I saw the March 18th matinee of the Paul Taylor Dance Company.
The afternoon begins with ‘Mercuric Tidings’ which is a pure dance piece set to excerpts from Franz Schubert’s glorious Symphonies Nos. 1 and 2. Unfortunately all the music is taped, due to the exorbitant cost of a live orchestra in New York City. I really love this work, especially the forms of the movements which keep growing and changing into gorgeous patterns. All the dancers are splendid, leaping and spinning at a breakneck pace. There is so much depth to this dance that I need to see it several more times to even touch the surface of all ‘Mercuric Tidings’ has to offer.
‘House of Joy’ is a very disappointing new Paul Taylor work. It is set in a brothel and though there are hookers, pimps and johns on display, very little actually happens. The company acts very well, but they hardly dance at all. Fortunately ‘House of Joy’ is very brief, but even so it seems to be a waste of time and talent. …show more content…
Bertha is a mechanical amusement park doll who plays music when a coin is fed in her slot. The Bs are an all American 1950s family who enjoy dancing to Bertha’s tunes. But all too suddenly Bertha becomes an evil force and destroys the happy B family.
By the end of the dance, Mr. B has raped and killed his daughter and Mrs. B reveals a red stripper outfit under her June Cleaver clothes. Just before the curtain comes down, Mr. B joins Bertha and becomes a malevolent amusement park doll. All the performers are fantastic – Amy Young as Bertha, Michelle Fleet as Mrs. B and Eran Bugge as Miss B. The real standout, however, is Michael Trusnovec’s Mr. B. His dancing and acting fully show the dark side of 1950s America.
The afternoon ends with ‘Company B’, set to recordings of the Andrews Sisters. This work shows the lighthearted innocence of wartime America juxtaposed against shadowy figures of young boys going off to fight and die in World War
The afternoon begins with ‘Mercuric Tidings’ which is a pure dance piece set to excerpts from Franz Schubert’s glorious Symphonies Nos. 1 and 2. Unfortunately all the music is taped, due to the exorbitant cost of a live orchestra in New York City. I really love this work, especially the forms of the movements which keep growing and changing into gorgeous patterns. All the dancers are splendid, leaping and spinning at a breakneck pace. There is so much depth to this dance that I need to see it several more times to even touch the surface of all ‘Mercuric Tidings’ has to offer.
‘House of Joy’ is a very disappointing new Paul Taylor work. It is set in a brothel and though there are hookers, pimps and johns on display, very little actually happens. The company acts very well, but they hardly dance at all. Fortunately ‘House of Joy’ is very brief, but even so it seems to be a waste of time and talent. …show more content…
Bertha is a mechanical amusement park doll who plays music when a coin is fed in her slot. The Bs are an all American 1950s family who enjoy dancing to Bertha’s tunes. But all too suddenly Bertha becomes an evil force and destroys the happy B family.
By the end of the dance, Mr. B has raped and killed his daughter and Mrs. B reveals a red stripper outfit under her June Cleaver clothes. Just before the curtain comes down, Mr. B joins Bertha and becomes a malevolent amusement park doll. All the performers are fantastic – Amy Young as Bertha, Michelle Fleet as Mrs. B and Eran Bugge as Miss B. The real standout, however, is Michael Trusnovec’s Mr. B. His dancing and acting fully show the dark side of 1950s America.
The afternoon ends with ‘Company B’, set to recordings of the Andrews Sisters. This work shows the lighthearted innocence of wartime America juxtaposed against shadowy figures of young boys going off to fight and die in World War