Above: Paul Taylor in the 1961 premiere production of Fibers
Author: Oberon
Tuesday June 14th, 2022 - A program of (mostly) forgotten early works by Paul Taylor at The Joyce; the evening also included a premiere choreographed by Michelle Manzanales of Ballet Hispanico.
A very quirky 1961 Taylor work, Fibers, opened the evening. It was Taylor's opus number 26, set to a strange and marvelous score by Arnold Schoenberg with the set and costumes designed by Rouben Ter-Arutunian. On the white stage stands a spindly tree, its slim branches covered with vari-coloured fibers, the branches casting delicate shadows on the wall.
Fibers features four dancers. We first meet the men - Alex Clayton and Devon Louis - clad in bizarre body costumes covered with all manner of emblems, piping, and other adornments; their faces are covered with masques, giving them an alien air. Their choreography is athletic, and expertly danced..
Now the women appear: Christina Lynch Markham and Lisa Borres. Their faces are painted white, like actors in an ancient Japanese play, and their hair is pulled back under white headpieces. Ms. Markham has a solo before awakening Mr. Louis, whilst Ms. Borres is carried about on Mr. Clayton's shoulder. Christina also has some witty floorwork before the two women have a pas de trois with Alex, and then one with Devon.
There is a demanding solo for Devon Louis and a quirky duet for Ms. Borres and Mr. Louis; Lisa and Christina have a duo, creating interesting shapes, before the concluding quartet. This very unusual piece seemed to captivate the audience, and they hailed the dancers with lively applause as they took their bows, with the men having removed their masks.
Next up were three solos from Images and Reflections (1958), Taylor's opus number 20, originally created for television to music by Martin Feldman. In the first solo, White and Sulpher, John Harnage dazzled us with his charismatic presence and persuasive moves. Clad in black, his costume is trimmed with what I at first thought were silvery metallic wings, but in fact they are more like a mane. This quizzical solo is performed in a pool of light.
The solo Shell is danced by Kristin Draucker; in a pale sunrise-orange ballgown, the dancer radiated lyricism and wit by turns as the solo unfolded thru alternating passages of calm and animation. Kristin's expressive hands seemed to be telling us a story, though throughout the solo she remained enigmatic...and beautifully so.
Devon Louis, is a silver suit, rolls out onto the stage to commence his Blue and Copper solo; mood swings are again the theme, and Mr. Louis was simply brilliant.
The three solos from Images and Reflections would have been even more fascinating to experience had not two cellphone gone off...just at the wrong moments, of course.
The Manzanales premiere, Hope Is The Thing With The Feather, was a huge hit with the audience. It's beautifully lit by Christopher Chambers, and the ten dancers are costumed by Santo Loquasto. It's a dancework "for the birds", performed to music inspired by our fine, feathered friends from such musicians as Bob Marley, the Beatles, and Tomás Méndez (his hit song "Cucurrucucú paloma").
At curtain rise, to the sound of a whistled tune, Devon Louis moves with subtle strength in a pool of light. The other dancers enter in procession to solo guitar sounds; they dance in unison in shifting positions. Harry Woods' "Red, Red Robin" sets off a big ensemble. The dancers come and go in various pairings and units, filling the space with motion. There are passages when each dancer seems to be doing his/her own thing, yet it's all finely calibrated.
The dancers then each appear in fleeting solos, woven into a continuous parade of dance: Alex Clayton (with fantastic barrel turns), Christina Lynch Markham, Maria Ambrose, Lee Duveneck, Madelyn Ho, Devon Louis, Jada Pearman, Jessica Ferretti, Lisa Borres, and Shawn Lesniak.
Things build to a beautiful "final pose", the dancers drawing together in a tight circle, gazing skyward. The audience tenses, ready to burst into applause. But the dancers collapse, only to rise again and keep on dancing for several more minutes. The audience's focus seemed to waver, though the dancers continued to give their all. Finally. Mr. Louis strikes a dramatic pose and the lights go out. Now the applause is unleashed, Ms. Manzanales getting a roar of cheers when she came out for a bow.
Despite the 'false' ending, I have to say that Ms. Manzanales seemed to have a better idea of how to show off the Taylor dancers than Lauren Lovette did with her Taylor debut-work, Pentimento, earlier in the season. Ms. Manzanales's choreography was clearer, more musical, and more distinctive.
Taylor's Profiles (1978) is set to music by Jan Radzynski, which commences with a sustained string note. Of this piece, Jennifer Dunning wrote: “Mr. Taylor has created one of his most essential evocations of evil. The four dancers have come to seem bent on some dark private ritual, figures who have stepped off an archaic vase, loose in a world with which they are most terrifying at odds.” None of the dancers seemed particularly evil to me, but perhaps I missed the point because I was so engrossed in watching the beloved Taylor icon Eran Bugge. It was simply great to see her again.
John Harnage did convey a feeling of agitation, and of quirkiness in his stylized "romance" with the lovely Madelyn Ho. Ms. Bugge and Alex Clayton did seem menacing at times as they circled the stage. Poses reminiscent of Nijinsky's L'après-midi d'un faune were sometimes assumed by the men. At the end, Ms. Bugge knelt to Mr. Clayton. During the bows, Ms. Bugge - who had remained cool throughout the ballet - broke into her iconic smile; whatever mischief her character might have been making was forgotten.
The one Taylor work on the program that was familiar to me was Aureole (1962) which I saw years ago at The Pillow. More recently, I had the great pleasure of meeting the legendary Taylor dancer Rachel Berman when she came to New York City in 2009 to coach the adagio from Aureole for the New York International Ballet Competition. It turned out to be the last time that Competition was held. My friend Kokyat and I spent hours watching the coaching sessions; read a bit about it here.
The music of Handel gives Aureole its special charm. The five white-clad dancers were a joy to watch, with Maria Ambrose and Lee Duveneck is the poetic adagio, and the spirited and smiling Austin Kelly having a fine time in his lively, witty role. Mr. Duveneck's solo was outstanding, and Jada Pearman's solo lit up the stage. Kristin Draucker joined Mlles. Ambrose and Pearman in passages of lyrical dancing, flirting with and cajoling the handsome Mr. Kelly. As Aureole ended, all seemed right with the world.
UPDATE: see photos from this program here.
~ Oberon