Thursday March 17, 2011 - Three immortal classics created by Martha Graham (above) were on the programme at the Rose Theater tonight, each employing stage decor by Isamu Noguchi. I've seen very little of Graham's work in my decades of dance-going - APPALACHIAN SPRING at The Pillow years ago, and the striking CLYTEMNESTRA given at the Skirball in May 2009 - so I have little by way of context in which to judge tonight's performances. To me the works were stunning for clarity of movement, musicality and vivid expression of dramatic intent, and the dancers were superb.
EMBATTLED GARDEN, and Adam-and-Eve ballet created in 1958 to a score by Carlos Surinach, looked particularly vital as danced by a splendid quartet of artists. Carrie Ellmore Tallitsch and Maurizio Nardi as Lilith and The Stranger were thrilling, their powerful dancing and compelling personalities making a grand impression. The roles of Adam and Eve call for a more lyrical feeling; Marina Dashkina Maddux and Oliver Tobin fit the requirements perfectly. The Noguchi setting created the illusion of tree and garden with delicious spareness.
CAVE OF THE HEART, set to Samuel Barber's Medea, depicts Jason's abandonment of Medea and her destruction of his new beloved using a poisoned crown. (In the Cherubini opera, Medea sends Glauce a robe which bursts into flame when the young bride tries it on - I wonder how Graham might have depicted that?) Again, only four dancers are needed to tell the tale in Graham's concise distillation of the legend. Miki Orihara, recently honored with a Bessie Award for her dedicated work in dance, brings an interesting feminine vulnerability to Medea, her subtle facial expressions revealing much even as she remained still. Tadej Brdnik's powerful physique gave him the appearance of a demi-god as Jason; Jacquelyn Elder looked lovely as Glauce and Katherine Crockett interpretation of the Chorus was etched with theatrical detail.
Above: Miki Orihara.
The backdrop turns a searing blood-red as the work reaches its climax; Miki mysteriously appears in a hooded cloak, dragging the shrouded body of Glauce behind her. Graham's version does not depict Medea's murdering of her children, her ultimate revenge for Jason's betrayal, nor her departure in a chariot drawn by flying dragons.
Above: Tadej Brdnik, photo by Kerville Cosmos Jack.
APPALACHIAN SPRING may be Graham's best-known work. To me it proved the least engrossing of the three ballets offered tonight, seeming a bit dated. It was excellently produced and vividly danced, but the theme of the work doesn't have the resonance of the myth-based works shown on the program's first half. The characters in this 'front porch of America' piece are one-dimensional and the work is too long by half. After a while you just want the preacher and his followers to leave and the Pioneering Woman to fall asleep in her rocker so the young marrieds can go to bed and enjoy their wedding night. The Americana tunes sound better in their traditional settings than they do in Copeland's arrangements.
Despite these reservations, the dancing again was impressive with Maurizio Nardi especially exciting as the Revivalist...
...and Katherine Crockett (above) a paragon of upright strength and commitment as the Pioneering Woman. Blakeley White-McGuire and Tadej Brdnik as the wedded couple danced with vigor and grace, their expressions full of hope and wonder as they faced their future together.
Above: Isamu Noguchi. His designs for the three works presented tonight, so attractive in their simplicity, truly enhanced the choreography and the dancing. A full house greeted the performers with avid cheers after each work.
The most memorable aspect of the evening was the visual manifestation of the imprint Graham left on dance as we know it today. Whether the works were presented tonight with the same gut intensity that they were when Graham was alive is debatable, but it's still important to see them and I for one am grateful for the opportunity. The audience's enthusiastic response after each piece assured me that my enjoyment of the evening was shared by many.