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Where Butoh Lives

"Void and Vessel," "Mogari," "Hildergardis”
The New York Butoh Institute Festival 2019
Theater for the New City, New York
October 19, 2019

by Tom Phillips
copyright  2019 by Tom Phillips 

Butoh is an art form that rose from the ruins of the atom bombing of Japan -- an event that recalled the Big Bang at the beginning of time, and presaged the Resurrection of the Dead. Both were evoked last night at the second annual New York Butoh Institute Festival.

This year’s festival features 14 performers, all female, from all over the world. While Butoh is a Japanese art form, it lacks the strict formal traditions of Kabuki or Noh theatre. Instead it has a spirit, available to any culture that has survived destruction. New York, which constantly destroys and rebuilds itself, is a perfect venue.

Let Them Eat Cake

"Theme and Variations", "Let Me Sing Forevermore", "A Gathering of Ghosts"
American Ballet Theatre
David H. Koch Theater
Lincoln Center
New York, New York
October 16, 2019

by Mary Cargill
copyright © 2019 by Mary Cargill

ABT's Fall gala abandoned the usual trappings -- not a fouetté in sight -- though there were some extended speeches, especially the one from Lisa Lutoff-Perlo, the president of Celebrity Cruises, in which she quoted statistics showing the small number of current female choreographers and touting the fact that the ABT gala featured works by two of them.  Unfortunately, though enthusiastically danced, both were completely overshadowed by Balanchine's "Theme and Variations".

Devon Teuscher and Cory Stearns in "Theme and Variations" photo © Rosalie O'Connor

An Open and Adventurous Program

“Opus 19/The Dreamer,” “Lineage,” “The Shaded Line,” “Symphony in C”
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater, Lincoln Center
New York
October 13, 2019

by Gay Morris
copyright© 2019 by Gay Morris

Lauren Lovette doesn’t look like a person who makes waves; the word “adorable” could have been invented for her. There is evidence, though, in her dancing, that she can recreate herself, as she did on Sunday in Jerome Robbins’ “Opus 19/The Dreamer,” where she became almost feral in a nightmarish segment of the ballet. Far more surprising is that, in addition to the intelligence and versatility she brings to roles as a principal dancer with New York City Ballet, she is a choreographer — one of the few NYCB women ever to create works for the company — and Lovette is doing all this while still in her twenties. Her newest endeavor, premiered this season and performed Sunday is titled “The Shaded Line,” and it is a startling addition to the company’s repertory.

Photo: Georgina Pazcoguin and Company in Lauren Lovette’s "The Shaded Line." Photo by Erin Baiano. 

Looking Back, While Facing Forward

“At the Wrong Time,” “Dust Duet,” “Dare to Wreck,” “Lazarus” (Act II)
Fall For Dance Festival - Program 3
The Mariinsky Ballet, English National Ballet, Skånes Dansteater, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
New York City Center
New York, NY
October 6, 2019

by Marianne Adams
copyright © 2019 by Marianne Adams

The third program of this year’s Fall For Dance Festival followed what is now an expected formula: there was a range of dance styles on display, at least one work on pointe, and at least one crowd rouser. And so the “something for everyone” menu of four choreographies, all less than a decade old, predictably had enough to please most viewers, even as the tone stayed somber, and the theme progressive.

Photo of English National Ballet in “Dust Duet” Photo © Lauren Liotardo

Cunningham and Balanchine

“Serenade,” “Summerspace,” “Tschaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 2”
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater, Lincoln Center
New York
October 10, 2019

by Gay Morris
copyright© 2019 by Gay Morris

Throughout the dance world this year, celebrations are taking place to mark the centenary of Merce Cunningham’s birth. New York City Ballet has had Cunningham’s “Summerspace” (1958) in its repertory since 1966, so it is logical that the company would bring it back as its own way of honoring the great modern dance innovator. The work is one of Cunningham’s most famous, not only for the dance itself, but for its pointillist sets and costumes by Robert Rauschenberg and its experimental score by Morton Feldman. It was presented Thursday evening bracketed by two Balanchine works.

New York City Ballet in Merce Cunningham’s “Summerspace.” Photo by Erin Baiano.

Worth Its End

“Paquita”

The Mariinsky Ballet

Opera House

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

Washington, DC

October 8 and 10, 2019

 

by George Jackson

copyright 2019 by George Jackson

 

The tastes and skills for this 2017 production of the ballet “Paquita” span several centuries. The story derives from the writings of Spain’s Miguel Cervantez (1547 – 1616). The first dance version premiered 1846 in Paris, choreographed by Joseph Mazilier to music by Edouard Deldevez. The work is named for its principal character: Paquita appears to be a beautiful, young, Spanish gypsy woman. Yet, unknown to everyone (but the audience) she is of noble birth, having been kidnapped as an infant by gypsies who raised her to be a dancer. The knotty plot reveals her true lineage so that she can wed the handsome Andres, an officer who deserts for her sake and is also her cousin. The first Russian production of “Paquita” in 1847, on the heels of the Paris staging, was by choreographers Marius Petipa and Pierre-Frederic Malevergne (the teacher of Lev Ivanov, Petipa’s later and better known collaborator). Petipa restaged “Paquita” several times, adding music by Drigo and Minkus to the Deldevez score, especially for the splurge of dancing at the ballet’s end. That splurge survived on its own. It is Act 3 of the current production, with Petipa’s steps restored by Yuri Burlaka from Stapanov notations now at Harvard University. Is seeing the ballet’s first two acts at all worthwhile?

 

Photo:  The Mariinsky Ballet in "Paquita." Photo by Valentin Baranovsky @State Academic Mariinsky Theatre

 

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.

A Community of Dancers

"Dances at a Gathering,” “Everywhere We Go”
New York City Ballet
David H. Koch Theater, Lincoln Center
New York, New York
October 8, 2019

by Gay Morris
copyright© 2019 by Gay Morris

In 1969, when Jerome Robbins returned to New York City Ballet after a twelve-year hiatus, he created “Dances at a Gathering.” He had intended to make a pas de deux and ended with an hour-long series of dances, the ease of invention surprising even him. The ballet was an instant success and has remained so to this day. It was a pleasure to see it again on Tuesday and to be reminded of how pervasive the theme of community is in Robbins’s work, and how this ballet, which has no specific narrative, nevertheless reads like an homage to the communal nature of dance companies and of dance, itself.

Indiana Woodward in Jerome Robbins'  "Dances at a Gathering." Photo by Erin Baiano.

 

Potpourri

"Eleven", "Dans l'Engrenage", "Shadow Lands", "Salvaje"
Fall for Dance, Program 2
New York City Center
New York, New York
October 3, 2019

by Mary Cargill
copyright © 2019 by Mary Cargill

The second program of Fall for Dance opened and closed with live music, a rare luxury nowadays.  Mark Morris' women dominated the opening dance and the final performance was an all male affair from the Argentine group Malevo.  The two middle pieces had mixed casts, (very loud) recorded music, a lot of energy, and some fairly directionless choreography.

Mark Morris Dance Group in "Eleven" photo © Robbie Jack.

Questioning Perception

“(in)Visible"
Jess Curtis/Gravity
CounterPulse
San Francisco, CA
Oct. 3, 2019

By Rita Felciano
copyright Rita Felciano 2019

Even in an area as rich in experimental dance as this one, choreographers can still surprise us with one more question asked. If the inquiries don’t always convince, if cogently asked, they at least resonate a little on the way out of the theater. Jess Curtis/Gravity’s “(in)Visible,” developed in Berlin and receiving its local premiere at CounterPulse, did much more than that. At seventy-minutes “(in)Visible,” made its point ad absurdum, but still this was a fascinating and worthwhile look at the nature of perception.