danceviewtimes

A Tribute

"Ave Maria" 

 dance solo choreographed in 1914 by Michio Ito
  to music composed in 1825 by Franz Schubert
   performed by Christin Arthur
    set by Dana Tai Soon Burgess  
     dedicated to the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg of the USA's Supreme Court

It is a slow dance, mostly for the upper body. Watching it, one is ever more aware of independent motions that belong to the head and face, to the neck, to the shoulders and arms plus hands, and to the rib cage above the waist. Yet one is also certain that these parts of  the human anatomy are animated by one soul existing in a sea of light and shade.  The camera shows us the dancer's whole body only briefly. She is dressed in blue, as painters have depicted this figure of motherhood, womanhood and humanity. She takes barely more than one step, but that suffices.

Christin Arthur dances the solo simply. Ruth Bader Ginsberg (1933 -2020) took the time from her work to attend performances of opera, ballet and drama. These works of art broadened her perspective as a judge.

George Jackson
(copyright 2020 by George Jackson)

 

 

http://dtsbdc.org/ave-maria-by-michio-ito-dedicated-to-ruth-bader-ginsburg/ 

 

 

"Marius Petipa - The Emperor's Ballet Master"
by Nadine Meisner
Oxford University Press, 2019

reviewed by George Jackson
copyright 2020 by George Jackson

Our concept of classical ballet stems mostly from the work of Marius Petipa (1818 - 1910), a French choreographer resident principally in Russia at the end of the Czarist era. Until the publication of Meisner's biography, personal information in English about Petipa was somewhat scarce. As a reader of German, I relied on Eberhard Rebling's "Marius Petipa, Master of Classical Ballet", printed 1975 in what was East Berlin. Rebling's 430 page collection contains texts by Petipa (his formal memoirs, spontaneous diary, diverse letters etc.) and opinions about him by contemporaries and by important successors (Nijinska, Balanchine, Ashton, Grigorovitch et alia). It is an expansion of a Russian volume, “Marius Petipa, Materiali Wospominanija Stati” printed 1971 by the Leningrad branch of Iskusstwo Publishers.

Rigorous and Refined

“piano piano”
Nancy Karp + Dancers
Paul Dresher Sound Studio, Oakland, CA
Video of world premiere February 27, 2020                                                                                                                                    
Filmed by Rapt Productions, Oakland

by Rita Felciano
copyright Rita Felciano 2020

Ever since she started making work in the mid 1970s in San Francisco, Nancy Karp has concen-trated her choreo- graphy on dance’s most basic elements—sound and movement. Remarkably, in a Bay Area environment that favors dance theater, social and personal identity issues, she has remained focused on those two ingredients. Rarely has she stepped outside her parameters of choice. The 1995 “Kristallnacht", a haunting contemplation of that insane event, is very much the exception in her oeuvre. It certainly helps that Karp has an acute and sensitive understanding of what these days is often referred to as classical contemporary music. In her latest work, “piano piano” seen in a video version, she follows her by now well-known way of working. The piece derives its name from the Italian expression “take it easy.”

Performers: Sonsherée Giles and Chris Black (in the foreground) in 'piano piano'  (on stairs:  Amy Lewis, Nol Simonse, and Katie Kruger). Photo: John Hefti.                                                                                                                                                                               

Lifar Lied to Himself?

"The Fascist Turn in the Dance of Serge Lifar"
by Mark Franko
Oxford University Press, UK, 2020

by George Jackson
copyright George Jackson 2020

Before tackling this exhaustive and exhausting book about the controversial Serge Lifar by Mark Franko, who is a widely published critic and a professor at the University of California's Santa Cruz campus, I suggest that readers review what is generally known about Lifar (1905 - 1986) as a dancer, choreographer, company director, commentator on dance and as a person. I encountered Lifar directly in 1948, when he brought his Paris Opera Ballet to tour the USA. The company was large. Its training seemed admirably uniform. Stylistically, though, many Americans found the dancing "mannered". The choreography and dramaturgy, mostly by Lifar, seemed old fashioned compared to Antony Tudor's psychodramas or George Balanchine's neoclassicism. 

The Legat Legacy

"The Legat Legacy" edited by Mindy Aloff.
University Press of Florida, 2020.

by Mary Cargill
copyright © 2020 by Mary Cargill

With its rich list of books on dance history, technique and memoirs,  The University Press of Florida has become the go to publisher for dance books.  This recent work, a reprinting of the 1939 "Ballet Russe: Memoirs of Nicolas Legat" and the 1977 "Heritage of a Ballet Master: Nicolas Legat" under the title "The Legat Legacy" is a welcome addition.

Self caricature by Nicolas Legat

“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."

Dunas's Denby

Book: Edwin Denby – His Life, His Dance Essays, His Poetry
Author: William Dunas
Publication: 2008 in Woodside, NY, USA

by George Jackson
(copyright 2020 by George Jackson)  

This home-made book is a proposal for producing a professionally printed book. The proposal consists of many un-numbered pages of text contained in a black 3-ring folder. The text is photocopied only on the frontside of each sheet of firm white paper. On the cover is the basic bibliographic information and a 1964 drawing by Red Grooms of Denby in profile - he is typing. Dunas calls the book a “publishing fellowship proposal manuscript”. It is unlikely that the proposed book will ever become actual, yet the proposal serves as an autobiography of Dunas and a biography of Denby. The Dunas portion is amusing, somewhat confusing and ultimately sad. The Denby part is substantial. Who was Dunas and who was Denby?

Everything Dances

Everything Dances
Book: “Alles tanzt” issued by Andrea Amort
Published in 2019 by Vienna’s Austrian Theater Museum and Berlin’s Hatje Cantz

This big, weighty volume (almost 380 pages, 10.7 x 8.5 x 1.7 inches) has a German text with English summaries. In addition to the summaries, its plentiful and plush illustrations are proving to be of interest to those who do not read German. The book  served as catalog for the exhibit “Cosmos of Vienna Dance Modernism”. As a self-contained item, “Alles tanzt/(Everything dances)” tackles many aspects of modernism in addition to dance and does so from the late 19^th Century to nearly today. There are 3 forewords, 29 chapters and 4 addenda.  The main chapters are divided into 3 sections: the structure or anatomy of the modernist scene (Part 1), the rupture of that scene (Part 2) and aftermaths (Part 3). Topics in addition to dance that are  especially explored by the book’s diverse authors include women’s emancipation, psychology and psychoanalysis, and the political landscape.

Star-Crossed

"Romeo and Juliet"
The National Ballet of Canada
Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts
Toronto, Canada
March 11, 2020

by Denise Sum
copyright © 2020 by Denise Sum

Before Toronto (and much of the world) went on lockdown, the National Ballet of Canada gave a spirited performance of Alexei Ratmansky's "Romeo and Juliet". The original cast from the world premiere in 2011, Guillaume Côté and Elena Lobsanova, shone as the passionate yet doomed lovers. They were supported by a strong supporting ensemble, as well as by Ratmansky's evocative storytelling and energetic choreography. Two days after opening night, the remainder of the run was cancelled due to COVID-19. 

Elena Lobsanova and Guillaume Côté in "Romeo and Juliet". Photo by Bruce Zinger.

Hedi Pope Centennial

Hedi Politzer/Pitt/Pope was born 100 years ago on March 18 in Austria. She was a pupil of Vienna’s waltzing and ballet-based modern dancers (particularly of Ellinor Tordis, Hedy Pfundmayr and the internationally renowned Grete Wiesenthal) and can be seen in the 1937 film “Silhouetten”. She fled from Austria’s 1938 annexation by Nazi Germany to the United States, where she appeared as a leading dancer in “refugee revues” that introduced European cabaret to New York’s Broadway.  She was told to forget her earlier dance training and become an American modern dancer. Is it possible, though, for the body to forget what it once danced? Hedi did acquire new skills in America, shortened her last name to Pitt and during World War 2 married an American sailor (William Pope). She founded CODA (Contemporary Dancers of Alexandria, Virginia), making it a prominent studio and company across the Potomac river from Washington, DC and, as Hedi Pope, directed it for decades. Hedi now lives at a retirement home in the mountains of North Carolina, near her daughter’s and son’s families. Happy 100^th to you, Hedi!     

(see also the tribute to Hedi P in the March issue of the on-line Austrian dance publication tanz.at)