2010 in Dance: A Look Back
December 25, 2010
Faye Driscoll's "There is so much mad in me", photo by Yi-Chun Wu
We’re days away from the end of 2010, so like in past years on this blog, I’m sharing what struck me as most memorable and impressive throughout the year. Both new and old works performed in a variety of venues and settings made the list. I hope that the older works mentioned here continue to make an impact and that the newer ones withstand the test of time.
I was blown away by Faye Driscoll’s There is so much mad in me at Dance Theater Workshop last April, and which I ended up revisiting this past September. The cast opened themselves up emotionally and physically to showcase extreme states of consciousness in a seamless series of vignettes.
Last February, Trisha Brown Dance Company performed at one of my favorite museums, the Dia: Beacon. It was a fitting setting for Brown’s spiraling, sprawling works, in which her dancers tested the limits of gravity and used the museum as their playground.
George Balanchine's "Serenade", photo by Paul Kolnik
A New York City Ballet spring performance of George Balanchine’s Serenade, featuring Jenifer Ringer, Teresa Reichlen, and Sara Mearns, gave me chills. Unforgettable.
At Dancespace Project, Kyle Abraham’s company performed The Radio Show. The work explored communication and the role of radio during difficult times, while also featuring Abraham’s lush movement style.
Pina Bausch's "Vollmond", photo by Laurent Philippe
A little over one year after Pina Bausch’s death, her company Tanztheater Wuppertal returned to BAM to perform Vollmond (Full Moon). The tons of water used for the performance stayed on stage, but even the audience felt drenched in shifting emotions, and often tears of mourning.
LEVYdance showed an interactive, thought-provoking work at Joyce SoHo called Everyone Intimate Alone Visibly. It was my introduction to the choreographer Benjamin Levy, and I look forward to seeing more from him.
Benjamin Levy and Aline Wachsmuth in "Everyone Intimate Alone Visibly", photo by Andrea Basile
In France, Paris Opera Ballet performed a new version of Jiri Kylian’s Kaguyahime. Original lighting, sets, choreography, and wonderful percussion music brought this ancient story to life.
I jumped at the chance to see Mikhail Baryshnikov perform at Baryshnikov Arts Center last May. His poise and presence were mesmerizing.
Mikhail Baryshnikov in Benjamin Millepied's "Years Later", photo by Andrea Mohin
New York City Ballet’s Spring Season in Review
July 18, 2010
Benjamin Millepied’s Why am I not where you are, photo by Paul Kolnik
My review of New York City Ballet’s spring season, called Architecture of Dance, is in the July/August issue of The Brooklyn Rail. Here’s an excerpt:
“Seven new ballets. Four commissioned scores. One renowned architect. This is what New York City Ballet offered over the course of its eight-week spring season, called Architecture of Dance. With nearly one new ballet every week—along with repertoire by George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins—it was hard to keep up. Of the four works I saw, by Mauro Bigonzetti, Benjamin Millepied, Alexei Ratmansky, and Wayne McGregor, none were groundbreaking but none were immediately forgettable, either. In cases where the costumes, music, or set designs shined, choreographic innovation was lacking (Ratmansky’s piece was an exception), which left me with a feeling of same old, same old.”
Mikhail Baryshnikov in Alexei Ratmansky's "Valse-Fantasie", photo by Julieta Cervantes
Three distinguished artists, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Steve Paxton, and David Neumann, presented Unrelated Solos at Baryshnikov Arts Center on Wednesday evening as part of May Nights in the Jerome Robbins Theater. These strikingly different dancers were at the top of their game in an evening of unique and memorable performances. All three were compelling, and no matter what Baryshnikov does, he’s utterly mesmerizing. Simply by standing on stage, his presence, grace, and poise were spellbinding. It was a rare, wonderful treat to be able to watch him – at age 62, no less – perform live along with two other accomplished artists.
The evening featured three solos performed by Baryshnikov, two by Neumann, and one by Paxton. The dancers’ disparate backgrounds lent themselves to their performances: Baryshnikov performed with American Ballet Theatre and New York City Ballet before directing the White Oak Dance Project and founding BAC, Paxton was one of the founders of contact improvisation and the Judson Dance Theater, and Neumann works in both dance and theater as artistic director of advanced beginner group. As such, the program was well-balanced and showed little overlap in terms of style. Perhaps the only “related” component among the solos was the dancers’ magnetism.
Baryshnikov opened the program with the New York premiere of Benjamin Millepied’s Years later, a meditation on aging and a charming look at Misha’s past set to music by Philip Glass and Akira Rabelais. A thoughtful, quiet solo transitioned to a more playful conversation between the on-stage Misha and filmed footage of the much younger Misha (As if watching him on stage weren’t enough, imagine trying to simultaneously watch the live man and rare footage of him from at least forty years ago). The live dancer echoed the movement of his younger self – with Jennifer Tipton’s gorgeous lighting design casting shadows across the two in various ways – but eventually he could not keep up with the filmed Baryshnikov. Asa Mader’s video design looped one of his astounding pirouettes so that they seemed to be never-ending. The live Misha shrugged his shoulders as if to say, “Ok, you win”, and acknowledged the passing of time.
Mikhail Baryshnikov in Benjamin Millepied’s Years later, photo by Andrea Mohin
His second solo, Alexei Ratmansky’s Valse-Fantasie, was equally light-hearted. Baryshnikov took on the role of Mikhail Glinka, the composer of the piece who, while writing the score, was infatuated with Yekaterina Kern, the daughter of a famous high society beauty of the Napoleonic era in Russia. Circumstances kept them apart, and after going abroad to cure his heartache, Glinka returned without any feelings for Kern. Utilizing precise mime set to the swift violin waltz, Baryshnikov conveyed Glinka’s ever-changing emotions and drama while emphasizing Ratmansky’s delicate wit and nuanced style.
David Neumann in "Dose", photo by Julieta Cervantes
David Neumann’s 1996 solo Dose illustrated Neumann playing it cool to a Tom Waits song. Wearing a black suit and hat under a spotlight center stage, Neumann winked, echoed some of the song’s lyrics with gestures, and remained cool and confident throughout the lightning-quick work. His second solo, Tough the tough (redux) was a darker re-working of a 2006 solo. DJ Mendel’s recorded narration written by Will Eno explained that Neumann was a man named “Steve”, or possibly “Steven/Stephan/mankind/humanity/whatever”. As Mendel narrated the everyday minutiae and decisions of life, Steve went about his day, occasionally appearing clumsy or indecisive yet always returning to his routine. For all of its humor and irony, Tough the tough (redux) was an impressive, well-crafted commentary on the predictability and follies of humanity.
Paxton’s solo, a world premiere called The Beast, was the least accessible and most nuanced work on the program. Dressed in street clothes and standing under a dim circle of light, Paxton (now 71 years old) shifted delicately from one subtle movement to the next – either in silence or to the occasional sound of little bursting bubbles. His ongoing internal conversation with his body about what came next was remarkably focused without exerting excruciating effort. Even if the audience could not detect the inner initiative for each movement, Paxton’s natural ease and awareness was clear.
Steve Paxton in The Beast, photo by Julieta Cervantes
Closing the program was For You, a work in progress choreographed by Susan Marshall in collaboration with Baryshnikov. After formally presenting himself to the audience with a quick opening to 1st position (reminiscent of the opening in Balanchine’s Serenade), Baryshnikov invited three members of the audience, one by one, onto the stage and into a chair. While maintaining eye contact, he performed a brief solo for each individual and eventually wove the solos together into a larger expression of gratitude. The piece created a wonderful sense of intimacy between Misha and the individuals on stage, and for the rest of the audience, it was fascinating to watch them shift between nervousness, delight, and sheer admiration as they marveled at one of the most wondrous dancers of our time performing just inches away from them.
Architecture of Ballet: Men on Top. Women on Stage.
April 26, 2010
Tiler Peck working with choreographer Mauro Bigonzetti, photo by Paul Kolnik
New York City Ballet’s spring season, a festival entitled Architecture of Dance, includes an astounding seven new ballets. In fact, the company’s recent print brochures, website, and festival mini-site boasts: “7 new ballets. 4 commissioned scores. 1 renowned architect.” That’s a total of twelve creative voices throughout the eight-week season, not to mention repertory favorites by Balanchine and Robbins. After a winter season of mostly story-length ballets, it’s exciting just thinking about all of the new works that audiences will get to see. But of those twelve creative voices, guess how many are women? Just one. Melissa Barak, a former NYCB dancer, will be choreographing her second work for the company.
Balanchine said “ballet is woman”, and while there are plenty of women on stage at NYCB (they make up 53% of the dancers), the gender imbalance among choreographers, composers, set designers, and artistic directors needs some serious even-ing out. Perhaps the company needs to be more proactive in its search for female artists, but the lack of women is not entirely NYCB’s fault. In fact, it seems to be a widespread problem, with more young women focusing on their careers as ballet dancers rather than anything else.
Christopher Wheeldon rehearsing NYCB dancers, photo by Paul Kolnik
About two years ago I wrote about this issue after learning of a choreography initiative for women at American Ballet Theatre – an admirable effort. In my post I referred to a New York Times article by Claudia La Rocco, “Often on Point but Rarely in Charge”, which investigated the lack of women not only choreographing ballets but also directing ballet companies. While the article factors in the scarcity of men in ballet (making it easier for them to rise through the ranks and explore other interests, such as choreographing), male-female inequalities in executive positions across other industries, and different standards that a board tends to have when judging men and women for artistic leadership positions, it was dismaying to read that even some women prefer to have men do the directing. Barak, however, pointed out, “A lot of girls, especially in ballet, are very shy, very sheltered in a way. I think it has to do with that personality type.”
If choreography were a mandatory class – along with ballet, pointe, partnering, character, etc. – at the School of American Ballet and other schools affiliated with large ballet companies, perhaps it would send a message to young dancers that in addition to being future performers, they can also express themselves and have a voice by creating dance. So many young ballet dancers – and young women, in particular – seem to think that if they can’t make it as a professional dancer, they have no future in the ballet world. Not true. There are other options, like choreographing and directing, that need to be presented as valid careers for both women and men.
Melissa Barak rehearsing NYCB dancers in 2009, photo by Paul Kolnik
Several years ago Dance Magazine started compiling a list of active women choreographers, which continues to grow. While it doesn’t indicate the numbers by genre, I’d guess that the total number working in modern outweighs the number of women who identify as ballet choreographers. Likewise, this graphic shows that in 2002, there were more women than men in artistic or executive director positions at major modern and contemporary dance companies.
No matter how many incredible female dancers are at the top of New York City Ballet and other major ballet companies, it’s still frustrating to see the fields of choreography, composing, and artistic leadership so lacking in women. This is not to say that men in these positions should be criticized, and hopefully this post doesn’t come across as an attack on male choreographers or directors. Rather, my hope is to raise awareness of the gender imbalance. More than fifty years ago, “ballet is woman” probably referred to women performing on stage. In 2010, women’s roles in ballet should be spread evenly across the field, and not be limited to what audiences see on stage.
