The Ithaca Journal from Ithaca, New York • 30

No butterflies for Jumay Chu and Concert Dancers Ithaca Concert Dance Company WHAT: Holiday Performance g.irjst rtpprtar.wcos tiy Jjrtisy Chu, Riai-out Walter Rutledge. WHERE: Dance Circle Stud o. 3Z3E State St. (3'dfoaO itfcaca. WHEN: Friday Dec.

15 16 at 8:15 p.m. TICKETS: 55, S3 cUven Available at the door RESERVATIONS: 273-7446. decided to give up dance," She went on to major in French at the University of California at Berkeley. "I stopped dancing until my last year of college," she said. "I'd always been very much against modern dance," she continued, "because I loved ballet.

But I just happened to be in France, and it just happened that I was given tickets to see Merce Cunningham in Paris. It changed my life. It made me decide to become a modern dancer." Upon returning to the United States, Chu enrolled in classes at the Cunningham school. "About a year after that I started studying with Viola Farber, and I just got stuck. I couldn't leave Viola.

I studied with her for about five years, and then I joined the company." Chu was a member of the Viola Farber Dance Company for about four years before dancing with the Lucinda Childs Dance Company By NANCI A. HOETZLEIN Special to the Journal Four pre-professional ballet students execute quick bourrees in unique -patterns across the studio floor. They are joined by a seasoned modern dancer whose striking technique adds a complementary sparkle to the work. Original music is performed on live flute, bass clarinet and piano. This is The Dreamer and the Butterfly, a new creation by Naomi Strichartz, director of the Ithaca Concert Dance Company.

Jumay Chu dancesthe role of the Dreamer. "I started ballet when I was very young, at a local ballet school," said the dancer of her early training in Queens, N.Y. "Then I began to study at the School of American Ballet," one of the most prestigious training programs in the world. "I did that for four or five years, and then L- mi t-f STEPPING OUT: Jumay Chu dances the role of the Dreamer in Naomi Strichartz's "The Dreamer and the Butterfly." for another four years. Both ensembles are important influences in the field of contemporary American modern dance.

Chu traveled again to France, later married and settled for a time in St. Louis, where she continued to dance and teach, and where her daughter was born. As part of a concerted effort to find a challenging teaching position, she applied for one of the new posts -which opened at Cornell this year. "It turned out that I knew people in the dance department that I didn't realize were here until I got responses from them," said Chu. She was hired as Lecturer in Dance.

She currently teaches several levels of technique, and prepares compositions for dance concerts at the University. "Naomi I've known for a long time," said Chu about her impulse to appear in her first performance with the Ithaca Concert Dance Company. In the mid-1 970's, Chu had worked at Dance Circle as a guest teacher. "I applied to Cornell because I wanted to come back to Ithaca. I loved it here." Chu and Strichartz share a warm rapport, marked by mutual respect and an openness to grasp each other's artistic ideas.

During rehearsal, Strichartz sets the essential quality of the movements while Chu brings individualized dimension to the role. Robert Strichartz, Naomi's husband, composed the 10 minute 77ie Dreamer and the Butterfly. "This particular piece was composed last year by Bob, envisioning a modern dancer who could be contrasted with the ballet jDeopJe." ThR musjK was written STEP INTO THE PAST ENJOY OUR MALL WIDE VICTORIAN CHRISTMAS DISPLAYS SHOP IN THE PRESENT 117 STORES 10-10 DAILY 11-6 SUNDAYS (SOME DEPT. STORES OPEN LONGER) FREE AMPLE PARKING FOOD COURT AND RESTAURANtS the Ithaca Concert Dance Company in the Holiday Performance this weekend. She will perform two duets with Walter Rutledge, artistic director of the Nanette Bearden Contemporary Dance Theatre.

"Room BA," choreographed by Rutledge, is set to music by Stravinsky. They will also perform the Tchaikovsky Spanish Variation from "The Nutcracker." In addition, Ridout will dance "Forgive Me," a solo choreographed by Rutledge. The program will conclude with Faire." Choreographed by the company director to Elizabethan songs and folksong arrangements by Ralph Vaughan Williams, this festive ensemble piece highlights the dancing of Eric Lessinger. Said Strichartz, "It captures the spirit of the country fairs that were popular around holiday time in England during the Elizabethan period. This fair ieatures entertainment by a puppet, juggler, and a mysterious man with a hobby horse.

Once again the students of the Dance Circle Studio are given an opportunity to perform alongside recognized professionals, and community members will be afforded the treat of enjoying quality dance and music in an intimate setting. for a male lead dancer, but it has proved equally appropriate for a woman. "This is Bob's most sophisticated piece because it has different levels of melodic line. He wrote it first and then said, "I've written you a ballet!" Musicians for the premiere are Sarah Mehta, flute, and Cheryl Cerrito, bass clarinet, with composer Strichartz on piano. The work is based on a parable of the Chinese philosopher Chuang Tzu.

The story revolves around the imagination of a dreamer who pictures herself as -a -butterfly. Confusion over her state of consciousness as she awakens causes an inability to decide whether "she is a person who has dreamed she is a butterfly, or a butterfly dreaming of being a person," said Strichartz. "The piece has a light touch." "I feel privileged," said Chu. "The choreography is very beautiful. And the dancers themselves I just love watching them; they're young but they're lovely.

The roles of the butterflies are danced by Heather Turgeon, Sarah Johnson, Shelley Perline and Miranda Strichartz. Danita Ridout, a member of the Elsa Monte Dance Company, has returned to Ithaca to appear with ji JudyKeil Horticultural sxz' Designer Please inquire about our interior gardenfloral designs. 607-277-6204 By appt. only. RT.

13 TO RT. 17. EXIT 35 Minutes from (607) 51 ELMIRACORNING Downtown Ithaca 739 8704 2 ARTS LEISURE THURSDAY, December 989.