Day 5 -- 8:30 p.m. Time Slot

Show: Thrower of Light

Company: Cathy Wright

Venue: Ritz Theatre

Die Roll: 10


You may have just read in the time slot before this one that I unexpectedly had my 10 year-old daughter with me for this evening. And, as such, she was going to be attending somethings that might have seemed a little risque for her. Sunday was the day for her choices. Monday the dice were back in control. Well... They were kind at the 7 p.m. show, so 8:30 should work out fine, too, right?

Well... Not exactly. Before I get into the meat and potatoes of this review, I would like to say that even though this show said is was appropriate for 11 year-olds in its description, as a parent, I would be hard pressed to take a kid under 14 to this. Why? Well... sexual content. Pretty graphically represented. I don't know what point of reference Ms. Wright had for dubbing pieces like "Phallousy" and "Wombman" as age appropriate for 11 year-olds. Granted, had my daughter not been with me, I would've seen both pieces as challenging works that pushed boundaries and made me think. Instead, I cringed as I tried to figure out how to explain to my 'tween girl what she had just seen.

All right... now... if my progeny had not been along for the ride, and this hadn't claimed that it would basically be okay for her, this is what the review for this show would look like:

This is a show that is made up of a smattering of Cathy Wright's sizable portfolio of dance pieces. She has quite an impressive collection here, too. Most of it is of a modern dance bent, and is somewhat abstract. The fact that much of the accompaniment for the pieces is ambient noise and hisses and pops and the like, can be a bit harsh at times (sustained piercing notes cause inner ear pain).

For me, the first five pieces of the concert weren't my cup of tea. Or even my can of Jolt soda. Although they did reflect the latter's energy level. I did, however, really appreciate the last two pieces. "Old Man" was moving and quite interesting. And the "Irish Pirate Madness" that was featured a few weeks ago at the Fringe-For-All was still brilliant. It was this piece, however, that I blame for my gut feeling about this show. Because I saw this frantic, happy, and entertaining dance as a representation of what this company did, I expected a show more along that line. Instead, I felt that the majority of this show was a bait-and-switch. The style was not similar to this piece in any of the others, and the tone was far from being alike.

So... The dancing was proficient, and at times quite beautiful. But, with other offerings out there in the modern genre that are exceptional, I would look to them, if you are wanting a dance fix.

TEN WORD SUMMARY: Wasn't expecting what happened here. What's that screeching? Ears bleeding.

Rating: d8 - "Not Bad, Not Great"