CriticalDance Forum

<P>Trisha Brown Dance Company's Five-Part Weather Intervention (image: Chris Callis)<P><BR>Deborah Jowitt has a great evening, courtesy of Trisha Brown and isn't that an amazing photo.<P><BR> <P>Seán Curran Company (image: Lois Greenfield)<P><BR>she also enjoys the Seán Curran Company's Curran's, '....scruffy, fighting-cock vigor and fast feet—bred in ballet studios and Irish step-dancing competitions....'<P>Scroll down past NYCB to reach these two reviews:<BR> <A HREF="http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0019/jowitt.shtml" TARGET=_blank>http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0019/jowitt.shtml</A> <p>[This message has been edited by Stuart Sweeney (edited May 12, 2000).]

Deborah Jowitt sums up Trisha Brown’s choreography and dancing with one simple phrase: "organized delirium of motion," as far as I could see from my seat in the Joyce last week. And I had a very good view. I mean, I appreciate the kinesthetic qualities in Brown's work AND the fact that Brown is a pioneer in her field, but I'm afraid it's not my cup of tea, as they say in England. I felt a bit like I was watching puppets being manipulated by their handcrafter. The dancers looked like clones of Brown's movements. I missed some show of emotion or sign of individuality. Sure, the dancer's movements, the colors of their costumes and the phrases they used in the music set them apart, but that was all. Men looked like women and women looked like me—the dancers appeared genderless. I have to admit I didn't get to see Newark though. <P>I won’t let this stop me from seeing more of Trisha Brown’s performances "live" but I can’t count myself as one of her fans. The beautiful thing is about modern dance though: there’s room out there for everyone!<BR><P>------------------<BR>[This message has been edited by Jennifer]<BR>

You know, in some way, this reminds me of Merce as well...

Deborah Jowitt enjoys Trisha Brown's latest programme in this round-up article that appears elsewhere on this site. <BR> <A HREF="http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0020/jowitt.shtml" TARGET=_blank>http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0020/jowitt.shtml</A>

Trisha Brown's programme is reviewed this week by Tobi Tobias in New York Magazine. <A HREF="http://www.newyorkmag.com/page.cfm?page_id=3234" TARGET=_blank>http://www.newyorkmag.com/page.cfm?page_id=3234</A>

Trisha Brown is coming to the SF Bay Area 4/27/01 and 4/28/01 in a production presented by <A HREF="http://livelyarts.stanford.edu/" TARGET=_blank>Stanford Lively Arts</A>.<P>You can also chat live with her on Voice of Dance on 4/23/01, 3pm US PST:<P><A HREF="http://www.voiceofdance.com/community/chat.schedule.cfm" TARGET=_blank><B>Chat Live with Trisha Brown</B></A>

Azlan, I agree. Although I recognize Merce's incredible contribution to dance: his unique approach to choreography and separation of dance and music, it's just not my "cup of tea". He has spawned a whole "school" of dance, and indeed strongly influenced the Judson Church group, if not directly, certainly indirectly. I seem to remember that John Cage was the teacher of the first few classes of the Judson group, then I believe Bob Dunn took over. ANYWAY, the dancers are beautiful, the choreography certainly surprising and unpredictable, but it just doesnt' speak to me, somehow. To each his own!!

A reminder from our friends at Voice of Dance:<P> <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>VoiceofDance.com and Stanford Lively Arts <BR>present<BR>Live Online Chat <BR>with<BR>TRISHA BROWN<P><BR>Today! Monday, April 23 <BR>3 pm (Pacific Time) <P><BR>Join a live conversation with Trisha Brown, choreographer and Post-Modernist icon. Trisha Brown Dance Company is performing El Trilogy and other selected works this weekend at Stanford University's Memorial Auditorium.<P><BR>To enter the chat, go to:<BR><A HREF="http://chat.voiceofdance.com/eshare/server?action=4" TARGET=_blank>http://chat.voiceofdance.com/eshare/server?action=4</A><P><BR>Read more about Trisha Brown:<BR><A HREF="http://www.voiceofdance.org/Insights/insights.trans.col.cfm?LinkID=25000000000000063" TARGET=_blank>http://www.voiceofdance.org/Insights/insights.trans.col.cfm?LinkID=25000000000000063</A> <P><BR>For more on Stanford Lively Arts programs, visit:<BR><A HREF="http://livelyarts.stanford.edu/" TARGET=_blank>http://livelyarts.stanford.edu/</A><BR>See you on VoiceofDance.com !!<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

<BR>Trisha Brown Dance Company<BR>in "Newark"<P>In the first of two programs presented by Stanford Lively Arts, in Palo Alto, California, the Trisha Brown Dance Company performed three of their classic works, <I>Accumulation</I> (1971, Trisha Brown, Grateful Dead), <I>M.O.</I> excerpts (1995, Trisha Brown, Johann Sebastian Bach) and <I>Newark</I> (1987, Trisha Brown, Donald Judd).<P>All three works, while probably educational to the dance student and piquing the curiousity of ardent dance fans, bored -- and also annoyed -- most of the average dance-going crowd. Brown, who came out of the postmodern movement, still thrives to push the limits of what constitutes acceptable choreography. To many in the crowd, she overhit the mark and went beyond what was acceptable, especially in "Newark" where the buzzing sound irritated more than a few pairs of ears. After the first buzzing stopped, an audience member cried out, "Thank god."<P>Still, as with postmodernism, Brown's works can be appreciated on a sublime and mesmerizing level. But you have to let yourself get there. An open mind and perhaps some prior education are crucial to that goal.

Allan Ulrich enjoyed the second program:<P> <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><B>Trisha Brown gets an improvised kick out of 'Trilogy' <BR>New York dancers startle and sizzle</B><P>Allan Ulrich, SF Chronicle<P>Trisha Brown's "el Trilogy," a tribute to the uncontrollable and improbable in dance -- and in life -- arrived, complete and uninterrupted, on the West Coast on Saturday evening at Stanford University's Memorial Auditorium, the windup to a weekend visit by the ever-startling New York postmodernist's sizzling dance company.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P><A HREF="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2001/04/30/DD127755.DTL" TARGET=_blank><B>More</B></A>

I'd like to see "Rapture to Leon James" again. I saw the premiere, but it sounds like the dance has settled into the dancers and the dancers more into the dance. <P>And "Five Part Weather Invention" - I dug. Would be nice to see this 'unbroken sequence' with the scene change/intervals.

Anita Amirrezvani had problems though:<P> <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><B>Jazzy `Trilogy' wears thin<BR>IMPROVISATION IS STRONGER IN THEORY THAN PRACTICE</B><P>ANITA AMIRREZVANI, San Jose Mercury News<P>With ``el Trilogy,'' Trisha Brown continues the thoughtful experiments with dance that she began as a young, postmodern choreographer in the 1960s. Her latest work, which had its West Coast premiere Saturday at Stanford University's Memorial Auditorium, is a feast for the intellect but isn't always gripping to watch.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P><A HREF="http://www0.mercurycenter.com/premium/arts/docs/jazz1.htm" TARGET=_blank><B>More</B></A>

Part of why I said I'd like to see the "Leon James" piece again is because I didn't care for it much before. It's been a while since I saw it so I am reluctant to wax on too much about the whys and wherefores of why I wasn't lit afire by it. I do however recall hearing in the post-show discussion that they'd been up at the wee hours - 2 or 3am - to change the piece before that evening's premier. Once I heard that I thought 'no wonder the confidence in "Canto/Piano" and "Five Part" was diminished in "Leon James"'. I was hoping it had caught up. Every once in a while I get flashes of that evening and find something has stuck with me in a positive way, but I'm not sure what it is.<P>Interesting note - of the nine (terrific) dancers performing with Trisha Brown Dance Company at the time I saw them, I believe THREE were from Alaska! This came as quite a shock to me since professional dancers aren't one of our usual exports. Not like the rest of us aren't trying, but it was strange because no one I know knew about this until I came back with my program. Which I can't find now or I'd give names...

Wendy Perron gives first hand account of the creative process of Trisha Brown and a preview of <I>El Trilogy</I>, her first jazz-based work:<P> <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><B>Paying Heed to the Mysteries of Trisha Brown</B><P>WENDY PERRON, NY Times<P>...<P>Trisha is in love with the process of making and performing dances. The behind- the-scenes aspects fascinate her. In 1983, for "Set and Reset" (which became a masterpiece of the postmodern era), Robert Rauschenberg designed a partly transparent set that let the dancers remain visible after exiting the stage. For viewers, the separation of onstage and offstage was blurred. In the "Sticks" section of "Line Up," we talked to one another in performance not only to get our sticks connected up in one line but also to let the audience in on the game.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P><A HREF="http://www.nytimes.com/2001/07/08/arts/08PERR.html" TARGET=_blank><B>More</B></A>

A interesting review:<P> <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><B>Interpreting Jazz for Ears, Eyes and Feet</B><P>JENNIFER DUNNING, NY Times<P>Trisha Brown at her best is poetic rapture shot through with teasing practicality. The "el" in "El Trilogy," her latest piece, appears to refer not to fandangos or elevated subways but to the length of the evening-long dance. Presented in its New York premiere by the Lincoln Center Festival on Wednesday night at the La Guardia Concert Hall, "El Trilogy" is also the inspired product of a two-year collaboration with the jazz composer and trumpeter Dave Douglas and the painter Terry Winters, who created the sets and costumes.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P><A HREF="http://www.nytimes.com/2001/07/20/arts/dance/20BROW.html" TARGET=_blank><B>More</B></A>