DeFrantzanator

When one thinks of MIT, I think it's safe to say that the terms "theatre and dance" do not immediately spring to mind. In fact, I would think they rank in the low thousands on the list of MIT word associations, somewhere far behind robots, the CIA, artificial intelligence, mathematics, lasers and Good Will Hunting. However, unbelievable as it may seem, MIT does in fact have a theatre and dance program. This Saturday, Dr. Thomas DeFrantz, a MIT Theatre and Dance faculty member, will perform The House Music Project at the University of Texas at Dallas, bringing an end to his month-long residency at the university. As you might expect, this is no typical performance, mixing dance with—you guessed it—technology. Unfortunately, the dancers will not be sweet bump-and-grind cyborgs, but they will be accompanied by a computer engine that will choreograph mixed media with their movements. However, if the "computer engine" takes over the theater Matrix-style and makes the helpless audience do the cabbage patch ceaselessly to maintain its battery life, don't say we didn't warn you. Dr. DeFrantz and company present The House Music Project Saturday at 8 p.m. in the University Theatre at UTD, 2601 N. Floyd Road in Richardson. Tickets are $15 or free for UTD students. Call 972-883-2552 or visit ah.utdallas.edu.
Sat., Feb. 4, 8 p.m.