Less than a week before Parsons Dance arrived for a weeklong engagement at the Ted Shawn Theatre as part of the Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, I crossed the Massachusetts border from Berkshire County into New York’s Columbia County to see the Paul Taylor Dance Company perform at PS21 in nearby Chatham, New York. Dance fans know the relevance; it’s a legacy story. David Parsons danced with Paul Taylor for eight years, and that is where he began his choreographic endeavors. This lineage ties Parsons directly to Jacob’s Pillow. Taylor was a member of Martha Graham Dance Company, and Martha Graham danced with Denishawn, founded by Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn. That’s American modern dance royalty, in a nutshell. When Parsons launched his own company in 1987 — after appearing at the Pillow five times with Paul Taylor — he did so at the Pillow, on the outdoor stage, before quickly moving into the Ted Shawn for subsequent engagements.
Watching the two companies perform in close time proximity highlights Taylor’s influence on Parsons — including gorgeous, sweeping movement full of breathtaking partnering, intricate spatial patterning, the choice of tall, muscular, broad-shouldered men as members of the troupe, and a company of highly skilled, athletic, cream-of-the-crop dancers. In terms of differences, what stood out to me this year was that while the majority of Taylor’s female dancers remain in the petite category, most of the women in Parson’s troupe matched their male counterparts in height and, certainly, in strength and athleticism.
This was borne out in Parson’s signature piece, Caught, a clever solo from 1982 that relies on strobe lights, precise timing, and a powerful, exacting dancer who can effortlessly jump and leap to inconceivable heights (and land without a sound), appearing to fly across the stage, remain suspended in midair, and float through space, like magic. The movement is supported by other-worldly electronic music by Robert Fripp. I’m pretty sure Parsons includes this piece in every company appearance (like Alvin Ailey’s iconic Revelations), but it never ceases to amaze, and even if you haven’t seen it, this description will not ruin the awe every viewer experiences every time it’s performed. I’ve probably seen Caught a dozen times, but this was the first time I’ve seen it danced by a woman. Zoey Anderson performed it on the Wednesday evening I attended, and it was fascinating to watch her prowess in this demanding work.
The program included another exceptional, highly theatrical solo: Takademe, choreographed by Robert Battle in 1996, while he was a member of Parsons Dance — five years before he was named artistic director of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. In this playful dance, Téa Pérez (on the night I attended) moves in sync and style to the rapidfire staccato vocalizations of Sheila Chandra’s Speaking in Tongues II. The sharp, fast bursts of syllables, like “ ka-ta kat-ta-ti-ka-tika,” erupt through her body, rippling down her spine, with remarkable isolations, then out through her extremities, and back into the core. The force of the music occasionally jolts her off the ground and into unfathomable positions, with no visible effort on the dancer’s part. Her bright red costume, designed by Missoni, makes her moves stand out even more in the cone of light against an otherwise dark stage.
That spotlight also played a role in an excerpt from Parsons’ 2015 dance Finding Center. In this brief duet, Joseph Cyranski holds Zoey Anderson aloft center stage, and the two take every imaginable position as they remain attached but for a few steps out of the center. She snakes her body around his, he lowers and raises her like a barbell that never touches the ground. It’s a fascinating display of form, balance, strength, and control.
The rest of the program consisted of ensemble works propelled by irresistible music and featuring the innovative, demanding, fast-paced, and surprising partnering that characterizes the Parsons oeuvre and shows off his dancers’ top-notch skills and formidable sense of timing and musicality. The evening began with Swing Shift, from 2003, to original music by Kenji Bunch that sends eight dancers in various groupings sweeping across the stage, in wide-legged, velvety costumes designed by Mia McSwain that accentuate every extension, sway, and directional switch. Nascimento, from 1990, set — of course — to the unmistakable tunes of Brazilian singer-songwriter Milton Nascimento, featured more lovely partnering and ensemble work for nine dancers in choreography that played with the music’s varying beats, the warm-weather vibe abetted by Santo Loquasto’s Caribbean-tones sundresses on the women and button-down shirts over chinos on the men.
The second half featured two works for all nine dancers that were a bit too similar in concept though markedly different in style. Both dances summoned a night club setting, both involved the dancers showing off for (or showing up) each other, and both featured more high-drama partnering with women flying full speed into the men’s arms. Juke, by Jamar Roberts, set to the music of Miles Davis, seemed to transport the audience to a dark, smokey juke joint, with aggressive, slinky, spikey dancing replete with confrontations and competition. Sexy — almost burlesquey —costumes by Christine Darch helped set the down-and-dirty mood. The word “juke” is slang for making a move meant to deceive, and the dance did include several physical feints, with hardened men putting on some bluster.
After the brief burst of Caught, the full ensemble returned to the dance floor for Parsons’ 2004 work Shining Star, featuring infectious songs by Earth, Wind & Fire. And the audience was again transported, this time to a 1970s disco frequented by strutting, supple, long-limbed dancers in bright-white costumes that highlighted their every move and pose against the black backdrop. It’s amazing that after a long program of seven pieces, the dancers still had the stamina to jump, leap, dip, turn, and groove with precision and presence to yet another intricate, high-energy ensemble piece, but that is why they are members Parsons Dance, and why they received a long, joyous standing ovation from the sold-out audience. They flawlessly danced a long, demanding program featuring a wide range of styles by three different choreographers, demonstrating versatility and excellence with enthusiasm and élan. Parsons Dance is a crowd-pleaser, so much so that the Pillow added a matinee to their engagement. I’m sure everyone left the theater impressed with the dancing and the choreography, and in a much better mood than when they arrived.
Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival runs through August 25 in Becket, Massachusetts.
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