(1975)  Locate date  Put on the Music – Let’s Dance (Cabaret Setting – Audience and performance space mingled) Washington Project for the Arts, 1227 G Street NW, Washington, DC.  The space was a very large space (third floor) with high ceiling and a red brick wall for a backdrop. It has been suggested that it was a portion of a former opera house.  The audience entered on the first floor, moved through the art galleries to the third floor open performance space (3 stories high).  There was a trap door in the center of the large open space that was used by MWDCCo  in these initial performances (MWDCCo, Not for Profit Status, 1975).

Put on the Music was based on great film dance character prototypes and show business dancing of the 1930s and 1940s.  Maida achieved a high level performance as a tap dancer and was always interested, throughout her career, in the more seductive relationship of performer and audience.  An actress, Kay Sheppard, dancer on a raised platform, dressing room with mirror and costumes, located in the midst of the audience.  She reminisces  over memorabilia about her life as a stage dancer/actress of the 1940’s and her lover who is away, perhaps in the military at war.

This original version, 1975, was performed in authentic period costumes.  “We had little money, so our costumes came out of our personal closets or were purchased in second-hand stores – give aways!” Maida Withers.  Characters were somewhat overdone and characters amplified for the intimacy of the cabaret-like setting at WPA. Dancers included Brook Andrews, John Bailey, Jean Isaacs, and Maida Withers with Kay Sheppard as the actress in the event – an army wife alone at home. The actress had props from the period such as photographs of a women with a male dressed in army uniform, books of the period, movie star photos, wall paper of the period, other.

In the “ballroom” competition, Ron Bailin, competition dancer coach, called the dance competition and engaged the audience to clap to determine the “winner.”  By the Light of the Silvery Moon was performed in drag – men and women switched roles and the men wore female wigs, petticoats, etc.  Dancers were in intimate space with the audience seated at tables…..

Choreography was created by the dancers under the artistic direction of Maida Withers.  Some dances were choreographed by the group and were set while other dances had some set materials that were then improvised on during performance.  The atmosphere was very much that of a cabaret setting.

Music was a collection of selections of period recorded music:  Dexter Gordon, Milton Drake, Ben Oakland, Baby Dodds, Frank Ryerson & Grady Watts & Jimmy Eaton, Madden-Edwards, Ferdinande “Jelly Roll” Morton, Louis Armstrong, Earl Hines.  The actress read aloud rules of social etiquette of the period.

Choreographic sequence:  Actress; Jive (quartet jiving to jazz); Java Runway (quartet modeling clothes); The Stomp (duet of men in Navy attire); Dreamtime (Blue Champaigne duet); Roseland ( Ballroom Dance Competition; Silv’ry Moon; Struttin‘ (quartet – men as women, etc); Court House Bump (Brook sleuth solo);  Rose Red (Maida Solo – the crave”) ; Finale (group dance routine).

( 1977) May 7.  Put on the Music  (see separate WEB PAGE) was revived and performed for City Dance celebration performance at the historic Warner Theater.  Works were commissioned by the sponsors,  City Dance and Washington Performing Arts Society (WPAS).  Choreography, Maida Withers and DCCo;  New Costumes  by Beth Burkhardt, designer and dancer.

Maida Withers – Show Girl

Maida Withers, Tap simulation!
2nd Cast:  Dale Crittenberger and Susan Short Bensinger  (Cool Dudes)

Brook Andrews and Maida Withers (Ballroom Competition)