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Legendary Morris
serves light fareThe Mark Morris Dance Group
By Vivien Lee DANCE lovers in Hawaii have waited 20 years to see the Mark Morris Dance Group. Since founding his company in 1980, Mark Morris has choreographed more than 100 works. He has been called everything from "bad boy of modern dance" to "heir apparent to the great moderns." His work, shown worldwide, has been described as provocative, classical, musical and sordid. This tour features all live music, a rare treat for dance audiences. So it was with great anticipation and high expectations that the nearly full house at the Hawaii Theatre waited for the curtain to rise Saturday.
Special to the Star-BulletinMy expectations about Morris choreographic abilities were confirmed. He is a master of his art, never boring, always surprising, continually delighting. He presented a feast of motion. Three of the four pieces were for large groups. Dancers entered and exited the space with dizzying frequency, related to each other in endless combinations and were almost never in unison. So much was going on it was almost overwhelming, like being at a banquet where you can only sample the vast offerings.
The solos in "Deck of Cards," were so rich in detail, and the accompanying country-western song lyrics so absorbing, I longed for instant replay. (Not so the first solo which is for a computer-controlled toy truck "dancing" to a truck driver's lament; I do not need to see this again.)
The second dance was about a woman. Morris danced it in a red dress, pearls and a wig. His swirls and twirls were punctuated by sudden gestures and freezes, but they were so fleeting, we barely caught them. In the third solo, a woman danced the part of a soldier with movements sharp and frantic. Her motions were repeated and cumulative, and while it is impossible to tell exactly how this is happening, it is visually fascinating. A hearty meal in a solo.
Morris has a reason for every motion. Nothing is gratuitous. In "Sang-Froid," set to piano solos by Chopin, the curtain rises on an upstage couple and a single downstage person. You think trio, but as soon as the dance begins, the downstage person exits! Soon, however, dancers are traveling everywhere, crisscrossing the stage, staying awhile or exiting immediately. The opening surprise was simply foreshadowing.
Morris' legendary comic touch was evident in "Dancing Honeymoon," for seven people and three metal folding chairs, danced to humorous songs from the 1920s and '30s. Never have chairs been used so cleverly, yet naturally. This piece is another example of how Morris gets inspiration from the lyrics and uses pantomime, but never stops with the literal.
That music is paramount to Morris is clear from the title "Grand Duo," which is not a duet at all, but a dance for 14 people set to a violin-piano duet. In the beginning, things feel tight, gripped, but by the end, the dancers are flowing in a glorious circle that keeps effortlessly transforming itself into spirals, double circles, half circles.
The evening was disappointing in one respect: it was Mark Morris Light. The four dances, although meticulously crafted and entertaining, lacked the range of feeling that Morris is known for. Yes, this is Hawaii, land of fun and sun and surf, but couldn't at least one of the pieces have pushed our emotions beyond pleasantry? We've waited so long. Next time, a little more meat, please.
Vivien Lee has a Master of Fine Arts degree in dance from the University of Hawai'i. She teaches creative dance and music in elementary schools on Oahu.
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