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Though the stakes were high, the 5,825 fans who witnessed the Power's one and only playoff game Sunday afternoon seemed a little lethargic for much of the game. In the bathroom lines and at concession stands, friends made plans for future games without consideration that this one could be the end. But with about five minutes to go, it became clear that the Power was not going to make a big run, and if it did win, the victory would be eked out in the final seconds. The result did come down to the final 1.9 seconds, but it went the way of the burly Long Beach Sting Rays. The Power, who went from worst last year to first this year, had a great season, but it's especially disappointing that their year came to a crashing halt against the brute power of Long Beach center Venus Lacy. Winning this series might have gotten local TV cameras interested, and airing post-game highlights may be the only way to get confirmed NBA-all-the-way fans to respond to the Power. After the Blazers' performance at Indiana on Friday, there was probably never a more opportune time. Maybe next year. On to better news. The elegant Brazen Bean (2075 NW Glisan St.) has resurrected itself after a fire last July forced it to close. Last Saturday, this original, enduring outpost of cigars, cocktails and hors d'oeuvres celebrated its reopening with champagne, rosy Belgian fruit beer and patés. The new Bean will be open Mondays through Saturdays. Portland Center Stage announced its '98-'99 season last week at a clever Academy Awards send-up that spooked many partygoers. I froze when cameras flashed, hands waved and the "paparazzi" demanded answers of me as I entered the Performing Arts Center. The reason for this craziness was that the announcement of the promising season (no Tuna Christmas, yes Alan Ayckbourn and the world première of Red, a play about the Chinese Cultural Revolution) was preceded by a funny short movie, Looking for Macbeth. The movie offered a behind-the-scenes look at the auditions for the company's final show of the season, "the Scottish play," (there's a theater legend about the curse that results from actually saying "Macbeth") with everyone from Art Alexakis to Mike Lindberg and Molly Bordonaro trying out. The red carpet welcome at the Portland Center Stage event was nerve-racking, but I was almost as startled by Bruce Smith, the artistic director for the Northwest Afrikan American Ballet. He appeared on the Schnitzer stage Friday night to announce to the unusually tardy crowd at the company's Heritage Concert for Black History Month that it's an African tradition to dance for friends, not strangers. He instructed everyone to introduce themselves to seven new people. This seemed a little strange in the ornate Schintz, but it did set the proper tone for the concert; audience members felt free to yell out, clap without encouragement, whistle, hoot and do about everything except leap up on stage and join in the dancing. The large company excels in making complicated choreography look improvised and relaxed. Accompanied by five powerful drummers (including Smith), the elaborately costumed dancers performed four intensely eye-catching pieces (in fact the costumes were almost too elaborate: Several costume bits flew off during the frenzied dancing and the long, loose garments often covered dancers' heads). It's rare to get an encore at a dance event, but here it was the highlight of the show. In the final free-wheeling piece, dancer after dancer did solos, bringing the energy of the entire performance to a roaring finale--especially when three male dancers juggled their bodies through an impossible-looking series of flying push-ups and twists. Even Natalie Williams can't move like that. |
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