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A Beatles Tribute For All

“Pepperland”
Mark Morris Dance Group
Eisenhower Theater
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Washington, DC
November 16, 2019

by Arielle Ostry
copyright © 2019 by Arielle Ostry

When I first heard Mark Morris had choreo- graphed a work to Beatles music, I was surprised and a bit skeptical. There are a lot of strong feelings about the Beatles. Some people believe it is a crime not to love their work. After seeing this show, I believe it is a crime not to gain some sort of enjoyment from watching Mark Morris’ new work, “Pepperland.” His tribute to the “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” album was enlightening, soothing, and chock full of humor. To paraphrase the creator himself, Morris claimed that this show is for people who love the Beatles, for those who hate the Beatles, and everybody in between. The work was not meant to place the Beatles’ groundbreaking album on a pedestal nor demean the iconic collection of experimental songs by poking frivolous fun at its themes and melodies. Instead, Morris developed a remarkably witty and subtly clever hour-long dance. Decked out in neon, the dancers unraveled like a collection of Crayola crayons released from the confines of their brand new box.

Photo: Mark Morris Dance Group in "Pepperland". Photo by Gareth Jones.

“Taiten: Noh & Kyogen”

“Taiten: Noh & Kyogen”
Japan Society
New York
November 14-16, 2019

by Gay Morris
copyright© 2019 by Gay Morris

Japanese Noh is said to be the oldest living theatrical form, its roots going back to the fourteenth century. It is bound by the minutest of rules, every gesture and step refined to abstraction. Its subject matter, too, was developed centuries ago and deals with an unreal world of warriors, ghosts, madwomen, angels, gods, and priests. Although Noh may be deeply conservative, the performance of “Taiten” last week at the Japan Center shows that it can be more than an archive of the past. The work was originally created to celebrate the 1912 enthronement of the 123^rd emperor of Japan. It has now been recreated and brought up to date to celebrate the ascendance of Hirohito, the 126^th emperor, whose enthronement is taking place this year with numerous rituals and celebrations.

Photo: The Heavenly Maiden dances in “Taiten,” From left-to-right: Maekawa Mitsunori, Kamei Hirotada, Mikata Shizuka, Narita Tatsushi, Sugi Ichikazu, Hosho Naoya, Hosho Kinya. Photo by Richard Termine.

Dust to Dust

"Dust", "Private Domain", "Piazzolla Caldera"
Paul Taylor Dance Company
David H. Koch Theater
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
November 16, 2019, evening

by Mary Cargill
copyright © 2019 by Mary Cargill

The three Taylor works in this program were all, in different ways, sardonic but sympathetic observations of loneliness and isolation.  This emotional downer did seem fitting, for this season is the final one for several Taylor dancers (Michelle Fleet, Parisa Khobdeh, Sean Mahoney, and Jamie Rae Walker -- Robert Kleinendorst will retire later this year) and for many in the audience, the retirement of a favorite dancer does seem a personal loss.  The dances, though, do survive, and so, I suspect, after a proper period of mourning, will the audience.

Paul Taylor Dance Company in "Piazzolla Caldera" photo © Paul B. Goode.

Romance and Redemption

"Giselle"
The National Ballet of Canada
Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts
Toronto, Canada
November 6, 2019

by Denise Sum
copyright © 2019 by Denise Sum

The National Ballet of Canada opened their 2019-2020 season with a respectful look to the past. "Giselle" is an iconic touchstone for any classical company. Sir Peter Wright's production keeps the story of love and forgiveness front and centre, told through unadorned movement and mime. Whether the narrative, involving a nobleman in disguise, forest spirits, and death by dancing, comes across as dated or timeless rests heavily on the shoulders of the leading dancers. On opening night, this romantic era masterpiece was artfully rendered by Svetlana Lunkina and Harrison James as the central couple, supported by strong soloists and corps de ballet. Lunkina and James were first paired as Giselle and Albrecht three years ago. With time, the depth and nuance of their interpretations have continued to flourish.  

Svetlana Lunkin and Harrison James in "Giselle". Photo by Aleksandar Antonijevic. 

"The Body Is the Brain" -- Hope Mohr

"Signals from the West: Bay Area Artists in Conversation with Merce Cunningham at 100"
Hope Mohr Dancer: The Bridge Project with SFMOMA's Open Space
ODC Theater
San Francisco, CA
November 8. 2019

by Rita Felciano
copyright © Rita Felciano

The most recent Hope Mohr Dance Bridge Project, the ambitious, challenging and often mesmerizing “Signals from the West: Bay Area Artists in Conversation with Merce Cunningham at 100” is Mohr’s contribution to the many celebrations of the choreographer’s birthday. Almost three-months long, it brought together writers, activists, institutions and scholars in conversations, lecture demos and collaborations with each other. Rashaun Mitchell and Silas Riener opened the project in August by teaching an open audition of excerpts from “Scramble,” “Roaratorio,” “BIPED,” ”Change of Address” and “Fluid Canvas.”

The project closed with ten local performers — not all dancers – presenting world premieres based on their encounter with the Cunningham legacy. Those were interspersed by a quartet of dancers in the Cunningham excerpts. Sarah Bukowski, Traci Finch, Emily Hansel and Stacey Yuen, dressed in leotards vaguely reminiscent of “Summertime,” beautifully worked through the timing and expansive precision of Cunningham’s choreography.

Nol Simonse in Christy Funsch's "Moves Cords Names" Photo: Hillary Goidell

Old Favorites

"Airs", "Sunset", "Syzygy"
Paul Taylor American Dance
David H. Koch Theater
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
November 9, 2019, evening

by Mary Cargill
copyright © 2019 by Mary Cargill

For its annual New York season the Taylor Company has not adopted the idea of themed triple bills, where the same dances are performed together.  This may be easier on the schedulers, but it does limit and repertory, and a repertory as rich as Taylor's deserved to be seen from all angles.  The Saturday night performance showed works from the 1970s and '80s, mature Taylor at his most confident, ranging from the classical harmonies of "Airs" and the frantic energy of "Syzygy" to the profound understanding of young soldiers' fears in "Sunset", avoiding any facile and obvious anti-war disdain.

Paul Taylor Company in "Syzygy" photo © Paul B. Goode.

In Memorium

"Aureole", "Troilus and Cressida (reduced)", "Last Look", "Beloved Renegade"
Paul Taylor American Modern Dance
David H. Koch Theater
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
November 5, 2019

by Mary Cargill
copyright © 2019 by Mary Cargill

The second Paul Taylor Memorial Performance (the free event was given twice) included an impressive range of Taylor's works, from the sublime "Aureole", the silly "Troilus and Cressida (reduced)", the harrowing "Last Look", and ended with the new Artistic Director Michael Novak's farewell performance in "Beloved Renegade".  He received a shower of flowers and a rousing ovation, as the audience seemed to unite in thanking him and the company.  The final moments had the company congregating on the stage, backs to the audience, as they applauded a picture of Taylor while the curtain slowly lowered, a warm and oddly private salute to their own renegade.

Paul Taylor Dance Company in "Last Look" photo © Paul B. Goode.

Romantic into Classicism

"La Baydère"
Marinsky Ballet
Cal Performances
Zellerback Hall
Berkeley, California
October 30, 2019

by Rita Felciano
copyright 2019 by Rita Felciano

What a magnificent, somewhat cumbersome fantasy “La Bayadère” is. In the recent Mariinsky Ballet performance at Cal Performances with a cast of, apparently, two hundred, and an orchestra that just about spilled out of the pit, the dancing was superb, the story telling clear and beautifully spaced, the mime large and much welcome. So there were few a missteps, a couple of errant balances; that is and was expected in a live performance. Yet it was so much fun to see the transition from the Romantic story ballet to the pure Classicism of the Ballet Blanc in the same evening. The story ballet just about dissolved in what is here the last act. We entered the realm of pure beauty.

But for all its fantasy, just like in its model “Giselle,” ”Bayadère” also embodies a dose of hard-nosed reality. It’s only in fairy tales that the poor boy gets the princess. In life the peasant girl on the assembly line doesn’t marry the factory owner’s son. Maybe in 1877 the implicit critique of corruption in religious and secular powers – the High Brahmin and the Rajah — also could be downplayed as “it’s just a story.” But we live in a more skeptical age.

 

Maria Khoreva in "La Bayadère". Photo: Natasha Razina

 

Nearly Neighbors

“Increasing”, “Little Prince”, “Its Not a Cry”, “Switch Phase” Duo, “Last Glass”

BalletX for Damian Woetzel’s Demo

Terrace Theater

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

Washington, DC

October 25, 2019

 

by George Jackson

copyright 2019 by George Jackson

 

Although the two cities are close on the map, Philadelphia and Washington have dance scenes that pretty much remained strangers. The Pennsylvania Ballet, which is at home in Philadelphia, did visit Washington in the past. Yet the  “other” troupe in Philadelphia – BalletX -  had not been seen in DC until now, when Damian Woetzel made it his business to introduce that “contemporary classical” company to audiences in the capital. There are 10 dancers in BalletX, and there was one guest artist for this visit – Robbie Fairchild, formerly of New York City Ballet. Three of the program’s five dances were choreographed by Matthew Neenan. He was one of the principal reasons for founding a “second” ballet troupe in Philadelphia. Neenan uses the dancer’s total body and often deploys it as a unit, as a whole. His choices of music range from a Franz Schubert quintet to folk melodies to dramatic film scores. Something always seems to be happening in Neenan ballets.

 

Ballet X in "The Little Prince." Photo by Teresa Wood.

Ambitions

“Défilé" “Reverence”, “Delusional Beauty”, “Racecar”

The Washington Ballet’s Next Steps Program

Harman Hall

Washington, DC

October 24, 2019

 

by George Jackson

copyright 2019 by George Jackson

 

The next steps danced are not necessarily new ones. Instead, they can stir memories. This program began with silent video clips of dance and short messages before the company’s director, Julie Kent, stepped in front of  the curtains to welcome her audience. The former ballerina looked trim on high platform shoes with tight, light trousers and a top that resembled a feather duster. The audience had been expecting three new ballets but not a fourth, the opener – Kent’s own défilé for 25 young pupils of The Washington School of Ballet, which is celebrating its 75th anniversary. This ballet’s title, of course, derives from the Paris Opera’s historic défilés, or filings by, in which the dancers walk, just walk, over the stage. Also, Kent may have been prompted to mount her work by the recent hit made by 20 children from Russia’s Vaganova Academy in the Mariinsky Ballet’s “Paquita”. Our local kids, girls and boys, hadn’t the polish and push of the Russian pupils yet presented more than just promise. Their persistence in skipping, jumping and keeping order created an awesome mood as pianist Glenn Sales supported them with Leo Delibes music. The next ballet, Jessica Lang’s “Reverence”, seemed to have evolved from défilés.