"entertaining and thought-provoking"

August 13, 2003 performance reviewed by Connell McGrath

New music, visual art and fashion collaborate in the works of The Stephen Petronio Company. This week, Stephen Petronio performed four works at Jacob ’s Pillow. Most notable are two companion pieces that are an homage to post-9/11 New York City, City of Twist and The Island of Misfit Toys. Petronio performed a solo, Broken Man to music by Blixa Bargeld. The company also performed Strange Attractors Part II, an athletic and entertaining piece.

Stephen Petronio was born in Newark, New Jersey, a town with “no art, no music, no dance,” according to him. He was first attracted to dance through the examples of Rudolf Nureyev and Steve Paxton, and began to dance improvisationally during college. He became the first male dancer for the Trisha Brown Company in 1979 and formed his own company in 1984. His style is athletic, sensually provocative, and demanding of its dancers.

City of Twist (2002) is an ambitious ensemble piece with original music by Laurie Anderson. Also notable are costumes by fashion designer Tara Subkoff and Imitation of Christ, and innovative lighting design by Ken Tabachnick. According to the program notes, this piece is a kind of love letter from the creators of the dance to the city of New York. The Island of Misfit Toys is the second piece in the diptych, and is not yet complete. The audience at Jacob’s Pillow got to preview the first completed eight minutes of that piece (music by Lou Reed and other spoken vocals by various artists).

Petronio’s Broken Man solo was a short, tragic piece full of movement, costume and lighting that expressed contemporary anxiety and failure. Petronio danced it expertly and with compassion. This is the fifth in a series of character studies performed by the choreographer.

Strange Attractors Part II (2000) was the most entertaining piece of the evening with original music by James Lavelle and costumes by Ghost. Dancers were dressed in simple black longsleeve turtlenecks and black briefs. The dancing here was athletic with overtones of martial arts. There was some wonderful ensemble line choreography in this piece as well as a few notable solos. The group work accentuated Petronio’s fascination with form and structure.

All in all, Stephen Petronio’s style is characterized by vibrant, high speed, athletic dancing. It is both entertaining and thought-provoking.