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Graham at the Pillow

“Errand into the Maze,” “Cave of the Heart,” “Cave”
Ted Shawn Theater
Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival
Becket, Massachusetts
Friday, August 18, 2023

by Gay Morris
copyright ©2023 by Gay Morris

Martha Graham was at the height of her creative and performing powers when, in the 1940s, she began to make dances based on Greek myths. The Graham company offered two of these works at Jacob’s Pillow last week: "Errand into the Maze" (1947) and "Cave of the Heart" (1946). In keeping with the company’s current strategy of including contemporary works in the repertory, Israeli choreographer Hofesh "Shechter’s Cave "(2022) rounded out the program.

Photo: Martha Graham Dance Company in Hofesh Shechter's "Cave."

Hope Prevails

“Hope Hunt and the Ascension into Lazarus”
“Navy Blue”
Oona Doherty/OD Works
Ted Shawn Theater
Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival
Becket, Massachusetts
Sunday, July 30, 2023

by Gay Morris
copyright ©2023 by Gay Morris

To be honest, I was a little afraid of Oona Doherty. The press materials sent out by Jacob’s Pillow, where Doherty’s company, Oona Doherty/OD Works, performed last week, made her sound angry and aggressive. Who needs more negativity after two-plus years of pandemic trauma? But Doherty confounded expectations. To be sure, there is anger in her dance. She is a native of Northern Ireland, and it’s hard to believe anyone from that beleaguered land wouldn’t harbor some degree of anger. The surprise was that there was so much more than outrage. Doherty’s work has a complexity and richness that made me wish I had seen multiple performances, and not just one.

Sati Veyrunes watched by John Gunning in "Hope Hunt and the Ascension into Lazarus", Oona Doherty / OD Works, Jacob's Pillow 2023 Dance Festival. Photo by Becca Marcela Oviatt.