DanceQuake features Island's diverse cultures

By Carol Egan
Special to The Advertiser

•	DanceQuake IV Festival 8 p.m. Saturday Leeward Community College Theatre $18 general; $12 students, seniors, military 455-0385

DanceQuake IV Festival, which opened at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center last Friday, repeats Saturday at Leeward Community College Theatre and March 6 at the University of Hawai'i-Hilo. Ward produced his first three festivals in 1995, 1997 and 1999.

Ward hopes to make audiences aware of the many diverse cultures here, and provide a forum for fellow artists to display traditional art forms and experimental works. As he says about his motives for starting such an ambitious project, "We live in an island society. I want to know my dance community and get to know my colleagues."

This year's event includes performances by Ward's Maui-based group, The Hawaii Dance Collective; an Okinawan dance company from O'ahu directed by Eric Wada; solo Javanese dancer Ben Arcangel; and Michael Pili Pang's Halau Hula Ka No'eau, a combined group from O'ahu and the Big Island.

Hula pahu, a form of temple dance rarely seen in performance, will be presented, as will modern hula — gentle and lyrical in its Maui performance.

Eric Wada's company, Ukwanshin Kabudan Ryukyu Performing Arts Group, also brings contrasting pieces. The very traditional and elegant. "Udui Kwadisa" is a classical court dance for women performed by a quartet of dancers clad in colorful kimono-like dresses and wearing oversized flower hats representing peonies. "Nubui Kuduchi," a traditional dance for two men, is characterized by impeccable unison work. The lighter, more humorous dance "Uminchu" depicts fishermen and their wives, using pantomimic and recognizable gestures.

Ben Arcangel performs two exquisite Javanese dances. While he is clearly in control, the onlookers can fall into a trance from the intensity of the movements, the sudden shifts in dynamics, and the intonations of the (recorded) gamelan accompaniment.

Ward's three dances, all using recordings of Yo-Yo Ma, bring the flavors of Brazil, the Middle East and Appalachia to the stage. Along with the well-constructed choreography and excellent dancing, the pieces are also acrobatic, humorous and theatrical. This small company proves itself a strong modern dance company with wit and charm.

At 44, Ward is full-time teacher at Seabury Hall. His choreography has a strong flavor of the classic modern dance of the 1940s and '50s. His technique, though it includes many turns and jumps familiar to ballet audiences, also incorporates swings, falls, suspensions and slicing through space — moves common to modern dance.

Ward has training in ballet, jazz and musical comedy. He taught dance in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and worked with the Dutch dance company Danskern. After dancing with the Dutch company of "Cats," he "burned out" and decided to come to Hawai'i, which he had visited briefly in 1984. Settling on Maui in 1988, he has become one of the major movers and shakers of the state's dance community.

And Ward's schedule will not slow down soon. A few days after the Hilo performance, he takes off for Philadelphia to attend the 7th National High School Dance Festival, where 12 of his advanced students from Seabury will perform.