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French Cuisine: "Mother Goose," "Afternoon of a Faun," "Antique Epigraphs," "In G Major"
New York City Ballet
New York State Theater
New York, NY
May 28, 2008

by Susan Reiter
copyright © Susan Reiter

"Go slow, go slow," Jerome Robbins instructs Peter Martins and Suzanne Farrell in the film clip that preceded this all-Robbins, all-French music program. He is seen coaching them intently in 1979 as they rehearse "Afternoon of a Faun," and Robbins is clearly mesmerized by them yet also concerned that the brush of a hand across a face, the gentle turning of a cheek, not be rushed. Throughout the four works on this program -- neatly balanced between Ravel, for the opening and closing works, and Debussy, for the two central pieces -- one could find a languid air of reverie, a quality of slowing-down and absorbing the moment that this music drew from Robbins. The quiet gaze, the sculptural pose, the moment of rapt engagement -- these were all much in evidence. Even amid the giddy playful hubbub of "In G Major," the one work most clearly geared to entertain in a more expansive manner, there is that quietly pulsating, dreamlike duet of gentle advances and retreats, of two bodies inevitably being drawn together, that casts a spell of calm reflection and allows us to contemplate the infinite.

Meditation Through Movement

LINES Ballet
“Long River, High Sky”
May 28, 2008
Yerba Buena Center for the Arts
San Francisco, California
by Rita Felciano

copyright © Rita Felciano, 2008

It’s not difficult to understand why LINES Ballet packed them in at the reprise of “Long River, High Sky”, Alonzo King’s 2007 collaboration with wushu practicing Shaolin monks from China. The almost two-hour East meets West show proved that under the right circumstances different cultures indeed can meet. The work received one of the longest standing ovations that I can remember having seen in the Bay Area. It should have been no surprise. Who can resist a septet of flying thunder ball monks in tandem with a group of gorgeously articulate dancers on their own forays into space?

La MaMa in Mid-Life

An Evening of Dance Works
Choreography by Christopher Caines, Ping Chong, and Muna Tseng
La MaMa e.t.c., New York
May 29, 2008
By Tom Phillips
Copyright 2008 by Tom Phillips

For 46 years now, La MaMa experimental theater company has been the place to go to see something new and completely unexpected. By now, it’s only natural that this mama is showing signs of middle age; so the final program of the month-long La MaMa Moves! Dance Festival mixed something new with something old, and even something old-fashioned. The old was best – a revival of Muna Tseng’s “Water Water,” with most of the original cast returning, 24 years after its New York premiere. “Water Water” is a subtle spoof of Asian formalism and sexism, with a cast of six Asian women. In 1984 it must have looked revolutionary; now, in retrospect, it looks prophetic.

Avast, Me Hearties

"Le Corsaire"
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
New York, NY
May 24, 2008, Matinee

by Mary Cargill
copyright 2008 by Mary Cargill

Memorial Day weekend seemed to turn into the Forth of July with a spirited and invigorated version of the pirate caper.  In the recent past, this ballet has appeared to be danced, not just with tongue in cheek, but with a finger holding the nose, as if the company were barely enduring the admittedly mishmash of styles and confusing story.  Though Le Corsaire will never have the emotional richness or dramatic cohesion of some of the other Russian classics, it does have enough brilliant choreography to be treated as respectfully as it was for the lucky matinee audience.  The highlight was Angel Corella's Ali.  From the opening tableaux, with the pirate ship tossing on the waves, Corella was magnetic, his body tense with eagerness to serve his master.  His quick, sharp nod of understanding when given an order, his pride in his servility, his generous worship of his master's beautiful partner created a true character; even his back seemed to emote.  Corella has always been a charmer, but some of that charm came from a rueful grin when his technical tricks didn't quite come off--"well, I tried my best because I wanted to entertain you" he seemed to be signaling to the audience.  In this performance, there was no need for that, because his technique was rock solid, and he made the most amazing spins and jumps seem easy and almost natural.  He seems to be at that miraculous point when phenomenal technique and theatrical integrity and understanding merge; it was a magnificently complete performance.

Male Divas, Female Bonding

La MaMa Moves! Dance Festival 2008
“Dancing Divas”
choreography by Barbara Mahler, Jodi Melnick, Sara Rudner, Vicky Shick, Sally Silvers, Pam Tanowitz
“Male Bonding”
choreography by John Scott, John Jasperse, Miguel Gutierrez
La MaMa e.t.c., New York
May 24, 2008

By Tom Phillips
Copyright 2008 by Tom Phillips

La MaMa e.t.c. put on a doubleheader of mostly new works and works-in–progress at their dance festival Saturday night, but the marquee titles may have been reversed. “Male Bonding” gave us three pieces with dancers mostly obsessing about themselves. On the other hand, six women were billed as the “Dancing Divas,” but their work mostly explored relationships. The best was a double duet by Pam Tanowitz that explored both the mechanics and the psychology of partnering.

With/Out Tutu

With/Out Tutu
William Forsythe, “The Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude”, Jodie Gates, “Courting the Invisible”, and Clark Tippet, “Bruch Violin Concerto No. 1”
State Ballet Berlin
Staatsoper Unter den Linden
Berlin
May 18,2008

by Horst Koegler
copyright @2008 by Horst Koegler

Near the end of his fourth season as Intendant (General Manager) of the German State Ballet Berlin, Vladimir Malakhov, 40, presented as his third  seasonal premiere an all-American triple-bill, entitled “With/Out Tutu”, starting with William Forsythe´s potboiler “The Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude” of 1996 vintage, succeeded by Jodie Gates´ creation of  “Courting the Invisible”, with Clark Tippet´s  “Bruch´s Violin Concerto No.  1” of 1987 as conclusion. Danced at the historical Opera House Unter den Linden (the other regular performing place of the company is the modern Deutsche Oper Berlin in the Western part of the city) it showed the 80-odd dancers troupe (the biggest of all German companies) in fine technical fettle and was clamorously feted by the audience, though  less unanimously so two days later by the Berlin critics, some of whom thought it too retrograde in its rigidly classical orientation. In the context of the whole season, its two earlier programmes celebrating “Glories of the Romantic Ballet” (with excerpts from “Pas de quatre”, “Le Vivandière” and “Paquita”)  and the Peter Schaufuss staged version of Bournonville´s “La Sylphide”, the season really seemed classically somewhat overloaded, but it has to be admitted that it emerged a splendid showcase of the technical progress the company has made in the relatively short time of its existence, with Valentina Savina as its strict taskmistress.

Youth is Well Served

ABT II
Joyce Theater
New York, NY
May 10, 2008 (matinee)

by Susan Reiter
copyright © Susan Reiter 2008

Bracing and beautifully shaped, Aszure Barton's "Barbara" unfolds with a deeply satisfying blend of inevitability and surprise. These seemingly contradictory qualities coexist quite naturally because Barton never ventures into predictable territory, yet every moment of the ballet reflects a keen insight and response to the wistful, charmingly simple yet poignant songs of the late French singer/songwriter for whom it is named. Many choreographers seem to wander aimlessly through the scores they select -- why did they choose this music, we are often left wonder -- but Barton pierces to the heart of these songs with delicate restraint. Add in her confident sense of structure and her knack for the odd yet resonant gesture, and you have just some of the elements that make this premiere that distinctly rare experience -- a new work that one immediately hopes to see again.

In the Hierarchy

Philadanco – The Philadelphia Dance Company
The Concert Hall at Strathmore
North Bethesda, Maryland
May 16, 2008

by George Jackson
copyright 2008 by George Jackson

If A is for Ailey, B is for Joan Myers Brown and her Philadanco. Yes, fans put it that blatantly when ranking the dance companies that try to forge a popular American Black cultural image. Vox populi, vox dei! What, though, is the reason for Philadanco’s lesser place in the hierarchy?  Not its modest size (a dozen dancers) or its emphasis on ensemble instead of stars but its lack of luck in finding choreography that lasts. The Ailey company had Ailey himself once upon a time. His was the rare gift to entertain, explore and enlighten all at the same time with the same steps. None of the four works Brown chose for the Strathmore performance accomplished that. Zane A. Booker, Daniel Ezralow, Gene Hill Sagan and Rennie Harris were the choreographers. 

Coming Attractions

"ABT Gala"
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
New York, NY
May 19, 2008

by Mary Cargill
copyright 2008 by Mary Cargill

As good galas go, this one went quickly, with a lot of variety, and a couple of sets of fouettes to count.  It was, by and large, a preview of the season to come, with excerpts from various works.  The novelty was Antony Tudor's Judgment of Paris, a preview, so to speak, of the upcoming Tudor homage in the fall City Center season.  The only performances I have seen of this sardonic little vignette have been those of the New York Theatre Ballet, led by Diana Byer.  Byer, in fact, was credited, along with the late Sallie Wilson, with staging the ABT production.  ABT's version starred former ABT dancers Kathleen Moore, Martine Van Hamel, and Bonnie Mathis, in a very welcome return.  The major difference between the ABT version and the Theatre Ballet one was in the scale.  The cavernous Opera House is not the best place for sardonic subtlety, and Kurt Weill music worked better, I think, in the tinny piano version rather than the somewhat sweeter, more commercial orchestration used at the Met.  But the imaginative musicality and characterization that Tudor's steps have were so welcome in an evening otherwise devoted to fluff. 

Deconstruction Project

Poom2
“A Page Out of Order M to M”
Yoshiko Chuma and the School of Hard Knocks
Japan Society, New York
May 17, 2008

by Tom Phillips
Copyright 2008 by Tom Phillips

The state of Manipur in India and the nation of Macedonia in the Balkans have little or no contact with each other and little or no culture in common, but they share a common bond: they’ve been through the School of Hard Knocks. Fought over, carved up, traded back and forth and chronically exploited and trashed by bigger, stronger neighbors, these are “submerged, near-invisible lands,” surviving only because of their capacity to absorb punishment, and their perverse sense of their own existence. As such they are emblems of our own lives, aren’t they? That’s what Yoshiko Chuma seems to imply in the latest “Page Out of Order” in her series of multi-media theater explorations, this one subtitled “M to M” – Macedonia to Manipur. It’s a trip.