Pilobolus Performance

I saw Pilobolus when they came to HSU in October. They performed in the evening at Van Duzer which is a small intimate theatre. We got the last two seats on the floor and I was expecting the view to be crappy since we were in the very last row. Quite to my surprise, these are great seats and I had a perfect view unobstructed by heads! It used to surprise me that I rarely saw young people at dance performances, but I'm used to it by now.  The audience consisted of a majority of middle-aged to older folks although a few students were present.

I was not familiar with the dance company outside the colorful fliers of men and women doing incredible weight-sharing acrobatics that I'd seen around campus. Their show consisted of five very different pieces. The first was a story piece about a traveller: a man carrying a suitcase and his journey. There were props in this piece, mainly chairs, which the company manipulated throughout to create different geometric shapes and patterns on the stage. My favorite part was when the man fell asleep and two of the dancers held up a white sheet with their toes where we watched the man dream. I found this piece very moving, especially at the end where the man was being carried.
 (You can watch it here: http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=PilobolusDance&annotation_id=annotation_427660&feature=iv&src_vid=Trvj984a2ds#p/a/u/2/gOO5FT35Ubs)

Their second piece was a solo performance for a young man in a red unitard. Throughout he demonstrated a mastery of muscle control and fluidity almost unbelievable. It seemed like he was gliding across the stage at times. He had mastered his body to be able to move between levels seamlessly.
(You can watch here: http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=PilobolusDance&annotation_id=annotation_427660&feature=iv&src_vid=Trvj984a2ds#p/u/7/eO8GK0DE6ZM)

The third piece is my favorite work of dance I've seen to this day (and I'm a dancer so I've seen a lot of dance performances)! It was a black man and a  white woman, wearing nude costuming, telling the story of, what I perceived to be, humanity. They appeared to grow out of the floor...I actually had to blink a few times to make sure my eyes weren't playing tricks on me. Neither of them stood up until about 1/2 way through the piece, and we didn't see the woman's face (which she kept covered by her hair) until almost the end. This use of space was really phenomenal. Eventually they came together in an extremely sensual manner, even sexual, I thought. Everyone in the audience was totally enrapt. No one was even blinking. What made this piece even more moving was the live flutist which I didn't notice until I heard her take a breath over the speakers. It was raw and organic and absolutely beautiful.

There was an intermission after this piece and I saw people looking around at each other with wide eyes, "Wow" written on their faces.

The fourth piece after the intermission was radically different from the first two. They had built a big metal box with a glass sheet on top which they would dance on. A camera underneath the contraption would project their bodies onto a huge screen. I have never seen anything like this! The program told us that this piece had been choreographed in collaboration with band OK Go. (Here is an example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ur-y7oOto14). The dancers created geometric shapes and patterns with their bodies which we saw on the screen. It was a fun piece and very innovative.

I must precede my description of the last piece by saying that I really disliked it. It was performed to Radiohead and Primus. The costuming was garish and the movement was the antithesis of the second and third pieces. It was spastic and choppy. Don't get me wrong it showed incredible muscle control and strength, but I did not find it aesthetically pleasing. I'm not sure it was meant to be as aesthetically pleasing as disturbing anyway.
(You can watch here: http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=PilobolusDance&annotation_id=annotation_427660&feature=iv&src_vid=Trvj984a2ds#p/u/4/hBPafUYYJe4).

The venue itself is great. It's small enough to make you feel close to the stage even when you're in the last row and the acoustics are wonderful. One dramatic difference is the style of choreography in the pieces choreographed in the 70s (the second and third pieces) compared to the pieces choreographed in 2011 (the final two). I personally am more engaged by the more fluid style of choreography that was popular during the 70s as opposed to the very choppy and disconnected movements often found in contemporary pieces. The music also played a large part in my experience because I have a hard time listening to Primus and Radiohead: it's obnoxious noise. Considering the first half of the show, the ending left me feeling jarred as I walked out of Van Duzer. This was definitely an example of making special to the point that I've never seen anything like it before in the one sense. It was also a reminder that even dance culture changes over time as evidenced by the change of choreographic styles while still maintaing that thing which we recognize as "dance".

The show wasn't what I expected at all. I had seen brightly colored costumes on all the fliers and expected levity. We got none of that. Instead we got a show with serious undertones. Although I am primarily a ballet dancer, I occasionally dapple in modern dance. When I see such talented dancers performing pieces like they did in the first half, it makes me want to take modern class. But then I inevitably see where modern choreography is today and I am so happy I'm sticking with ballet.