Cranbourne Fixes A Dance Sandwich For This Show

Nancy Cranbourne, the former member of Bill Evans Dance Company known for her wacky wit and theatrical choreography, is taking a new tack for her part of Allegro! Dance Festival's ``Three Exposures'' show Thursday through Sunday and March 22-25 at Broadway Performance Hall.

For starters, it's not really a dance program, although it's in the yearlong Allegro! series. It's a dance sandwich, with Cranbourne's ``The Small of My Back'' fitting between Stefan Rowny's ``Poland'' - a theater piece with movement and music - and Ted Sod's ``A Rude Awakening (Off Broadway and Pine),'' a theater opus using music, movement, masks and text.

Cranbourne also is trying to rely less on humor and more on movement and dance content.

``This is the most modern movement-oriented piece I've done, which is really different for me,'' she said. ``I usually choreograph musicals and jazz numbers. This is more abstract, with very sensual, sculptural movement.

``It's about the strength and beauty of the female form as it is, not about some gorgeous, slim, 5-foot-8-inch dancer. So in that way it happens to be personal, too.'' (Cranbourne is about 5-foot-2.)

She did say she has not forsaken humor. But it's integrated into the dance.

``I just didn't set out (to be funny) this time. This definitely is more risky for me. It's the most grown-up piece of work I have ever done.''

Cranbourne, who appeared in the recently released film

``Daredreamers,'' has created dozens of works for Seattle stages, including the popular ``Mandy and Bebe'' series of tragicomic sketches with choreographer Wade Madsen. She also worked in The Group Theatre's ``Rap Master Ronnie'' and ACT's ``Jayne's Adventure in Hell.''

Stefan Rowny is best-known locally for his multimedia extravaganza, ``Floating Opera,'' presented at the 1987 King County Performa festival. Originally from Poland, Rowny studied theater in England. He now tackles political and personal subjects.

For this show, Rowny has enlisted the aid of San Francisco clown artist Larry Pisoni and Seattle actress Lori Larsen.

Ted Sod, a director, writer and performer of some local renown, wrote the one-act play ``Damaged Goods,'' which opened this month at Alice B. Theatre.