Review: Paul Taylor Dance Company

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Parent Category: Film and the Arts

Category: Reviews

Published on Friday, 04 March 2011 05:00

Written by Jack Angstreich

Paul Taylor Dance Company
Choreography by Paul Taylor
Music by Donald York, Arcangelo Corelli, Henry Cowell, Malloy Miller, John Herbert McDowell, Anonymous Renaissance Composers, Gaetano Donizetti, Francis Poulenc, J.S. Bach
City Center, New York City

The Paul Taylor Dance Company is in the midst of an exciting season at City Center. At the matinee on Sunday, February 27, 2011, the program began with Polaris, first performed in 1976, and set to a score, specially composed for the piece, by Donald York. What aesthetic distinction lies in this music -- which seemed to range across a variety of twentieth-century Western classical styles -- was difficult to discern in that, although it was written for a full orchestra, it was not played live and the sound system at City Center is, regrettably -- and surprisingly -- not state-of-the-art.

Polaris is constructed around a structuralist (or conceptualist) conceit whereby the choreography of the first half is repeated in the second identically, save only for a change in cast, music, and lighting. The unfolding of this architectonic has a cumulative power and, indeed, the two moments where the casts exchange are stunning coups de theâtre. Although the visual conception here is minimalist, and characteristic of the period in which it was created, the choreography is by no means austerely bereft of sensuality and liveliness.

The next work, Phantasmagoria, a New York City premiere, reveals Taylor's postmodern streak -- where historical time is collapsed into an endless now in which all styles can be infinitely recombined -- as well as a playfulness and wit which seem to owe something to the example of Jerome Robbins -- but, the generosity of Taylor's imagination is such that irony does not overwhelm affirmation of, and reverence for, his chosen material. Phantasmagoria is set to wonderful music by anonymous Renaissance composers although, again, the effect was diminished by hearing it in a pre-recorded format; however, due to the relative smallness of the instrumental ensembles in these pieces, the artistic compromise here was not as profound as in Polaris. If Phantasmagoria as a whole feels slight, it was not without its pleasures. The amusing costumes were designed by Santo Loquasto.

The most rewarding and enjoyable work on the program, however, was the last, the delightful Cloven Kingdom, also from 1976, set to music by Arcangelo Corelli, Henry Cowell, and Malloy Miller, cleverly spliced together by John Herbert McDowell. Taylor's deployment of the great Baroque composer Corelli here contrasts significantly with that of George Balanchine's in his magisterial, neoclassical Square Dance -- the clash with the sounds of Indonesian gamelan in Cloven Kingdom is an index of the choreographer's exuberant fondness for parody and pastiche and this ballet is often most beautiful in its daring embrace, at moments, of an inspired silliness.

The evening program of the same day opened with the frothy comedy, the 2009 Also Playing -- set to charming instrumental music from two Donizetti operas and with humorous costumes by Loquasto -- where Taylor sends up classical ballet, nineteenth-century opera, flamenco, the waltz, and American patriotism -- it all amounts to a splendid romp.

The 1977 Dust, set to some striking music by Francis Poulenc, finds Taylor working in a more avant-garde, if still jocular, mode. I found this ballet difficult to synthesize on a first viewing but it had some arresting moments.

The day's apotheosis came with the final work on the program, Taylor's signature opus, the exhilarating Esplanade from 1975, set to glorious music from two outstanding concertos by Johann Sebastian Bach. This magnificent ballet shows Taylor's creative powers at their peak.

Polaris, Opus Number: 64
Music: Donald York (commissioned score)
Set and Costumes: Alex Katz
Lighting: Jennifer Tipton
Date First Performed:   August 26, 1976

Phantasmagoria, Opus Number: 132
Music: Anonymous Renaissance Composers
Costumes: Santo Loquasto
Lighting: Jennifer Tipton
Date First Performed: July 15, 2010  

Cloven Kingdom, Opus Number: 63
Music: Arcangelo Corelli, Henry Cowell, and Malloy Miller
Costumes: Women's Costumes by Scott Barrie, Headpieces by John Rawlings
Lighting: Jennifer Tipton
Date First Performed: June 9, 1976

Also Playing, Opus Number: 130
Music: Gaetano Donizetti
Costumes: Santo Loquasto
Lighting: Jennifer Tipton
Date First Performed: April 8, 2009  

Dust, Opus Number:  66
Music: Francis Poulenc
Set and Costumes: Gene Moore
Lighting: Jennifer Tipton
Date First Performed: June 1, 1977

Esplanade, Opus Number: 61
Music: Johann Sebastian Bach
Costumes: John Rawlings
Lighting: Jennifer Tipton
Date First Performed: March 1, 1975

For more information, visit www.ptdc.org.

New York City Center
130 W. 56th St.
New York, NY 10019
(212) 581-1212
www.nycitycenter.org
Opened: February 22, 2011; closes March 6, 2011

Cinefantastique Podcast: I am Number Four with Andrea Lipinski

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Parent Category: Film and the Arts

Category: Reviews

Published on Monday, 28 February 2011 05:35

Written by Daniel Persons

Who are you? Why, I am Number Four – or at least that’s what the title tells me. But I am not a number; I am a free man! No, wait – that’s The Prisoner. This week’s topic of conversation on the newly re-christened Cinefantastique Spotlight Review Podcast is I am Number Four, the new teen-oriented science-fiction action flick from producer Michael Bay, distributed by DreamWorks. Why “Number Four,” you ask? Well, the film itself won’t tell you, so if you want to find out, you should listen in as guest commentator Andrea Lipinski (of the Chronic Rift) reveals all the details from the source novel that the screenplay not-so-cleverly left out. Also chiming in our CFQ podcast regulars Dan Persons (who remarks on the film’s debt to Smallville and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, by way of screenwriters Alfred Gough & Miles Millar and Marti Noxon) and Steve Biodrowski (who reveals that even the most disappointing films can be redeemed by cute animals such as lizards and dogs).

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Kevin's February '11 Digital Week II

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Parent Category: Film and the Arts

Category: Reviews

Published on Monday, 28 February 2011 05:00

Written by Kevin Filipski

Blu-rays of the Week
All the President’s Men
(Warners)
This classic 70s-paranoia thriller by director Alan Pakula is far more memorable—and scarier—than his earlier The Parallax View because it’s true! Pakula’s low-key, documentary-like style perfectly fits this exploration of reporters Woodward and Bernstein going after the Watergate story no one else cared about, eventually toppling the Nixon White House.

There are superb performances by Robert Redford, Dustin Hoffman, Jason Robards, Martin Balsam, Hal Holbrook, and so on down to the tiniest bit parts. The Blu-ray transfer, though a little soft-looking, retains the graininess that underscores its effectiveness as a shadowy—and cumulatively exciting—mystery story. Extras include a Redford commentary, a 70-minute retrospective documentary, and a Dinah Shore talk-show episode featuring Robards.

Due Date
(Warners)
I barely chuckled during that desperate laugh-fest The Hangover, so I didn’t hold out hope for director Todd Phillips’ follow-up. I was right: despite a hard-working Robert Downey, Jr., Due Date is even less funny, as it tries grafting sentiment onto zaniness with much more middling results. Add to the fact that Zach Galifianakis comes across as a second-rate Jack Black, and Michelle Monaghan and Jamie Foxx are wasted as Downey’s pregnant wife and best friend and you have a bummer of a time-waster.

For what it’s worth, the movie receives a first-rate Blu-ray transfer, but the extras merely comprise a few minutes’ worth of deleted scenes, an endless gag reel and a clip from Two and a Half Men that extends a not particularly funny gag from the movie.

Raging Bull—30th Anniversary Edition
(MGM)
Martin Scorsese’s pummeling 1980 portrait of boxer Jake LaMotta might not be top-notch film biography, but when you have Robert DeNiro, Joe Pesci and Cathy Moriarty in top form, why quibble about what’s essentially a one-note biopic about a human (and decidedly unsexy) beast?

The fight scenes still startle, the B&W photography is still extraordinary, and the razor-sharp editing still inventive: and on Blu-ray, the film has more immediacy — I hesitate to say it packs a bigger punch — than ever. Although several extras (like the three highly listenable audio commentaries) were included on the original Blu-ray release, there are four new interview featurettes, totaling nearly 50 minutes: Marty and Bobby, Raging Bull—Reflections on a Classic, Remembering Jake and Marty on Film.

Wild Target
(Fox)
This rather mild black comic romp about a coldblooded hit man whose heart melts when, through crazy circumstances, he finds himself protecting rather than offing a flighty museum attendant nevertheless is worth 90 minutes of your time thanks to the potent comic chemistry between the always-watchable Bill Nighy and Emily Blunt (who gets better with every role).

The movie knocks around for a good half hour or so before throwing them together, but once it does, hearty laughs ensue. Ruperts Grint and Everett provide good support, but this Nighy and Blunt’s show all the way. The movie looks about as good as it’s going to look on Blu-ray, but this is not a film of visual pleasures anyway. The lone extra is a brief featurette about Blunt.

DVDs of the Week
Bill Moyers: A World of Ideas—Writers and
Bill Moyers: In Search of the Constitution
(Acorn Media)
Here are two more additions to the rapidly expanding catalogue of Moyers programs that are being given the deluxe treatment they deserve on DVD. Television’s best and most open-minded interviewer presents discussions, in A World of Ideas, with various authors ranging from E.L. Doctorow to Tom Wolfe, including several who are no longer with us such as Isaac Asimov, Joseph Heller and August Wilson (the series was taped in 1988). In Search of the Constitution—from 1987—is an in-depth, 10-episode series chronicling the living, breathing document our Founding Fathers created two centuries ago, with important observations from scholars and Supreme Court Justices O’Connor, Brennan and Blackmun.

Room in Rome
(IFC)
Although director Julio Medem never realized his potential following Cows, his promising 1993 debut film, he has remained an unapologetic voyeur of the female form and explorer of sexuality. Sex and Lucia is only the most obvious example of his soft-core proclivities, but his new film—surprisingly never released in the U.S., instead going straight to DVD—comes pretty close.

Two gorgeous women, one Spanish and one Russian, spend a memorable evening in a hotel overlooking St. Peter’s Basilica doing things to and with each other that most men would envy. It’s blatantly shallow and often silly, but the astonishingly fearless actresses, Elena Anaya and Natasha Yarovenko, and Medem’s caressing camera make it worth seeing. It’s too bad IFC nixed a Blu-ray release, which it received in Europe.

CDs of the Week
Janine Jansen: Beau Soir
(Decca)
Janine Jansen has already proven herself one of our most exciting young violinists, so this excellent disc of quintessential French music comes as no surprise. The fiery Jansen and her sensitive pianist Itamar Golan play exquisite Gallic chamber music, with the inspired sonatas by Debussy and Ravel as sturdy bookends.

Elsewhere, the pair performs miniatures like Debussy’s title track (in an arrangement by Jascha Heifetz), Gabriel Faure’s lovely Après un reve and even a gem of a Nocturne by ill-fated Lili Boulanger, sister of the famous music teacher who died far too soon at age 25. Rounding out this adventurous set are three short pieces by contemporary composer Richard Dubugnon which don’t sound out of place (high praise indeed) and Olivier’s Messiaen’s hypnotic Theme et variations.

Paul Galbraith Performs Mozart, Bach and Britten
(Mashulka Productions)
Paul Galbraith plays a specially-made guitar with a unique, cello-like set-up, and his inventive, arresting technique works wonders with his chosen repertoire: there are vigorous transcriptions of a Mozart piano sonata and a Bach cello suite, along with short “encore” pieces by Albeniz, Ravel and, again, Bach.

But the emotional centerpiece of this disc is Benjamin Britten’s sublime Nocturnal, ingeniously based on baroque music by John Dowland. This masterly suite has movement titles like “musingly,” “restless” and “dreaming,” and Galbraith plays them true to form, making Britten’s difficult exploration of the limits of guitar technique sound easy and natural.