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Sunday, Sep 07, 2008
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Pilobolus disappoints at Meany |
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| Pilobolus disappoints at Meany | |
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Pseudopodia, committed dancers redeem dance company by Rod Parke - SGN A&E Writer PILOBOLUS (SMALL DANCE GROUP) MEANY THEATER (UW CAMPUS) FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26 The gift of a great reputation is that you sell out all three evenings of your show. The trouble is that your audience has great expectations. They know what they're looking for, and you'd better deliver the goods. And in one of the five numbers, Pilobolus did indeed deliver. Pseudopodia, choreographed by Jonathan Wolken, had everything one expects from this innovative company. Moves you'll never see anywhere else; a skin-tight costume to reveal every startling twist of the human body; eye-popping color and dramatic lighting (by Neil Peter Jampolis, just at Seattle Opera), and music that pleases as it moves things along. Most of all it had spectacular execution by dancer Jun Kuribayashi. This, the second number of the program, was alone worth the trip. But Pseudopodia was created in 1973. Everything else in the program was from this year, including an as yet untitled "New Work" by the same Jonathan Wolken in collaboration with Jun Kuribayashi and three other company members. And all of that "everything else" was disappointing, to say the least. It appeared that, in trying to make the company move in new directions, the creative forces at Pilobolus have succeeded only in making it more like other companies. The opening work, B'zyrk, (again by Jonathan Wolken, collaborating with others including Jun Kuribayashi) was mildly interesting. The young dancers seemed committed, energetic, and very easy on the eyes. The music was playful and fun. But the choreography was nothing to make one sit up and take notice. Remember: this was the group that presented all those amazing silhouettes at last spring's Academy Awards show! That's the Pilobolus we know and love. There was little that was remarkable about the new works we saw at Meany. Give them credit for interesting music throughout. There was, however, one audio effect that drew attention to itself because the reason for it was a mystery. In part of The Persistence of Memory, a pax de deux, the music track was distorted and crackly, much like an old movie whose film was scratchy with flashing light and dark. This 'effect' didn't seem to have anything to do with anything. Likewise, the dancers didn't seem to have anything to do with each other. Manelich Minniefee is an insanely beautiful black man, and his bare torso was not boring! But most of us look also for interesting steps, hopefully including some we haven't seen before. Alas, there was little of that. We can hope that Pilobolus returns to its roots, deciding that for them continuing a tradition of eye-popping moves and contortions is richer ground than its current over-dependence on mime and sometimes downright buffoonery. I'm sure willing to give them another try. Reviewer Rod Parke can be reached at rod@sgn.org. |
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| Halloween on Capitol Hill
Slide Show photos by Joey - SGN photographer |
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