 
|
|||||||||
              
|
The Best of 1999/Dance
Friday, December 31, 1999 By Jane Vranish, Post-Gazette Dance Critic
You might say that Pittsburgh dance finished out the 20th with a great, muscular leap into the millennium.
It came in all sizes, shapes, and arenas. We saw it at the Hunt Armory and in the Monongahela River. There was an injection of European flair along with perennial American favorites like Alvin Ailey and Philadanco.
But the big news was the surge of local dance. Like crocuses peeking through the snow in spring, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre showed signs of fresh artistic color under director Terrence Orr. Dance Alloy's Mark Taylor took up the creative gauntlet despite some financial concerns. And the rumblings of youth also bode well for the future, apparent in the fresh-faced idealism of Labco, The Move, Pittsburgh Youth Ballet and Xpressions.
(Byham Theater, Feb. 19): If you have a Bessie Award-winning piece out of New York City on a program, it usually goes near the end, like an exclamation point. But Mark Taylor boldly put Sean Curran's Chaplinesque solo, "Five Points of Articulation," at the start. It provided the surge, like a wave heading for shore, for the rest of the program, certainly the riskiest and most articulate performance put on by this company. Taylor, riding his own creative wave, put forth two world premieres, "Bodice Ripper" and "Applause," and Curran choreographed another for the company.
(Pittsburgh Dance Council, Hunt Armory, Oct. 22): This was a true dance event: rising young European choreographer meets old, established Pittsburgh landmark in Shadyside's Hunt Armory (aptly named, for the audience had to hunt for it). Although Steve Reich's seminal score echoed in the cavernous recesses of the Armory, De Keersmaker's choreography for "Drumming" was a brilliant exploration of the theme and variations form with an ever-changing cyclorama behind it.
(PDC, Sandcastle, June 13): Probably the most controversial performance of the year, it was certainly the prettiest, located along the banks of the Mon at Sandcastle. Some may have equated Eiko & Koma's slow-moving butoh style with watching the grass grow. But the pair raised environmental issues about the nature of movement with powerful images that still linger.
(Hartwood Acres, Aug. 22): Instead of the usual reruns that we've come to expect at Hartwood, PBT gave us its most original program of the year. Though dance is never easy to execute outdoors, the company gave a sweeping performance of George Balanchine's "Theme and Variations," something it could never do on the superior floor of the Benedum Center. There was also a rousing Balanchine duet, "Tarantella," with Terence Marling and newcomer Jennifer Langenstein, a robust local premiere of the all-male "Journey" by Salvatore Aiello and Marling's own premiere, "Symbiosis."
(PDC, Byham, Dec. 4): You can't beat this Philadelphia company for its sheer wattage on stage. December's performance produced a trio of previews from the upcoming premiere, "On the Shoulders of Our Ancestors." One work, "Gate Keepers" by Ron Brown, was stunning in its melding of contemporary dance with traditional African movements
(Byham, April 30): I keep coming back to this one, a hypnotic and intellectual pursuit of an almost forgotten folk art form, the calypso. Taylor's choreography in "Roots/Crossroutes" rode the gentle undulating rhythms of original score, sung with pungent understanding by Caribbean artist Black Stalin.
(City Theater, July 9): Where did it come from? This company sprang full-blown, like the head of Zeus, into the summer line-up. Several PBT performers hit their stride here, notably Marling in a sensuous performance of Aiello's "Satto" and not-long-for-the-corps member Lauren Schultz. But this company wasn't a PBT retread. However it did tread where PBT had never been, with not only a world premiere by the energizing Alonzo King, but two more by former PBT members Kip Sturm (a surprise delight) and artistic director Andrew Blight.
(Chatham College, Nov. 14): Officially the title is Laboratory Dance Company and that is what they do so well. A group of talented and highly organized women, they have formed a scientific group that loves to concoct new dance. This adventuresome concert had a terrific premiere by Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane alumnus Janet Lilly, called "Pale," and an amusing collaboration, "Unveiling Mermaids," that was dissected into three sections over the course of the evening.
(PDC, Benedum Center, March 6): Although it tended to meander, "Furioso" was the thrill ride of the year. Performers in harnesses were able to easily escape the gravitational pull of the earth, something at the heart of every dancer. To give us all something to think about, Tankard also explored the battle of the sexes using her high-flying vocabulary.
(Chatham College, May 1): Norma Jean Barnes has been quietly developing a young, highly disciplined company that is the pride of Pittsburgh's African-American community. On this program, her carefully cultivated partnership with Terence Greene of Dayton Contemporary Dance Company produced "Homage," a piece dedicated to African traditions and danced with enormous passion and precision.
|
||||||||
1. Dance Alloy