In 1989, Mark Morris—then a Brussels-based enfant terrible with the resources of the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie to hand—choreographed a danced version of Henry Purcell’s opera “Dido and Aeneas” and infamously cast himself as both its tragic heroine—Dido, the legendary queen of Carthage—and her arch-nemesis, the Sorceress. He retired from the role in 2000 and for a time put “Dido” in mothballs. Six years later, he revived the work and it has remained in his company’s active repertory ever since, with at least one performance run presented somewhere every year. For most of that time Amber Star Merkens and the recently retired Bradon McDonald have performed the dual lead on alternate nights. It’s been a dozen years since Morris relinquished the role—he’s been out for longer than he was in—and still a surprising amount of the buzz in advance of the work’s sold-out return to New York kept circling back to the fact that someone other than Morris would be dancing.
On reading the description of Triskelion’s 4th Annual Collaboration in Dance Festival, my companion asked, “Aren’t all dances collaborations?” In the seven short performances on Friday, the best collaboration was a familiar one between dancers and live musicians; the others included equally familiar connections to film or narrated scripts and props. The collaborations in these pieces didn’t seem much more offbeat or noteworthy than most live dance performances; but the performers seemed to be having a good time – and the audience went right along with them.
The cover poster for Jacob’s Pillow this season was also shorthand for what the Royal Winnipeg Ballet displayed at its best. Lovely Jo-Ann Sundermeier, one of the company’s principals, was pictured in a strong, firmly placed pose en pointe, with wafting fabric floating around her and a light smile on her lips. As the photo hinted, this beautiful company danced contemporary pieces with a romantic streak, and hewed close to its classical roots. And those smiles touched the lips of every dancer. Yet the choreography didn’t allow the troupe to display much depth or drama, even with three varied and powerful scores.
Modern dance is still catching up with ballet in China, but Tao Ye doesn’t feel behind the times. He’s a minimalist and a formalist who played with concepts of pacing and construction that were provocative enough to make people leave. But was the audience provoked or just exhausted?
