Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, February 18, 1994 TAG: 9402180358
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: By MARA LEE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Carol Crawford-Smith, the dancers' choreographer, laughingly protests but eventually relates how her director at the Harlem Dance Theater, Arthur Mitchell, said that the barre exercises in ballet are like orange juice - they wake the body up.
These dancers and 11 others make up Ujima, a Virginia Tech dance troupe based in ballet with modern, jazz and ethnic accents.
Ujima means collective work and responsibility in Ki-Swahili. As the women build on each other's insights and the dancers stretch and shimmy in sync in rehearsal, you realize there couldn't be a more appropriate name.
"Carol makes it very accessible to everybody," says Terri Delk, who never had danced before she joined the group.
Mitsuko Clemmons, president of the troupe, has been dancing almost as long as she's been walking. She also attended a performing arts high school. "Sometimes dance classes can be a little too serious," she says. "We're not just learning about dance, we're learning about black culture."
And more. Ujima rehearses a piece written by Floyd County composers that draws on American Indian and New Age influences.
Crawford-Smith - in her day job, director of the Black Cultural Center - danced with the Dance Theater of Harlem, but she shares choreography with the troops. "What does this make you feel like doing?" she asks them about the music.
The group, which includes dancers of African, Japanese, Taiwanese and European heritages, brings a spread of cultural memories to the floor. "We're all different, we complement each other," says Danielle Spearma, who is black.
"A lot of that's inherent," Crawford-Smith says. "It's nothing you're taught to do. It just comes out. You make it bigger than life.
"We're probably the most diverse ensemble in this region. Because of that, we're in great demand." Particularly this month - Black History Month - when they'll dance five times.
Ujima practices six hours a week, a big chunk out of the lives of students, who juggle academics and work. Why bother?
When several dancers describe the movement as a release, Ramona Bailey agrees. "It's an escape from everyday life, and it's the best one there is."
Julia Gee adds, "This is not just dance majors - performing arts, wildlife, business, premed. I have physics, chemistry, biology thrown at me day in and day out, and this outlet is just great. It really fills a void in your day."
"I wish we could do it every day," Delk says.
"Do nothing but," Michelle Krusiec says.
"That would be the best," Bailey finishes the thought.
In a circle, they finish each other's sentences. In the mirrored rehearsal room, they finish each other's motions. To the rhythm of the djembe, West African drum, and Crawford-Smith's nearly hypnotic chants, they stretch their legs like grasshoppers' wings, rapidly switch ballet positions, and try to imitate Crawford-Smith's path across the room.
Lead with the chest, lead with the chest. Breathless. Light-footed. One And two And three And four And five And six And seven And eight.o
"I have people come up to me after performances and say they never appreciated dancing before seeing us," Crawford-Smith says. "It just basically broadens the perspective. We recognize our similarities. The arts are universal. It's a way of connecting. It's a way of bringing people together."
Ujima Dance Theatre will perform Saturday, at 2 p.m. in Squires Student Center's Haymarket Theater on the Virginia Tech campus.
by CNB