The Fall Season - Dance Events Abound in New York!
"Wild Cursive" by Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan Photos: Jack Vartoogian
Among all the theatres opening for the fall season none have more distinctive dance programming than the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), presenting the "Next Wave" and the City Center's annual "Fall For Dance" season. Wall to wall audiences pack each theater in appreciation of the opportunity to see these diverse, eclectic programs from here and abroad. Both BAM's Joseph Melillo and City Center's Arlene Shuler are to be commended on making arresting choices for these festivals. At BAM the "Next Wave" attracts droves of New Yorkers willing to tackle the subway over the river to see and be seen at this prestigious event. Shuler's brainchild at City Center is four seasons old proving that there is a dance audience that doesn't even know they are an audience - but for a 10 dollar ticket price, are willing to become one.
"Wild Cursive" by Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan Photos: Jack Vartoogian
The cast of characters and companies that performed on September 29th and 30th at "Fall" were no exception: a bit of classical ballet, modern, tap and tango merging into one diverse evening. Maguy Marin has always been a New York favorite, and Beethoven's "Grosse Fugue" adds to her reputation as a fearless creative artist. Four women in simple, red, pencil-slim dresses dashed from the wings, running onto the stage with a vivacity that did not subside until the closing moment. They seemed near collapse at the curtain call. Marin with her customary dexterity in creating exciting dance punctuated each musical dynamic with a punching velocity, the dancers often making their own sounds by rapping on the floor or clapping. Yet within, there was the fluidity that an established choreographer knows is indispensable to finished work. The running, jumping and kicking has to be glued together otherwise it remains just that. "Grosse Fugue" had plenty of adhesive.
The Swedish choreographer Mats Ek danced with his wife Anna Laguna in an ode to aging, remembrance and love entitled "Memory." Both Laguna and Ek have graying hair and were slightly stocky, but Ek with customary elegance has melded the visual signs of aging into a touching pas de deux that brought on the tears and a standing ovation. Tim Rushton tackled "An Afternoon of a Faun" and - by God - came up with yet another take on this sublime music careful not to do battle with the memorable works of Njinsky and Jerome Robbins but to fashion his own luxurious look into narcissism. The superb dancing of Johan Kobberg, playing in three pools of light projected by spots on the floor, highlighted his involvement with his own beauty. Kobborg is a stunning dancer.
Following the intermission the mood shifted into bright, playful, high-spirited choreography from "Tango Connection" – never too much tango, I say. This was a less sophisticated piece than most tango for the stage; however, the music was divine, the singer strong and articulate (might want to change her unflattering costume) and the dancers less fiery than expected but generally very likeable. Closing this program was "Bucket & Tap Shoes" performed by the Auslands brothers, Rick and Andy, Minneapolis natives who can probably wash windows, tap and eat breakfast at the same time. They are all arms and legs and are certainly educated tappers. Loose and gangly with both wrists and ankles flying they were winsome, fresh talents, ripping into their audiences and absolutely delighting them with their antics. A big gold star for this program of "Fall For Dance."
Off to the BAM Opera House for a quiet, serene, other world of dance by the Cloud Gate Dancers from Taiwan who literally and figuratively spun their magic across the vast stage. And magic it was! From the opening as svelte black-clad figures whirled in a bath of light illuminating up from the stage floor, leaving the upper stage relatively dark, to the end when the rice paper panels hanging from the ceiling had descended into a pillar-like stage set and one lone figure was left to examine the space around her. To mention the beauty created by founder-director-choreographer Lin Hwai-min is to trivialize the whole concept into a visual. "Wild Cursive," the final chapter of "Cursive - a trilogy" is a breathtaking pairing of immaculate set design (the panels), the ancient art of calligraphy that adorns the panels, and beauteous dancing. One cannot be separated from the other, only paired into a sumptuous magnificence. Integrated into the choreography are patches of stark martial arts challenges, flowing balletic arms, lifted angling torsos that end in focused expressions, Grahamesque contractions and beautiful tilts of the head. The foot held in the air was neither pointed nor flexed, but rather "sickled" in a manner that could be painful to watch but wasn't. The foot position thus became the watchword of the technique.
The broad deep strokes of calligraphy, the sweeping curves of its letters, and the movement ingrained in this ancient form of writing were meticulously transformed into movement. The skills of the dancers, the passion and the commitment are gloriously evident making the Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan an evening of pure enchantment. (A question: why only four performances – why?)