was probably the best of the