living hand to mouth
john and i went up to nyc about 10 days ago and i meant to write about it. now it’s almost too late but i did want to just mention what we did and saw–besides playing around on the street and wandering and drinking coffee.
we definitely were hoping to see some good dance but it wasn’t necessarily the weekend for something extra special. doug varone had performed the week before at the joyce (would’ve loved to see that!), and i think david dorfman was doing something the next week, and there were a couple other interesting things around that time, but only a few options exactly when we were there. but they were still interesting.
on saturday night we went to st. mark’s church and saw pam tanowitz dance, as part of the danspace project. it was pretty good in its own way, and definitely an ideal illustration of how great nyc is–how you can go see a group you’ve never heard of and it’ll be good in a lot of ways, even if it isn’t the most amazing thing you’ve ever seen. in this case, it was a bit too ascetic for me–modern music, extremely clean lines (ie, not very organic), and very little interaction between the dancers. but the dancers themselves were all really talented, and it was a pretty technical show, which made it fascinating to watch even if i wasn’t enthralled w/ the thing in its entirety. they also sort of took over the space, using not only the floor but also the risers and the back space, which was interesting. at one point the dancers turned on a huge fan in the back and john pointed out to me that there was definitely a chord–w/ harmonies–coming out of the fan. i really liked that idea of them dancing to the fan.
on sunday we went to see american ballet theatre doing 3 contemporary ballet pieces by different choreographers. the first one we actually didn’t see live b/c we were
late–it was called clear, by stanton welch. the second was lar lubovitch’s meadow, which we both loved. really gorgeous. i read somewhere that lubovitch is known for his ability to create serious beauty onstage, and this was a perfect example. the piece had 3 sections, and the first was a group dance that reminded me of an italian rennaissance painting in its colors and composition. the group would swirl around, then re-form in a new spot. and throughout all 3 sections, he had the scrim down, which gave everything a gorgeous, dreamy atmosphere. the second section was equally arresting in a different way; it was a duet between a man and a woman, and the woman was just gorgeous. and they ended in this very striking way, with the two very very slowly promenading in a circle. hard to describe, but great.
the last piece that abt did was by twyla tharp, in the upper room. it’s funny–i just read a review from the village voice from last year that just raved about the piece. and i can imagine that it was amazing in its time. but both john and i were struck with how dated it seemed now. the costumes really seemed to be from the 80’s–as the piece is–and a lot of the movement also seemed somehow old fashioned. lotta asked me if i got the sense that it might’ve been revolutionary in its time, and i could see that it might’ve been, b/c a lot of the actual choreography (when the dancers weren’t jogging in place) was interesting. but too symmetrical, too fast, and in this case, somewhat under-rehearsed. this was, i think, the first twyla tharp piece i’ve seen so i’m not sure what to think. but one thing i will say is that i’m impressed with the themes she takes on. apparently “in the upper room” is a reference to where jesus and his disciples went for the last supper. not that i got that sense at all during the piece! but i know she takes on serious themes often drawn from history or mythology, and i appreciate it. i have a book she wrote about creativity, and in it she quotes goethe, something like, “if you’re not drawing on 2500 years of history in your art, you’re living hand to mouth.” definitely not the way people seem to view art today, but i love it.
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