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Mark Morris New and Old

“Sport,” “Prelude and Prelude,” “Words (excerpts),” “Grand Duo”
Mark Morris Dance Group
Jacob’s Pillow
Becket, MA
July 21, 2019

by Gay Morris
copyright © 2019 by Gay Morris

In recent remarks about his working process, Mark Morris said he almost always starts with a piece of music that interests him, then creates choreography for it. That is not surprising, considering Morris’s longstanding dedication to music, from his insistence on live music at his concerts to his forays into orchestral conducting. In last week’s performances at Jacob’s Pillow, Morris stressed twentieth century composers: Henry Cowell,  Erik Satie, and Lew Harrison, with Felix Mendelssohn being the nineteenth century exception.

Mark Morris Dance Group in "Sport." Photo: Christopher Duggan.

Going for Broke?

"Verses" "Otra Vez, Otra Vez, Otra Vez" "All I Ever Knew"
Sketches 9: Perspective
ODC Theater
San Francisco, CA
July 17, 2019

by Rita Felciano
copyright ©2019 by Rita Felciano  

Choreographers need commissions. After all, without dancers they are like pianists without instruments. But all too often a commission entails two weeks in a studio and, probably, just a few rehearsals before the world premiere. After awhile, San Francisco choreographer Amy Seiwert figured, this way she wouldn’t be able to sustain her creative impulses; and she probably was not alone with this conundrum. A choreographer in residence with Smuin Ballet, Founder/Artistic Director of her own Imagery ensemble and choreographing for national companies such as St. Louis, Ballet Austin, Kansas City, Milwaukee and Sacramento Ballet (where this summer she just started her second year as Artistic Director) in 2011 she founded a summer-only project, Sketch.        

Tis a Gift to Be Free

“POWER”
Reggie Wilson/Fist & Heel Performance Group
Ted Shawn Theater at Jacob’s Pillow
Becket, MA
July 13, 2019

by Martha Sherman
copyright © 2019 by Martha Sherman

When Reggie Wilson gets curious, the rest of us start to learn. Wilson’s ongoing choreographic research has delved into his African and Caribbean dance roots through multiple lenses including 20th century modern dance idioms, fractal math, and the Jewish Bible, among many. At heart, the Fist & Heel Performance Group starts with its name – the power of the fist and the heel, the enduring rhythms of the body as reflected in the movement and cultural heritage of those who were brought from Africa as slaves to the Western Hemisphere.

Clement Mensah, Paul Hamilton, and Hadar Ahuvia in "POWER." Photo © Christopher Duggan.

Dance Theater of Harlem at Jacob’s Pillow

“Harlem on My Mind,” “This Bitter Earth,” “Valse Fantaisie,” “Balamouk”
Dance Theater of Harlem
Jacob’s Pillow
Becket, MA
July 13, 2019

by Gay Morris
copyright© 2019 by Gay Morris

It is hard to believe it was fifty years ago that Arthur Mitchell and Karel Shook founded the ground- breaking Dance Theater of Harlem. Since then the company has had its ups and downs, including an eight-year hiatus from 2004 to 2012. But under the direction of Virginia Johnson, one of its first ballerinas, the company has regained its footing and is looking very good. Mitchell, who died last September, would have had every reason to be proud.

 

Photo: Crystal Serrano and Dylan Santos in the Dance Theater of Harlem production of George Balanchine's "Valse Fantaisie." Photo: Christopher Duggan.

Conflicts

CONFLICTS

 

“Swan Lake”

American Ballet Theatre

Filene Center, Wolf Trap Park

Vienna, Virginia

July 13, 2019

 

by George Jackson

copyright 2019 by George Jackson

 

Of the characters in “Swan Lake”, Odette and Odile fascinate because they are opposites as well as being similar. Suffering has given Odette her allure. Force is Odile’s magnet. However, Siegfried is just a routine prince. Perhaps he has a domineering mother, yet he both manages the courtiers and mixes with them to some extent. Like all princes who have just come of age, he has longings but doesn’t know for what. Can Siegfried be made to hold our interest? That was one of two challenges for Aran Bell, the last of ABT’s three Siegfrieds at Wolf Trap this summer. His other challenge was the bravura of the prince’s solos. Bell was making his debut in the Siegfried role. 

Blessed

“Grace and Mercy”
Ronald K. Brown/EVIDENCE
Sosoff Theater, Fisher Center at Bard College
Annandale-on-Hudson, NY
July 5, 2018

by Martha Sherman
copyright © 2019 by Martha Sherman

What follows “Grace,” for Ronald K. Brown? Mercy, of course. In the world premiere of a well-balanced two-part performance at Bard College’s Fisher Center, Brown and his company, EVIDENCE, combined the 20-year old classic “Grace” with a new work, and added live music, to make for a beautiful full-evening length combination. Brown’s original work, choreographed for the Alvin Ailey Company in 1999, is part of that company’s core repertoire, and has retained all of its power over the years. EVIDENCE, though, does it just as much service, with their fluid execution of Brown’s characteristic mix of modern and African-inflected dance, using musical rhythms to both punch and flow.

Annique Roberts in "Grace and Mercy." Photo ©Julieta Cervantes.

A Tasting Menu

The Bournonville Legacy
"La Sylphide, Act II", "A Bournonville Square: pas de trois from 'The King's Volunteers on Amager', Jockey Dance from 'From Siberia to Moscow', the street singer from 'Napoli', pas de deux from 'Kermesse in Bruges', pas de six and tarantella from 'Napoli'
Members of the Royal Danish Ballet
Joyce Theater
New York, New York
July 9, 2019

by Mary Cargill
copyright © 2019 by Mary Cargill

Ulrik Birkkjaer, formerly with the Royal Danish Ballet and now dancing with the San Francisco Ballet, has put together a group of thirteen dancers (including himself) from the Royal Danish Ballet to perform excerpts from some of August Bournonville's works.  That great nineteenth century choreographer made story ballets with large casts and elaborate settings, so the evening could only hint at the magic of those glorious works, but those hints were imaginatively chosen. Even with recorded music, a bare stage, and no corps, Bournonville's variety and pure joy of movement shown through.

Sorella Englund and Ulrik Brikkjaer in "La Sylphide" photo © Dave Morgan.

Accent on Youth

"The Sleeping Beauty"
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
July 6, 2019, evening

by Mary Cargill
copyright © 2019 by Mary Cargill

ABT's final performance of its spring season starred two of its group of talented soloists, Cassandra Trenary and Joseph Gorak, as Aurora and her prince. The only principal on view that evening was Stella Abrera as the Lilac Fairy; her arch enemy Carabosse was Craig Salstein, a former ABT soloist who left the company a year ago.  The ballet is a cornucopia of small solos, and many corps dancers and soloists had a chance to shine.

ABT in "The Sleeping Beauty" photo © John Grigaitis.

Wide Awake

"The Sleeping Beauty"
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
July 3, 2019, evening

by Mary Cargill
copyright © 2019 by Mary Cargill

Unlike Aurora, Alexei Ratmansky's 2015 production of Petipa's "The Sleeping Beauty" doesn't believe in long naps, and Ratmansky has added and subtracted elements over its brief life.  This scrupulous attention to detail seems to keep the company awake and fresh, and the dancing, highlighted by Hee Seo's lyrical Aurora and Aran Bell's noble prince, was enticing. Ratmansky's version is a more gentle Beauty than the grand "good versus evil" approach of many of the after-Petipa versions, and he, following Petipa, invites Carabosse to the wedding (without her rats).  Love triumphs, but selfishness, greed, and general meanness can still lurk in the background.

ABT dancers in "The Sleeping Beauty" photo © Doug Gifford.