An image from The Netherlands Dance Theater.

A Tribute to Four Dance Icons

Today is the last day of September, and as the weather starts to change in many places in the northern hemisphere I thought it would be a good time to look back at a few great dance icons who are no longer with us; Pina Bausch, Merce Cunningham, Patrick Swayze, and Michael Jackson.
Here are Four Short Experiences I’ve had with each of these Icons:

Patrick Swayze

Most people fell in love with Patrick Swayze in the movies Dirty Dancing or Ghost, but I think the first time I ever fell in love with him was in this SNL skit. It was the hair! Here is a great article telling 10 of Patrick Swayze’s Life stories.

Merce Cunningham

I was 14 years old when I first saw The Merce Cunningham Company. I was visit­ing New York City with my Aunt Georgene, who took me to all my dance classes from the time I was 8, when she heard that Baryshnikov was performing at the State Theater that night. She knew that it was a once in a lifetime performance, so we saw it.

That evening after running around NYC, I sat next to my aunt in the center of the State Theater watching the show and anticipating seeing Baryshnikov, but what I didn’t know was that the dancer I would remember most was not Baryshinikov but Merce Cunningham.

Bi-Ped was the first piece. If you haven’t seen it, it is a masterpiece of mathematical genius and technological innovation. At the time, however, I thought I had just stepped into a dance science-fiction film. I was overwhelmed by the dancers, the music and the shapes of bodies that were moving on the screen at the front of the stage.

As the performance went on though I dozed off, as I usually do while watching Cunningham’s work (not because I don’t love the genius of it, but because it sends my mind into such a rythmic trance that I begin to dream). I was awoken by a sharp elbow from my aunt and the sound of clapping, but luckily I hadn’t missed Baryshinkov.

So, The next piece began and I saw a very old man holding onto a bar and Baryshnikov on stage. At first, being young and stupid, I thought what the hell is going on?  How are these two going to be able to do anything close to dancing?  But then the old man began to move like lightning. I don’t actually remember anything that Baryshnikov did, I only remember this old man barely holding himself up, moving his arms, back, and head with such maddening ease and speed that I couldn’t take my eyes off him. I can’t remember the music or the set or anything else at all about the piece. I just remember him, Merce Cunningham, 80 years old, moving like an animal, taking my breath away.

Here is an article in the Brooklyn Rail with a few of his dancers talking about their experience with Merce.

Pina Bausch

While I was studying at the Juilliard School, Pina Bausch came to talk to my class one day.
Mrs. Bausch came into the dance studio wrapped in layers of clothing with a cunning but warm smile. She walked with floating steps to the front of the room and began speaking in a slow, even tone about dance and choreography.

I was completely in love with this women even though I was unaware of how she had revolutionized dance. Every eye in the room was on her, every ear was listening and every mind was fo­cused. I was so struck by her and so focused at the time that I actually remember very little of what was said.I did manage, however, to hold on to one simple idea.

When speaking about her choreographic process, Mrs.Bausch emphasized that she only kept the movement she truly loved. She said that she had to examine the dance over and over again before deciding if she loved it or not, but if she realized she didn’t love it she would take it out. She said that getting rid of it was the hardest thing to do and the only way to keep the movement pure and true.

Looking back, I think Mrs.Bausch was talking just as much about life as she was about dance.  If we keep the things we truly love we might enjoy life a little more.

Michael Jackson

The first time I ever heard Michael Jackson was when my dad pulled out The Jackson Five album from his bookshelves of records and played it on the turn table. The re­cord had been played over and over before, so there was a thin layer of static under the powerful and sweet voice. My mom started to do the mash potato in the living and we all just began dancing around the house. I think I was four, and I haven’t stopped dancing since that moment.

If you have an experience you would like to share about any of these dance icons, email it to me at greendancers@greendancers.com or write a comment.

Degas’ painting the Green Dancers was done between 1877-1879.

Tok’Art is a dance company developing in Lisbon, Portugal creating progressive dance with an eye for the community.

Check out excerpts from a piece titled “LAKE” .

Read a review about Emio Greco’s new work “Purgatorio” that premiered in Washington DC this past weekend.

This really proves that all of us have natural rhythm at birth. This is Baby Fierce.

And no it’s not ok to call this “All the single babies”!!!

When I think of the $80 ticket price (the cheapest seats) for the Ana Laguna and Baryshinkov performances at the Harris Theater in Chicago this weekend, I cringe. When I can only spend $80 a week on groceries how can I justify spending $80 dollars for a single show. It is ridiculous, and it is precisely why I and many other dancers and non-dancers who would die to see this show will miss out.

Compare this to the ten nights of dance performances at City Center, in NYC this week, during it’s annual Fall for Dance Series. All tickets are $10 and, even with the sometimes questionable programming, the dancers will inspire.  Every seat will be filled, an experience rarely found at any dance performance today. In most cases young adults choose to see a movie or go to a museum for an artistic outing, for the $10-$20 sticker price. But, the Fall for Dance series is a instance where those young adults who can’t afford the $80-$150 tickets can afford to see one or ten live performances of dance. These types of performances not only bring young crowds together and inspire but they also help rebuild a community of dance that has dissipated in the last years because it is so disconnected to it’s contemporary audience.

If New York can do this with its dance community, why can’t every major city in the United States?

Chicago has started to offer more free dance concerts, mainly in the summer, with the Chicago Dancing Festival and outdoor performances by companies such as the Joffery ballet.  Where is Chicago’s Fall for Dance or San Francisco’s, LA’s, Seattle’s, Houston’s, Miami’s and Washington DC’s?  All these cities have enough large corporations to underwrite such performances. So why do they not exist yet?

I hope that soon the dance communities and supporters in each of these cities, and many other cities not mentioned, will wake up and realize dance needs to rebuild its network and that programs like Fall for Dance are a great way to do this. Even if only those who can’t afford the $80 and up ticket price could find comfort in the fact that once, twice, or ten times a year there are live dance performances for the price of a movie.

Hubbard Street Dance Chicago’s Laura Halm in motion with black backdrop. This awesome, fluid, colorful, and continually in motion photo was taken by Benjamin Wardell. Check out his site bendwell.com.

Check out Fabrice Calmels’ and Sasha Fornari’s 30 seconds of dance website http://30secondsofdance.com.

Everyday a new HD video of a dancer or dancers doing ballet to hip hop to poppin and lockin’ is posted on this cool site. Personal favorites of mine are DeYDeY in front of the Effiel Tower, JSMOOTH, and that throw sideways double tour in Constelacion Latina Routines Part 2.  The site just started in March 2009 so I can’t wait to see what videos pop up next.

30 Seconds of Dance, week 4: JSMOOTH, Part 2 from 30 Seconds of Dance on Vimeo.

In case you didn’t catch it, here is a synopsis of some of the main stream dance happenings for the 2009-2010 dance season.These are a few must knows.

The opening of Dixon Place, William Forsythe’s US premier of “Decreation” at BAM, Crystal Pite’s new work “Lost Action”(she just brought her skillfully crafted and touching piece “Second Person” set on NDT to Chicago’s Auditorium Theater) , ABT’s Performances at Avery Fischer Hall, Performa, dance performances at the Chocolate Factory, Trey Mcintyre’s Company in Boise and John Jasperse at the Joyce (but you’ll have to wait till June to see that one).

There are many more good things going on so check it out in Claudia La Rocco’s article

Leaps, Bounds, Birthdays, Despite Belt Tightening.