For the fifth and final iteration of the “Bloodlines” series (April 11 - 13) at NYU Skirball, Stephen Petronio Company again honored the legacy of modern dance icon Merce Cunningham. Also celebrated on this momentous evening was the lesser-known Rudy Perez a student of Cunningham who “…until recently [was] largely excluded from the dominant postmodern canon,” according to the release. On the program was Cunningham’s Tread, Perez’s Coverage, both made in 1970, and Petronio’s premiere, American Landscapes. Up to now, chronologically, the Company has presented Cunningham’s Rain Forest (1968), Trisha Brown’s Glacial Decoy (1979), Yvonne Rainer’s Trio A with Flags (1966/1970), Chair-Pillow (1969) and Diagonal (1963), an excerpt from Steve Paxton’s Goldberg Variations (1986), Anna Halprin’s The Courtesan and the Crone (1999), and last year, Cunningham’s Signals (1970).
Each of the five evenings gave rise to remembering the icons and further cemented Pertronio’s commitment, but they also showed the ease in the dancer’s delivery of the Cunningham movement canon. Each was satisfying, but this fifth one is bitter sweet. From the voyeuristic view in Tread through large standing fans that lined the front of the stage guarding and directing our view, to the quirky and fun configurations of bodies stacking and unstacking, and the playful stories each configuration brought, Trend was a good reminder of the different faces of Cunningham. Ernesto Breton in Perez’s Coverage followed and it was magical. The formula was a roll of masking tape to identify the movement space, a jumpsuit, a hardhat, minimalist movement topped off with a playlist of music and commentary as relevant in the 70s as it is now. The program closed with Petronio’s American Landscapes. In oversized jumpsuits, Petronio makes an appearance in a playful duet (reading, waltzing, and kissing) with Martha Eddy who forecasts a bit of what’s to come at the end of their duet when she walks forward, slowly opens her arms wide, then exits. Then it was time for all 10 dancers, and with a backdrop of poignant visuals, and Petronio’s emotion-driven movement stories, they take a deep-dive into a world of compassion. They lift each other, hold on tight to each other, make room for each other while Robert Longo’s images show a world of war—forced to “take a knee,” gather to march for women’s rights, and a gaggle of other profound messages. Towards the end, the dancers hold hands and form a line across the front, walk forward, and slowly opens their arms.
The dancers are: Bria Bacon, Taylor Boyland, Ernesto Breton, Jaqlin Medlock, Tess Montoya, Ryan Pliss, Nicholas Sciscione, Mac Twining and Megan Wright. Brandon Collwes was a guest artist in Tread. Music was performed live by members of Composers Inside Electronics (Seth Cluett, John Driscoll, Phil Edelstein,Cecilia Lopez, Michael J. Schumacher) on specific nights. Staging for Tread was by Jennifer Goggans, and Sarah Swenson for Coverage. Lighting design for Tread is by Richard Nelson, Joe Doran for Converge, and by Ken Tabachnick for American Landscapes.
Each of the five evenings gave rise to remembering the icons and further cemented Pertronio’s commitment, but they also showed the ease in the dancer’s delivery of the Cunningham movement canon. Each was satisfying, but this fifth one is bitter sweet. From the voyeuristic view in Tread through large standing fans that lined the front of the stage guarding and directing our view, to the quirky and fun configurations of bodies stacking and unstacking, and the playful stories each configuration brought, Trend was a good reminder of the different faces of Cunningham. Ernesto Breton in Perez’s Coverage followed and it was magical. The formula was a roll of masking tape to identify the movement space, a jumpsuit, a hardhat, minimalist movement topped off with a playlist of music and commentary as relevant in the 70s as it is now. The program closed with Petronio’s American Landscapes. In oversized jumpsuits, Petronio makes an appearance in a playful duet (reading, waltzing, and kissing) with Martha Eddy who forecasts a bit of what’s to come at the end of their duet when she walks forward, slowly opens her arms wide, then exits. Then it was time for all 10 dancers, and with a backdrop of poignant visuals, and Petronio’s emotion-driven movement stories, they take a deep-dive into a world of compassion. They lift each other, hold on tight to each other, make room for each other while Robert Longo’s images show a world of war—forced to “take a knee,” gather to march for women’s rights, and a gaggle of other profound messages. Towards the end, the dancers hold hands and form a line across the front, walk forward, and slowly opens their arms.
The dancers are: Bria Bacon, Taylor Boyland, Ernesto Breton, Jaqlin Medlock, Tess Montoya, Ryan Pliss, Nicholas Sciscione, Mac Twining and Megan Wright. Brandon Collwes was a guest artist in Tread. Music was performed live by members of Composers Inside Electronics (Seth Cluett, John Driscoll, Phil Edelstein,Cecilia Lopez, Michael J. Schumacher) on specific nights. Staging for Tread was by Jennifer Goggans, and Sarah Swenson for Coverage. Lighting design for Tread is by Richard Nelson, Joe Doran for Converge, and by Ken Tabachnick for American Landscapes.
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