Mark Morris Dance Group-Zellerbach Hall

Traditional narrative ballet and Mark Morris do not cross paths very often. When the two do collide, the outcome is completely unpredictable and for many, unnerving. Will he turn ballet’s greatest love story into a barely recognizable post-modern concoction? Do not be afraid. Romeo & Juliet, On Motifs of Shakespeare was a delightful journey through Verona. There was an alternate ending where Morris engaged artistic license and provided the happily ever after that is missing from the story. But more importantly, he introduced many improvements in staging and choreography that actually make more sense than most traditional interpretations of the ballet.

The village scenes in the production exist to establish the depth of hatred between the two ‘houses’ in Verona. Usually, attempts to translate this animosity to the stage lack clarity and result in chaotic riots where the true hostility gets lost. In contrast, this new set reinforced the adversarial relationship between the Montagues and the Capulets by literally placing them in a combative contest of wits. The onstage floor plan was an exact square, comprised by rows of individual tiles. It felt like watching a live chess game complete with strategy and tactics. There were kings, queens, rooks, and pawns trying to conquer, catch and outsmart each other. And, as in any chess game, pieces fell; Tybalt and Mercutio gave their lives in pursuit of their victory. The set provided a context and reality for these group scenes that is rarely experienced.

One surprise in the ballet was the placement of the main pas de deux between Romeo and Juliet. This scene is commonly called the balcony pas de deux because it occurs when Romeo appears to Juliet as she looks out from the balcony of her bedroom. In Morris’ Romeo and Juliet, this pas de deux takes place in the same ballroom where the couple meets earlier in the evening. At first, the omission of the ‘balcony pas de deux’ was shocking, but after watching the re-invented ‘ballroom pas de deux’, the new locale makes absolute sense. By having it occur in the ballroom, there were opportunities to revive movement phrases from the ball, especially the movements performed by the married couples. They met there; their connection was there and through the movement, their intent was there also.

The most important change that Mark Morris introduced in the ballet was making the character parts dancing roles. In most productions, the Capulets, Montagues and the Nurse act; they don’t dance. Morris choreographed each of these roles with equal movement and acting. Not only was this more interesting to watch, but also, it provided a stronger connection between these characters and the rest of the cast. In other productions, these five individuals tend to stop the flow of movement when they are present onstage. Whereas in Morris’ work, they continue forwarding the story by enthusiastically participating in the movement themselves. Once you see it, it is so obvious that this is how these roles were meant to be perceived.

Go and see Romeo and Juliet, On Motifs of Shakespeare. You may not agree with the changes that Mark Morris made, but you will get a fresh version of a ballet classic where the integrity of the story is still intact. And, if nothing else, you will get a chance to see what choice of brightly colored socks Morris sports during his bow. Saturday night’s choice was red.

Alonzo King's LINES Ballet-Stern Grove Festival

Titles inform perception and provide insight in the performing arts. They can be a literal representation of the artist’s intent or an ironic commentary on their work. But, whichever role titles fill, their significance cannot be ignored. LINES Ballet’s performance at San Francisco’s Stern Grove Festival demonstrated that sometimes titles work and sometimes they don’t. Two well-chosen titles enhanced Artistic Director Alonzo King’s choreography, and one poorly chosen title revealed what was lacking.

Migration: The Hierarchical Migration of Birds and Mammals was missing its key element. For the word migration to appear twice in the title and then be absent in the piece was disappointing. To be fair, King definitely had the animal- and bird-like qualities well defined in his choreography. The performers turned into salamanders, birds, owls and elephants through inventive movement. But any sense of migration was nowhere to be found. The word implies a journey to somewhere new. It is a horizontal relationship where entities are mobile; traveling and exploring. What King provided was a vertical structure: evolution and development. Every dancer began by moving cautiously; small; contained. Throughout the six-part piece, the movements of each individual were built and expanded. By the end, they were turning with abandon and leaping through the air in flight. Each was evolving, not migrating. They were achieving new movements from within, not outwardly experiencing new realities in the space.

Pas de deux, the second piece, had the simplest, yet truest description. This world premiere for guest artists Muriel Maffre and Prince Credell embodied its title: a dance for two people. Traditionally, pas de deuxs are representations of relationships whether romantic, sensual, contentious or even violent. But, the words do not mean that at all, that meaning has been imposed upon them. Rather, they simply translate as a dance of two, which is what King created. Yes, there was intricate partnering and a striking visual contrast of the much-taller Maffre (especially when she was on pointe) juxtaposed with Credell. However, the joy in the piece was the dance of two; no sub-text, no hidden meaning, just bodies working together in space. King’s final piece delivered on its sexy, exotic title, The Moroccan Project. From the undulating upper-body movements to the lush orange and gold costuming to the entrances and exits; everything was evocative. In particular, Brett Conway’s rond de jambe en l’air and Corey Scott-Gilbert’s sinewy developpés oozed with seduction.

Some suggest that titles are peripheral elements of dancemaking because they are not directly involved with the choreography and staging. However, it is crucial to remember that the presentation of dance encompasses everything connected with the piece, including the title. It is the first connection that the audience makes with the work. It sets up expectations, understanding, questions and curiosity. Titles matter to dance.

NBC & NYCB-War Memorial Opera House

It may still be cold in Toronto and New York but the National Ballet of Canada and the New York City Ballet are completely hot! These two companies recently participated in the international salute to San Francisco Ballet as part of their 75th anniversary celebratory season. Both performances were amazing. The National danced Matjash Mrozewski’s A Delicate Battle (2001), while City Ballet brought George Balanchine’s Duo Concertant (1972). Although the two works are very different, they share a neo-classical approach to dance, specifically in the unique relationship between music and movement.

But, why is the combination of dance and music such a big deal? It seems pretty standard in the performing arts. However, what makes the neo-classicists different is not that they use dance and music together but how they do it. They believe that music and dance are collaborative and exist as interdependent variables. Each is significant on its own, but a specific combination of the two provides incredible strength and effectiveness to performance. With neo-classical ballet, you can actually see the music in the steps through the coupling of musical motifs and choreographic motifs. Also, punctuating steps are used to accent specific places in the music score. The music is built right into the movement, rather than simply being an arbitrary accessory to unrelated steps and sequences. A Delicate Battle and Duo Concertant were perfect examples of this neo-classical union, resulting in an intricate fugue and a complex concerto.

The opening sequences of A Delicate Battle perfectly matched the chosen musical composition by J.S. Bach, the king of the fugue. In fugal form, a subject is introduced and occurs multiple times throughout the piece. Mrozewski was able to apply this musical structure in his choreography. In A Delicate Battle, the recurring theme included a developpé to the front ending with each dancer holding his/her foot, followed by a lunge to the side, finishing with a flat footed turn in passé. Just like the musical fugue that accompanied the dance, each performer started these movements at different times, layering the piece with the same polyphonic texture that was present in the music. A second characteristic of a fugue is its continual motion. Other musical structures have specific places where the music comes to a definite stop at several points in the piece, whereas a fugue moves forward until the composition is over. The first section of Mrozewski’s piece did exactly that. The seven dancers were in constant motion until the music finished. As the final chord sounded, the dancers posed facing upstage as a piece of material that had been suspended above them was released. The beauty of that visual and audible moment was breathtaking; there were multiple gasps of surprised delight from the audience.

Unlike fugues, concertos have two parts: soloists sections, where individual instruments are featured and ritornellos, when the entire group of artists perform together. A concerto goes back and forth between these two. Balanchine’s Duo Concertant is classical concerto form, with his interesting combination of musicians and dancers as the group of artists. Duo Concertant starts with a beautiful Stravinsky musical duet interpreted by Arturo Delmoni on the violin and Cameron Grant on the piano. The two dancers in this piece are simply standing at the piano listening to the amazing music, which represents the initial solo sections of the concerto. Then, we have the first ritornello where the dancers join the musicians and all four perform as a group. Just as would be expected from the neo-classical master, George Balanchine, the steps fall right in to the music. As the musicians played syncopated patterns against each other, the dancers also performed syncopated temps levéé leaps. Then, just as in any traditional concerto, there was another solo section. The dancers stopped and listened as the solo musicians were featured again without any movement or choreography. A second ritornello followed, where again the audience saw the cohesion of music and movement. Robert Fairchild performed brilliant staccato sissones, corresponding to detached musical sequences in Stravinsky’s score. He was so amazing that it was like watching the ghost of Jacques d’Amboise, a famed Balanchine dancer. This constant interplay between solo and ritornello was absolutely delightful, and a truly inventive interpretation of concerto form.

I wouldn’t say that the neo-classical approach is the only way to establish a clear relationship between music and movement in the performing arts. But, there is something special about watching choreographic steps and music patterns which reflect each other. It is satisfying and complete. It is not the only way, but I would go so far as to say that it might be the best way.