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62 °F Forecast | Road Cams Friday, March 18, 2005 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Health Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley SHOP OUR VALLEY AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Classified Place an ad TOP JOBS EXTRA Ashland News NIE Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Moving here? eSouthernOregon CUSTOMER SERVICE FAQ's Advertise with us Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend January 20, 2005 ‘Follow Me!’ is a dance about soldiers Fort Worth choreographer Bruce Wood, who created the program for the military, brings the tribute to the infantry to Medford Saturday By BILL VARBLE Mail Tribune Bruce Wood couldn’t believe it when they approached him to create a dance about the infantry. "I thought they were kidding," says the veteran choreographer, "until I got patched through to the general." But generals have a way of being for real, and so was the commission Wood accepted after some initial misgivings. The resulting dance program, "Follow Me!" was introduced by the Bruce Wood Dance Company in March. That was after Steven McCandless had booked the troupe for a performance in Medford’s Craterian Ginger Rogers Theater. But Saturday at the Craterian the company will feature "Follow Me!" as a salute to military families. The Craterian’s Maureen Esser said area National Guard members will stand on stage during the performance. Advertisement Don’t look for any tutus. "When we performed it for the first time, a general came up to me and said, ‘I can’t believe you got it,’ " Wood says in a phone interview. He admits to being surprised and impressed by the soldiers he talked to at Fort Benning, Ga., as part of his research. "They think their job is to serve," he says. "I didn’t want to promote anybody’s agenda, but I understood what those guys said about being in war." "Follow Me!" includes several dance numbers. In one called "No Man Left Behind," khaki-clad male dancers reach gracefully out to catch others as they fall. The Bruce Wood Dance Company is a young, touring, 12-member troupe based in Fort Worth, Texas. It is perhaps best known for "Lyle!" a program based on the music of Texas singer Lyle Lovett. But its musical influences run from there to composer Phillip Glass (the final dance in "Follow Me!" a highly physical piece, is set to Glass’ music). Wood was an unlikely candidate to become a professional dancer. He grew up on a farm near Archer City, Texas, hauling hay and fixing fences. His father was a football coach. At 16, he looked in the window of a dance studio. "That looks cool," he thought. He studied at the School of American Ballet in New York under George Balanchine and danced professionally with the New York City Ballet, the San Francisco Ballet and Les Ballet Jazz de Montreal. He founded his company in 1996 in Austin, then moved to Fort Worth. He prides the troupe’s art on accessibility. "I think ours is one of the most audience-friendly companies you’ll come across," he says. "If you can’t communicate without people having a special background, you’re not very good." The U.S. Army told him he had a free pass when he went to Fort Benning, but the military is known for set-up tours, and he soon found himself being managed and getting lots of pat answers. He took a day off and walked around the base. He ditched the public relations officer and talked with grunts early in their training. "They were naive but noble," he says. The next day he talked with five combat veterans. They sounded scripted together, so he talked with each alone. "They told sad, horrific, heroic stories," he says. "They all said the same thing about being shot at. It’s dead quiet. All other sound goes out the window. "They had to trust each other. It’s about trust. It’s a brotherhood. If any aspect is broken, the whole thing breaks down." The dances dedicated to the infantry last less than 10 minutes. The National Guard troops standing by on stage lend it the atmosphere of a dream, or perhaps a memory. Wood doesn’t think he’s in any danger of being used to promote a controversial war. "I took the politics out," he says. "My politics wouldn’t coincide with that. I wouldn’t promote it." At bottom, he says, "Follow Me!" isn’t a paean to the military. It’s about people who are in the military. Reach reporter Bill Varbleat 776-4478 or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. 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