Paul Taylor Master Class with Michael Trusnovec
Rehearsal Studio
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Washington, DC
March 26, 2009
by George Jackson
copyright 2009 by George Jackson
Not every dance class gets to the dancing. Many stick to technique. Practically all, though, start with limbering and stretching. Some of this warm-up happens before the formal lesson begins, the students commencing with their individual routines down on the floor or up at the barre or standing free in the center. Those participating in this class were no exception. There were 20 of them - the limit according to the Kennedy Center web site - one a tall young man, one a tall mature woman and the other 18 young women of different sizes and shapes. Michael Trusnovec, calling the class to order and asking everyone to stand up, explained that he would not be teaching Paul Taylor technique because there was no such thing. Each of the Taylor company's dancers,including himself, had a personal way of preparing to dance Taylor's choreography. Still, the lesson he was about to give should help in performing Paul Taylor work and seeing it for what it was. Having already conferred with his pianist*, Trusnovec, demonstrating and speaking, had the class take a wide stance and move the torso and arms. These were simple actions , yet effort and deliberation were apparent. At first, his warm-up exercise reminded me of the Laocoon statue in slow motion.
There was tension as the torso contracted, more so than when it released. It sank as the knees bent and hands held onto the back of the legs. A deep forward bend from the pelvis allowed the upper body to dangle loosely over the ground. With a shoulder in the lead, the torso swung up. Arms went up, raising not only themselves but seemingly an invisible weight - perhaps it was the roof of the world these dancers were lifting. There was, of course, repetition with left/right alternation and also an ending motion, an one-leg kneel that looked as if it were submission infront of an altar or throne.
The second exercise set, too, was notably slow - as was the third. Trusnovec did not shun ballet moves and terms but his plie or rise to demipointe looked contemplative and combative, like a priest warrior's. Some of the students, used to the danse d'ecole, were more stretched, more turned out and succumbed to the temptation of applying an elegant finish to each phrase. Inherently these sequences focused on torso and arms more than on leg and foot. Effort and phrasing (or "effort/shape" in Laban language), too, differentiated both the balletic vocabulary (passe, degage) and plain text (stretch, rise, swing) from unballetic motion (caving-in, snaking the torso). Once, Trusnovec referred to Martha Graham technique. He did not correct individual students unless asked, but seemed to prefer teaching through demonstration, repetition and general commentary.
After a short break, walking and balancing (even right to left leg teetering) and falling, rising and turning were introduced. The combinations became more complex not only in terms of step variety but also rhythmically. There was an attitude that rotated like a Hermes statue on a pedestal and even Trusnovec looked classical executing it. Throughout the class, whenever he demonstrated or participated, one could see in a subdued way the concentrated yet quiet power of his stage persona.
Counts of 6 or 8 seemed to be his preferred phrase lengths for the combinations he gave. He spoke of "releasing" movement and "focusing" turns, giving steps "weight" and of the simplicity of falling down and lying still.
Almost suddenly the class began to do more than move. Trusnovec and his congregation of 20 danced across the floor, back and forth and not at all slowly. There was saute and chasse, there were leaps in attitude, spiraling arms and steppings into and out of arabesque. Directional variation and surprise dips kept the action fresh. Trusnovec asked for a bit of "messing up" rather than allowing correctness to impede the impetus. The weaving and sweep and lilt of this group motion reminded me of a waltzy Bodenwieser class** more than anything American.
As conclusion, there were stretches and bends in place, the other bookend for the start of this master class. I'm curious after watching the lesson how the Paul Taylor repertory will look to me at tonight's opening in the Eisenhower.
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* Yelena Musinovich
** see dvt for November 2, 2008 - "A Letter from Vienna"
