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In A Galaxy Far, Far Away

“Tesseract”
Charles Atlas, Rashaun Mitchell, Silas Riener
BAM Harvey Theater
Brooklyn, NY
December 13, 2017

by Martha Sherman
copyright © 2017 by Martha Sherman

It opened with a starry sky, viewed through 3-D glasses. In their mixed media dance and film extravaganza, dancer/
choreo-
graphers Rashaun Mitchell and Silas Riener partnered with videographer/director Charles Atlas for a two-act performance, the first half: a rollicking 3-D dance video, the second half: a live dance performance with simultaneous video shadowing. Not surprisingly, the dancers – some schooled, as Mitchell and Riener were, under the tutelage of Merce Cunningham -- were superb, and each step, leap, turn, and gesture was crisp and forceful. The glitzy, fantastical premise, though, ended up being more silly than splendid, and never overcame its reliance on science fiction imagery or movement repetitiveness.

Photo: Cast in "Tesseract." © Robert Altman.

City of Colors and Light

 

''An American in Paris"

Elephant Eye, Pittsburgh CLO, Theatre du Chatelet et al.

Opera House

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

Washington, DC

December 14, 2017

 

by George Jackson

© 2017 by George Jackson

 

What is it about Paris that Americans who go there want to find? Some seek a sense of freedom, whereas others hope to discover their true home. This stage musical is supposed to be about the adventure of leading an expatriate life. The idea has a complicated history. It started as a 1928 orchestral composition by George Gershwin, and then became a 1951 movie choreographed by and starring tap dancer Gene Kelly.  The essence  of the screen script by Alan Jay Lerner is preserved for the current production's story by Craig Lucas. It had the Kelly character - Jerry Mulligan - as a World War 2, American veteran trying to become a successful painter in France's capital. Contrary to current revelations about abusive American men, Mulligan is an innocent. So are his two buddies, one French and the other American. The women they encounter are practical. The action is busy, and for this version often seems over directed and over choreographed for both people and props by British American trained Christopher Wheeldon. My main problem with the result is that the story's Americans were indistinguishable from its Parisians. What I enjoyed were Bob Crowley's strong palette for the sets and costumes plus Natasha Katz's illumination of the stage which made Paris really seem a city of colors and light. 

 

"Nutcracker"--One More Time

"Nutcracker"
San Francisco Ballet
War Memorial Opera House
San Francisco, CA
December 13, 2017

by Rita Felciano
copyright © Rita Felciano 2017

Maybe a break from writing clears the mind and opens it to fresh perspectives even on familiar material. At least, it seems so after more than a dozen yearly viewings of Helgi Tomasson’s 2004 “Nutcracker" set at the time of the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition. He set it to a grand event that somewhat ironically celebrated the country’s hegemony while Europe was already engaged in what was supposed to be the “War to End All Wars.” In 2017 the world seems even less safe than it did in 1915, so a work like “Nutcracker”may really look anachronistic. Yet superbly performed by an excellent ensemble to what maybe the best ballet score written, this standard has all the redeeming qualities that make it worth looking at again and again: Beauty, Dreams, Love.

Maria Kotchekova and James Walsh in Tomasson's "Nutcracker". Photo: Erik Tomasson

Beyond Butoh

"Darkness Odyssey Part 2: I or Hallucination" 
Kota Yamazaki/Fluid hug-hug
Baryshnikov Arts Center
New York December 14, 2017

by Tom Phillips 
copyright 2017 by Tom Phillips 

Five dancers take part in Kota Yamazaki’s “Darkness Odyssey Part 2: I or Hallucination,” but for the most part each dances on his or her own, on a shiny floor, with a diaphanous rectangle of silver fabric hanging overhead. The overall feeling is one of slow, liquid movement -- but with fits and starts troubling the surface calm.     

Photo: (L-R): Julian Barnett, Mina Nishimura, Raja Feather Kelly, and Joanna Kotze. Photo by Stephanie Berger.

A Temporary Pair

"I Am Vertical"

Dana Tai Soon Burgess Dance Company

Kogod Courtyard

The National Portrait Gallery

Washington, DC

December 10, 2017

 

by George Jackson 

© 2017 by George Jackson

 

The poet Sylvia Plath receives attention because she wrote about herself as a passionate woman, because she committed suicide and because she was in love with another writer - Ted Hughes, the man who led their time together. Now, more than half a century after her death at the age of only 30, Plath's poems are still in print, she is the subject of an exhibit at a major museum and of a 25-minute piece of choreography. Burgess's dance, titled "I Am Vertical" after a Plath poem, is for four women and three men. All the women embody Plath and all the men represent Hughes. By tilting four against three, I think Burgess's dramaturgy avoids showing the two writers' relationship as a contest of equals but also Hughes's guidance as something that might be considered abusive. That  this pair of lovers is portrayed cubistically, in diverse facets, gives the audience degrees of freedom in trying to understand what happened between the two writers and, ultimately to Plath.

 

Felipe Oyarzun Moltedo and Joan Ayap in "I Am Vertical." Photo by Laura McDonald.

 

For the Future?

 

The Suzanne Farrell Ballet

Opera House

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

Washington, DC

December 7 & 8, 2017

 

by George Jackson

© 2017 by George Jackson

 

First things first! Last night, December 8, the company danced the greatest "Serenade" of the countless ones I've seen. It had utterly remarkable accelerations with the fastest allegros plus the richest retards. These things were independent of any particular dancers, and yet all were part of it. The phrasing changed my idea of "romantic" and "classical" in ballet. This was a new beast! Tonight, "Serenade" will be the final work on the Suzanne Farrell Ballet's final program. Everyone who cares about ballet should try to see it. 

 

The Suzanne Farrell Ballet in Balanchine's "Serenade." Photo by Rosalie O'Connor.

 

 

The Gold Standard

"The Nutcracker"
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater
New York, New York
December 5, 2017

by Mary Cargill
copyright © 2017 by Mary Cargill

The enduring charm of Balanchine's "The Nutcracker" continues to light up the stage with its combination of the Maryinsky of his youth (the little Nutcracker's mime, the hoop dance, the floating arabesque trick, the snowflake's pom poms, and the magical tree that all came from the Russian version) and the more daring style of his own company (notably in the Dewdrop choreography).  Modern, though, only goes so far and Balanchine's "Nutcracker" is a glorious pre-Freudian homage to the innocent wonder of childhood.

 

The New York City Ballet in "The Nutcracker." Photo © Paul Kolnik.

Metabolisms: Persistent, Eroding, Human

Helanius Wilkins's "Triggered"

Terrace Theater

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

Washington, DC

December 3, 2017

 

by George Jackson

© 2017 by George Jackson

 

Was it bold of Wilkins to start with three male solos in a row and continue with a male duet? A sign at the theater's entrance had alerted the audience to strong language and mature topics. Yet, what met the eye possessed a harmony that was totally unsensationalistic. Different bodies, so it seemed, moved as a matter of course - quite naturally. The first body ran a couple of circles, and then stopped to explore such actions as leaning, bending, twisting the torso and balancing. Dressed in a flowing white shirt over tight dark trousers, this figure declared that its life pulse was smooth despite some "Wasted Time ...On Luvin' U". Swaying, turning, a jump and a still stand, plus walking slowly away from us, were moves that underscored this individual's temperament. The second man looked somewhat different. Shirtless and wearing jeans, he too was steeped in expressive motion. He bent like the first man, but also did floor work, a somersault and a hand stand. Yet he staggered more and suffered a collapse. With his dance titled "Bitter", was he younger and less experienced than his predecessor? In the third solo - "To the One I ... With Love" - pliant arms dominated the body's action. The port de bras did not become pathetic but gave the figure a lonely, buoyant dignity. 

 

Photo: Wilkins in a rehearsal of "A Bon Coeur". Photo by Angelisa Gillyard.