In the open air pavilion theater at Performance Spaces for the 21st Century (PS21) in Chatham, N.Y., the Paul Taylor Dance Company, with its precision and physicality of movement, brought the audience to its feet last Thursday evening, July 7. The arc of the evening’s repertoire took us from a graceful boundness in “Airs,” through an odd, yet metaphoric commentary of humans as social beings in “Cloven Kingdom,” to a final liberating release in “Syzygy.”
To the music of Handel, “Airs” (premiered in 1978) conveyed a buoyant, warm, and seemingly sacred atmosphere. Coupled with the natural breeze of the outdoor theater, the flowing watercolor blue fabric of their costumes enhanced the ebb and flow of the piece’s progression. From the spiraling turns across the stage to the manège of jumps in a circle, the movement of each dancer created the impression of strong winds, almost tornadic and turbulent at times, yet never fully losing control. The dancers always had command of the choreography with a special reverence for the piece and for each other. “Airs” was pleasant and at ease, never fully tipping one way or the other emotionally (a characteristic less and less common in contemporary works), but most certainly stunning us with its grace and effortless flow.
“Cloven Kingdom” (premiered in 1976) espoused the Dutch philosopher Baruch Spinoza’s quote “Man is a social animal” and felt similar to that of a dance theater work. With music by Arcangelo Corelli, Henry Cowell, and Malloy Miller, through a juxtaposition of formal, Baroque-inspired movements and movements mimicking that of a horse (coupled with the occasional sounds of a horse trot), the intention of the piece, “Man is a social animal,” became evident near the conclusion of the work. The setting of “Cloven Kingdom” is at a formal ball, complete with the men in tuxedos and the women in floor-length evening gowns. Perhaps the most intriguing costume pieces were the Cubist-inspired reflective metallic headpieces worn by four of the female dancers whose movements began to more clearly define the narrative of the piece with their abstract choreography. These headpieces evoked imagery of experimental high-fashion, royal headpieces, and parade horses, furthering the juxtaposition of seriousness with complete abstraction. The physicality of the male quartet created a tension that was animalistic, as the title suggests, in the athletic, gymnastic movements of the dancers leaping over each other, lifting one another, and changing levels from the floorwork on the ground to jumping high in the air. The audience thoroughly enjoyed this section of the work. “Cloven Kingdom” asked the audience, who is to say that humans and horses aren’t all truly masquerading as “something” other than ourselves all the time?
To conclude the evening was “Syzygy” (premiered in 1987), the liberating release of tension and emotion that we had been waiting for all evening. With music composed by Donald York specifically for this piece, “Syzygy” was electric. Its bursts of energy with a shaking arm motif truly exuded excitement. The dancers really let themselves go and conveyed joy, anger, and exhilaration. The soloist, Madelyn Ho, M.D., was truly brilliant in this work. Ho led the dancers in a folk-like journey, encapsulating the outdoor stage on a July evening even more so. “Syzygy” was not entirely a joyous work, though. Tension and anger came to the fore when the dancers began to struggle amongst themselves in fight duets, with incorporated movements of martial art inspiration into the choreography, finally releasing in a cacophony of movement. Rounding out the work, joy did return with twirling music and movement, allowing the electricity of the work, and the evening, to conclude on an upbeat buzz.
PS21 is becoming more and more of a premiere dance destination in the region. With the likes of Paul Taylor Dance Company and others this summer, PS21 is not to be missed by the dancer, dance-enthusiast, or dance-curious.
