Tag Archives: howard gilman opera house

SASHA WALTZ & GUESTS: GEZEITEN

Sasha Waltz returns to BAM with U.S. premiere of GEZEITEN (photo by Gert Weigelt)

Next Wave Festival
BAM Howard Gilman Opera House
30 Lafayette Ave. between Ashland Pl. & St. Felix St.
November 3, 5, 6, $20-$55, 7:30
718-636-4100
www.bam.org
www.sashawaltz.de

Berlin-based choreographer Sasha Waltz returns to BAM’s Next Wave Festival with the U.S. premiere of GEZEITEN (TIDES), following 2002’s KÖRPER, which we called “playful and powerful, enlightening and frightening,” and 2005’s IMPROMPTUS, which we described as “a beautifully expressive piece.” Set in a postapocalyptic world, GEZEITEN incorporates physical objects and smoke and fire as the dancers deal with disaster. The nearly two-hour piece features music by Jonathan Bepler and Johann Sebastian Bach, costumes by Beate Borrmann, lighting by Martin Hauk, and stage design by Waltz and Thomas Schenk. As shown by her previous appearances at BAM, Waltz is a creative choreographer who is not afraid to push the envelope, keeping audiences rapt, never knowing quite what is going to happen next. There are only three performances of GEZEITEN, so don’t miss out on this rare opportunity to see this daring company in Brooklyn.

VOLLMOND (FULL MOON)

Pina Bausch’s VOLLMOND is a wet and wild experience (photo by Laurent Philippe)

Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch
BAM Howard Gilman Opera House
30 Lafayette Ave. between Ashland Pl. & St. Felix St.
Through October 9, $25 – $85 (October 1 performance reviewed)
718-636-4100
www.bam.org
www.pina-bausch.de

Returning to BAM for the first time since the sudden death of their founder and artistic director, Pina Bausch, in June 2009, Tanztheater Wuppertal is dazzling audiences in Brooklyn with the U.S. premiere of the 2006 evening-length piece VOLLMOND (FULL MOON). A large rock sits alone on a sparse black stage above a shallow, barely visible river of water. The first half of the 150-minute show is an utter delight as the twelve-member company enacts vignettes of love, romance, and the playful battle between the sexes, the men dressed in dark pants and button-down shirts, the women in elegant evening gowns and high heels. They flirt, kiss, and tell jokes, occasionally giving way to sparkling solos by the diminutive Rainer Behr and Ditta Miranda Jasjfi and others. Water, the elixir of life, is at the center of it all, whether the men are pouring drinks for the women or they all go for a swim in the river, rain crashing down in a breathtaking display.

Women dominate the battle of the sexes in VOLLMOND (photo by Jan Szito)

But the second half takes a darker turn, as costumes dim and tend toward black, the kissing and jokes replaced by violence and pain, the high tides of the full moon now pulling more turbulent currents to the surface. The first three solos are performed by the troupe’s older members, new co-artistic director Dominique Mercy (who has been with the company since Bausch took it over in 1973), longtime comic relief Nazareth Panadero, and the lithe, rail-thin Julie Anne Stanzak, their movements sharper and less fluid than those of the younger dancers. Where wooden sticks were earlier used to create a cool thwooshing sound, now they are weapons. Instead of filling a wineglass with a drink, a man now shoots a plastic cup off a woman’s head using a water pistol. The music also borders on the morose, including Cat Power’s eerie “Werewolf.” But soon the sexes are back in each other’s arms for a wet and wild finale. Bausch’s unique melding of dance, theater, comedy, and music is in abundant evidence throughout VOLLMOND, another terrific crowd pleaser from one of the world’s most gifted talents. Athough no one takes the customary choreographer’s bow after the show, Bausch’s presence is felt all night long. At one point, Panadero brings out a chair and warns a man away from it, stating that even ghosts need to sit down; everyone in the theater instantly understands whom she is talking about. Discussion and speculation over the future of Tanztheater Wuppertal swirl around whether it can go on without Bausch; VOLLMOND is a must-see on its own merits, but even more so considering the possibility that it could be the company’s last stand in New York.

ALVIN AILEY AMERICAN DANCE THEATER

Matthew Rushing feels the spirit in Ronald K. Brown commission (Photo by Paul Kolnick)

Brooklyn Academy of Music
Howard Gilman Opera House
30 Lafayette Ave. between Ashland Pl. & St. Felix St.
June 10-20, $20-$85
718-636-4100
www.bam.org
www.alvinailey.org

The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater returns to BAM to close out the eclectic arts institution’s spring season with a pair of programs. “Ailey Spirit” features Ailey’s “Mary Lou’s Mass,” being performed for the first time in thirty-five years, as well as the classic “Revelations,” which is always a thrill to see, and Ronald K. Brown’s “Dancing Spirit,” the Brooklyn-based dancer and choreographer’s gorgeous tribute to Judith Jamison that premiered at City Center last December. “By Popular Demand” includes Robert Battle’s “In/Side,” “Revelations,” and Matthew Rushing’s “Uptown,” the longtime Ailey dancer’s rather mundane history of the Harlem Renaissance that also premiered last winter at City Center. The Saturday matinees on June 12 & 19 will be followed by an artist talk with the dancers.

SOUNDS LIKE BROOKLYN

Vivian Girls kicked off Sounds Like Brooklyn festival at BAM, followed by insane set by Les Savy Fav (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

Brooklyn Academy of Music and other venues
Howard Gilman Opera House
30 Lafayette Ave. between Ashland Pl. & St. Felix St.
January 29-30, February 4-6
BAM tickets: $20-$25
718-636-4100
www.bam.org

The Sounds Like Brooklyn Music Festival, first held in 2007, has featured such local acts as the National, Chairlift , Citizen Cope, Mos Def, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Gordon Chambers, and Beirut at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the festival’s home base. Not only do the annual two weekends of shows promote the World’s Greatest Borough, but it does so in style, with bands playing the elegant Howard Gilman Opera House. This year’s lineup includes indie punksters Les Savy Fav and shoegazing surfpoppers the Vivian Girls on January 29, Rain Machine and Anti-Pop Consortium on January 30, and Ra Ra Riot and the Antlers on February 5, three inspired pairings that should rock the house, even if the audience has to remain in their seats. (And don’t you dare think of taking any photos or video!) We can’t wait to see what LSF lead singer Tim Harrington has in store; the last time we checked out the band, the hairy vocalist tore off most of his clothes, hopped up on a monitor, and posed like Christ on the cross. The group tours relentlessly but is much more shy about recording; their last album, LET’S STAY FRIENDS, came out in 2007. Don’t be surprised if a nearly naked Harrington puts a garbage can over his head while singing the mellow pop of “What Would Wolves Do,” the angry punk of “The Equestrian” and “The Sweat Descends,” or the playful harmonies of “Patty Lee.” Meanwhile, the Vivian Girls — guitarist Cassie Ramone, bassist Kickball Katy, and drummer Ali Koehler — are touring behind their delightful 2009 disc, EVERYTHING GOES WRONG, which features such hopeful tunes as “Before I Start to Cry,” “Never See Me Again,” “Death,” “I Believe in Nothing,” and “The End.” An offbeat mix of 1950s girl groups and 1990s grunge, the Vivian Girls, named after bizarre characters created by lunatic outsider artist Henry Darger, should bring a different kind of note to the festivities. “At 3 AM I sleep again / Watch the tides rise right between my eyes / It’s in my head / Well, I’ll be dead before the sun will rise again,” they sing in “Lake House.”

Ra Ra Riot brings its captivating live show to BAM as part of Brooklyn festival (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

Also on tap are the Dred Scott Trio and the Sweet Divines at BAMcafé, tuneyards, takka takka, and Rose Parade at the Bell House, Falling Short of Luxury and Fill the Hunter at Frank’s Lounge, Small Black at Brooklyn Bowl, Dance for Brooklyn with Maya Azucena at Galagos, Saxon Shore and American Dollar at the Knitting Factory, the Vandelles, Dinowalrus, and the Naked Hearts at littlefield, and other shows at Zebulon, Station 171, Sputnik, Southpaw, Pete’s Candy Store, le Grand Dakar, and Goodbye Blue Monday, offering a chance to see some up-and-coming bands at venues many people aren’t necessarily that familiar with.

Tim Harrington began special BAM performance with hysterical site-specific dance piece (pohto by twi-ny/mdr)

Update: Following a strong, steady set by Vivian Girls, Les Savy Fav tore apart the Howard Gilman Opera House at BAM on January 29, beginning with Tim Harrington, clothespins clipped to his beard, performing a site-specific dance piece, eventually going into the crowd and picking people in the front up out of their chairs one by one, then explaining that he would continue with his performance art until everyone got up out of their seats, which resulted in a stampede to the stage, security guards running for cover, and all hell breaking loose for the rest of the night, which included Harrington running up and down the aisles of the ornate theater, scuttling by on his butt, entering a plastic phallic object, taking the shirt right off a fan’s back, giving himself a giant wedgie, and eventually donning a bizarre monkey suit and howling. BAM will never be the same.

CHUNKY MOVE: MORTAL ENGINE

Chunky Move promises to amaze Brooklyn with cutting-edge MORTAL ENGINE (photo by Andrew Curtis)

Chunky Move amazes Brooklyn with cutting-edge MORTAL ENGINE (photo by Andrew Curtis)

BAM Next Wave Festival
Howard Gilman Opera House
30 Lafayette Ave. between Ashland Pl. & St. Felix St.
December 9-12, $20-$40, 7:30
718-636-4100
www.bam.org
www.chunkymove.com

The Australian company Chunky Move, which made its U.S. debut at the 2001 Next Wave Festival with CRUMPLED and CORRUPTED 2, returns to BAM for the highly anticipated MORTAL ENGINE, a sixty-minute piece that comes with the following warning: “This production contains partial nudity, smoke, laser and strobe lighting effects, and loud volume audio,” which is just what we’ve come to expect from this cutting-edge troupe. In the spring of 2005, we were amazed by Chunky Move’s insanely good TENSE DAVE at Dance Theater Workshop, and in February 2008 we caught their insanely good GLOW at the Kitchen, calling it “a visual and physical wonder . . . What could have been gimmicky is instead revelatory, a breathless, virtuosic half hour that investigates the essence of the organic form,” and there’s every reason to believe that MORTAL ENGINE should continue the insanely good trend. GLOW is directed and choreographed by company founder Gideon Obarzanek, with interactive system design by Frieder Weiss, laser and sound by Robin Fox, music composed by Ben Frost, and lighting design by Damien Cooper. The December 10 performance will be followed by an Artist Talk with Obarzanek, Weiss, and various members of the cast and crew, moderated by André Lepecki. Be prepared for a whirlwind of sight, sound, and movement.

Athletic skill and dazzling technology interact in MORTAL ENGINE (photo by Andrew Curtis)

While GLOW was an intimate gathering in the Kitchen, where the small audience sat on four sides of the dance space, a tiny vinyl rectangle on the floor, MORTAL ENGINE turns out to be a much larger spectacle, performed on an steeply raked white platform at center stage of the vast Howard Gilman Opera House, where dancers walk, crawl, twist, turn, and hang on as the lights and sounds react to their movements, in a dazzling display. Two of the floor panels occasionally tilt up vertically, creating walls against which, at one point, two dancers wriggle, as if attached by a sticky substance, accompanied by a fascinating oozy sound. Unfortunately, at times the vastly talented crew gets caught up in the spectacular technology, as long patches of the piece abandon the dancers and simply show off amazing computer-generated interactive lighting and sound design that takes the audience away from the compelling narrative of duality and interconnectedness. But then smoke machines unleash a dense fog that becomes otherworldly as green lasers shoot out across the theater, involving the spectators in the gorgeous maelstrom, the bands of light manipulated onstage by two dancers. Even though a passing random thought of Laser Floyd is hard to avoid, it’s an unforgettable scene, the highlight of a choppy but fascinating night of dance theater.