Dance Reviews at the Joyce and about Town: 2003
by Chelvis Pift
Introduction
I find it interesting to talk to dance patrons weeks, months, even years after they have seen a performance and discover what reactions and opinions still linger. Surprisingly enough, audiences often completely forget every detail of their $50 dollar evening of art and entertainment. Is art like food that we consume and quickly forget when the next meal comes in sight? Perhaps. I would like to think that art is as necessary as food, but most economists and Republicans would probably disagree with me. But even if art is a fancy meal that we enjoy at a chic restaurant only on special occasions, it may still have the ability to be as memorable as that Crème Brulee I enjoyed at Chez Suzette, or that bowl of steaming hot Clam Chowder I had at a dingy little diner in San Francisco. Or perhaps the whole experience will be as infamous as the badly prepared fish that kept me up all night in Cancun.
For better or for worse, without lasting impressions, what can artists hope to accomplish? Trifles that hold the audiences attention only for a moment are entertaining at best and are quickly disposed of. If a dance company wants to survive in today’s world of quick thrills and disposable art then it must strive to innovate and change people’s lives, or at least change the way they look at their lives. Sounds overly utopian? Sounds like I am hoping to begin another Bohemian revolution? No, nothing so noble, this is just the mind set in which I am approaching my series of reviews from the Joyce Theater’s 2003 Spring and Summer season.
I have decided to review the season in reverse, starting with the concert I saw this weekend and going all the way back to January. As the details grow slimmer, my overall lasting impressions will emerge helping me to discover which artists have had the most effect on me personally be it Crème Brulee or bad fish.
George Piper Dances (Ballet Boyz)
Tuesday Nov 4, 2003
Michael Nunn and William Trevitt's use of video in their dance concert is so simple yet brilliant. Whereas most dance concerts allow the audience to peruse their programs during the five to ten minute pauses when dancers are catching their breath and changing costumes, George Piper Dances uses this time to it's ultimate advantage: they show home movies. Well not exactly home movies, but not far from it. Company founders Michael Nunn and William Trevitt document their journeymen's existence using a digital video camera. They record their sight-seeing, rehearsals, hotel rooms and just about anything that peaks their interest. They then cut together the footage and use it as segues between dances. These light hearted informal documentaries provide an informative glimpse into the lives of these roving gypsies. As an audience, we feel as though we get to know these chaps, their quirky sense of humor, and their dedication to the art form of dance. We also have the opportunity to meet the choreographer of the work we are about to see and gather insight from moments of the rehearsal process.
The dancing is brilliant as well, but it is this clever use of informal video that makes a great evening of dance an exceptional one. So having said that, I will now focus on the dancing. Mr. Nunn and Mr. Trevitt are dancers of the highest calibre. Their technique is impeccable, but beyond this they are able to move beyond the ballet line and posturing and completely inhabit the movement. The first two dance works "Steptext" and "Mesmerics" choreographed by William Forsythe and Christopher Wheeldon respectively, found their primary derivation in the balletic sensibilities of line and shape. These dances were executed by the talented company with near freakish flexibility and technique. But this is to be expected from dancers with years of training from such institutions as the Royal Ballet School and the Kiev Ballet School. I was most impressed by Nunn and Trevitt's ability to perform, Russell Maliphant's "Torsion", a dance derived heavily from contact improvisation. As the two men bore one another's weight, smoothly navigating the intricate partnering sequences, we could see a dance artistry that transcends the rules of classical ballet.
The first two dances of the evening were equally stunning. Forsythe's deconstruction of the ballet terminology is always a joy. And his capitalization on the female ballet dancer's flexibility and light weight frame in partnering always proves to impress and astound. Although his choice of music and lighting cues may confuse at times.
Wheeldon's new work was a commission from the Joyce theater. Wheeldon stay's a little closer to the classical ballet tradition than Forsythe, but still finds plenty of room for invention. "Mesmerics" was just that, mesmerizing. I have one choreographic pet peeve with Forsythe's and Wheeldon's work. The movement is brilliant, especially when performed by such talented dancers, but I often miss the thru-line of the dance. The dances seem to meander from solo to duet to trio without any rhyme or reason and then abruptly end around the twenty minute mark (the expected length for a modern ballet piece.)
George Piper Dances at the Joyce theater is a spectacular evening of the highest calibre of dance mingled with moments of humor and humanity.
See George Piper Dances at the Joyce Theater (19th Street and 8th Ave) through November 9th.
Akram Khan Company
Thursday Oct 16, 2003
This will probably be the only opportunity I have to entitle a review"The Wrath of Khan", but alas there was little wrath in Akram Khan's hour long peice "Kaash" being presented at the Joyce October 14-19th. "Kaash" isn't about wrath or any other emotion. According to the program notes it is about "the space inside the cup", the "stilness between the steps' and the "space between the music". Despite this curious introduction, the dance seemed to be all about the movement. Akram Khan has a very distinctive style that consists of explosive movements that occur in short phrases and finds repose in a tantric hand gesture or a slow arcing arm. Performed expertly by Mr. Kahn and his four member dance ensemble, his movement can captivate and astonish. It is fluid yet quirky, off-center yet controlled, and at some moments completely astonishing. This astonishment was most noted in a small dancer, who while performing a solo towards the begining of the peice would whip her torso around with such abandon that I feared her head might pop off and come rolling into the audience. Each of the dancers have their moments to shine but are most impressive in their ability to take on Ashram's style as their own and move in flawless synchronicity with the other dancers on the stage.
The dance begins with a short phrase that repeats and builds. Sometimes the dancers move in duets or trios, each dancer seems to always be connected to someone else on the stage, but rarely do all the dancers move in complete unison for any substantial ammount of time. The seperation of duets and trios as well as entrances and exits can feel quite arbitrary. As the piece wore on, I began to wonder where Mr. Khan was taking us. There were moments of stillness that may have held some inner meaning to the dancer and choreographer, but without context stillness is just stillness. Fortunately, the dancers never linger too long in moments of repose.
Midway through the piece the dancers congregated on stage, and Mr. Khan, speaking in an unfamiliar tongue, lead the dancers through a sort of "A,B, Cs" or "1,2,3s" of the movement vocabulary for this peice. This became the most engaging moment of the dance. The speaking began slowly and then increased in speed and rhythm creating an interesting texture and context to the movement. Mr. Kahn was then joined by another dancer who leant her voice in counterpoint to Mr. Kahn's. But just as the vocal accompniment was gaining momentum it stopped and the dance continued with the prerecorded score. A score that often felt as arbitrary as the dance. As an audience member I wanted more of this strange tongue, I wanted to hear it echoed by the other dancers, speaking in counterpoint and culminating in a synthesis of sound and movement. I also wanted a score that would better inform the movement. Towards the end of the peice the audience is finally rewarded with a lengthy phrase of complete unison movement, which the company performs flawlessly. But, due to the lack of musical support and energy, what should be the climax of the peice becomes just another mound on a landscape of low rising hills and shallow valleys.
Lovers of pure movement will have no qualms watching Akram Khan and his accomplished dancers for the short 55 minute concert. But for those who like theater in their dance may find themselves shifting in their seats as they wonder where the dance is headed and if it will ever get there.
In closing, I want to reccomend this performance to all lovers of dance. The talents of the dancers and Mr. Khan's amazing movement vocabulary makes it worth the price of admission. Akram Kahn appers to have a long career ahead of him and this is a great opportunity to see the formative roots of someone who may go on to do great things in the world of modern dance.
See Akram Kahn Company at the Joyce Theater (19th Street and 8th Ave) through October 19th.
The Metropolitan Opera
Stravinsky
Le Sacre Du Printemps
Choreographer: Doug Varone
Monday October 10, 2003
High expectations often lead to disappointing conclusions. I find this to be true especially in the arts. I often find it best to go into a performance with the lowest of expectations so that at best you can leave blown away and at worst you can walk away feeling like you got just what you expected. I went to the Metropolitan's Opera's Stravinsky program with high expectations. I should have know better, but when I heard that Doug Varone was slated to choreograph to Stravinsky's Rite of Spring, I couldn't help but feel excited that a modern choreographer was being afforded the opportunity to present a full dancework in a venue that s normally home to classical ballets.
It was with these expectations that I sat on the edge of my seat at Lincoln Center this past Monday night. The lights come up slowly behind a scrim that read "Igor Stravinsky 1882" to reveal all 36 dancers piled into two heaps on opposite ends of the stage. The dance begins with the dancers awakening out of some primordial sleep. They amble about like cave people learning to perambulate. The men are in one group and the women in another, and if we have not read the program, we quickly discover that there are two "sages" in this production of Le Sacre du Pintemps one from the male camp and one from the female. We are then allowed to make the conclusion that not one but two will be chosen for the dances dramatic sacrificial climax. The dance progresses much as one would expect, with a series of tests lead by the sages to determine who will be sacrificed. These tests involves the passing of sacred bowls, a peculiar drawing of straws from a bushel of twigs, and a thorough inspection of each candidate that feels both violent and sexual at times. All of this is performed under the direction of the sages. The stage is often divided on gender and color lines. The women are dressed in darker reds and purples and the men in oranges and yellows. I couldn't help notice that the men's group had somehow taken on a couple of women dressed in men's costumes. I was a little puzzled by this, but tried not to give it too much thought as it seemed that it was something that the audience was not meant to take note of.
Varone sticks with the original concept of the dance playing on the ritualistic nature of the incumbent sacrifice. He moves into some new ground, by imbuing the tribes with an earthy primordial feel verses an organized civilization. There is also an unwillingness and sense of dread followed by a breath of relief as each tribesman or woman realizes that he/she will not be the chosen. This relief, followed by their frenzied clamorings, makes the scene all the more ominous and perplexing. A barbaric and horrible ritual is taking place before the audiences eyes and, unable to stop it, we must endure it through its inevitable finale.
Varone does an excellent job of moving from one step in the ritual to the next, holding the audiences attention throughout the lengthy dance. But although my attention doesn't wane, I feel that the energy and the frenzy does not build as it should. The music is a series of peaks and valleys that results in a final dissonant clamor. Within the first few minutes of the dance all 36 dancers are moving in unison. This leaves Varone very little room to build. I also realized that as much as I love Doug Varone's loose continuum of movement, I enjoy watching it performed best by one or two virtuosic dancers as opposed to a chorus of 34 dancers doing their best to embody the movement with their own personal flair while still staying in unison with the rest of the group. A climactic element is added when a nondescript piece of set flies in from above during the last moments of the dance. But the dancers are oblivious to the mammoth piece closing in over the heads and instead of adding energy to the piece it distracts the viewers attention away from the dancers having an effect contrary to its probable intention.
In dealing with a piece that has had many incarnations, some more successfull than others, Varone seems to have been hesitant to stray too far from the traditional concept of this work. His choice to have two sages and two chosen is a departure from the standard but not a very bold one. The same goes for the gangly movement that opens the dance depicting an ascent from the primordial ooze, an interesting concept that he quickly abandons to move into more 'dancey' movement. All in all, "Le Sacre du Printemps" is an enjoyable piece performed by a group of skilled dancers. But this will not be considered one of Doug Varone's seminal works, but instead a noted addition to his already impressive resume.
See Le Sacre Du Printemps at Lincoln Center October 16, 23 (2003) & February 18, 21 (2004)
Momix
Wednesday Sept 24, 2003
The Joyce opens its 2003 fall season with the ever popular Momix. Momix is presenting three evening length works, Cactus, Baseball, and Passion during a three week run at the Joyce. I attended the Sept 24th presentation of Opus Cactus.
Moses Pendelton, conceiver-director-choreographer of Opus Cactus, could make an interesting piece about a banana peel. Mr. Pendelton seems to have a limitless supply of interesting ideas and brave dancers who are willing to try them. In Opus Cactus, we are treated to 19 different forays into Mr. Pendelton's imagination. As the title suggests, the desert landscape and it's assortment of peculiar flora and fauna provide the inspiration for this evening of modern dance. The strongest moments of Opus Cactus emerge when the dancers completely embodying the movement become strange exotic creatures as opposed to dancers just doing some funky choreography. This was successfully achieved in the men's trio "Pole Dance" where three men become one with their sticks...(You will have to see Opus Cactus yourself to understand what I meant by that comment.) "Ostrich of the Imagination" and "Gila Dance", true to their titles, were also successful at using entwined human bodies to create new magical creatures.
To the uninitiated, Momix is not your standard dance company. A Momix concert is not about pretty dancers, multiple turns, and giant balletic leaps. Not that the dancers aren't pretty (they are gorgeous) or incapable of turning and leaping with the best of them (just hang one from the ceiling and watch her spin) . Momix isn't about glorifying the individual dancer, it is instead about creating a vision that blurs the individual into a part of a larger vision. Building on traditions of Pilobolus, Momix utilizes choreography, costumes , props, and lighting to create these visual illusions. Enough credit cannot be given to Joshua Starbuck who under the direction of Moses Pendelton has created the most varied and spectacular lighting design that I have ever seen at the Joyce. I could go on and on, trying to describe the giant dreamcatcher, the glowing tumbleweeds, and the skittering lizards but I would be unable to give you a hundredth of the magical experience being created nightly on the Joyce stage. If you like the imagination of Cirque du Soleil and the wit of Pilobolus then Momix is your ticket to an enjoyable evening of modern dance.
See Momix at the Joyce Theater (19th Street and 8th Ave) through October 12th
Pilobolus
June 23-July 19 2003
I will begin with Pilobolus’s Program B. I saw the concert Thursday night 8PM July third. The concert consisted of 4 works. The first was entitled “The Brass Ring” and had many images of reaching out and upward. I often watch a dance first and then look in the program to see what the title of the piece is and when it was created. Thus was the case with the first two pieces in this concert. During intermission as I looked through the program, I was surprised to learn that this piece was created last year. And on a side note, I also felt that the title of the fourth piece “Star Crossed” would have made an apt title for this dance. The dance concluded with dancers Matt Kent and Jennifer Macavinta hanging from long swags of fabric as they reach out towards one another. Meanwhile, the other four dancers pair off and work as a base of support using their combined weights to stabilize the fabric ropes. The dancers on the ground looked up at the figure they were supporting while moving the figures together or apart at will. Of course the “star crossed” image I am drawing here is of Romeo and Juliet reaching towards one another while their families beneath them strove to pull them apart. The cascading fabric that the dancers used to propel themselves about the space was stunning. The opening image of the dance consisted of each of the 6 dancers slowly sliding down the swags of fabric from high above the floor. It began interestingly enough, with the dancers finding new and creative ways of propelling them selves across the stage while clinging to their swags. When some of the “tricks” or partnering didn’t go as smoothly as it might have the dancers looked a bit like Cirque du Soleil wannabes, but the most successful choreography resulted when two dancers would interact with each other in a unique way. One of my favorite moments occurred when Ms. Macavinta seated in a fabric swing was slowly raised from the floor by virtue of two other dancers intertwining their drapes with hers and pulling in opposite directions, a marvel of physics and choreographic invention. The middle of the dance took a turn for the worse when the dancers abandoned their swags and launched into a comic studio 54 scene. Two dancers acted as bouncers as C. Otis Cook tried to gain admittance. This whole pantomime felt out of place. I realize that Pilobolus , as a rule tries to incorporate moments of humor into many of their pieces, but this dance should be the exception. Some dances have strong enough concepts and devices to stand on their own. The dance finally got back on track towards the end when the dancers returned to their drapes and created the star-crossed lovers image that I described earlier.
I was surprised to learn that this dance was choreographed last year. It felt like a premiere to me. The usually organic Pilobolus dancers felt a little out of sync in their partnering as if they weren’t quite comfortable with this dance yet. I also felt that if this dance was being brought back from a previous season then the choreographer might take the chance to fix some of the inconsistencies of the middle of the dance and mine the dance for more ways to utilize the swags. The Pilobolus choreographers and dancers are creative and resourceful enough to come up with some more interesting ways of utilizing the set.
Well that ends my criticisms , because the next three pieces were impeccable. “The Four Humours” a dance in four sections with four dancers, adroitly examined the Humours’ Sanguine, Phlegmatic, Choleric, and Melancholic. Again, I didn’t read the program before this piece began so I was able to create my own narrative to this dance. Humour me. It reminded me of an old after-school special about these children who live on a planet where the sun only comes out once a year. The story of the movie hinges around, a boy who gets locked in a broom closet as a prank and is inadvertently forgotten when the sun begins to rise. In their haste, the children run out to play in the sun and the boy is left behind. The first section of this piece created images of children running through grassy hills on a summer day. The second section was more morose exhibiting emotions of what it might feel like to be locked in a broom closet while the rest of your friends enjoyed the one day of sunshine that year. The third section was comically aggressive, replete with three stooge-esque head slaps, punches, eye pokes, and prat falls. Continuing with my own narrative, I looked at this as the melee that would ensue when the little boy was finally released from the closet. And finally the last section was reflective in nature and ended with Ms. Macavinta reaching towards the sky as the other “children” lifted her up as high as they could. A beautiful image that worked as a perfect conclusion to my running narrative. Again, I was surprised to find that this piece was created last year. For God’s Sake they were wearing leg warmers! But I liked the costumes although they reminded me of the 80’s (when I saw that after school special) and the choreography had the feel of earlier Pilobolus classic dances. I am pleased to know that they are exploring new areas while still creating pieces that are inherent to Pilobolus’ history.
The third dance “Star Crossed” began with a beautiful synchronized slow-motion weight bearing sequence involving three couples. The strength and line exhibited here was enough to make Cirque du Soleil burn with envy. The piece then took a wacky turn into a comic carnaval-esque romp that didn’t slow down till the piece was over. This dance was a typical middle piece, it was entertaining and engaging with brightly colored costumes, but of all the dances the most forgettable. (That isn’t meant as in insult, every concert needs to ebb and flow, you’ve got to take your audience down a level before you build them back up.” Which brings me to the final piece “Day Two”. The Climax of the concert. A dance that was seamlessly strong from start to finish. This dance was the longest in the concert, but it sailed by effortlessly pulling the audience with them as they passed. Now I do have to mention that the costuming for this dance was very minimal. Minimal as in: flesh colored G-strings. This means no tops for the ladies. As a heterosexual man, try as I might, I find breasts in any shape or size to be extremely distracting. It took me a while to focus on the dance, and just when I thought I had succeeded poles were brought on the stage for the women (and men) to dance with. Maybe it’s just me, but when I see a topless woman in a G-string dancing with a pole I can’t help but wonder if I should have changed a twenty into a wad of singles at the bar. The dance was overtly erotic in many places. The music was tribal in places and accompanied by sounds of thunder, lightening, and pouring rain. The whole spectacle felt very tribal, very free, and very entertaining. And although I usually prefer to keep the erotic dances in the bars and clubs, there was a lot of craft and creativity put into this dance and just plain good choreography. The dance ended…or began again with the floor being pulled up so that the dancers could turn the stage floor into a gigantic Slip n’ Slide. The audience was already on their feet at the conclusion of “Day Two’ but as the dancers careened across the stage on their backs, bellies and heads the curtain call became a bit of a rock concert. I don’t know what “Day one” was, but after seeing “Day Two” I’m pretty sure that “Day Three” is a hangover.
See Pilobolus at the Joyce Theater (19th Street and 8th Ave) through July 19th.
A quick Note: I seldom review dancers. I focus more on choreography. There are more amazing dancers than there is work, so I expect any professional modern dance company to have great dancers. On occasion I’ll point out a dancer when they really amaze me or, sadly enough, if they aren’t up to snuff.
Chelvis Pift is an independant critic of the arts. Mr. Pift's Opionions in no way represent those of www.matthewhardy.org or its affiliates. Mr. Pift can be contacted at chelvis@matthewhardy.org.