Dancing Wheels performs more than any other Cleveland dance company but seldom in Cleveland. Other than Snowman, its Christmas holiday special, it does only a very few performances here this year. The current offering, four premieres by four different choreographers, represents a change for Dancing Wheels; they used to rely on a single artistic director/choreographer but now they've outsourced choreography, in this case to three locals and a New Yorker.

We missed the 2004 preview performance from which these works were culled so we're as curious as anyone. It's easy enough to accept Founding Artistic Director Mary Verdi-Fletcher's premise that dance is an expression of the human spirit and truly for all people of all abilities; but finding entertaining, meaningful dance works that truly utilize people of diverse abilities is problem solving of the first magnitude.

New Yorker Rosalind Newman has been a highly respected choreographer running her own company since 1977. She's received many awards and honors including the Guggenheim. Her dances have been set on many companies in many nations. Newman describes In Passing, her piece for Dancing Wheels, as "about the roads we all travel and the obstacles we must face." For music she's chosen to excerpt from two of Arvo Part's tintinnabulating, holy minimalist pieces, Tabula Rasa and Fratres. Young Park, late of Cleveland's SAFMOD, contributes State of Mine/Mind, one of the last works she created before departing our cool city, a four part work loosely based on sonata form and the different states of mind that often accompany specific times of day: Morning Rush, Afternoon Nap, Dream and Moonlight Dance.

Mark Tomasic, a longtime Dancing Wheels company member, also dances and lately choreographs for Verb Ballets. Reviewing his offering for Verb at CPT April 7- 10, we emphasized stage business but could not fail to notice that he had engaged his dancers in physical feats of no mean complexity. Because of this recent success with Verb and his long association with Dancing Wheels, we look forward to seeing what he does to utilize the company's wheelchair dancers. Michael Medcalf, who also wears two hats as Artistic Director of Cleveland Contemporary Dance Theater and Rehearsal Director of Dancing Wheels, contributes an ensemble finale to the music of Stevie Wonder.

The full program is 7:30PM Saturday April 30, 2005 at CCC East Campus Theater, culminating a college wide, weeklong celebration of diversity. Following the performance a benefit party in the theater lobby. Wheelchair seating, audio description and sign interpretation available on request; call 432-0306. Excerpts of the program will be presented without charge from noon to 1PM on Wednesday, May 4, 2005 at the State Theatre, Playhouse Square, as part of the Showtime at High Noon Series. Call 987-2512.

from Cool Cleveland contributors Elsa Johnson and Victor Lucas vicnelsa@earthlink.net

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