© Lois Greenfield 'Spring Rounds' reviews 'Dust' reviews 'Esplanade' reviews Viola in reviews recent Paul Taylor reviews more Renee Renouf reviews Discuss this review (Open for at least 6 months)

Even with the disparity in theater size, the stylistic approach in Spring Rounds was obvious; The physical quality of the Taylor dancers, and their mutual intimacy surpasses San Francisco dancers, all too schooled to be aware of the proscenium arch. As suspected Lisa Viola is the primary woman in the piece; not to denigrate Tina Le Blanc’s humanity, Viola and the ensemble make of the polite maneuvers and partner switching a naturalistic affair. Despite the lawn party/beach ware nature of Santo Loquasto’s piece, the robust physiques of the Taylor dancers provide hints of terrain, the richness of the soil underneath the imagined picnic blankets, a burr or two in the hair or stuck in the sleeve as they troop off in the afternoon sun and loll in each other’s laps.

Dust takes off where Nijinsky’s Sacre de Printemps terminates. With nine dancers Taylor manages to convey the hopes, fears and hungers of a clan in a pre-individualistic state. Gene Moore’s costumes provide floral and geometric splotches of color on beige body skins and an iron grey totem pole midstage left, illumined to eerie effect by Jennifer Tipton, is a constant frame of reference. From opening postures of a trio of amazonian authority, there is no overt sacrifice, but crisis, panic and devastation in abundance. The highlight of the piece is danced by Heather Berest, using full extensions and sensitive articulation as her left hand hangs at chest level, useless; she turns, extends, leaps, covers space and expresses frustration with the handicap. She eludes a clutch of the blind who seek to touch her and, as further protection, bends into fetal position back upwards. The blind grope over her; when they move away, she also has been blinded, groping her way off stage right. The final postures present the group in a diagonal recumbent line in front of the totem, Berest once again in amazonian posture.
 

Lisa Viola, Patrick Corbin, Rachel Berman, Thomas Patrick,
Francie Huber, Andrew Asnes and Jill Echo in Esplanade
© Lois Greenfield

Esplanade completed the evening with its lengthy cheer, cavorting, endless running. Lisa Viola again is the tireless center dancer. Berest, in trousers, is used as a central madonna-like figure, to Bach’s andante melodic line. the piece finishes not only with the characteristic running Taylor slide, but headlong leaps by the girls in the nine-person cast into the arms of the stalwart men (Chen See, Trusnovec, Duckstein) who catch the bodies, cradle them briefly and await the next hurtling body. Like other Taylor signature works, Esplanade is a total work out while being musically and visually exhilarating. Taylor has assembled an ensemble willing, able, and consistently inspiring to watch.