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Sara Mearns at Jacob’s Pillow

“Sara Mearns: Beyond Ballet”
Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival
Becket, MA
August 17, 2019

by Gay Morris
copyright © 2019 by Gay Morris

Sara Mearns is a dancer of power and range, so it is not surprising that she might want to join the burgeoning number of ballerinas who have sought to explore the challenges of genres outside their own. Mearns, a principal with New York City Ballet, appeared last week at Jacob’s Pillow in a production entitled “Sara Mearns: Beyond Ballet,” and in it she applied herself to new dance forms with the seriousness and focus one would expect from this exceptional dancer. She danced in works by five choreographers, and was accompanied by three different partners during the course of the performance. What made her show unusual was that all her partners, and all but one of the choreographers, were women.

Sara Mearns and Honji Wang in the Company Wang Ramierez duet, "No.1." Photo: Christopher Duggan.

A Brilliant Collaboration at Jacob’s Pillow

“The Day”
Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival
Becket, MA
August 3, 2019

by Gay Morris
copyright © 2019 by Gay Morris

“THE DAY” was the brainchild of cellist Maya Beiser, but by the time it was finished it was a genuine gesamtkunst- werk involving nine creative people, including choreo- grapher Lucinda Childs and dancer Wendy Whelan. The work was given its world premiere this past week at Jacob’s Pillow.

Maya Beiser and Wendy Whelan in "THE DAY" with choreography by Lucinda Childs and music by David Lang. Photo at left and below by Hayim Heron.

Kyle Abraham’s A.I.M. at Jacob’s Pillow

“state,” “INDY,” “The Quiet Dance,” “Show Pony,” “Drive”
A.I.M. by Kyle Abraham
Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival
Becket, MA
August 1, 2019

by Gay Morris
copyright © 2019 by Gay Morris

Kyle Abraham is everywhere these days, or almost everywhere. He is so busy creating dances for such companies as New York City Ballet and the Paul Taylor Dance Company, he rarely has time to perform with A.I.M., his own group. Jacob’s Pillow audiences are fortunate this week to be able to see Abraham dance a solo with A.I.M (the show runs through Sunday). He created the work, entitled “INDY,” last year for the Joyce Theater in New York. It was the first solo he had made for himself in nearly ten years.

Kyle Abraham in his solo, 'INDY." Photo: Grace Kathryn Landefeld.

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.

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.

Balanchine’s “Dream”

“A Midsummer Night’s Dream”
New York City Ballet
Lincoln Center, New York
May 29, 2019

by Gay Morris
copyright© 2019 by Gay Morris

George Balan-chine’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” is a perfect antidote for our troubled times. Shakespeare’s play may include tensions and quarrels, but by the end, harmony is achieved and love triumphs. In Balanchine’s hands Shakespeare’s narrative is given an added abundance of humor and beauty. For a few hours, at least, we can enter an enchanted world where every wrong is righted.

 

Fairies, butterflies and sprites in "A Midsummer Night's Dream."  Photo by Erin Baiano.

Ratmansky Trio

“The Seasons,” “Songs of Bukovina,” “On the Dnieper,”
American Ballet Theater
New York Metropolitan Opera House
Lincoln Center
May 23, 2019

by Gay Morris
copyright© 2019 by Gay Morris

American Ballet Theater’s spring season at the Metropolitan Opera House is, in part, dedicated to the works of Alexei Ratmansky, who is celebrating his tenth anniversary as artist in residence with the company. Last week there was an all Ratmansky program that featured a premiere, “The Seasons,” set to Alexander Glazunov’s well-known score, as well as two of his earlier ballets. His full-length “Harlequinade” was seen earlier in May, another full-length work, “Whipped Cream,” is being presented this week, and his reconstruction of Marius Petipa’s “The Sleeping Beauty” will be shown in July.

The final scene from Alexei Ratmansky's The Seasons. Photo: Marty Sohl.

Kyle Abraham at Skirball

“Live! The Realest MC”
A.I.M.
NYU Skirball
New York, New York
April 4, 2019

by Gay Morris
copyright 2019 by Gay Morris

There was a time when both choreo- graphers and critics thought dance should say it all. Language in any form was considered a corrupting influence that compromised dance’s autonomy. However, as modernism has faded, dancers have stopped being afraid of language. Now it is more often seen as a valuable adjunct to dance. I thought of that during Kyle Abraham’s concert at the Skirball Center Thursday evening. Abraham’s  “Live! The Realest MC” can be enjoyed purely as dance. But at certain points the spoken word is incorporated into the piece and enhances it. “Live! The Realest MC” also gains in meaning and poignancy when we learn in a program note that it was inspired by an early autobiographical solo about a closeted boy who is trying to find acceptance and an authentic identity. Referring to the Pinocchio story, Abraham asks, what does it mean to be a “real” boy?

Matthew Baker, Jeremy “Jae” Neal, and Claude “CJ” Johnson in Kyle Abraham’s “Live! The Realest MC.” Photo: Julien Benhamou.

Osipova and Hallberg

“The Leaves are Fading,’  “Flutter,” “In Absentia,” “Six Years Later,” “Ave Maria,” “Valse Triste”
Natalia Osipova’s Pure Dance with David Hallberg
New York City Center
New York, New York
April 3, 2019

by Gay Morris
copyright© 2019 by Gay Morris

It has become commonplace for ballet stars to gather a few supporting dancers to tour a program of solos and duets. Natalia Osipova is in town this weekend for just such a program at City Center. However, choosing David Hallberg as one of her three male partners, puts her concert closer to Fonteyn and Nureyev than to Sylvie Guillem or even Wendy Whelan. Hallberg is too big a talent to take second place to a ballerina, not even one he works with and admires as much as he does Osipova. So despite its title, this was a show of equals. 

Hallberg danced in only three of the six works, to Osipova’s five, but his solo and his two duets with her were the high points of the program, at least for this viewer. One of them, the central duet from Antony Tudor’s “The Leaves are Fading,” opened the program. Tudor made the work for American Ballet Theater in 1975, and seeing this excerpt made me wish ABT would bring back the entire ballet.

Natalia Osipova and David Hallberg in Antony Tudor's "The Leaves are Fading." Photo: Yohan Persson.

Dorrance Dance

“Lessons in Tradition,” “Harlequin and Pantalone,” “Jump Monk,’ “SOUNDspace”
Dorrance Dance
New York City Center
New York, NY
March 28, 2019

by Gay Morris
copyright© 2019 by Gay Morris

It would be hard to imagine a more joyful choice for a celebration than Dorrance Dance, which opened New York City Center’s seventy-fifth anniversary season Thursday evening. Michelle Dorrance’s tap concerts seem made to lift the spirits. Much of this has to do with Dorrance, herself, a whirlwind of motion who appears to delight in every move she makes. But she is far more than a virtuoso tapper. She is also an innovative choreographer and imaginative artistic director who attracts outstanding dance talent. Each of her fourteen company members is a virtuoso in is or her own right. Dorrance also collaborates with important guest artists, in this case Bill Irwin and Kate Davis, who joined forces with her on Thursday.

Photo: Michelle Dorrance, Kate Davis, and Bill Irwin in Dorrance and Irwin's "Lessons in Tradition."  Photo: Stephanie Berger.