David Vece knows the difference between Elvis and Prince, when it comes to moving and grooving. “With Elvis, there’s a lot of hip movement; you know Elvis the Pelvis,” said Vece. “With Prince, it’s all in the look. The guy could dance and he’s got the look.”
Vece will perform songs by both artists – “Blue Suede Shoes” and “Baby I’m A Star” – in Music In Motion’s dance and song production called “Musikmania.”
It will be presented Feb. 13-15 in Savannah Center. Proceeds will benefit Villagers for Hospice, and the Alzheimer’s Association.
Jim Caisse and Dianne Bolton – the co-directors – wanted to tell the history of music and what it means to the world. Vece is one of six singers on the bill, and he, like the others, is not there to just belt out tunes.
“We didn’t want the singers to just stand around and watch the dancers,” Caisse said. “We incorporated the songs into the dance routines and the singers will be moving with the dancers.”
The cast of about 55 performers include six singers: Vece, Sharon Archer, Donna Francis, Jeri Lynne Fraser, Holly Jeske and David Leshay.
The idea is for the singers, along with the audience, to experience and feel the music and movement.
“I don’t want the audience to just sit there,” Bolton said. “They should be involved with the show. This is about music and how it makes people feel and the part it plays in our lives.”
The challenge for the choreographers – Cassie, Bolton, Karen Bouffard, Barbara Byers, Kayla Luoma and Melissa Caisse – is to blend music, dance, singers and the audience into the show.
That’s why Vanita Turner, a dancer with Music In Motion who narrates the show, will go out in the audience during the production and talk to people.
“It’s another way to make the audience part of the show,” Bolton said.
This musical history starts out with tribal rhythms in Africa and covers Patsy Cline to Elvis to the Beatles to Michael Jackson to Justin Timberlake. All types of music will be explored, including country, classical, jazz, Latin, big band, R&B, rock and pop.
“We’ve got a little bit of everything and something for everybody,” Jim Caisse said.
And Bolton is hopeful that everybody involved will leave with the understanding that, “music gives us the rhythm of our lives.”
