Parsons Dance at the Joyce Theater
ROUND MY WORLD Dancers: Ian Spring, Melissa Ullom, Steven Vaughn, Elena D’Amario, Eric Bourne, Sarah Braverman, Photo by Krista Bonura
I was able to catch David Parsons Dance at the Joyce Theater, and what a thrill it was. David Parsons’ newest creation Round My World held me spell-bound. It is stunning in its subtle intensity of shape and movement and is given even more depth by Howell Binkley’s lighting design.
ROUND MY WORLD Dancers: Ian Spring & Melissa Ullom Photo by Krista Bonura
Round My World takes its title literally. Utilizing six dancers, Mr. Parsons weaves them in patterns of continuous movement of circular shapes. The dancers extend their arms as if in embrace but always maintain a circle of roundness between them. Set to the score of Zoe Keating, the dance takes on persona of mystery. I, at times, felt I was witness to a private ritual. The performance was filled with fluidity and connectedness, exhibiting both strength and complexity.
A STRAY’S LULLABY Dancers:Christina Ilisije, Elena D’Amario & Jason Macdonald, Photo by Krista Bonura
I wish I had great things to say aboutKatrazyna Skarpetowska’s A Stay’s Lullaby. I felt it lacked originality, and that I had seen the piece time and again by different choreographers. The dancers themselves were superb but no matter how hard they tried could not make sense of the choreography. The music, arranged and composed by Kenji Bunch was quite interesting, with a singer crooning, “ain’t no more, your own your own in this town”. This perhaps gave hint to what were Ms. Skarpetowska’s intentions but I still felt the piece muddled and unclear.
Miguel Quinones in Caught Photo by B. Docktor
I witnessed the premier of Caught, when it was danced by David Parsons in 1982, it was a brilliant piece of genius then and still is, and I must say that Eric Bourne did the piece great justice. He was superb in a piece that is exciting and such a thrill to witness. I was so excited you would have thought the piece was being performed just for me. Mr. Bourne executed the demanding leaps (over a hundred in six minutes) with aplomb and daring. Seemingly related to some Greek god, with his good looks and blond presence, he commanded the stage and our attention as he seemed defy gravity. Each leap timed perfectly with the strobe lights flash of brilliance. The lighting design by Howell Brinkley is little short of sheer genius. If you only ever see one piece of modern dance in your life, David Parsons’ Caught is the one to see.
David Parsons’ stroboscopic masterpiece, Caught, features more than 100 leaps in six minutes by a solo dancer who is repeatedly trapped in mid-motion by the strobe lights, to create an illusion of flight. After thousands of performances, worldwide, for nearly thirty years, Caught continues to thrill audiences at every performance.
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