The antidote
Here’s a clip of the finale of Paul Taylor’s “Esplanade,” one of the most beautiful dances I’ve ever seen. I’ve written at length about Taylor before, and about “Esplanade” in particular:
If I write that in one of my favorite works of his—”Esplanade”—he eschews conventional dance steps and uses movements that derive almost entirely from natural everyday motions such as walking, running, and falling, it sounds boring. But Taylor transforms these steps into one of the most exhilarating and joyous dances ever created, one that at times exhibits an almost sublime tenderness, and at other times makes the audience gasp with its bold daring, lightning speed, and the dancers’ sheer physical power as they hurl themselves with reckless abandon into each others’ arms and then down to the floor and up again.
That “hurl themselves with reckless abandon into each others’ arms” part begins at about 4:09, by the way. Note, also, that Taylor makes tremendous use of the floor—not just to stand on or take off from, but as a vehicle for the entire body to drop and fall to, roll on, and then rise from. That’s a hallmark of modern dance—as opposed to the more airborne ballet—of which “Esplanade” takes full advantage.
Enjoy:
I also love, love, love, that beginning movement of the excerpt, where the first dancer starts to move just before the music, but perfectly complements it.
Very beautiful. Dancers like these would make very good jujitsu artists.
Neo, here’s a dance clip for you. Not ballet, but very Bolger-esque, n’est-ce pas?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZvUlVudNwc&feature=youtu.be
Fabulous, Neo! Love, love, love the dancers themselves. Their faces and movements just exuded the spirit of the piece. Seems like such innocent times, n’est-ce pas?
Irene:
Agreed. Different times.
Although, the Paul Taylor Company still performs the work in recent years. And beautifully.
This http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a7/Matissedance.jpg/300px-Matissedance.jpg
Neo,
I’m sure the current Taylor dancers are great – it’s my old eyes and heart that have changed.
And thanks for continuing to post your dance pieces. Much.Needed.Break.From.The.World’s.Insanity.
PS. Nice piece today on Legal Insurrection. I didn’t know you were also an attorney.
You are a very cultured person.
I was a wrestler and even I am bored by watching wrestling. This is better and I don’t’ even have a clue as to how awesome it is to execute a move like jumping 12 feet into someone’s arms!
There are discernible patterns within chaos when constrained in time and space. The choreography is a beautifully imagined ensemble of chaotic processes with overlapping and convergent motions. The dancers expressed an impressive coordination of aesthetics and control.
I believe only little kids and young professional athletes, could have enough energy for that sort of thing. There is a lot of running in that piece.
Irene:
I am not an attorney!
I have a law degree, a very old one. I have never practiced law.
Thanks for posting this. It’s beautiful — wonderfully imagined, well-performed. It brightened my day as visiting your blog so often does.