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To Everything There is a Season

“Suite Donuts,” “The Moor’s Pavane,” “There is a Time”
José Limón Company
Streamed Live at Kaatsbaan Cultural Park
Tivoli, NY
December 19, 2020

by Martha Sherman
copyright © 2020 by Martha Sherman

As the José Limón Company began “There is a Time,” the final piece in their live- streamed perform- ance at Kaatsbaan Cultural Park, the dancers swept into the circle of time that Limón created in this 1956 classic. Based on the biblical wisdom of Ecclesiastes (“for every time, there is a season,”)  the twelve dancers swayed, knees bent, and wove like interconnected threads. The simple elegance of a grapevine step brought the past into the present. In this time, where connection is most missed, the gift of seeing dancers unmasked and safely touching, it was a  reminder of the timelessness of Limón’s finest choreography.

 

José Limón Company in rehearsal for "There is a Time." Photo © Kelly Puleio.

“The Family is Intact”

Ephrat Asherie
Works & Process at the Guggenheim Livestream
New York, NY
April 26, 2020

by Martha Sherman
copyright © 2020 by Martha Sherman

Even before the coronavirus crisis closed live performance in New York City, the Guggenheim’s “Works & Process” series focused as much on artistic investigation as on finished performances. But artists now have new realms of challenge in their creative processes. Like many, Ephrat Asherie is trying not only to ensure her company can eventually come back to live performance, but also can keep dancing – vibrantly -- right now, even as the dangers of coronavirus demand social distancing. The company’s process of collaborative creation for “UnderScored” (still optimistically scheduled to culminate in a live commissioned performance at the Guggenheim in October 2020) was made transparent in their ZOOM event — and even joyous.
Photo: Ephrat Asherie & Company in ZOOM Open Rehearsal, "UnderScored."

Surreal Wonderland

“Fruits borne out of rust”
Tabaimo and Maki Morishita
Japan Society
New York, NY
March 7, 2020

by Martha Sherman
copyright © 2020 by Martha Sherman

Japanese visual artist Tabaimo is a woman on the verge of mid-life, determined to make that transition productively. “Fruits borne out of rust” is a multi-dimensional collaborative performance piece, weaving imagery, sound, and movement to tell mesmerizing stories through scenes that also provoke laughter and discomfort. Co-created with choreographer Maki Morishita and dancer Chiharu Mamiya, the “fruits” partnered Tabaimo’s visual art with a striking solo dance performance to explore this new phase in each of their lives as artists.

 

 

 

Chiharu Mamiya in "Fruits borne out of rust." Photo ©Maria Baranova.

A Matched Pair

“New Work for Goldberg Variations”
Pam Tanowitz & Simone Dinnerstein
Joyce Theater
New York, NY
December 10, 2019

by Martha Sherman
copyright © 2019 by Martha Sherman

Choreographer Pam Tanowitz is a serious headliner in the world of contemporary dance, but in "New Work for Goldberg Variations," her stunning collaboration with pianist Simone Dinnerstein, Tanowitz put the award-winning pianist at the center. Dinnerstein sat at a grand piano in the middle of the stage, and, from the first image, the dance revolved around the music. The first light to break the stage blackout illuminated only Dinnerstein’s fingers, dancing along the piano keys in a soft opening variation; next the light caught Dinnerstein’s profile. The rest of the stage lights came up oh so slowly, to illuminate the profiles of still dancers, who were facing the pianist, listening as raptly the audience. That first emerging stage light was tinted a pale orange; it was a collaborative sunrise.

Christine Flores, Melissa Toogood and Simone Dinnerstein (at piano) in "New Work for Goldberg Variations." Photo ©Erin Baiano.

An Embarrassment of Riches

“Merce Cunningham Centennial Celebration”
Curated by Dylan Crossman
Guggenheim Works and Process
Peter B. Lewis Theater
New York, NY
November 24, 2019

by Martha Sherman
copyright © 2019 by Martha Sherman

What a year it has been, as celebrations of the work of Merce Cunningham have erupted worldwide in honor of the choreo- grapher’s 100th birthday. Although the Cunningham company has been disbanded, the work is thriving, and Dylan Crossman’s curated evening at the Peter B. Lewis Theater of the Guggenheim was yet another thrilling reminder that the master’s work continues to be gorgeously rendered. Any fear of losing the dynamism and magnetism of this artistic genius’s oeuvre has been laid to rest.

"Merce Cunningham Centennial Celebration." Photo ©Robert Altman/Works & Process at the Guggenheim.

The Season is On

“A Picture of You Falling,” “Rise,” “Ash,” “Bzzzz”
Fall for Dance 2019 – Program 1
City Center
New York, NY
October 1, 2019

by Martha Sherman
copyright © 2019 by Martha Sherman

With City Center’s annual “Fall for Dance” festival in full swing, the New York dance season is officially open. The first program included two world premiere City Center Commissions, including a new work by Kyle Abraham for Misty Copeland. An American company and an international company filled in the evening, and -- always aiming to please the crowd – this season’s first program also ended, predictably, with a rousing finale. Caleb Teicher & Company, who closed with the evening’s other new City Center commission, also offered the biggest punch.

Caleb Teicher & Company in "Bzzzz." Photo ©Stephanie Berger.

Ceaseless

“Fase, Four Movements to the Music of Steve Reich”
Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker
New York Live Arts
New York, NY
September 26, 2019

by Martha Sherman
copyright © 2019 by Martha Sherman

It is hard to get much more minimalist than this, especially while offering so much. Anne Teresa de Keers- maeker’s latest re-staging of her early composition continues to mesmerize. On the bare stage, a pair of women moved in and out of hypnotic parallel to four musical “phases” by Steve Reich. In pale gray shifts and sneakers, they were lit by a bright horizontal streak of light, their black shadows dancing across a screen that covered the back wall. The dancers each shot a straight arm up, pivoted precisely 180 degrees, and snapped their elbows in parallel bends, moving in preternaturally perfect sync, except when the repetitive Reich music drifted slightly askew. As his phase shifted, so did theirs, in lightly edged retreats from the movement pattern. Then, just as facile, they found their way back. The movement discovered its shifts, along with the music, and the continuous repetitions and subtle changes created a study of stunning body memory. The first few minutes of the “Piano Phase,”– or any choice of minutes in the piece -- served as apt synecdoche for all of “Fase.”

Yuika Hashimoto and Laura Maria Poletti in "Fase." Photo ©Anne Van Aerschot

An Isadora Duncan Education

“Isadora Duncan”
Jérôme Bel
FIAF “Crossing the Line” Festival
Florence Gould Hall
New York, NY
September 25, 2019

by Martha Sherman
copyright © 2019 by Martha Sherman

The purity of Isadora Duncan’s simple, powerful movement and vision was represented with gentle ardor in Jérôme Bel’s framed portrait of the iconic dancer. “Isadora Duncan” was danced, in its US premiere, by Catherine Gallant, a long-time student of the Duncan technique, but the event was as much lesson as a performance. Using the program’s simple structure, Gallant offered the once groundbreaking work as a parade of metaphors. She danced movingly; and by evening’s end each audience member could interpret Duncan’s dances as if they had learned sign language or braille for the choreography – less mystery, more specific, flowing meaning. In its unadorned way, a century after its creation, the movement still speaks.

Catherine Gallant in "Isadora Duncan." Photo © Elena Olivo.

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.

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.