Dance Review: Treeline’s Show and Tell; the Proper Way to Play

Happy Birthday Treeline Dance Works!  Although this one-year-old company may be just a baby on the dance scene, kiddos look out because she is growing in vigorous leaps and bounds…quite literally, in fact! Her first full-length show, In Transit, demonstrates how technical prowess can meet child-like playfulness.  Throughout, dancers play their bodies like musical instruments […]

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Dance Review: Neil Greenberg – Saggy-Crotch Tights are the Cats Pajamas!

By George—or better yet, by Merce—Neil Greenberg’s got good design; this former Cunningham dancer not only knows how to make a fashion statement, but also how to make statement, a fashion.  His past works have made quite the mark, inviting audience members to question status-quo gender roles, ponder common assumptions about HIV/AIDS, and interrogate what […]

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Dance Review: Urban Roots Festival

It’s drizzling and I’m walking up to St. Mark’s Church for the Urban Roots Festival where there is a healthy line outside of young urban hipsters, house heads, artists, poets, culture heads, and dancers at the ready to enter the space to score a coveted chair, bench, or at least a pillow on the floor […]

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Dance Review: “Coup de Foudre,” Baker, Van Peebles, and DJ Spooky at the Guggenheim Museum

Coupe de Foudre, a theatrical reinterpretation of surrealist film maker Jean Cocteau’s 1930 film "Blood of a Poet," gives a sudden intense feeling of love as the French title suggests as well as many other emotions as the audience remained in awe of this artistic collaboration of three generations of African American artists at the […]

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Dance Review: Ballet Preljocaj’s "Empty Moves" at BAM

“Why?” This is the continuous thought running through my head while watching Ballet Preljocaj perform Angelin Preljocaj’s Empty Moves (parts I & II) at BAM.  The piece, choreographed to John Cage’s 1977 speech Empty Words, which was recorded in Milan before a vocal and rambunctious crowd, sets a standard for contemporary choreographers.  Like abstract artwork, […]

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Dance Review: Ralph Lemon at BAM

After a six year hiatus, Ralph Lemon and his dancers return to the stage Wednesday night in Brooklyn’s own BAM Harvey Theater.  The theater is packed and guests buzz words of praise about their expectations for this performance.  Some, knowing of Lemon’s longer shows, ask about length expectations as well.   As I sit, I too […]

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Dance Review: Eva Dean’s UBA Bounce at Dixon Place

For years artists have bravely performed with the ballistics of balls and have awed audiences.  Jugglers, rhythmic gymnasts, and street performers entertain with the suspense of dropping the ball.  Welcome UBA bounce to this group of performers!  UBA Bounce’s performance, however, is like watching the 3D movie version of the other performances- more eye popping […]

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Dance Review: Pilobolus Perfect at The Joyce Theater

Pilobolus has absolutely perfected performance art! After thirty-nine years, Pilobolus still brings innovation that challenges their artists and thrills audiences, which I got to experience first hand this past Monday evening at The Joyce Theater in New York City. This evening, Pilobolus adds to their superior athletic and dynamic reputation by flaunting their fluidity and grace on top of their ability to tell a story.

The opening piece, Lantera Magica, takes the audience to a fantasyland of enchanted creatures. Appealing to the family audience, fireflies drift your imagination into a mythical land. The colorful costumes and brilliant lighting perfectly complement the graceful dancers, which moves the audience into a tale of fairy like creatures and discovery.

Pseudopodia, a male solo choreographed to pounding drums, diverts the focus away from the show’s theatrics and toward some gravity-defying technique! This is an amazingly dynamic juxtaposition of music and movement. The hard, pounding drum is paired with the fluid, flame-like movement of Jun Kuribayashi. His gasp-inducing solo begins as Jun Kuribayashi somersaults on stage like a fireball, his body rolling like a continuous flame. Not once does the audience hear his body touch the stage. He flows with effortlessness, while commanding the stage with complete control. Bravo!

The first act ends with the much anticipated Contradance, a new work that’s a collaboration with Grammy winner Dan Zanes. Contradance continues with the family and story telling theme of the evening by showcasing the ensemble’s subtle strengths and talents to portray sweet characters, who convey a moral story. (Yes, dancers, you better act!) Even though this piece isn’t a momentous, gravity defying piece that is often associated with Pilobolus’s reputation, I appreciate the softness and sweetness of the characters and the company’s embrace of magical stories that really appeal to a younger audience.

The evening is arranged much like a double feature at the movies. The first act is a G rated movie for families while the second more is a sophisticated highlight of the extreme strength and power of the company. Upon entering the stage in the fourth number, Gnomen, four intertwined men roll onto stage, demonstrating a huge feat of weight and balance. The men showcase extreme endurance, but execute it with much sensitivity. Arial lifts and arm balances make the audience gasp in awe, but more impressive is the emotional execution of the movement. Choreographed by Artistic Directors Robby Barnett and Jonathan Wolken as a dedication to fellow dancer James Blanc, I also sense that the dancers pay tribute to Wolken, who passed in the spring. The somber and inward mood of the piece creates a division between the performers and audience. As a viewer, you observe the pain of loss and devotion to relationships, but also admire the beauty of graceful physicality and emotional strength.

Megawatt, the finale performance, demonstrates strength and physicality, but in the most raw and abandoned manner. It is truly an underground piece choreographed to the music of Primus, Radiohead and Squarepusher. The dancers enter head first in upside-down army crawls (like my new dance term?), which sets the tone of organized chaos. Creating a full spectacle for the senses, Wolken’s killer choreography directly mimics the music. The audience sees, hears, and feels melody and tempo through a non-stop exhilarating display of high energy and seemingly impossible tricks. Although constantly impressed by the insane acrobatic stunts of all the members, I am most thrilled by Eriko Jimbo. One of the smaller members, she moves with fearless abandon and well matches the physicality of the “Lebron James size” men. Work Eriko! Megawatt leaves the audience rocking out in there seats.

Pilobolus is performing at The Joyce Theater until August 7th and provides a show that will entertain all ages and artistic preferences. Go see it!

Photography by Sara D. Davis

iDANZ Critix Corner
Official Dance Review by Katherine Gibson
Performance: Pilobolus
Venue: The Joyce Theater, NYC
Show Date: July 19, 2010
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Dance Review: ZviDance at DTW

Zoom is a dance piece created by the company, ZviDance. Run by choreographer Zvi Gotheiner, ZviDance performs joyous, colorful, vibrant works that revel in the pure beauty of movement and physical expression.  Zoom is no different.  The piece is exhilarating and moving, and showcases the excellent company Mr. Gotheiner has assembled.  These are dancers that […]

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Dance Review: Alexandance at Triskelion Arts

Alexandance’s first full length show, A Vertiable Smorgasbord, is a fascinating glimpse into worlds both funny and fierce.  Presented by Triskelion Arts, choreographers Alex Springer and Xan Burley lay it all on the line in a jam-packed evening of short dances ranging from wittily astute to traumatically effective.      The gems of the evening are two […]

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