Dance
Mark Morris Dance Group (London Coliseum)
Sit back and enjoy
Giannandrea Poesio
According to a juicy, behind-the-scenes rumour, an eminent dance personality recently claimed that Mark Morris's works are nothing but steps and music. Although negative and blinkered, the definition high- lights and captures an important aspect of the choreographer's art.
Enticing immediacy and transparent clar- ity are, in fact, distinctive traits of Morris's style, as can be seen in L'Allegro, it Penseroso ed ii Moderato, set to Handel's `Was everything all right for you?' pastoral ode and aptly considered a master- work of contemporary dance. While other dance makers who have dealt with revered, non-dance scores from the past have often come up with obscure choreographic rendi- tions, Morris's approach to Handel stands out for its accessibility. Instead of delving into one of those fashionable socio-political interpretations of the various issues related to the score, or burdening the choreogra- phy with mind-boggling parallels between the time the music was composed and the present era, Morris manages to conjure up a seamless series of visual solutions that are immediately understood and appreciat- ed. The 'sit back and enjoy' feeling that permeates the entire evening does not imply that the work is superficial and pre- dictable, however. On the contrary, its apparent simplicity relies on and stems from an in-depth analysis of the pastoral ode, the outcome of which reveals the mul- tifaceted genius of the choreographer as well as his wide knowledge.
As with the much praised rendition of Monteverdi's madrigals seen last summer in Edinburgh, in the earlier L'Allegro, it Penseroso ed it Moderato the dance goes far beyond a mere transliteration of the situa- tions suggested by the sung text. Without being pedantic, Morris gives an exhaustive, humorous and passionate contemporary portrayal of Handel's world, cleverly scat- tering several references to the Baroque period through the dancing.
Images from 18th-century opera, drama, frescoes and the life-style of the Enlighten- ment thus materialise almost unexpectedly in each of the 30 dances performed. None of these cultural allusions, however, cons- trains or impinges on a full appreciation of the dance. These references constitute a kind of subtext that is up for grabs; it is for the viewer to decide if he/she wants to play the game and spot them. Whatever the decision, the dance can be enjoyed in full.
Similarly, the chosen movement vocabu- lary is never subjugated to the stylistic and contextual modes of the score, although the use of contemporary solutions does not create any vivid discrepancy between the music and the dance. The continuous out- pouring of innovative, unpredictable chore- ographic invention is, probably, the most striking feature of this work. Apparently simple and 'virtuoso free', the choreogra- phy is a well-calibrated amalgam of diverse styles and techniques. It encompasses and summarises the choreographer's own artis- tic experiences. Such a varied palette which ranges from folklore elements to post-modern components — does not detract from the stylistic unity of the piece, however. Each stylistic mode is carefully chosen to suit the various stages of the pas- toral ode, conferring a rich coloratura on to the dance. In addition, the perfect interac- tion between the music and dancing is enhanced by Morris's superb direction of the entire performance. To define L'Alle- gro, ii Penseroso ed it Moderato as just a dance piece would diminish it: this is the- atre at its best.
From a strictly technical point of view, the dancing was superb too. Being a chore- ographer's company — as opposed to a repertoire company, where the dancers are asked to switch from one style to another — the Mark Morris Dance Group has that stylistic homogeneity seldom seen these days. In other words, it looks like a proper company with a well-defined stylistic iden- tity. Yet each dancer retains his/her artistic individuality, fully and masterfully used throughout the work, according to the vari- ous music and choreographic nuances.
The success of the evening must also be credited to the impressive execution of Handel's work. Although I am not an expert in this field, I thought Jane Glover's musical direction was superb and the voices of Susan Gritton, Janice Watson, Michael Chance, Ian Bostridge and Ashley Holland excellent. There is no doubt that this per- formance is the highlight of the summer season. I only wish that we could see more of the Mark Morris Dance Group here in London, for his 'steps and music' are never enough.
Previous page
