THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, October 23, 1996 TAG: 9610230042
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E5 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: DANCE REVIEW
SOURCE: BY JUDITH HATCHER, SPECIAL TO THE DAILY BREAK
LENGTH: 61 lines
PILOBOLUS:
A. A feisty phototrophic fungus of minute size that shoots spores 4 to 5 feet, often found living on manure.
B. A troupe of incredibly talented dancers, appearing human in form, who transcend the limits of mortal movement.
C. A good-luck charm for the Tidewater Performing Arts Society.
D. All of the above.
If you guessed D, you must have been one of the lucky ones who obtained a ticket to Pilobolus' sold-out performance at Harrison Opera House on Saturday. Ten years ago, the Tidewater Performing Arts Society opened its first season with this company. With a goal of presenting the most innovative and inventive in the arts to Hampton Roads, Pilobolus was an apt choice. It still is.
The evening, which was delayed by parking problems, began with a bang. Literally. ``Aeros'' was a fine and fitting introduction to the company for new viewers, and a reminder to the rest of us of the wit, wisdom and whimsy of Pilobolus. A hapless pilot learned the laws of gravity the hard way as he crash landed in a fluorescent dimension. Motley aliens wriggled in to investigate this unfortunate Icarus, blowing him up, bouncing him and even plugging him in to one of their own, albeit upside down.
Those looking for deeper meanings may notice that the angel had to be helped to touch terra firma as much as the pilot had to be helped to leave it, and that it was not until he met the creatures on their own ground that he was able to meet his goals.
This collective, collaborative effort, with more choreographers than dancers, was a delight to the eye and a tease to the mind. It was funny without being overly cute, tender without being schmaltzy, and sexual without being raw. It had just the right touch of sass.
``Pseudopodia'' was a tiny tour de force in the rolling form of Rebecca Anderson. Her amorphous form revolved, spun and occasionally caught a moment of breathtaking suspension in Jonathan Wolken's choreography. It is each creature's destiny to explore what it is, whether or not it is cognizant of doing that. The need, drive and desire to move and reach beyond boundaries is inherent.
``Shizen'' mesmerized us all. The sleek forms of Rebecca Jung and Mark Santillano took us to the next step in our science lesson. From an awareness of self to the awareness that life forms must go beyond those selves to progress, choreographers Alison Chase and Moses Pendleton created a Zen-like work of art. The two forms matured, met, then melded seamlessly and silently into a fine and mobile new form.
And a terrible beauty was born in ``Sweet Purgatory,'' the most dramatic and ``danced'' piece of the evening. Lost souls hung in a hazy netherworld. Strong shafts of lights pointed the way out, but these trapped moths could not fly past a certain point. It was the ``Twilight Zone'' in movement, six beings in search of an exit, finding intermittent solace in the realization that others shared the same fate. Pilobolus newcomers Matt Kent, Gaspard Louis and Trebien Pollard joined Anderson, Jung and Santillo very smoothly and professionally in this poignant work. ILLUSTRATION: DANCE REVIEW
Pilobolus, Saturday at Harrison Opera House, presented by the
Tidewater Performing Arts Society by CNB