Christopher Williams’ latest project that closed last weekend at DTW, entitled The Golden Legend, flies in the face of just about everything conjured up by the phrase “New York contemporary dance.” This cycle of male saints, following Williams’ memorable project for female saints a few years back, comprises solos performed by well-known dancers, plus supporting characters. It is dense with history and religious iconography, and epic in scale, with 17 solos. It has live music performed by a chamber ensemble and members of vocalists playing and singing early music plus new songs by Gregory Spears and Peter Kirn.
More high mass in feel than dance performance, the setting is defined immediately by 20 or so tall-backed chairs lining the sides of the stage. A processional down the aisle steps lets us view close up the amazing handiwork and detail of the costumes, created by Williams and team. But the seriousness of a mass is immediately deflated (or inflated?) by the cheeky first solo by David Parker as St. Thomas, diva-like and bathed in rose light (by Joe Levasseur). read more
The best moment of Darkness and Light, Basil Twist’s new collaboration with Robby Barnett and Jonathan Wolken for Pilobolus, comes right at the start. A number of people stand or crouch amid scattered machinery, pointedly staring at the audience. It’s long enough for a mental snapshot, but after a scrim lowers, concealing the scene, I rue my lack of photographic memory. Were they wearing caps and goggles, like long distance swimmers? Tights? They were bare-chested, right? And those were projectors, yes?
The piece unfortunately doesn’t go very far after that sly reveal, settling into mostly basic exercises in silhouette puppetry. A shadowy wedge grows into a figure’s waist. Creatures that appear like frothy doodles inhabit a sea blue scrim. A face morphs into a scary biting and licking machine. Nebula-like wisps dance across a starry field. Blobs consume other blobs and grow. The usual. In fact, the piece would be right at home in the repertory of Momix, founded by one of Pilobolus’ founders, Moses Pendleton. (Coincidentally, earlier this year Pendleton created a work for Diana Vishneva’s Beauty in Motion production that employed similar trompe l’oeuil exercises.) read more
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