Word: misha
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...immigrant dancer in a new and daunting company (A.B.T.) and country, determined to assert himself, join the fun, court the girls and still deal with the fact that he is irremediably different, set apart by culture and genius. By the time The Little Ballet came along in 1983, Misha was A.B.T.'s director, and that dance was a hilarious, poignant picture of a harried boss trying to cope with a fractious company. It was the dance equivalent of Day for Night, Francois Truffaut's classic film about a movie director on location. White Oak presents the latest installment, Pergolesi, which...
...notion of this paradigm of nobility mixing it up with modern dance seemed absurd. But a closer look at the record reveals he was already seeking out alliances with modern choreographers. When Twyla Tharp created Push Comes to Shove for him in 1976, she revealed a whole new Misha: rueful, droll, an outsider trying to get in -- and just as eagerly bursting...
...programs reflected just how thoroughly modern Misha's enthusiasms are. The dances range from company member Kevin O'Day's first choreography to Signals, an early '70s work by Merce Cunningham that has gone through many versions. In fact, the 75-year-old Cunningham went at it again: new score, new costumes and, as always, moves that fluctuate mesmerically...
...dancer, who in this case are an exceptional match in both musicality and wit. Tharp's funny bone is never predictable; Baryshnikov can make any move look spontaneous, as if he were out there amusing himself. The piece is now recast as a solo, though for a few phrases Misha dances ardently with an invisible partner -- Twyla's way of reminding people that this is still her show. For the rest, Baryshnikov seems to be musing on his life as a performer...
...Prince's defiance as his mother points imperiously at her wedding ring -- "No, I will not marry any of these boring girls" -- and so on up to Paul Taylor's Airs. As White Oak continues to tour (Washington; Cleveland, Ohio; Atlanta; and Minneapolis, Minnesota, are among the upcoming cities), Misha will vary the jokes on whim...