I have to admit I have a soft spot for Paul Taylor.  After spending twelve years immersed in ballet, I made the switch to modern dance in college, where the classes I took from Julie Strandberg were strongly influenced by Taylor’s technique. During both my undergraduate and graduate years, I had the good fortune to study with former Taylor dancers including Carolyn Adams and Victoria Uris. And through videos and concerts, I became acquainted with some of Taylor’s remarkable repertory. Now that the Paul Taylor Dance Company is touring to Israel, I’m looking forward to feasting my eyes on what promises to be a memorable mixed bill.

My preview of the Paul Taylor Dance Company’s Israeli tour was originally published in the Jerusalem Post as “A Poet of the Body.”

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A Poet of the Body

Paul Taylor’s Promethean Fire.  Photo by Lois Greenfield.

Paul Taylor has come a long way since being dubbed as the “naughty boy” of dance by legendary modern dance pioneer Martha Graham. Over fifty years after shocking the American concert dance establishment with his avant-garde choreography, Taylor is regularly met with monikers of a different sort. Vanity Fair anointed him in 2004 as “the greatest choreographer in the world,” praise which has frequently been echoed by dance critics across the globe. Now Israeli audiences have a chance to see the famed dancemaker’s wares when the Paul Taylor Dance Company tours to Petach Tikva, Haifa, Jerusalem, and Tel Aviv.

Taylor made his first forays into choreography while still performing for Graham, and since his company’s debut in 1954, he has created an astonishing 131 dances. Yet far more impressive than the sheer number of his works is the high caliber of his artistic output. After Taylor’s initial experiments – which included one infamous four-minute piece composed purely of stillness – he developed a rich signature movement language and trained his company to dance with a special quality that might be described as weighted ease. His works are infused with this physical imprint as well as a keen sense of composition and a marvelously nuanced musicality. And whether abstract in nature or more specifically outfitted with settings and characters, Taylor’s dances wield a rare communicative power, speaking of and to the human spirit.

Taylor’s extensive body of work traverses an exceptionally wide thematic range, covers a full spectrum of moods, and boasts a broad array of musical accompaniment. This multifaceted diversity will be on display in the PTDC’s performances in Israel with a stellar line-up of three distinctive dances: Changes, Piazzolla Caldera, and Promethean Fire.

Paul Taylor’s Changes. Photo by Paul B. Goode.

Created in 2008, Changes hearkens back to an earlier era as evoked by the songs of the popular 1960s vocal group The Mamas and the Papas. Clad in bell-bottoms and hippie-style tops covered in psychedelic prints, the dancers start in a colorfully lit club atmosphere. Social dance crazes like the pony and the monkey blend seamlessly into Taylor’s own vocabulary as the cast moves through the highs – drug-induced and otherwise – and the lows of the time. Teetering and tilting, the group is swept across the stage by the winds of change.

Paul Taylor’s Piazzolla Caldera.  Photo by Paul B. Goode.

Piazzolla Caldera (1997) transports the dancers to another atmosphere entirely, one inspired by a tango salon. Set to the music of renowned Argentine tango composer Astor Piazzolla and Jerzy Peterburshsky, a Polish composer best known for his tangos, Piazzolla Caldera is laced with passion. Drawing from the traditional steps of the tango as well as his personal style, Taylor pairs off his dancers and sends the couples into deep dips and swirling turns. Feisty flicks of the foot and sharper accents are juxtaposed with smooth, legato stretches. This sultry mix has proved to be a winning formula, enlivening a documentary that was made during the work’s creation and subsequently capturing the hearts of audiences and critics alike.

Paul Taylor’s Promethean Fire.  Photo by Lois Greenfield.

Yet it is Promethean Fire (2002) that is this triple bill’s crowning glory. Hailed by the New York Times’s Anna Kisselgoff as “one of the best works choreographed by Paul Taylor,” Promethean Fire does indeed feature some of Taylor’s finest craftsmanship. The choreographer artfully maneuvers his sixteen-member ensemble across the stage, alternately carving sweeping curves and striking lines through the space before assembling the dancers in stunning sculptural group formations. Taylor’s formal composition suits the grand orchestral score by J.S. Bach, and although the work is abstract, the dance is exceptionally moving, leaving the viewer with a sense of renewal.

Watching a more classically tailored masterpiece like Promethean Fire, it’s hard to imagine that Paul Taylor ever caused such scandal with his choreography. But while he has reinvented himself from the mischievous rebel to the celebrated master of modern dance, one characteristic has remained constant in Taylor’s evolving artistry: his uncommon ability to stir the audience’s emotions.

More Information

The Paul Taylor Dance Company performs at Heichal HaTarbut in Petach Tikva on April 27^th, the Haifa Auditorium on April 28^th, the Jerusalem Theater on April 29^th, and at the Opera House in Tel Aviv from May 1-4. Tickets (149-299 NIS) are available at 03-9125222 (Petach Tikva), 04-8418411 (Haifa), 02-6237000 (Jerusalem), and 03-6927777 (Tel Aviv).

Related Links

• Paul Taylor Dance Company

West Side Story.  Courtesy of Ora Lapidot.

Though I typically write about contemporary dance, I branched out to do an article about the musical West Side Story for the Jerusalem Post.  I always enjoy interviewing people involved with the production for these newspaper articles, and for this story, I got a treat: two interviews!

First I spoke with resident director Mascha Pörzgen, who gave me some great background about this revival of the classic Broadway production.  Then I had a stimulating conversation with Scott Sussman, who told me enthusiastically about his path to playing Tony.  We also spoke about the history of West Side Story and marveled at Jerome Robbins’ connection to dance in Israel (Robbins, who directed and choreographed the original West Side Story, was sent by the America Israel Foundation to check out the young country’s dance scene in 1951; upon his recommendation, American choreographer Anna Sokolow came to coach the Inbal Dance Theater).

After talking with both Mascha and Scott, I couldn’t wait to see West Side Story – and since attending the preview last week, I’ve been constantly humming the musical’s memorable tunes.  You can catch the run of West Side Story at the Opera House through the 14th.

This article was first published in the Jerusalem Post.

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West Side Story in the Middle East

“West Side Story has always been very special to me because it’s actually the score that I grew up on, and it’s how I learned to sing . . . I’ve been singing “Maria” every day of my life since I was 14 years old,” Scott Sussman reveals.  For the last few years, Sussman has been singing “Maria” onstage while playing Tony in an international tour of West Side Story – and from September 2-14, he’ll be singing “Maria” here in Israel when the production comes to Tel Aviv’s Opera House.

Since its premiere on Broadway in 1957, West Side Story has won audience’s hearts with its modern twist on Shakespeare’s classic Romeo and Juliet.  With New York street gangs replacing the Montagues and Capulets, and with ethnic tensions rather than family rivalries, the protagonists’ love story became not just tragic but relevant for contemporary viewers.

West Side Story.  Courtesy of Ora Lapidot.

Yet the magical pull of West Side Story lies not only in the updated narrative but also in the production’s compelling synthesis of music and dance.  Choreographer and director Jerome Robbins, who conceived the musical, teamed up with composer Leonard Bernstein, lyricist Stephen Sondheim, and playwright Arthur Laurents to design a work in which the score and the movement propelled the action.  Bernstein and Sondheim created a series of stirring hits, from “Maria” to “America” to “Tonight.”  Meanwhile, Robbins’ dynamic choreography conveyed the feelings of the show’s characters, whether in the tender, dreamy duets of Maria and Tony or in the explosive group dances of the Jets and the Sharks.

West Side Story.  Courtesy of Ora Lapidot.

The result was a production whose emotional power was magnified.  “[The musical] is so directly going to your emotions because of the score and the music and the singing and the dancing and everything,” explains Mascha Pörzgen, the resident director for the version which will be performed in Israel.  She adds, “You have to take a lot of tissues for the second act!”

West Side Story.  Courtesy of Ora Lapidot.

This current touring production began in 2007 as part of a 50th anniversary celebration of West Side Story, and it captures the essence of the iconic original Broadway version. Robbins’ unforgettable choreography has been reconstructed by Joey McKneely, who worked with the master and learned the show directly from him. The production garnered the seal of approval from both the Jerome Robbins Foundation, which gave McKneely permission to restage the show, and from the Leonard Bernstein Foundation, which licensed Don Chan to conduct West Side Story.

West Side Story.  Courtesy of Ora Lapidot.

Even as this West Side Story hearkens back to an older production, the cast of 39 young, devoted performers lends a refreshing energy to the show.  Sussman, who joined this tour as Tony in December 2007, marvels, “It’s amazing that I could be doing the show for as long as I have and be singing for as long as I have, and yet it’s never the same. It’s the beauty of live theater. It’s all really essentially happening for the first time.”

West Side Story.  Courtesy of Ora Lapidot.

From France to Spain to Japan, this revival has generated enthusiastic cheers (and, at the end, tears).  Now both its resident director and its star are looking forward to bringing West Side Story to Israel.  For Sussman, who is Jewish, this tour stop is particularly meaningful.  He reflects, “I have never been to Israel, but I have always wanted to go.  Every year at Passover we say l’shana haba’a b’Yerushalayim.  It’s very exciting . . . to be able to come and do the show I love in my favorite role – for me it’s very special.”

Related Links

• Tel Aviv Performing Arts Center (Opera House)

Video: Best of MOMIX tours Israel this July.

Most of the choreographers I’ve interviewed here in Israel are, of course, Israeli.  But since I’ve been freelancing more as a dance writer, I’ve had some great opportunities to interview choreographers from abroad whose companies are touring to Tel Aviv.

MOMIX is the next major dance troupe which will travel through town, and a few weeks ago I enjoyed a lively Skype conversation with the company’s founder, Moses Pendleton.  After sorting through a half-hour’s worth of worthy material – a difficult task when your interview subject is thoughtful, well-spoken, and quite witty – I wrote “Momixian Fantasy,” which was published the Jerusalem Post on June 25, 2009.

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Momixian Fantasy

‘You never know when you’re going to be attacked by an idea,” says choreographer Moses Pendleton.  Israeli audiences will get to see several of Pendleton’s highly original ideas when his Connecticut-based company, MOMIX, tours Best of MOMIX to Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Haifa and Beersheba in July.  The program is, according to Pendleton, “a compilation of several highlights from several programs put together like a rock music album.”

Few dance companies can pull off a greatest hits show – but MOMIX can.  Over its 29-year history, the company has produced a string of works that are not only successful but wildly inventive.  Best of MOMIX features eye-catching excerpts from Lunar Sea, Opus Cactus, Momix in Orbit and the company’s latest creation, Botanica.

MOMIX has become so popular that it sometimes tours two productions at once, captivating audiences around the globe with visual magic and a performance style that resists categorization.  Rather than labeling his work modern dance, Pendleton laughingly terms his style “Momixian.”  The choreographer elaborates, “MOMIX is a kind of dance that incorporates elements of physical theater, visual theater, athletic dance, some modern dance and a little ballet here and there. But it in itself as a title, a mixture – almost a mix of a lot of different art forms, hence the word MOMIX.”

Pendleton also draws from a mix of sources for inspiration.  “Much of our information comes not from the dance studio but from the natural world: the plant, animal, mineral and seeing how the human is connected to other forms in nature,” he explains.  Ideas can strike while strolling in gardens, walking in the desert or spending a day at the lake.

The challenge is then to craft theatrical, movement-based art from these natural sources.  Often, Pendleton adds, “It’s a sunflower that is dancing or a snake that is performing or it is something else, some other image, not necessarily a person.”  Sometimes several dancers join forces with meticulously arranged movements to portray one character, like the rattlesnake in Opus Cactus.

To transform MOMIX’s members into non-human creatures, Pendleton relies not only on his dancers’ remarkable coordination but on creative visual design. At times clever lighting contributes to the performers’ metamorphosis.  In Lunar Sea, for instance, black light produces an other-worldy atmosphere.

But most frequently, ingenious and whimsical props are at the heart of the special effects.  MOMIX’s dancers expertly manipulate enormous kinetic sculptures, oversized skis, twenty-pound beaded headdresses and exercise balls.  As they soar through the air, tilt at extreme angles, twirl, and bounce, the dancers not only assume other shapes from nature but appear nearly superhuman.  Their already amazing acrobatic abilities are extended by the props and the results can prove jaw-dropping.

Even as the productions ascend into the realm of playful fantasy, Pendleton asserts that MOMIX remains strongly connected to the human experience.  “I think that part of our humanity is making those connections to things beyond the human,” he notes.  The choreographer also recognizes the value of making art that is witty, invigorating, entertaining, and imaginative.  “Fantasy is an integral part of reality,” Pendleton explains.  “It’s part of our health, education and welfare.  There are reflections of fantasy in the show, and I think it’s inspiring for people to see even in a depressed world.”

With that in mind, Pendleton believes that “if people go away with a little less gravity in their step, then it’s been a successful evening.”

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Tour Information

You can catch MOMIX’s gravity-defying dancers at these locations:

• Tel Aviv Performing Arts Center on July 1 and 2 at 9 p.m. and July 3 at 1 p.m.; (03) 692-7777
• Jerusalem Theater on July 5 at 9 p.m.; (02) 560-5755
• Haifa Auditorium on July 7 at 9 p.m.; (04) 841-8411
• Beersheba Center for the Performing Arts on July 8 at 9 p.m.; (08) 623-6041

Related Links

• Momix

Dance history buff that I am, I was thrilled when I got to interview Jean-Christophe Maillot.  Why?  He directs Les Ballets de Monte Carlo, which in some ways carries on the legacy of the legendary Ballets Russes.  Yet even with these rich historical roots (or perhaps because of them), this top-notch company presents decidedly 21st-century work.  Read on to understand why!

This article was first published as “A Midsummer Dream” in the Jerusalem Post on June 14th, 2009.

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“Each time I go to a new country, I always go with a tremendous hope that what we will bring is completely different – because the environment is different, because the culture is different, because the history of the country is different,” explains Jean-Christophe Maillot, choreographer for Les Ballets de Monte Carlo.

Since 1993, the French-born choreographer has led Monaco’s world-renowned dance company on tours around the globe.  Yet for Maillot and most of the troupe’s 46 dancers, the company’s performances at the Tel Aviv Performing Arts Center will mark their first visit to Israel – and Maillot is looking forward to it.

Maillot’s hope may well be fulfilled on this tour.  Firmly rooted in the classical ballet tradition while moving forward with a distinctly contemporary style of choreography, Les Ballets de Monte Carlo is indeed different from much of Israel’s dance scene.  This contrast should prove exciting not only for Maillot, but for Israeli audiences as well.

Though it may seem paradoxical, Les Ballets de Monte Carlo’s freshness stems from a rich history.  Monaco’s ballet tradition stretches back to the early decades of the 20th century, when Russian impresario Sergei Diaghilev brought his famed Ballets Russes to Monte Carlo.  The ground-breaking company dissolved when Diaghilev died in 1929, but it was reconstituted three years later by Colonel de Basil and Rene Blum.  Conflicts between the directors led to a split, and under Blum’s leadership, the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo continued to win praise with its cast of star dancers and inventive choreographers.

During the 1950s and 1960s, the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo closed, reopened, and shut its doors once again.  Yet Princess Grace of Monaco dreamed of returning a ballet company to her principality.  In 1985, her daughter, the Princess of Hanover, founded Les Ballets de Monte Carlo.  The company now boasts a diverse repertory and a roster of talented dancers from 21 countries.

Although Les Ballets de Monte Carlo is not the direct descendant of either Diaghilev or Blum’s troupe, it does bear some important resemblances to these legendary companies.  First, Maillot remains loyal to the Ballets Russes custom of pairing classical ballet technique with up-to-date and even innovative choreography.  He maintains that his company uses ballet technique “without being old-fashioned, without being boring, without being tacky. It’s not because we do use things that have been used for more than two centuries that we are out of our time.”

To bring the ballet tradition into the 21st century, Maillot and his company’s guest choreographers harness ideas from contemporary dance.  The result?  Artistically adventurous works performed by strong, flexible, virtuoso dancers who are at home in ballet slippers and pointe shoes.

Secondly, like several Ballets Russes choreographers before him, Maillot is interested in presenting divertissement – diversionary entertainment. “Divertissement is a word that everybody in the art form is very afraid to use because it seems when you use that, you don’t take yourself seriously enough,” Maillot notes.

But Maillot embraces this term and the idea behind it. “I love the idea to give to the audience a moment where there is a kind of reality onstage that has nothing to do with the reality in the world,” he declares.  Sets, costumes, lighting and music by renowned designers and composers combine with movement to create this alternative world.

Tel Aviv audiences will be exposed to Maillot’s brand of divertissement – and his fusion of the classical with the contemporary – in two programs performed by Les Ballets de Monte Carlo.  The first, Le Songe (“The Dream”), is an evening-length work inspired by William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.  While choreographing this work in 2005, Maillot explored the body’s capacity to convey a story within a contemporary aesthetic.

Maillot also views Le Songe as an answer to the question of how to work with dancers ranging in age from 20 to 45 or older.  Dance is often viewed as the province of the young, but Maillot believes “that everybody [in the group] is necessary to each other, and that this knowledge of the 25-year difference between the youngest [dancer] and the oldest is a privilege.”

Maillot makes the most of what he calls “three generations of dancers” by relating each group to a set of characters in Shakespeare’s play.  The youngest dancers, with their vigorous energy and physical prowess, correspond to the youthful lovers of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.  Dancers from age 29 to approximately 36 – who have achieved a greater synthesis of mind and body – represent the fairy world.  And the oldest dancers, who may no longer perform the most technically difficult material but bring a deep maturity to their roles, portray Shakespeare’s often comedic players.

While Maillot focused on character and narrative in Le Songe, he deliberately turned away from these elements in Altro Canto I and Altro Canto II. Created in 2006 and 2008, respectively, this pair of abstract dances enabled Maillot to show that “the body can be enough and the dance form can be enough for itself to express something.”

These works were also opportunities for Maillot to experiment with contrasting methods of choreographing.  For Altro Canto I, he selected music by Baroque composer Claudio Monteverdi and sought to match that with a “visual revelation of what people can hear.”

Maillot abandoned this conventional academic approach in Altro Canto II.  Working in the studio with one musical score, he designed and manipulated movement phrases.  Yet the final product is performed instead to music composed by the choreographer’s brother, Bertrand Maillot.

Though Les Ballets de Monte Carlo’s two programs are quite different in nature, Jean-Christophe Maillot says that both will be performed with generosity and pleasure.  Calling this tour an exciting adventure, he looks forward to the possibility that his work “will be able to reach some hearts of the people that will discover it” in Tel Aviv.

More Information

Les Ballets de Monte Carlo performs Jean-Christophe Maillot’s Le Songe at the Tel Aviv Performing Arts Center from June 16-18 at 9 p.m.  The company performs Maillot’s Altro Canto I and Altro Canto II at TAPAC from June 20-21 at 9 p.m.  Tickets: (03) 692-7777.

Related Links

• Les Ballets de Monte Carlo
• Tel Aviv Performing Arts Center

Excertps from Barak Marshall’s new dance, Monger.

Tel Aviv Dance 2008 is bringing companies from all over the world to stages throughout the city from October 23 to November 22. This weekend is the premiere of Barak Marshall’s highly anticipated Monger at the Suzanne Dellal Center.  The L.A.-based Marshall – who has lived in both Israel and in the U.S., where he most recently has been affiliated with UCLA’s Department of World Arts and Cultures – stopped choreographing 8 years ago after an injury. His choreography in the 1990s generated a major buzz in Israel and garnered several awards, so devoted dance-goers here will likely flock to the theater for this event.

I too am eager to attend a performance of Monger.  Many people recommended Marshall’s work to me last year, but I could only see a few snippets of his choreography at the Dance Library of Israel.  These videos and the frequent mentions of his name piqued my interest.  I was also intrigued by the fact that Marshall was the son of Margalit Oved, a choreographer and key dancer with the Yemenite dance troupe Inbal in its heyday.  After reading Helen Kaye’s preview of Monger in the Jerusalem Post, I’m looking forward more than ever to seeing Marshall’s choreography.

If you are reading this in Israel and want to go to the theater – or if you’re somewhere else in the world and just want to know more – there are a few online resources about Tel Aviv Dance and Barak Marshall’s new work.  The Suzanne Dellal Center has an English-language schedule for Tel Aviv Dance 2008 with descriptions of the concert offerings, bios, and photos.   There is also an article about the Tel Aviv Dance festival by Ori J. Lenkinski in the Jerusalem Post, with special mention both of Barak Marshall and of the visiting American company Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet.  Cedar Lake has performed Ohad Naharin’s Decadance in the U.S., and they will include some excerpts of this piece in their program this week at the Tel Aviv Performing Arts Center (the opera house).