Dancing in Puddles
Rain
Rosas
Howard Gilman Opera House
Brooklyn Academy of Music
Brooklyn, New York
November 13, 2003
By
Meital Waibsnaider
Copyright
©2003 by Meital Waibsnaider
Like
all good storms, Rain began in stillness and calm. Sturdy ropes hung from
the ceiling in a crescent shape that spanned the circumference of the
stage, but remained open along the front, stopping short of closing in
a full circle. Careful not to disturb the ropes, which swung impressively
when provoked, Rosas, the Brussels-based ten-member troupe consisting
of three men and seven women, quietly entered and engulfed the space.
Within the
first moments, Keersmaeker planted the seeds for the seventy-minute piece.
I think in this one evening we may have witnessed every combination of
ten dancers imaginable. But watching Rain unfold was more than a thirst-quenching
treat.
read review
Exposed
under/world
Roseanne
Spradlin
The Kitchen
New York, NY
November 8, 2003
By
Susan Reiter
copyright © 2003 by Susan Reiter
For
those who might squirm a bit when a choreographic moment puts a dancer's
crotch more or less in our face (and perhaps wonder whether the dancer
feels awkward in that position), Roseann Spradlin's Under/world tells
us to get over it, quickly. Just about every inch of her three dancers'
anatomy is in our face.
read review
A Tasteless Beauty
Sleeping
Beauty
Saba Dance Theatre
(presented by French Institute Alliance Francaise)
Florence Gould Hall
New York, NY
November 15, 2003
By
Susan Reiter
copyright © 2003 by Susan Reiter
What
are all these children making of all this? I found myself wondering as
this stupefyingly tasteless and amateurish vanity project unfolded in
front of what was largely a family audience. The Alliance Francaise's
dance offerings are sporadic, and in the past have featured some respected
and adventurous contemporary French troupes. What led them to present
the Saba Dance Theatre—named for its artistic director/choreographer/costume
designer, the single-named (like Cher, with whom he shares a penchant
for extravagant, tasteless get-ups) Saba, is a mystery.
read review
Letter from New York
Mindy Aloff's Letter from New York will return in two weeks. If you've missed an earlier Letter, you can catch up:
[republished from last week's Midweek Update]
Staging Martha Graham's Celebration
An Interview with Yuriko
By Mindy Aloff
Copyright ©2003 by Mindy Aloff
Among Barbara Morgan’s very greatest images of the Martha Graham Dance Company are the handful of her ensemble, rocketing in synch, from Celebration (given its première in 1934, photographed sometime between 1936 and 1941). Graham, herself, is nowhere to be seen; she never performed in the dance. Some of those who did, though, have recorded their experiences, which might lead one to think that the dance consisted of jumping from beginning to end. (Various estimates put the number of jumps in it at around 150.) “It was sensational because we jumped the whole time,” May O’Donnell told critic Tobi Tobias in 1981. In Robert Tracy’s Goddess: Martha Graham’s Dancers Remember, Pearl Lang recalls that “the technique is very difficult. They used to teach the difficult jumps from Celebration in class.” Jane Dudley, also interviewed by Tracy, remembered: “When I was asked to join Martha’s company, I had to learn Martha’s dance Celebration, which nearly killed me. The fact is, enthusiastic as I was, and with as well-endowed a body [as] I had, I wasn’t prepared for the stamina a dancer needed for Celebration.” An especially vivid account is Bonnie Bird’s, in her memoir Bird’s Eye View: Dancing with Martha Graham and on Broadway:
“In
1933 Martha choreographed Celebration, a marvelously energetic
dance suggestive of atoms and molecules rebounding to and fro, being propelled
in space. We ran backward with tiny steps on half-toe, knees straight,
similar to bourrées, which created a feeling of vibratory momentum.
I jumped in the center of the group until my legs ached. Others split
off like frecrackers spewing out in different directions. The dance was
impersonal, yet exciting, and we all loved it. The fact that we danced
Celebration with impassive faces was puzzling to people in the audience.
Martha had expunged smiling long before this.”
read article
What's On This Week
November
17
Balanchine's Lost Choreography
The Guggenheim Museum's program, Works & Process, welcomes ballet
legends Frederic Franklin and Maria Tallchief, who will recreate lost
choreography from two ballets by George Balanchine, Mozartiana (1933)
and Le Baiser de la Fee (1937). Nancy Reynolds, the director
of research at The George Balanchine Foundation, will lead a discussion
with the participants and New York City Ballet dancers will perform.
Guggenheim Museum
5th Ave. at 89th St.
www.worksandprocess.com
November
17-30
Dance Cuba
Choreographer Lizt Alfonso premieres De Novo and other works that blend
flamenco with ballet and live Afro-Cuban music.
New Victory Theater
209 W. 42nd St.
(212) 239-6200
www.newvictory.org/
November
17 and 24
Movement Research at the Judson Church
This week's forum for experimentation and works-in-progress features the
work of Daniel Lepkoff, David Hurwith, Ursula Eagly, Ann Livingston Young,
and Edisa Weeks.
55 Washington Square South
212-539-2611
November
17-November 30 (opened October 30)
Noche Flamenca
One of Spain's most successful flamenco companies performs for five weeks.
Soledad Barrio, winner of a Bessie Award in 2001, performs.
Lucille Lortel Theatre
121 Christopher Street
212-239-6200
November
18-23 (opened November 11)
Garth Fagan Dance
Fagan stages the world premiere of Dancecollageforromie. Also on the bill
during the run are Translation Translation, Griot New York,
Passion Distanced and Prelude.
175 Eighth Ave. at 19th St.
212-242-0880
www.joyce.org
November
18, 20-22
Moon Water
Cloud Gate Dance theatre of Taiwan, with choreography by Lin
Hwai-min, performs a pure dance work develped from movements based on
tai chi and martial arts.
Brooklyn Academy of Music
Howard Gilman Opera House
30 Lafayette Ave.
718-636-4100
www.bam.org
November
20-22
Juliana May Dance
Merce Cunningham Dance Studio
55 Bethune St
212-691-9751 ext. 30
November
20-23
Riedel Dance Theater
Jonathan Riedel - with Roxane D'Orleans-Juste, Mary Ford and
pianist Richard Cameron-Wolfe - offers a program of varied dance and theater
styles that alternate between the abstract and story-telling.
Joyce Soho
155 Mercer Street, betwen Houston and Prince
212-431-9233
November
20-23
Julia Ritter Performance Group
Ritter collaborates with writer Michael Duke, composer Bradford Reed and
seven dancers, actors and vocalists to create KLEP - taken from the word
kleptomania.
Theatre at St. Mark's Church
131 E 10th Street at 2nd Avenue
212-674-8112
November
21
Global Beat of the Boroughs Center for Traditional Music and Dance presents
performances of West African music and dance by the Kotchegna Dance Company
of the Ivory Coast and Abdoulaye Diabate of Mali.
Symphony Space
2537 Broadway
212-865-1414
November
21-22
New York Theatre Ballet
Dance on a Shoestring
This chamber ballet company, known for its children's programs and revivals
of Antony Tudor, holds its fifth annual in-house series Dance on a Shoestring.
Short works, new pieces and revivals are expected to be performed.
The Dance Gallery
30 East 31st Street - 5th Floor
New York, NY 10016
212-679-0401
www.nytb.org
November
22-23
Kaatsbaan International Dance Center
A triple bill including Battleworks, Doug Elkins and Maureen Fleming.
Tivoli, New York
845-757-5107
Through
November 23
Noemie Lafrance
Noemie Lafrance's Bessie Award-winning Descent is a homage to New York
created since the terrorist attacks of September 11. It is performed over
12 floors of stairway with a score by Brooks Williams.
City Court Building Clock Tower
108 Leonard St. between Broadway and Lafayette St.
212-868-4444
— Dale
Brauner
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