6 days ago
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Jazz, Fans and 2 Gems: Mark Morris Celebrates His Company's 45th
The dance climate is far from ideal these days, especially for those working in modern dance. But Mark Morris has shown an ability to adapt. While summer, for his company, used to mean a season at the Mostly Mozart Festival at Lincoln Center, Morris has pivoted to showing works at the Joyce Theater, where the setting is more intimate — and so are the dances he chooses to show.
Unfortunately that has led to a formula. Both of his programs this summer, celebrating the company's 45th anniversary, feature four dances including one premiere, and by the end of the night, that feels less like a delight than a drain. At the Joyce, it makes more of an impact to be surgical, sparing.
It was frustrating that the finest dances on each program were saved for last. The first week it was 'Mosaic and United' (1993), set to two string quartet's by Henry Cowell. Its depth of choreography and design — Isaac Mizrahi's shimmering costumes under Michael Chybowski's lighting — creates an earthy, unostentatious atmosphere of mystery.
Even more brilliant is the closer for the second program, which runs through Saturday: 'Going Away Party' (1990), a rollicking, carefree and sometimes raunchy dance set to a sparkling recording by Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys. (The rest of the season's music was performed live.)
The two premieres, while proficient, were lighter, slighter versions of those older works. The boisterous 'You've Got to Be Modernistic,' making its debut last week, honors the music of James P. Johnson, a dazzling pianist who was a staple of 1920s Harlem. The atmosphere was all party, but it had little bite.
And the hushed aura of 'Mosaic and United' was echoed — if only in enigmatic tone — in 'Northwest,' set to music by John Luther Adams, which takes inspiration from the traditional songs and rhythms of the Athabascan and Yup'ik Native peoples of Alaska.
Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
