"...satisfying, thought-provoking, touching and amusing..."

October 22, 2005 performance, reviewed by Connell McGrath

Mass MoCA and Jacob's Pillow brought Pilobolus to the main stage at Mass MoCA. Pilobolus is one of the most popular contemporary dance companies in America today. They successfully blend a physical, acrobatic style of dance with accessible ideas, excellent art music and humor. For this show, the company presented a range of work from WalkLyndon choreographed by the founders of the troupe in 1971 to Aquaticachoreographed this year and commissioned by Dartmouth College where the founders originally met over 30 years ago.

Two of the pieces presented, Empty Suitor and WalkLyndon, are in their style of "existential slapstick". And they were short, amusing pieces. The other three pieces on the program were more intricate, thought-provoking work.

The performance started with Aquatica, choreographed by Michael Tracy in collaboration with the dancers. This is a narrative piece set to new music by Marcelo Zarvos which was commissioned for the work. The story begins with a woman walking along the beach, waves come in (in the form of dancers rolling from offstage) and she is greeted by a sea creature. They proceed to have an adventure underwater. The movement here is graceful, dreamlike and obviously very water-based. The music is somewhat insipid, though catchy. This piece has great appeal for children, and shows the company's strength in presenting work that is accessible to young audiences.

The strongest work of the performance was Symbiosis (2001) choreographed by Michael Tracy in collaboration with the dancers. The piece is performed to a variety of music performed by Kronos Quartet including Morango...almost A Tango by Thomas Oboe Lee, God Music by George Crumb, Long-Ge by Jack Brody and Fratres by Arvo Part. Symbiosis is a sensual duet in a style that Robby Barnett, current artistic director, describes as "connected-body genre". It contains many of the signature elements that distinguish Pilobolus. It is a piece done in very little costume--both performers, it is a male/female duet, are in loin cloths and woman wears a wrap around her chest. (Pilobolus was one of the first companies to dance in total nudity in the early 70s.)

The piece was danced for the show by Otis Cook and Renée Jaworski (the company's current dance captain). The movement here is sensual yet physical. The dance expresses an ideal of male/female cooperation, intimacy and relationship. It is a positive, beautiful and intimate piece. There is still quite a bit of the acrobatic style of Pilobolus in general, but the choreographer and the dancers integrate this beautifully into their theme of loving relationship.

They close the show with Day Two (1980) listed as directed by Moses Pendleton, who was one of the founders of the company. There's a long list of choreography credits for the work, probably attributed to the original dancers and founders of the company. It is performed by four men and two women to music by Brian Eno, David Byrne and the Talking Heads. This was a half-hour work, with a range of thematic variations, and quite a few distinct sections.

Pilobolus continues to deliver excellent, accessible dance in their original styles. Their work is satisfying, thought-provoking, touching and amusing by turns.

Saturday, October 22, 2005, 2 p.m. show
Jacob's Pillow presents Pilobolus
MASS MoCA, Hunter Center - massmoca.org.