Word: oakes
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...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 shows Baryshnikov swinging along in a modern vein even as he reviews his crowded career...
That image has gradually replaced the tragic prince. Four years ago, having quit as artistic director of American Ballet Theatre, Baryshnikov founded the White Oak Dance Project, a small company of experienced dancers -- the youngest current member is 31, the oldest is Baryshnikov, now 46 -- to tour with a variety of modern works. Both the troupe and its honcho have thrived. In 90 cities, it has almost always been a sellout. But until last week, the itinerary had never included New York City...
...world, and mostly it's a legitimate boast. At some point every company has to take on Manhattan, with its knowledgeable, picky, I've-seen-it-all audiences and its I've-seen-it-all-a-hundred-times critics. A New York season is expensive too. So White Oak was probably wise to wait until it had shaken down and matured -- the troupe now has eight dancers instead of 14 -- before spending nearly $500,000 for a week at Lincoln Center. Any financial anxieties were quickly dispelled; the run was sold out before opening night...
Signals is a good example of why White Oak's eclectic programming works -- and may be a harbinger of dance's future. Unlike virtually any other choreographer, Cunningham thinks in terms of neither music nor steps but segments of time. "Given 10 seconds," he says, "the dancer has to define the phrase and accent something within the time." An evening of Cunningham can be bewitching. But it is only when one sees one of his pieces alongside the choreography of others that one appreciates just how different in weight and shape his work really is. Cunningham says he created Signals...
...gestures in L'Apres-Midi d'un Faun, several quotes from Swan Lake, including the 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...