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I finally got to one of the IU Ballet performances this Saturday, and it was really good and a little emotional for me.
Sweet Fields - by Twyla Tharp
This piece for about 12 dancers was really nice. It is set to 10 Shaker hymns sung a capella by a mixed chorus. The movements were simple but elegant, and I really liked the whole architecture of the thing - the way the dancers moved across the space and in relation to each other. Sweet Fields has a lot of unity, as several motifs recur throughout the the dance - shaking of hands, certain patterns of moving across the floor, which made for a nice sense of continuity. The simple white costumes and luminous lighting also did a lot to heighten the piece's lovely subtlety.
Eight Easy Pieces - by Peter Martins
This piece for three ballerinas, set to piano music by Stravinsky was well-performed but didn't do very much for me. The choreography seemed kind of over sweet and almost insipid. While Martins was trying for some understated humor, that did not really come through.
Eight More - by Peter Martins
This ballet for three male dancers is a companion piece to Eight Easy Pieces, and uses an orchestrated version of the same music. I like this one better, since Martins got the humor just right here. The three dancers did a great job with it, too.
Appalachian Spring - by Martha Graham
This was the piece I had really come to see. Graham is a (if not the) giant of modern dance, and this is one of her most significant pieces. It's a wonderful depiction of early America as represented by a husband and bride, a pioneer women, a revivalist, and his four followers. The movements are sometimes stark, sometimes achingly lyrical. There's a hint of a story, but nothing explicit - it's more about evocation than narrative. Copland's well-known music takes on a rather different aspect and meaning when heard with the dancing. In other contexts, it can seem a little cliched these days, but here, with Graham's choreography, it sounds fresh, new, and challenging.
It was a little bittersweet to be finally seeing this piece, but not with Y and E or any of the other people I was close to at the dance division. The performers were strangers, too. I admit I got a little teary. I miss them.
Sweet Fields - by Twyla Tharp
This piece for about 12 dancers was really nice. It is set to 10 Shaker hymns sung a capella by a mixed chorus. The movements were simple but elegant, and I really liked the whole architecture of the thing - the way the dancers moved across the space and in relation to each other. Sweet Fields has a lot of unity, as several motifs recur throughout the the dance - shaking of hands, certain patterns of moving across the floor, which made for a nice sense of continuity. The simple white costumes and luminous lighting also did a lot to heighten the piece's lovely subtlety.
Eight Easy Pieces - by Peter Martins
This piece for three ballerinas, set to piano music by Stravinsky was well-performed but didn't do very much for me. The choreography seemed kind of over sweet and almost insipid. While Martins was trying for some understated humor, that did not really come through.
Eight More - by Peter Martins
This ballet for three male dancers is a companion piece to Eight Easy Pieces, and uses an orchestrated version of the same music. I like this one better, since Martins got the humor just right here. The three dancers did a great job with it, too.
Appalachian Spring - by Martha Graham
This was the piece I had really come to see. Graham is a (if not the) giant of modern dance, and this is one of her most significant pieces. It's a wonderful depiction of early America as represented by a husband and bride, a pioneer women, a revivalist, and his four followers. The movements are sometimes stark, sometimes achingly lyrical. There's a hint of a story, but nothing explicit - it's more about evocation than narrative. Copland's well-known music takes on a rather different aspect and meaning when heard with the dancing. In other contexts, it can seem a little cliched these days, but here, with Graham's choreography, it sounds fresh, new, and challenging.
It was a little bittersweet to be finally seeing this piece, but not with Y and E or any of the other people I was close to at the dance division. The performers were strangers, too. I admit I got a little teary. I miss them.
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