Floating through a two-hour show with few moments of turbulence, SF State�s latest dance concert showcase �Dreams of Flight� took off in McKenna Theater from April 1-2.

Co-directed by Susan Whipp and Cathleen McCarthy, the show kicked off with �Stuck!� a spirited number evoking the daily bump and grind of office life. The 11 dancers flew and vaulted over desks and chairs as lines of performers marched across the stage with precision. They sometimes resembled cogs in a wheel as envisioned by Busby Berkeley--during a bad day at the office.

�Kaleidoscoptics,� featuring dancers Erin Brown, Lindsey Setzekorn, and Lacey Yell, highlighted the dynamic stage lighting of Ray Diaz. Lighting is often taken for granted by audiences, but lighting designers keep dancers from staggering around in the dark while helping to best convey the tone and mood of the choreography. The lighting projected a progression of the spectrum on stage, and, coupled with the delicate choreography of Wendy Diamond, evoked a light spring-like mood.

�Think about poverty,� intoned a commanding narrator to the side of the darkened stage at the beginning of the next piece. �Think About It.�

�Think about greed. Think about suffering. Think about abuse.�

Really, must we?

The purpose behind the narration�s dark tone quickly became evident as the story of Pandora�s box unfolded, with a flock of white-clad dancers perfectly enacting both Pandora�s panic and horror. The scene quickly shifted to the mythical tale of Diogene�s Lantern, and the simple stage and lighting design effectively underlined the urgency of Paco Gomes� choreography.

The dramatic �Styx/Passage� also left a definite impression as it explored perseverance and resistance in an unnamed prehistoric time. However, the smoke machine might have lent too much of a �Lord of
The Rings� vibe and the piece could have worked equally well without it.

Marking a dramatic shift in tone, one of the highlights of the show was easily �Oh!� An effervescent piece as refreshing as lemon-lime soda, it eschewed some of the heavier themes of the other pieces in the show. �Oh!� simply explored the possibility of going to work one day only to find it cancelled.

Choreographed by Whipp and the dancers to the music of Savage Garden, the crowd-pleasing piece used a bit of slapstick and humor intermixed with dance to explore the possibilities of having a day to yourself.

The show quickly shifted gears with �Guerreiras De Palmares.� Choreographed by Paco Gomes, it portrayed the last stand of Brazilian warrior queen Dandara and her army of woman fighters. The dancers managed to convey the regal power of the subject aptly.

The show closed with �The Dream of Flight,� a soaring piece featuring McCarthy'�s choreography and the music of Johannes Brahms. The piece explored the endless possibilities of dreams, with the dancer executing leaps and jumps that allowed the crowd to exit the darkened auditorium still dreaming of flight.

�"I don'�t know much about dance and things like that,"� said Brian Chan, a SF State student, who was there as part of an extra-credit assignment for one of his classes. "�I really liked it. I was (surprised)."�

�"I�'ve been to several dance performances here,"� said audience member and former UC Santa Cruz student Angelica Reyes. �"You can always count on �a certain level of quality here.�"