|
|
the
New York manufacturer of fine dance apparel for women and girls. Click
here to see a sample of our products and a list of web sites for purchasing.
With Body Wrappers it's always performance
at its best.
|
Go
back to Flash Reviews
Go
Home
Flash Review 3, 2-5: Jones Redux
"D-Man in the Waters"
By Vanessa Manko
Copyright 2002 Vanessa Manko
NEW YORK -- In addition to the new
dances presented this past weekend at Alice Tully Hall in collaboration with
the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company
also revived Jones's 1989 "D-Man in the Waters," an acrobatic, energetic work
set to Mendelssohn's Octet in E-flat Major, Op. 20, seen Friday. After two premieres
and two rather lengthy intermissions, "D-Man in the Waters" arrived as a welcome
finale to the evening. And, it seemed this way not just to the audience; the dancers
emitted such a sense of joy in dancing this final piece that it infused it with
a freshness and vitality that truly brought it to life.
Clad in army fatigues and flight
jumpers, the dancers romp through this ebullient work, somersaulting and spring-diving
on to the stage. Swimming motifs are laced through the piece. Jones has taken
the breast stroke, the dive, and the sense of floating or staying afloat and inserted
these common movements into his choreography. But it's a subtle effect -- not
too much, but just enough. He has found the danceable elements within the sport
of swimming. A deep blue screen lines the back of the stage, as the work opens
with a flash of movement and doesn't let up. A stream of dancers run on stage
and line up, frantically crisscrossing their arms in front of their faces, and,
just as the line forms, it reforms again as the back of the line feeds into the
front.
There is wit in this piece as well.
At one moment, dancers line up and move diagonally downstage, arms linked above
their heads with their partners'. The pairs make their way down the diagonal and
coyly present a pointed foot -- an old-time cotillion reconfigured. Equally playful
was the mock pas de trois in which men, proudly displaying their perfect passes,
were promenaded round and round by two female partners each. A signature of this
piece seemed to be arms outstretched and paddling as if their owners were struggling
to stay afloat, moving through patterns.
For the most part this was a high
energy, high endurance performance. Yet sometimes the most effective and most
lasting impressions are the ones that are set back from the chaos, the quieter
moments. (Technically speaking, these are often harder to perform then the acrobatic
tricks and athletic dancing.) In "D-Man in the Waters," these moments issued as
simple as a walk across the stage, the dancers crossing on half toe one by one.
On releve, they seemed to hover over the floor, with each stately stride precisely
placed, one foot in front of the other until they reached the other side of the
stage and lifted their gazes to a a distant point.
This motif resurfaces amid the later
dancing when Catherine Cabeen enters upstage in the same walk and balances for
what seems like forever, before creeping back off stage, only to repeat the same
sequence again. Of course, Jones picked the perfect dancer for this role. With
her long, pliable legs and exquisitely arched feet that, when raised into releve,
resemble the strokes of calligraphy, Cabeen is a pleasure to watch.
What is always enjoyable about watching
this company perform is the dancers Jones has chosen to present his choreography.
He works with bodies of every kind, and some dancers, particularly the women,
stand out. There is Toshiko Oiwa, capable of razor sharp exactitude and lyricism.
Or the strong and compact Ayo Janeen Jackson. And then there are the tall Amazonian
women whose legs don't stop, floating up into never-ending arabesques. While each
performer is a pleasure to watch separately, the real magic begins when they perform
the same choreography side by side. Then one is able to watch how the vocabulary
looks on different bodies. It's truly fascinating. "D-Man in the Waters" is an
uplifting piece, and certainly worthy of revival.
Go
back to Flash Reviews
Go Home
|
