Willi Dorner-above under inbetween

On September 15^th, the Embassy of Austria presented Willi Dorner’s above under inbetween, an ode to the original post-modern work of the Judson Dance Theater. It renewed my faith that old-fashioned post-modernism (perhaps in itself a contradiction in terms) is alive and well in present day choreography. above under inbetween took the sine qua non out of the post-modern handbook and struggled to blur the line between life and art. Some of the attempts at this goal were incredibly successful and some were suspect.

Dorner’s re-definition of traditional performance began by challenging the relationship between the audience and the performers. The piece commenced with the dancers emerging from the body of the audience. They were dressed anonymously in ordinary clothing and had been scattered amongst us waiting for the performance to begin. Then, at the appointed time, they stepped out onto the performance area and the evening’s presentation started. There was nothing grand, glamorous or showy about them, which closed the gap between the performers and audience members.

The choreography itself also effectively obscured the line between life and art. The piece was a combination of pedestrian interludes and shape making. None of the movements were overly dancey; they were everyday activities, like walking and running. The dancers started by leaning against one of the walls, then, they would walk to a place on the floor and together as a group, create a shape with their bodies. These shapes developed and evolved in difficulty and with the inclusion of household items (chairs, boards and tables) and other building materials. Each shape was then dismantled and the performers returned back to the wall, where the leaning resumed. This process happened continuously throughout the work; it was like they were playing a human game of Tetris or jenga. There was a physical architecture of organizing/re-organizing, ordering/re-ordering and building/re-building. The first ten or twelve shapes were erected very slowly, and over the course of the evening, the speed and intensity with which the shapes were made increased, with a dynamic crescendo leading to the final sequence of allegro ferocity.

Unfortunately, the space itself did not work well with this choreography. Post-modern choreographers tend toward unusual performance venues with which to show their work. Again, this choice stems from a desire to cloud the lines between life and art, and introduce alternatives to the traditional proscenium arch stage. above under inbetween was performed on a floor at the same eye level as the audience. Chairs had been avoided in order to facilitate the translucent space between the performer and audience. Unfortunately, this meant that it was incredibly difficult to see. Tall people were standing at the very front, which resulted in an actual audience incident. Annoyance and frustration had been incited by a lack of access to the work. Dance is visual, so anytime the audience has difficulty viewing it, the work is in true jeopardy. I could see some of the balances and shapes whereas others were completely blocked. I have no idea how acrobatic, interesting or kinetic these lost images were. For more than half of the piece, the dancers were obstructed from view. I’m all for the re-defining the idea of the stage, but a challenging space doesn’t make up for not being able to see the dance. And, I don’t think it was done on purpose for artistic sensibility; it was just poor planning.

This was my first experience with Willi Dorner’s choreography and I am excited to see a second offering that will be presented next month in Washington. It will be interesting to see if the minimalist post-modernism that was injected into above under inbetween is an ongoing theme in his work or if it was piece-specific.

2009 Local Dance Commissioning Project-Kennedy Center

The Kennedy Center’s 2009 Local Dance Commissioning Project kicked off this week on the Millennium Stage and this year’s premiere evening featured a rich, diverse program by CityDance Ensemble. One of their incredible dancers, Jason Garcia Ignacio, was the project’s first honoree commissioned to craft an original work, The Mountain. Though this debut was clearly the focal point of the evening, it was really the entire CityDance Ensemble that shone. Everything about them was entrancing: the choreography, the dancers, the inventiveness and the risk. What impressed me most about the company was how chameleon-like they were. They can easily and successfully adapt to any environment and any style of dance: neoclassical, Tanztheater, and ethnic stylings. This young group can do anything and everything, and do it all well.

There were two pieces on the program that can best be described as neoclassical modern dance. Both Scorched (2008) and Glancing Blows (premiere) were contemporary works, yet both conjured visions of Balanchine. Kate Weare’s Scorched was a sexy amalgamation of modern and ballet, with a spattering of jazz, musical theater and social dance mixed in. So many choreographers shy away from combining these styles together because of a perceived notion that jazz, musical theater and social dance are ‘less-than’. Weare’s captivating piece illustrates the strength that comes from this type of collaboration. That is what neoclassicism actually is. It is not a term reserved only for ballet, it represents pushing the limits of what any dance form has become; looking to be expansive and inclusive. That’s what Weare accomplished with Scorched. It was a neoclassical celebration of what is possible just like Balanchine’s Slaughter on Tenth Avenue.

Paul Gordon Emerson’s Glancing Blows was the second neoclassical piece, not because it was the most balletic work in the program, but rather, because of Emerson’s unique take on partnering. Again, neoclassicism pushes established boundaries, and Emerson’s partnering definitely accomplished that goal. This new duet, for company members Giselle Alvarez and Maleek Mikhail Washington employed a deep connection between two bodies in space. There were very few moments in the piece when the two were not physically connected in some way. And, in the moments where they were not touching, their bond was palpable in the space between them. Emerson worked primarily with partnering that limited lifts. This requires much more imagination on the part of the choreographer and much more skill on the part of the dancers. Duets that are full of lifts may look spectacular, but that’s what they are, a spectacle; tricks. The partnering in Glancing Blows is really about two bodies connected as one, not one being paraded around by the other. Again, it reminded me so much of Balanchine, specifically Diana Adams and Arthur Mitchell in Agon.

There was more than just neoclassicism in the evening’s pieces. Meisha Bosma’s Souvenirs (2007) was dance theater at its best. The deconstructed narrative of tension, nervousness, fright, and dizziness was abundantly clear in the movement. There was an off-balanced feeling in the work that left the audience also in an uncomfortable state. Something was purposely unfinished and unresolved in the movement. Yet, as with much good dance theater, this ambiguity was both emphasized to and anesthetized with the audience. In my experience, only dance theater can successfully produce both of those feelings at the same time. There was even an ‘ode to Pina Bausch’ moment, where all the female dancers were in a line at the front of the stage with painted-on smiles, doing small, percussive movements with their hands and heads. All that was missing was the negligee dresses and the long, loose hair.

The main event of the evening, Jason Garcia Ignacio’s, The Mountain, was a narrative glimpse into real-life events that occurred in Manila in the early 1990s. The most impressive aspect of Ignacio’s piece was that he was able to instill a real sense of Filipino heritage and culture into all aspects of the work. Not only did he diligently research and teach the style of dance required to all of his dancers, but also, he was able to get a level of authenticity from them that suggested these performers had been studying this form of ethnic dance their entire lives. This piece was so authentic that we could have easily been watching it at the acclaimed San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival.

There is nothing wrong with being compared to great traditions in dance like Balanchine, Bausch and the San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival. The comparisons simply show that CityDance Ensemble really can do anything that it wants to. It has the talent on both the creative and technical sides to pull from so many different traditions, build on those traditions, while forming its own unique identity.

Bolshoi Ballet-Zellerbach Hall

Recently, I participated in a very animated discussion with two close friends about buying cereal. Our deeply intellectual debate pitted name brand against the generic with the former emerging victorious, 2:1. I voted with the winning group because most of the time, I am partial to name brand products. Like many, I believe that the name brand is better. It is safe; it provides what consumers expect; little risk and few surprises. However, last week, I began to question my loyalty to name brands while watching the Bolshoi Ballet’s La Bayadère at Zellerbach Hall. Early on in the performance, I realized two things. First, brand names may appear to be superior, but at the same time, their perfection can be disappointing. Second, the culture surrounding this particular performance was not the culture of art or even the culture of ballet, it was the culture of branding.

The artists of the Bolshoi Ballet are phenomenal dancers, plain and simple. But, the regimented perfection of the company is problematic and frankly, boring. From the beginning of the ballet, the corps looked sanitized, far from the colorful and vivacious characters from La Bayadère. This was most apparent in the core or torso because their upper bodies were deathly silent and still. Arms are connected in the back; therefore, when arms move, the back and torso must respond in kind. Limbs are not just attached appendages; they reflect the amazing construction of the human body. That is one of the most exciting things about dance, seeing the connection between the hips/legs, and arms/back. If there isn’t a commitment to whole body movement, the dancers look like marionettes. It makes me incredibly sad to see dancers of such high technical quality so restrained in their movement. And the artistic staff does not realize that by creating a strict regiment of dancers, mistakes in rhythm or choreography actually stand out more. The eye is immediately drawn to any movement that looks even slightly out of place. If there was more individuality in the corps de ballet, no one would even notice these very minor differences.

To be fair, San Francisco audiences are a unique bunch. My experience is that they are somewhat cynical and not easily impressed. There has to be a whole lot more than 32 consecutive fouettés to garner excited applause from them. And, as a typical San Francisco audience member, I was shocked by my fellow patrons during the Bolshoi’s performance. The theater hall immediately exploded in cheers when the two main characters stepped onstage. They had yet to do anything, but were met with thunderous applause simply for showing up. This greeting was nothing more than the expectation of their brand name, the Bolshoi Ballet. What was discovered in the three hours that followed was that the ‘brand’ only partly lived to its reputation. As the two principal dancers did begin dancing, it was obvious that Svetlana Zakharova as Nikiya deserved all of the audience’s early acclaim. She delved into her character, took physical and emotional risks, resulting in a performance steeped with abandon. Her first variation was full of sinuous upper torso movement and I was absolutely mesmerized by the incredible arch of her feet. Unfortunately, Nikolay Tsiskaridze’s Solor did not meet the expectation of the Bolshoi name. His opening diagonal jétès were technically beautiful, but he was not commanding at all in his role. He displayed absolutely no authority. His turning variation in Act II was again technically brilliant, but had no character depth. And, it did not help that the costumer decided to dress him in a ridiculous puffy-sleeved lavender outfit. This strange choice did not assist the audience in seeing a strong, masculine persona. The primary male role in a narrative ballet like La Bayadère is driven by character, not technique. I would have much rather seen a dancer who provided insight into Solor’s soul, instead of one who the directors think is the best turner and jumper. The audience was so intoxicated and captivated with the Bolshoi as an entity, but as the ballet came to a close, it was clear that the brand name was not everything I expected it to be.

During the original cereal debate, I should have remembered that the wisest of the three participants was the one who extolled the virtues of the no-name brand. She believed that it was just as good if not better than its fancy competitor. I think when it comes to ballet, the same is true.