Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, March 29, 1992 TAG: 9203270356
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: MELANIE S. HATTER NEW RIVER VALLEY BUREAU
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
At the command of its instructor, the fledgling dance ensemble twisted, stepped and brushed across the room.
"And one . . .," counted Carol Ann Crawford, Black Cultural Center coordinator at Virginia Tech, as she snapped her fingers to the rhythm.
Like a bird teaching her young to fly, she watched the 11 Tech students carefully for errors. She didn't hesitate to shout out a name or grab a foot to correct its position. And she did it all in time to the beat.
Crawford had strengthened the students' bodies and their spirit in less than a month and had been preparing them to perform for the first time as a group at Asbury United Methodist Church.
At the beginning of class she announced, "We have been officially named - the Ujima Dance Theatre."
Crawford took the name Ujima, meaning working together to build and maintain the community, from one of the seven principles of Kwanzaa, the African-American holiday.
There was some applause and one student remarked on how quickly Crawford was getting the group organized.
"I don't play," she replied. "If I'm gonna do something, I'm gonna do it."
Crawford came to Tech last fall to coordinate the Black Cultural Center, but with a background rooted in dance it was inevitable she would create a dance ensemble.
She came with the idea in mind and, at the insistence of some students, got the group started Feb. 3. Since then 20 have signed up, including four men.
Crawford chose six to make their first appearance at the church and, despite a few nerves, "it was great. I'm looking forward to bigger and better things," said sophomore Ramona Bailey.
Crawford "is such a strong, beautiful black woman," said Mitsuko "Mimi" Clemmons, 19, a second-year English major who was eager to join the ensemble. "She's someone I really look up to."
Clemmons had studied ballet in her hometown of Virginia Beach and was excited to learn of Crawford's plans to create a black dance group. Although Clemmons was a teacher's assistant with the university's dance company, the ensemble is more disciplined, she said.
"Carol knows what the professional life is like [and is] bringing all of what she's learned" to the class.
Crawford, originally from Poughkeepsie, N.Y., was a professional ballet dancer with the Dance Theatre of Harlem for 10 years after joining at 14. She traveled to Japan, Australia, Israel, Europe, South America and the then-Soviet Union, and appeared in television specials in Greece, Denmark and the United States.
When she felt it was time to move on, she headed to Marymount Manhattan College to study studio art and art history. She graduated with a bachelor's degree last year.
She has taught dance in New York, Washington, and as far away as Hawaii - and has no intentions of giving it up.
"When I saw Carol dance, my heart just jumped," said Bailey, who has been dancing since she was 4.
Clemmons and Bailey pestered Crawford to get the dance ensemble off the ground when they heard of her plans.
It was an opportunity to advance their dance skills and work with fellow black students, they said.
Most black organizations meet and talk, said Fred Rege, a physics junior, "but this creates a different avenue to get together."
Rege, 21, was a track runner and decided to join the ensemble to increase his flexibility, and "it looked like fun," he said. He's been able to work on his strength and concentration, but the classes are "harder than football practice," he said.
"The first couple of days, [Crawford] was really strict, like boot camp, but it made us disciplined and made us work harder," Rege said.
Some students threatened to quit, but as time passed Crawford seemed more relaxed and the students pushed themselves to work hard, he said.
"I don't like to give them too much time to think," Crawford said. "I'm used to working at that pace." She doesn't want to push them too far, "but I see it in them," she said. Each student has that basic interest to learn and with that they can do it, she said.
Crawford has helped the students not only physically but also emotionally, Clemmons said. Crawford has the ability to lift and encourage all the students to be strong black people, said Clemmons, who is mixed black and Japanese.
After all the traveling, Crawford was pleased to settle in Blacksburg and has found the quieter setting a "welcomed change" from the fast pace of New York City. In addition, the need and opportunity to promote black culture was greater here than somewhere like New York, she said.
She was chosen out of 77 applicants for the position at the Black Cultural Center, which opened last fall.
Combining an active role in the arts and administrative work, "I'm doing everything I'd hoped for at this point in my career," she said.
Crawford has set her sights on taking Ujima to a pre-professional level. She'd like to hit the national circuit via exchange programs with other colleges and universities and she wants to get the program accredited.
"With Carol, there's nothing we can't do," Bailey said.
Performances:\ April 8, 5 p.m. - International Week at Newman Library (outdoor stage).\ April 12, 8 p.m. - Opening act for speaker Spike Lee at Burruss Hall
by CNB