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REVIEW: Tracy Grammer brings folk sounds, life lessons to CSPS concert

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Tracy Grammer

CEDAR RAPIDS — Tracy Grammer has been a frequent visitor to CSPS over the years, and has gathered a loyal following.

Her latest CD, “Little Blue Egg,” is doing well. Grammer has a strong alto voice and terrific way with a steel guitar. She is also a very generous performer, offering a 2 1/2 hour, 17-song concert Thursday night (3/14/13).

Her performance is abundantly full of stories of her life and the songs that have resulted from her relationship with singer-songwriter Dave Carter, who died in 2002.

Grammer describes her work as “post-modern, straight-ahead folk music.” And contemporary it is. In “Ordinary Town,” a Carter song from 2001, he writes of “common cool, he was a proud young fool in a kick-ass Wal-Mart tie/rippin down the main drag, tripping on the headlights rollin by.” Good stuff that at times is reminiscent of Bob Dylan.

Grammer describes Carter’s trip to Nashville to make it as a songwriter. He was admired by record producers but rejected for having “too many words,” some of them “polysyllabic.” Carter’s vision of the idyllic life — living in a double-wide trailer in the desert with a long driveway and a big mail box, to which the royalty checks would come every day — was dashed. But he kept on writing, developing his densely textured songs, and remains an acute observer of the American scene.

Tracy Grammer makes you want to listen to every word of every song, with her clear, strong, committed voice, and the intelligence which she brings to each song. There is a sense of integrity and caring about her work, not only with her late partner, but with those with whom she has worked, including Mary Chapen Carpenter and Joan Baez.

The audience’s attention was complete, aided by the attractive acoustics and the familial intimacy of the CSPS Hall. It had a nightclub feel to it, with tables and chairs down front, bottles of beer and glasses of red wine.

My favorite Carter song is is “Gun Metal Eyes,” which describes the fight for the land of a Seminole/Cherokee man: “man, there was some kind of righteous in his gun metal eyes.” The chorus really works: ” Run with the wolf/fly like the dove. Mother below/father above. Weep with the earth/sing to the sky. In the steel of your gun metal eyes.” Powerful, direct, melodic. Folkie Grammer could be a country or rock singer — she certainly has the voice for it.

The evening ended with “The Verdant Mile,” written by Grammer and her current musical partner, Jim Henry. It describes the “bliss of grief,” and how she been able to live with the absence of Dave Carter, as well as other loved ones: “I miss you like I love the sound of blackbirds in the trees … and so I walk this verdant mile of memory with you/the gentle arms of Eden and the mountain get me through.”

The connection with the earth and the honoring of its inhabitants, is all-pervasive for both Grammer and Carter. No wonder they are so celebrated in the folk music world.

 

REVIEW: Hankewich conducts triumphant conclusion of Brahms symphony cycle

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CEDAR RAPIDS — The committed passion of conductor Timothy Hankewich to the orchestral works of Johannes Brahms bridged the leap of time from 1883 to 2013, from Vienna to Cedar Rapids. Saturday evening’s performance (3/9/13) of Brahms Third Symphony by Orchestra Iowa was a triumph — the finest music-making of this year’s Homecoming Season at the Paramount Theatre.

The event began 45 minutes prior to curtain, with an “Insight” session in the Opus Concert Cafe, which was quite full. Hankewich introducted the auditioning concertmaster, Holly Mulcahy, and euphonium soloist Roger Oyster. The talk was bright and insightful, as the audience got to know the musicians, as well as the “Enigma Variations” of Edward Elgar. These sessions, held before most concerts, break down the formal barriers of an orchestral concert. They are a friendly, inviting introduction to the actual work of an orchestra, and are reccomended for all levels of sophistication.

Saturday’s program — which was repeated Sunday at West High School in Iowa City –  included three works from 19th century Europe, starting with Elgar’s “Enigma Variations.” First performed in 1899, it was the beginning of popularity for Elgar in the United Kingdom. The 14 variations are based on friends and family of the composer, their lives and their personalities, translated into musical terms.

The work is a sturdy opener to an orchestral evening, as one listens for the foghorn of a ship, or the self-aggrandizing finale which takes the composer as its subject.

The best known, and the most successful, variation is No. 9, “Nimrod,” devoted to hunting. With inspiration from Beethoven, the work is flowing and majestic. I also enjoyed No. 12, which featured a brief solo by cellist Carey Bostian. It is a slow, almost mournful section, dedicated to a valued friend of Elgar’s, who was a cellist.

I find Elgar’s work overly polite, perhaps overly British, for this day and time. The Finale (No. 14) becomes predictable in its resultant orchestrations. Don’t get me wrong, it was played well by the orchestra. It’s just not my favorite piece of music.

Perhaps the work has survived because of the conundrum surrounding its creation. The composer said a second theme, a familiar one, that was to be heard throughout the piece. And for 114 years, this comment has driven musical historians into hissy fits, with dissertations and opinions abounding. I listened closely last night, and have come to the conclusion that Elgar was just putting us on, slyly having fun with his “engima.” There is no second theme. So there.

The first half of the evening featured the euphonium. This instrument is exotic in an orchestral setting, and is a transcribed substitute for the clarinet, as was originally written by composer Carl Maria von Weber in 1811. The euphonium is a tenor tuba, not as large as the tuba we know and love from endless band concerts and marching bands on the football field. It has, intriguingly, a dramatic power  and a sweetness in its sound. It is not as cumbersome to play and to handle as the tuba, but looks to be challenging. It worked well as a curiousity and was delightful to hear in this 5-minute work.

The centerpiece of the evening was Brahm’s Third Symphony, beautifully conducted by Hankewich. He is deeply involved with the work and his conducting was fascinating to watch: circled arms stirring up the orchestra into a non-stop whirlwind, sensitively leading the players through the ongoing dynamics of the work. The back line of brass players performed well, and the string sections were equal to the challenge.

It is satisfying to hear and to feel the results of the Paramount’s new acoustical environment, which are by now well understood. The musicians have learned to trust the space and recognize its subtleties: the softer side of the Brahms was well celebrated.

This all-too-human achievement by Johannes Brahms is haunted by a sense of loss, by an active melancholy (“the dark side”) that agressively seeks expression. It is surprising at every turn, at every new phrase and is brilliantly realized. We are in the hands of one of the great music makers. It is a fine place to be, a great ride.

Brahm’s Third Symphony is not an orchestral work that ends with clashing cymbals and timpani, that makes you want to leap to your feet and celebrate life. Rather, the composition has a wistful ending that leaves the audience quiet, thoughtful for a while, and then builds slowly into the deserved standing ovation. Congratulations to all concerned for this superb finale.

 

 

 

 

 

REVIEW: India Jazz Suites suits combined talents, traditions and styles

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India Jazz Suites

IOWA CITY –  “India Jazz Suites” is  a fascinating comparison of two dance styles, from ancient India and contemporary America.

As performed by two masters of their traditions, classical dancer Pandit Chitresh Das and tap dancer Jason Samuels Smith, the Hancher audience at the Englert Theatre was blown away by their skill Thursday night (3/7/13).

The evening was all about percussion, all about feet and drums, and how they can work together across the divide of two cultures to make a new music.

First up was the American tap dancer, all energy and power, all hard-driving percussion. Even though there is a tap language now, with a recognizable series of moves and sounds, it has an improvisatory feel. For the most part, the dancer follows the music, adding his sounds in a playful, challenging way. There are times when the dancer leads, and then the drummer leads, the percussive equivalent of call and response.

Smith has the look of a contemporary American, and even raps at one point to the Indian drums (tabla), commenting on the evening: “take a risk, throw the disc, ” as well as the cold evening outside the theater.

American tap dance has elongated roots, as does the Indian classical dance. Certainly in English clogging styles and Irish step dancing, but way back into African cultures, as well.

As presented, the tap dance is an “entertainment” and the Indian classical dance comes from religious ritual. This particular style of Indian dance can be traced back to performances in the temples, as far back as the 4th century B.C., as a form of worship. It then moved into the courts and became more secular.

Classical dancer Das is an accomplished master of his highly refined style, Kathak. At age 68, Das is a dynamo. He conducts his musicians with precision and counted out the complex beats for us, and for drummer Biplab Bhattacharya.

Das dances barefoot, and his ability to pound out complex rhythms is astounding. At one high point, with the help of his drummer, he becomes a galloping horse. His costume is age-old India, and each foot has 5 pounds of bells on it.

The blending of the Indian and American styles creates an entertaining, joyous event. It contains an essential playfulness, a sense of mischief  at the heart of each dance style. And these two dancers love working together.

It is also an important experiment, deliberately seeking a kind of fusion, defined in the Oxford American Dictionary as a “process of joining two or more things together to form a single entity.” The progress of all culture is based on ongoing fusions, like jazz assimilating the sounds of rock and roll, or vice-versa. Or Picasso’s use of African masks. Or George Harrison’s study with Ravi Shankar. And so on and on.

This evening represents a successful experiment, one that that may very well have a future. The finest moment of the performance is in the tap dancer working with the Indian drummer, with a remarkable synthesis of sound, of call and answer, of mutual challenge that became, perhaps, a new music. Can this synthesis be a starting point for these artists? Or other artists? The possibilities are myriad.

The results confirm the power, as well as the yearning, of the human imagination. Our culture remains an open book, with an infinite number of blank pages. And the desire of artists from all over the planet to work together, to learn from each other, to take inspiration from each other is very, very strong.

From the perspective of “India Jazz Suites.” our future is awesome.

 

 

REVIEW: Orchestra Iowa romances various tellings of ‘Romeo and Juliet’

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CEDAR RAPIDS — Orchestra Iowa’s celebration of Valentine’s Day, “Star-Crossed Lovers,” is yet another successful evening at the Paramount Theatre in downtown Cedar Rapids.

The focus on orchestral renderings of William Shakespeare’s “Romeo And Juliet” worked well, reflecting the always sharp-eyed, always marketable programming of Music Director Timothy Hankewich.

Maestro Hankewich delivered a very tightly played, nuanced evening of music-making. I particularly appreciated his inclusion of Grinnell College professor Eric McIntyre’s “Drive By.” It is a brief, angry fragment of orchestral music, echoing all the violence that drive-by shootings imply. We hear the car coming, and want to duck under our seats as the explosions erupt in the percussion and brass sections of the orchestra. Contemporary orchestral music of quality is hard to come by these days, and the reaching out of Hankewich to a talented young composer is admirable.

The orchestra’s brass section also has a field day in Leonard Bernstein’s “Symphonic Dances from West Side Story.” This well-known music has been with us since 1957, and the composer’s work with young lyricist Steven Sondheim was as good as it has ever gotten for a Broadway musical. I enjoyed the finger-snapping in the orchestra, as well as the full-throated “mambo” from orchestra members. At one point the string sections jump to their feet, and the conductor does a pirouette. This conductor is, thank goodness, a showman. Classical music does not have to put its audience to sleep.

The evening began with Sergei Prokofiev’s “Romeo and Juliet,” which is the choice of many a ballet choreographer, including MacMillan, Nureyev, Morris and Ratmansky. It tells the story scene by scene, and the Orchestra presented four of those, including the balcony scene and the death of Tybalt at the hands of Mercutio. The music has always been, since it was first performed in 1938, powerful and dramatic. It digs deep into the young romance of the story and the highly emotional war between the Montagues and the Capulets, as well as the violence that results in the deaths of the young lovers.

The agonizing depths of this play, which first appeared in London in 1595, are explored brilliantly by the composer. And this depth was realized beautifully by Orchestra Iowa.

Prokoviev was trained in St. Petersburg, as was Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Tchaikovsky’s version of “Romeo And Juliet” first appeared in 1886. It is rather a quieter version of the story, celebrating romance and the mourning of the death of the lovers. The composition does not go scene by scene, but is an overall expression of the strong feelings that drive Shakespeare’s play.

The performance of this work tested the Paramount’s new acoustics. The welcome renovation allows both conductor and orchestra to reach for soft, subtle effects.

Congratulations to all concerned for a thoughtful evening. Think of the range of centuries represented on the stage, as our culture thrives. Many a community the size of Cedar Rapids has been struggling to sustain an orchestra: ours is doing just fine.

(The concert repeated at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 10, at West High School in Iowa City.)

 

Related: Orchestra Iowa explores ‘Romeo & Juliet’ through the ages

 

REVIEW: eighth blackbird flies in the face of convention with new music program

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eighth blackbird

IOWA CITY — Chicago new-music ensemble eighth blackbird has built a fine reputation, and lived up to that billing at the Englert Theatre on Wednesday night (2/6/13).

This is a lively, talented group of six musicians who are very well matched in their abilities. New-music can be quite demanding, and this gang plays very well together. They obviously enjoy each other’s company. And we enjoy being in the theater with them.

The Hancher program was wildly varied, featuring seven composers, six of whom are American. The best-known composer of the evening was Phillip Glass (“Knee Play 2″ from “Einstein on the Beach”), with an 8-minute segment of one of his major works. Ironically, it was the weakest piece of the evening. Of interest to aficionados, perhaps, but not particularly successful.

Another well-known composer in new music circles is Gyorgy Ligeti, with “Etudes for Solo Piano,” arranged for the sextet. It is a very difficult work to perform, with swiftly changing dynamics. It is also a difficult work to listen to. However, eighth blackbird artists have remarkable charisma to go along with their musicianship, and their energy and commitment is most persuasive, even if the music is tough sledding.

The ensemble engages the audience right away, and holds onto us for a couple of hours. What the artists play is often impossible to comprehend at first hearing, but it urges us to keep listening and to identify promising composers.

They are the scouts out ahead for new sounds, for explorations that may produce a different way of hearing and apprehending our sonic environment. I applaud their quest and value what they are up to.

Last night’s concert offered much to enjoy. “Pieces of Winter Sky,”  a piece commissioned by Hancher in league with the Music Accord consortium, is evocative of an environment Iowans know all too well: a cold, harsh winter. At times it reminded me of sleet hitting my face in sub-zero weather. At the same time, it has a kind of calm inside: lonely and still, with the quiet beauty of the end of a winter storm.

In the midst of the blizzard created by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Aaron Jay Kernis, birds are trying to sing, trying to find their voices. And, thankfully, they do. Their music will survive.

Commissioned works are almost always a roll of the dice, as you never quite know what you’ll get, even if you support the very best artists. But it’s a suitable activity for an enlightened presenter like Hancher Auditorium, if ambitious music is to have a future.

I also liked the new work by Andy Akiho that concluded the program. A steel band percussionist, Akiho has created a terrific composition called “erase,” that ends with very strong drumming by Matthew Duvall. It is a perfect “closer” for an eighth blackbird concert.

Please be on the lookout for this remarkable band of committed music-makers. They are up to something good.

 

REVIEW: Michael Johnson delivers too few hits in CSPS concert

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Michael Johnson

CEDAR RAPIDS — Songwriter, singer and guitarist Michael Johnson appeared at CSPS on Friday night (2/1/13), with an opening from local singer/guitarist Carol Montag. It was an enjoyable evening, but not a great one.

CSPS is an warm, intimate space. With tables and chairs in front, and auditorium style seating in back, it has the feel of a small nightclub. It seats about 200. The proximity to the artists is very good, indeed, and the sound and lighting are professional. John Herbert is an wry master of ceremonies and adds a welcome personal touch to the evening.

Montag has a pure, clear voice and remarkable authenticity. Her rendition of “Softly and Tenderly Jesus Is Calling,” sung a capella, was quite moving. I also enjoyed her “Marigolds in Winter,” which reflects upon lost youth, lost love: “I’ll never forget you. You’ll be my marigold in winter all my life.” Where would songwriters be without regret?

Montag’s humorous songs also work well. “I Don’t Do Jello” and “Ode To Velveeta” (sung to the tune of “Don’t Cry for me Argentina”) were smile-inducing.

Headliner Johnson’s funny songs were also successful. Particularly “It’s A Gift!,” the ultimate song of self-deprecation. Johnson has been dealing with his fans for decades, and has obviously found a healthy way to deal with adoration: He is very talented and very good looking. “It’s a gift … I don’t like to talk about it.” The song describes a date who tells the performer, “You’re so far from sexy, You aren’t even on the map.” And she pours her drink in his lap.

After announcing that he would now sing a depressing song, I enjoyed his parody of “Blue Bayou,” which centers on the singer’s toupee, “brown with a touch of grey, that blew by you.” Johnson tells the audience that he wrote the song with Roy Orbison after he died. And mentions the inscription on the tombstone of a blues singer: “I didn’t wake up this morning.”

I would liked to have heard some of his past hits, like “Bluer Than Blue ” and “It’s Almost Like Being In Love.” And perhaps fewer songs like “The Fate of Fireflies” and “I Take My Love Seriously,” which wallow too much in easy sentiment.

Johnson’s strongest suit is his guitar playing. The bass riff in “I Take My Love Seriously” is terrific. At times flamenco, at times jazzy, he always spearks brilliantly through his guitar.

His final song, with its chorus: “Don’t let us get sick/Don’t let us get old/Don’t let us stupid. … Let us be together tonight” works well, affirming that he is a sensitive man, searching for what makes us human.

The performance received a swift standing ovation.

REVIEW: ‘Spamalot’ a lot of fun at sold-out Paramount Theatre

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"Spamalot" brought the kingdom of Camelot to the sold-out masses gathered at the Paramount Theatre in Cedar Rapids on Jan. 31, 2013. (Scott Suchman photo)

CEDAR RAPIDS — The silly spirit of Monty Python descended upon the Paramount Theatre on a frigid Thursday evening (1/31/13).  The theater was warm and full and the laughter was abundant.

“Spamalot” was pulled together by director Mike Nichols in 2005, and was a smash hit on Broadway. Productions of this musical appeared all over the world, with strong box office sales. “Lovingly ripped off” from the film “Monty Python and the Holy Grail,” this successful show is the results of the intersection of two comic traditions. Nichols in the Compass Players in Chicago, which morphed into Second City, and, of course, Monty Python.

The Pythons included a “talent gang” of a high order: Graham Chapman, John Cleese,Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin. Idle was the force behind “Spamalot,” credited with books and lyrics. He also wrote the music with John Du Prez. The music is primarily a spoof of Broadway musical styles, in particular Andrew Lloyd Webber. At the same, the musical celebrates itself, and is great fun all the way.

The choreography is terrible and funny. Particularly enjoyable was “The Laker Girls,” who are the attendants of the Lady of the Lake. They were cheerleaders and showgirls from Las Vegas.

The eventual arrival of King Arthur and his knights at Camelot, reveals that mythic kingdom to be a casino, and the roundtable a roulette wheel. Needless to say, the roulette table becomes a tap-dancing surface. And so it goes.

Favorite funny moments in this production include the attack on the French castle, with the defenders looking like coneheads, who taunt King Arthur obscenely and finally throw a cow over the ramparts. King Arthur’s dimwits leave a giant wooden rabbit, echoing the Trojan Horse of old, but they forget to hide inside.

And in a number echoing traditional Jewish music and dance, the choral “hey” is perfectly timed by a bale of hay appearing in a wagon. Silly, stupid gags — both verbal and visual — abound, and come very consistently. Most of them still work. The gay gags seem a bit stale, but the schtick works for the audience.

It is a pleasure to report that this show holds up well, particularly the Second Act. Perhaps it’s because of the one terrific song in the show, “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life.” The song celebrates the high jinks of the evening, which are always good-natured and consistently stupid. Remember David Letterman’s “stupid pet tricks”? Well, this is one “stupid pet trick” every minute for two hours.

The sold-out audience had a great time. Some were a bit shocked by the language, but conquered by the comedic talent involved in the creation and the performance of the show.

The cast was uniformly excellent, as was the orchestra. These one-night performances at the Paramount are bus and truck tours: the next night in East Lansing, and so forth. The scenery must load in and out quickly, the sound must adapt to each new hall with immediate success. Congratulations to this hard-working, talented company, braving an Iowa winter to bring us some joy.

“Always look in the bright side of life

Always look on the right side of life

Some things in life are bad, they can really make you mad

Other things just make you swear and curse

When you’re chewing on life’s gristle, don’t grumble give a whistle

This will help things turn out for the best.”

 

REVIEW: Tom Paxton brings wealth of history to CSPS concert

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Tom Paxton

CEDAR RAPIDS –  An evening with Tom Paxton is an evening of careful listening, and a thoughtful celebration of our time.

A full house greeted him Saturday night (1/26/13) at the CSPS Hall.

This Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winner brings a lot of folk music history with him, honoring a 52-year career.

Yes, he’s 75 years old. But he still has his chops. Picking a steel guitar with nimble fingers, he was backed up by local guitarist Bill Heller. Paxton is a generous, gentle showman who offered the audience 20 songs, along with the stories that accompany their creation.

Audience members were mostly his age and grew up with his songs. He is one of those performers who, like the pencil marks on the kitchen door, measures our lives by his artistic progress. He is a song maker who comments on environmental causes like strip mining: “there goes the mountain, father of fir trees/creator of sunlight/heaven’s caretaker.” He is not an in-your-face protestor, preferring to mourn loss, rather than to yell angrily about it.

One of his most beautiful ballads is “Whose Garden Was This?” — “whose garden was this? it must have been lovely … whose forest was this? why is it empty?”

These songs are softly delivered, and have become anthems to our endangered natural splendor.

The evening including such past hits as “Bottle of Wine,” with the audience quietly singing along: “bottle of wine, fruit of the vine, when are you going to let me get sober/let me go back and start over.”

Another hit Paxton shared with the audience is “Ramblin’ Boy” –  “may all your rambling bring you joy.” The songwriter described playing this song for Pete Seeger, only to have him sing it with The Weavers at Carnegie Hall two weeks later. And it is a great song.

Paxton describes his craft as a “terribly interesting kind of madness.” A song that came to him in a hotel room in London was my favorite, a hymn of appreciation for the Great Plains: “Come away with me where the long grass grows. Come away with me where Missouri flows … women stand in doorways looking southward/old men dream the buffalo dream.”

Paxton is a storyteller, a chronicler and a troubadour. His most dramatic song was dedicated to the firefighters who lost their lives in the twin towers of 9/11: “pounding up the stairs, while we were running down.”

He is also a humble man, refreshingly self-deprecating for an artist with such a remarkable career. It is easy to admire and understand his attitude towards nostalgia: ” It’s all right to look back, as long as you don’t stare!”

 

REVIEW: Orchestra Iowa Chamber Players concert thrills sold-out Opus audience

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CEDAR RAPIDS — A full house greeted the terrific Orchestra Iowa Chamber Players, performing in the Opus Concert Cafe on Friday evening. (1/11/13)

The concert will be repeated Saturday night in the intimate venue next to the Paramount Theatre, and Sunday at 2:30 p.m. in the Coralville Center for the Performing Arts.

The evening was adroitly programmed, presenting three of Europe’s finest composers in chronological order: Jean-Marie LeClair, Luigi Boccherini and Felix Mendelssohn. In their music, we are sharing the music of the 18th and 19th centuries, from French, Italian and German composers. There is much to be appreciated in this program, with five string players and the balanced acoustics of this attractive venue.

The details

  • Orchestra Iowa Chamber Players
  • Cedar Rapids: 7:30 p.m. Saturday, (1/12), Opus Concert Cafe, 119 Third Ave. SE
  • Coralville: 2:30 p.m. Sunday (1/13), Coralville Center for the Performing Arts, 1301 Fifth St.
  • Tickets: $20, Orchestra Iowa Box Office, (319) 366-8203, 1-(800) 369-8863 or Orchestraiowa.org

The highlight of the evening was the playing of Tricia Park, a superb young violinist, performing with passion and with remarkable accuracy of tone. When it’s her turn to attack, she goes for it. Park remained in balance with the other players, and the sound was blended well, indeed.

I particularly enjoyed her work in Boccherini’s Trio for Two Violins and Cello in D minor. Boccherini was not always well regarded as a composer in his time, and was referred to as “Haydn’s Wife.” Yes, there is Haydn in his work, as well as a bit of Johann Sebastian Bach. But I disagree with the opinion. Boccherini, in this piece at least, is a startlingly good composer.

It helps to have fine performances by Carey Bostian, Karla Galva and Park, who were listening ever so carefully to each other. The dynamics of the piece were intelligently sought out and celebrated. Boccherini was a brilliant cellist, and has written a very satisfying part for Bostian, who always satisfies as a performer.

The Mendelssohn quintet was powerful as well, particularly the second (Andante scherzando) and third (Adagio e lento) movements. The excellent program notes by Joseph and Elizabeth Kahn point out that the composer was never happy with the fourth and final movement of the work (Allegro molto vivace), and I can hear why. The two movements that proceed it are incredibly sensitive. The “lento” movement is sad, mournful and plaintive. It’s like the remembrance of a grandmother you loved dearly.

The final movement that comes after this wonderfully realized section is suddenly spry and peppy, and doesn’t emotionally resolve the sections that have proceeded it. Perhaps formula got the best of Mendelssohn, as we always expect a stirring, upbeat finale? Half the audience lept to their feet at the end, so it does work on some level.

I was intrigued by the LeClair work that began the evening, as he was a ballet dancer, as well as a violinist and composer. The work is slight, almost thin, but with the up-and-down runs of the Baroque sound. It does make you want to dance. Apparently the composer had a “dark side.” He bought a house in dangerous part of Paris and died of stab wounds in the back. Was the murder at the hand of his ex-wife or a jealous nephew? We don’t exactly know, but it would make an intriguing film.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

REVIEW: Pilobolus dancers bring high-style high jinks to Hancher presentations

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Dancers from Pilobolus rehearse "Hapless Hooligan in 'Still Moving,'" a collaboration with cartoonist Art Spiegelman. (Matthew Cavanaugh)

IOWA CITY – Pilobolus returned to Iowa City in a new space and place — the Space Place Theater in North Hall on the University of Iowa campus.

This “talent gang” of dancers and choreographers looks mighty good in this intimate space. Two sold out performances on Nov. 13 and 14 were joyously received by a hungry audience.

Pilobolus, defined as a “phototropic fungus that thrives in farmyards,” has been a frequent visitor to Hancher Auditorium over the years. Since its founding at Dartmouth College in 1971 by four choreographers, this ensemble has successfully toured the planet, and has been well received on the college and university touring circuit.

Indeed, the wildly imaginative spark that drives this ensemble has a “high jinks,” collegiate feel to it: often wry, always sexy, always challenging the human form into new shapes, new possibilities. A favorite moment in this performance was a kind of a “thing,” dancing across the stage on one hand and one foot. The audience responded with both laughter and admiration.

You have to be a gymnast, as well as a dancer, to work for this company. You have to be very strong, very supple and very good looking. Pilobolus has been consistent in its ability to attract, develop and sustain the talent that it requies.

Two works stand out in this visit. The oldest work on the bill, “Pseudopodia” is from 1973, and is classic Pilobolus. It features a female solo in a fluid series of somersaults that resembles the movement of cells in a microscope. Talk about limber! This work is at the heart of the vision of the founders. It is astonishing to observe what the human frame is capable of, fulfilling that capability with remarkable beauty.

A vivid theatricality beats at the heart of this work, an esthetic that stems from the work of Alwin Nikolais, witnessed further in the work of Momix, Mummenschantz and Cirque du Soleil.

“Gnomen,” created in 1997 by Robby Barnett and Jonathan Wolken, features four young men. They work together with grace and strength in a well-conceived pattern of relationships, with breathtaking strength and inventiveness. Their level of accomplishment is remarkably high, and feats of strength and endurance are performed with an apparent lack of effort: a characteristic of superb art.

Even though Pilobolus is now more than more than 40 years old, nothing is stale or predictable about the troupe’s work. Yes, some dances are better than others, but there is much to admire in their ongoing quest for expression. As Walt Whitman wrote, “I sing the body electric.” One can only hope that Pilobolus will keep on singing.