Since 1967, Eliot Feld has created 107 ballets. His latest, "Organon," was conceived for New York City Ballet during that company's winter season. While there were no premieres scheduled for his own company, Ballet Tech, in their five-week season at the Joyce Theater (March 20-April 22), there certainly was a wide range of favorites produced from the repertory. Among the choice ones were those presented on the March 25 program: "Coup de Couperin," "Umbra Rumba," and "Contra Pose."
A lively François Couperin/Marin Marais score accompanies the Feld classic gem, "Coup de Couperin." In the beginning, the accent is on original positions of the arms rather than classic formations, followed by elongated leg movements. All of these form a coruscating picture. Initially, men and women work in separate groups, taking turns in repeating each other's movements. The two groups soon come together in such elegant patterns that it almost becomes impossible to focus eyes on any one section.
Solos by Jeannine Lowery, Patricia Tuthill, Ha-Chi Yu, and Jacquelyn Scafidi saw each dancer in splendid form. In between each of the women's solos, the four men break into the proceedings with astounding ballon, each one seemingly intent on outdoing the other in their soaring. Nickemil Concepcion, Jason Jordan, Armand Pretlow, and Laumonte Williams almost appeared supernatural in the height they achieved. Later on, Les Quatres Hommes were seen in a fearless foursome of their own, in which they dazzled anew. In turn, Jacquelyn Scafidi led Toutes Les Femmes, shedding individual sparks all over the area.
In addition to Feld's unique choreography, a great deal of the ballet's prominence was due to the gorgeous costumes by Willa Kim, blue and pink for the ladies, aqua predominating for the men.
You would really have to send out a search party in efforts to find traces of the Latin American dance in "Umbra Rumba." A catchy title all right, but it has little to do with what occurs. No matter! The work is loaded with amazing feats, and a few of them are actually balletic. The dancers are silhouetted behind a screen that reflects their every move in antics that may have been inspired by the film about that little stranger from outer space, ET.
When the dancers come out in front of the screen, they execute figures so difficult to perform that we can't help wondering how they came by such incredible resiliency. Could they have been born minus bones?
All the dancers gave the illusion of possessing the ability to tear themselves in half and then relocate their body parts again and again. The constant manipulations would throw some performers out of joint in no time, but Ballet Tech's dancers seem to see humor in their exigencies, and also seem delighted with all the challenges encountered.
Loud and lusty cheers are due all the participants: Nickemil Concepcion, Jason Jordan, Jeannine Lowery, Armand Pretlow, Jacquelyn Scafidi, Patricia Tuthill, Laumonte Williams, Ha-Chi Yu, Kyla Ernst-Alper, Maria Feliciano, Mariya Milko, Buffy Miller, Sean Scantlebury, Jabin Waterman, and Mitza Zobenica.
When we see the title "Contra Pose," set to the music of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, we may anticipate baroque dance. And so this well may be. But here, too, Feld has added embellishments to familiar forms, coming up with an interplay of baroque interspersed with contemporary figures, startling in its originality while maintaining a masterful blend of forms.
Remembering George Sand
On March 28, under the patronage of the Consul General of France, the honorable Richard Duque and Madame Duque, Deborah Zall, appeared in an excerpt from her evening-length work, La Bonne Dame: Remembering George Sand, at the French Consulate in New York. Celeste Holm introduced the short program, and actress Tanny MacDonald was the narrator speaking Sand's lines while Ms. Zall danced to them. The excerpt dwelt on the obsessive love that George Sand bore for Alfred de Musset, the poet, dramatist, and novelist. There were many facets to Sand—feminist, writer, lover, mother—all at the mercy of a man's world.
You can catch the full persona when Ms. Zall appears at the Kaye Playhouse at Hunter College on June 10 and 11.
ABT Premieres by Taylor & Morris
The Paul Taylor Dance Company's "Black Tuesday" will have its New York premiere on April 30 at American Ballet Theatre's opening night gala at the Metropolitan Opera House.
Following the gala, Paul Taylor's ballet for 13 dancers will be presented as part of ABT's "Modern Masters" program, which opens the company's 2001 season at the Metropolitan Opera House, May 1-3. "Black Tuesday" is set to music from the Great Depression and features sets and costumes by Santo Loquasto and lighting by Jennifer Tipton.
In addition to Taylor's new work, the "Modern Masters" program features the world premiere of "Gong," a new ballet by Mark Morris set to "Tabuh-Tabuhan" by Colin McPhee, and the return of Twyla Tharp's "The Brahms-Haydn Variations," a ballet that received its world premiere with ABT in March 2000 in Washington, D.C.
Tickets for ABT's season (April 30-June 23) are currently on sale. Tickets range in price from $20-$80. Call the Metropolitan Opera box office at (212) 362-6000 to order. For prime seating and post-performance dinner/dance information for the opening night gala, call ABT's special events office at (212) 477-3030, ext. 3245. For performance only tickets to the gala, ranging in price from $30-$100, call the Met box office.
Festival of Dance at Lincoln Ctr.
Dancers of all kinds and all ages (from 12 and up), from Broadway to the concert stage, will salute New York City's Festival of Dance in a mainstage show at high noon on April 23. The event takes place outdoors on Lincoln Center's Josie Robertson Plaza, and is free.
Moscow Festival Ballet in Brooklyn
Moscow Festival Ballet, under the artistic direction of Sergei Radchenko, will perform the full-length Giselle at Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts on April 15 at 2 pm. Many leading dancers from across Russia, along with stars of the Bolshoi and Kirov Ballets, are with the Moscow Festival Ballet. The company has toured extensively in Europe and the Far East, and is currently in the midst of its second U.S. tour.
Venue: Walt Whitman Theatre on the campus of Brooklyn College. Tickets: $25 and $30. Reservations: (718) 951-4500, or call TicketMaster at (212) 307-7171.