“Photo:Choreography by Karn Junkinsmith will present a new departure for Kaleidoscope of Dance, in a piece commissioned specifically for the concert by the Island Arts Council and Studio Siena.Kaleidoscope of DanceThe seventh annual Kaleidoscope of Dance will take place March 4 and 5, 7:30 p.m. on Saturday and 2 p.m. on Sunday, at the Whidbey Island Center for the Arts. The show is produced and directed by Shannon Connell Licastro. Lighting design is by Chris Wagner; sound technician is Halim Dunsky. Tickets are $10; the Sunday matinee has $6 seats for ages 13 and under. Call WICA at 221-8268 for reservations.New dancers and choreographers will join perennially favorite acts at this weekend’s Kaleidoscope of Dance, the seventh annual event produced by Shannon Connell Licastro.From the traditional opening number by Emily Day and the sound of the White Supremes to a brand new dance project commissioned by the Island Arts Council in cooperation with Studio Siena, the 2000 edition of Kaleidoscope promises the same variety and innovation that has marked each of the past seven concerts.The first Kaleidoscope, which was produced in 1989 as a fund raiser for the Whidbey Island Center for the Arts, was also meant to act as a springboard for dance performance on the Island, Licastro said. I wanted to show the community that dance was a viable art.Kaleidoscope’s popularity over the years, as well as the emergence of the performing arts, has borne out Licastro’s contention. This year the concert will showcase cutting-edge dancers and choreographers from Seattle in addition to Island performers whose work has drawn critical praise.And while some of the pieces are serious works, the lighthearted side of Kaleidoscope will not be overlooked.Emily Day’s ‘Talking Dance,’ which opens the show, is guaranteed to tickle the audience, Licastro said. Jay Davenny accompanies Day on piano. Other familiar names are on the program, including The White Supremes, featuring Licastro, Kathleen Davenny and Marta Huget, who will do their rendition of Baby Love this year with the addition of Seraphino Licastro, the youngest performer ever in Kaleidoscope. The Carolina Parrots, the trio of women vocalists Kate Wright, Shirlee Read and Jean Shaw, will contribute their signature music with It Only Happens When I Dance With You, the Irving Berlin song from 1947’s Easter Parade, starring Judy Garland and Fred Astaire. The group has sung together for 24 years in local productions, fund raisers and for weddings and parties. Licastro has choreographed a tap quartet to music by the French crooner Paolo Conte that will make you have happy feet, Licastro said. She is also introducing Gayle Staffanson, a choreographer from Seattle, Utah and Alaska who is taking a hiatus from musical theater and currently teaching at Studio Siena.She’s ‘Looking for Gene Kelly’ as she dances through the rain in a rendition of ‘Singin’ in the Rain.’ The broad spectrum of performing arts represented in Kaleidoscope will include Irish step dance by Julie McNeely, who dances with the Gavaghan Troupe and has performed in several Irish Feisch competitions. McNeely, who will perform the Countess of Cathleen from Riverdance, has medaled in hornpipe competition and has performed at the Seattle Center and Eastgate heritage festivals, in Oak Harbor’s Holland Happenings and at various community events.Troupe Zamurad, always received with enthusiasm at its local performances, will return to WICA with a new piece, called Rebirth II. Incorporating the use of swords, the dance is based on an American tribal-style dance movement set to music by Solace. A hula auwana (modern hula) dance by Na Lei O’Mokupuni (the lei of islands) is choreographed by Lynda Minter and performed by Minter, Betsy Roberts, Jane Theriault, Kathleen Landel, Jean Goodfellow and Grace Ojala. Our music is from Pride of Punahele and the song is Lei Lokelani, Minter said. The lokelani is the rose, the flower of the island of Maui. The song is in honor of the rose and the island. The audience will also be treated to hot tango by Michelle Badion and Evan Wallace, who will spice up the program with two sizzling tango pieces, Licastro said. Badion is an Argentine tango instructor in Seattle and has danced in the United States, Canada, Europe and Argentina.In what Licastro calls the Seattle-Whidbey connection, three program highlights will bring a singularly contemporary tenor to the 2000 Kaleidoscope of Dance.Fire, the work choreographed by Deborah Hay in last summer’s Solo Commissioning Project, has been translated into a dance quartet that will be performed by Emily Day, Beth White, Lin Mizono and Joni Takanikos. It’s a minimalist new dance piece that should stimulate a variety of audience reactions, Licastro said.Ronly Blau, a Seattle choreographer and former dancer with Amii LeGendre, will dance a new solo called As Figgy Balls, to Miles Davis’ music Sketches of Spain.The piece exposes dualities such as seduction/rejection and male/female energy through the fictional character of Figgy, Licastro said. Blau uses technique movement as a conduit for intense performance.Blau, who started her career as a jazz dancer in Los Angeles, has presented her choreography in several Seattle venues, including Bumbershoot and Northwest Works 1999.And in a collaborative effort that is dear to Licastro’s dance philosophy, Kaleidoscope will present the choreography of Karn Junkinsmith in a piece commissioned specifically for the concert, sponsored by the Island Arts Council and Studio Siena.I like the exchange of the arts, Licastro said. Bringing various works together gives Whidbey audiences exposure to new dance genres right here on the island.Junkinsmith has studied with Mark Morris, Twyla Tharp, Alwin Nikolais, Meredith Monk and Daniel Lewis. Her work has been seen at the Northwest New Works Festival, Broadway Performance Hall, Freehold Theater and New City Theater.She has been in residency at WICA for eight weeks, giving a ballet workshop. Her Kaleidoscope piece is for a trio of dancers, set to music by Alfred Schnittke. Licastro herself joins Gayle Staffanson and Cilla Whatcott (from the Coupeville Dance Center) to perform the dance.”