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How To Make Art

"i like penises: a little something in 24 acts"
Kimberly Bartosik/daela
FIAF: Crossing the Line 2011
Danspace
New York, NY
September 23, 2011

By Martha Sherman
Copyright © 2011 by Martha Sherman

Kimberly Bartosik cloaked robust dance and art-making in piles of junk and a provocative title, but “i like penises: a little something in 24 acts” wasn’t as trivial as the title claimed. Set at Danspace as part of FIAF’s Crossing the Line 2011 Festival, the rapidly played acts slid from one to another. Three disciplined dancers and a graphic artist partner moved in and out of rapid solos and groupings in movement that was much more than a little something. For the record, the title was a red herring, and there was not a penis in sight.

Howling at the Moon

"Black Moon (La Lune Noir)"
Monstah Black and Major Andres Scurlock
Dance New Amsterdam
New York, NY
September 16, 2011

By Martha Sherman
Copyright © 2011 by Martha Sherman

Something about a black moon just doesn’t feel right – that luminous disk in the night sky is supposed to be white. Watching the world premiere of “Black Moon (La Lune Noir,)” you imagine that’s a feeling that black men have had in America for a long time – a world of contradictions, in which many things are just not right. Choreographer/performer Monstah Black and composer Major Andres Scurlock have created a “phunk fusion cabaret operetta” that is an artists’ mash-up of song, rhythm, poetry, movement and film, more an atmosphere than a story, about the African-American male experience.

Fun with Mark

“Resurrection,” “Ten Suggestions,” “Dancing Honeymoon,” “V”
Mark Morris Dance Group
Ted Shawn Theater, Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festivals
Becket, MA
August 24, 2011

By Martha Sherman
Copyright © 2011 by Martha Sherman

Everything about Mark Morris’s opening night at Jacob’s Pillow felt jubilant. Morris’s work can make an audience laugh out loud, tell a recognizable story in a unique way, or plumb a mood or image through music. This evening’s mix focused on pure joy, in honor of the 30th anniversary of his company. The program ranged from the marvelous 1981 solo “Ten Suggestions” to the equally marvelous group works “Dancing Honeymoon” from 1998, “V” from 2001, and “Resurrection” from 2002. Each piece was a winner; we spent the evening in the company of a master and with diverse dancers at the top of their game.

Fringe Mix

The 15th Annual New York International Fringe Festival
New York City

By Martha Sherman
Copyright © 2011 by Martha Sherman

In the riot of offerings that is the International Fringe Festival, it’s hard to pick and choose – and hard to generalize. Many of this year’s pieces were identified as crossing several disciplines: drama, dance, performance art, music, puppetry, humor. Of the almost dozen dance performances presented, this sampling of four included two memories and two dreams. They weren’t particularly complex or subtle works, but each was well danced and effective in its single-minded way, and short enough to not outstay the idea’s welcome.

Forms of Flight

"Extraordinary Moves"
River-to-River Festival
World Financial Center Plaza
New York, NY
July 15, 2011

By Martha Sherman
Copyright © 2011 by Martha Sherman

A cascade of bodies fell from the sky as the River to River Festival bridged circus and dance against a brilliant summer sunset. STREB Extreme Action’s “Human Fountain,” the third act of “Extraordinary Moves” at the World Financial Center, offered the most dramatic, but not the only flight of the program. Joined by Australia’s Strange Fruit and juggler Michael Moschen, the STREB dancers combined risk and grace in what indeed were extraordinary moves.

Summer Dance Mix: Premieres and Reprises 06/22-25/2011

By Martha Sherman
Copyright © 2011 by Martha Sherman

•    “The White Room” Jennifer Muller/The Works
•    “Turbulence” Jody Sperling/Time Lapse Dance
•    “Washington Square Dances” Naomi Goldberg Haas/Dances for a Variable Population
•    “Painted Bird Part 2: Amidst” Pavel Zuštiak/Palissimo
•    Old School 122 Benefit 07/22-25/2011

"The White Room”
Jennifer Muller/The Works
Cedar Lake
New York, NY
June 22, 2011

A young innocent girl is damaged by the world and becomes wiser, but remains uncorrupted. Jennifer Muller used this familiar tale to frame “The White Room,” and although the choreography was impressive and dancers skilled, the dance didn’t offer much that was new. Muller, who spent years dancing with Jose Limon, draws her movement technique from that tradition; the balletic discipline and strength of her dancers permeates each scene.

Human Puzzle in Three Parts

"Catalog,” “Binary 2.0,” “Robot vs. Mermaid”
Ben Munisteri
Dance Theater Workshop
New York, NY
June 16, 2011

By Martha Sherman
Copyright © 2011 by Martha Sherman

The three 12-minute works Ben Munisteri presented at Dance Theater Workshop were three chapters in a unified book. The familiar vocabulary – crisp angular arms, balletic turns and lifts, the mix of human and machine movement – was set to different scores, light patterns, and metaphors. But it was the mature work of a choreographer whose beautiful dance movement is more watchable than challenging.

Honoring Jose Limón’s Time

“There is a Time,” “Chrysalis,” “The Emperor Jones”
Limón Dance Company
Gerald W. Lynch Theater at John Jay College
New York, NY
June 10, 2100

By Martha Sherman
Copyright © 2011 by Martha Sherman

The ebb and flow of Jose Limón’s dance is captured in the language of the Bible: “To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven.” Limón’s ubiquitous circles conjure cycles, communities, and the passage of time; his emotional solos are small, unmistakable portraits of love, anger, fear, peace, hate. “There is a Time,” Limón’s interpretation of  Ecclesiastes, is an elegiac reflection of life passages. Yet the same images are as easily linked to the life stages portrayed in the evening’s final work, “The Emperor Jones.”

The Shape of Immortality

“Mandala XIII”
Murray Spalding
Danspace at St. Mark’s Church
New York, NY
May 27, 2011

By Martha Sherman
Copyright © 2011 by Martha Sherman

The repetitive cycle of movement in “Mandala XIII” was offered as a hint of immortality, in tribute to the memory of choreographer Murray Spalding. Spalding, who created the twelve mandala meditations that were combined by her company to create this final work, died in November 2010. The piece was first performed in 2010, and was brought this week to Danspace Project for its final performance, to be filmed and preserved. In a circle of morphing light, against a background of gentle sound that seemed to embrace the space, the dancers whirled through their meditation, in homage to the choreographer.

Finding Their Way

"Nameless Forest”
Dean Moss
The Kitchen
New York, NY
May 20, 2011

By Martha Sherman
Copyright © 2011 by Martha Sherman

There was more confusion than mystery in Dean Moss’ “Nameless Forest.” Bells rang, water rippled, stories started and stopped, and storytellers were both cast and audience in an exotic sculpted set. It didn’t add up to a fairytale, but it worked best when the piece played just below consciousness, luring the audience into stories of their own.