
DATE: Thursday, June 12, 1997               TAG: 9706130720

SECTION: DAILY BREAK             PAGE: E1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY SUE VanHECKE, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   82 lines

PILOBOLUS DANCER ENJOYS STAYING CLOSE TO NATURE

WHAT DOES A professional dancer do during his down time? How about garlic farming?

Actually, it's not as odd as it sounds.

``There's some kind of real relationship between the soil and nature and Pilobolus,'' says Adam Battelstein, longtime member of the respected modern dance company Pilobolus, one-half of the brand new duet troupe Pilobolus Too (performing tonight as part of the Boardwalk Art Show in Virginia Beach) and an avid garlic gardener.

``The (company's artistic) directors chose to live out here in northwestern Connecticut for a reason. A lot of the inspiration for Pilobolus' work comes from the natural word: Deep ocean creatures, the phenomena of the microscopic and macroscopic natural world. The `pilobolus' itself is the name of a dung-dwelling fungus; you find it on horse manure in the barnyard. I think (the directors) are constantly tuning in to that, and that's why they chose not to Base the company in New York. They really wanted to be out here, and I feel the same.''

Pilobolus Too, composed of Battelstein and Rebecca Stenn, was conceived a year ago to perform the best of Pilobolus' duet and solo repertory, which now spans 26 years. Because of Pilobolus Too's pared-down size ``we are able to go into theaters that are smaller and serve sponsors that have a smaller budget,'' Battelstein explained. ``We're a little leaner and meaner than the regular company in terms of our technical requirements and cost. But we're not a second company - they took two veterans and put us together with this repertory and created a new company.''

Battelstein came to Pilobolus after swapping drama for dance studies in college. ``I realized that I was so much more passionate about moving than acting that I made the switch,'' he says.

Indeed, Pilobolus' dancers come from all backgrounds, from the highly technical ballet and modern dance worlds to members with no dance experience whatsoever. The company, with its focus on shape, form and gravity-defying physicality, is ``able to use people who have quite a range,'' Battelstein explained. ``There's a guy in the company right now who's never had any dance training. He's a mover, he's had martial arts training.

``And that's how (the company's founders) started. They were untrained, took a choreography class and started choreographing right away without any rules to get in their way.''

What all Pilobolus dancers do have in common are the abilities to improvise, perform and move without a recognizable style. Improvisation, in fact, is the cornerstone of Pilobolus' uniquely collaborative choreography.

``The dancers generate the movement,'' Battelstein said, ``and the directors basically sit in chairs and watch us improvise until something makes everybody sit forward and they'll write that down. We'll do this for three weeks, every day, seven hours a day. Then the directors will choose from the large body of material the movements that seem to fit the piece that we're doing.''

Pilobolus Too, with its less rigorous touring schedule, has been a godsend for the garlic-tending Battelstein.

``I was spending 40 weeks a year on the road'' with Pilobolus, he said. ``I love performing; I never got tired of the performing part, but I got tired of the traveling part. I'd spend a lot of time in my hotel rooms reading gardening books.

``There's a part of me that needs to have my fingers in the soil and be a little more grounded, have a home base. So finally when I'd had enough, I quit (the principal company) and immediately went out and started a little farm. I'm out there a lot when I'm not on the road. And my garlic looks great this year.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo

MICHAEL O'NEELE

Graphic

WANT TO GO?

Who: Pilobolus Too

When: 8 tonight

Where: 24th Street Park, Virginia Beach Oceanfront

Admission: Free

Also: Virginia Beach Art Show, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. today through

Sunday along the Boardwalk from 17th to 31st streets, with 385

artists from across the nation. Fine arts and crafts, from quilting

to jewelry to painting.

Call: 425-0000 KEYWORDS: PROFILE MODERN DANCE