The Joffrey Ballet February 15-17, 1977

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1-1-1977 The offJ rey Ballet Curtis Carter Marquette University, [email protected]

The Joffrey Ballet, internationally cele brated company of American dancers, made its first visit to Milwaukee, February 15-17, to give three evening performances and a matinee at the Performing Arts Center.

1977 5 The three-day engagement opened with contrast to the western look. showed Frederick Ashton's "The Dream ". and in robot-like figures jerking. kicking. spin cluded works of choreographers Twyla Tharp. ning in revolt against the familiar dance George Balanchine. Alvin Ailey. Agnes de conventions of ballet and modern dance. Mille. Jerome Robbins. and Ruthanna Boris. But these movements soon became dance This list of choreographers promises a vir conventions in their own vocabulary: and tual museum exhibition of contemporary they were even more limited that those American dance. with the addition of Britain's which they sought to replace. Neverthe Tudor. Two things were especially promin less. these energetic movements designed ent in the performances: Twyla Tharp. by the by Twyla Tharp surprise and disarm the magnitude of her works performed. and "cow audience with their apparent simplicity. boy" Western folk dancing as a theme. approaching chaos. "As Time Goes By" offers more of Tharp. but in a more ab The predominance of Tharp's choreography stract. formal setting. Against the Hay was especially welcome because. to the best den music. the dance almost became a of my knowledge. her works have not appeared caricature of itself. in a major Milwaukee concert before. "As Time Goes By". "Deuce Coupe II". and the A highlight of the three-day engagement new "Cacklin' Hen" filled the gap for many in for this viewer was the performance of the audience whose only prior opportunities Jerome Robbins' "Moves. 1959". a ballet for viewing Tharp's work has been through performed in silence and about relation television or out-of-town performances. ships. "Moves" was created for Robbins' Ballet USA and was premiered at the Fes The second strong impression. of too many tival of Two Worlds in Spoleto, Italy. cowboys. found considerably less favor in this Milwaukee ballet master William Reilly viewer's mind. Balanchine's "Square Dance". performed in the 1959 premiere of this de Mille's "Rodeo". and Tharp's "Cacklin' work. "Moves" provides a highly expres Hen". all with a similar theme. provide a sive statement in "pure movement". Very very heavy dose of "cowboy ballet". simple costuming with no music or scenery accents the potent movements of the dancers. Added to these. the schmaltzy gay nineties Their bodies move in rows. singly and in "Cakewalk" weighs heavily toward bad pro pairs. creating a sense of architectural gramming. The most charitable explanation space that gives structure to the emotions would be an overdose of misplaced bicenten being explored in the relationships among nial enthusiasm -- resulting in poor judgment the dancers. Each phrase of "Moves" is so on the part of those who selected the program. composed as to carve the silent space into But when "Cacklin' Hen''. Tchiakovsky's organic shapes that succeed each other as "Pas de Deux". and "Cakewalk" all appeared time passes. The shapes of the moving on the Thursday evening program. it became bodies in this piece recall the pictorial shapes patronizing and catered to the program of the painter Matisse in his painting "Bath mer's stereotype of what would please a ers". but the arrangement of the feelings is midwestern. Milwaukee audience. The very much Robbins' own. program misfired however. leaving the "sold out" audience with a relatively dull Summing up. the Joffrey Company's 1977 evening. and disappointing those who had visit to Milwaukee brought its memorable faithfully attended all three evenings. events: Tharp, Robbins. Ailey. Ashton, and some unfortunate programming. We look On the other hand. there were many forward to their future visits and we hope that notable features to the Joffrey performan more thought will be given to the program ces. The "Rodeo" had a stronger sense ming next time. The Joffrey's visit was of character than the recent performance sponsored by the Edgewood Agency and the of the same work in Milwaukee by the National Endowment for the Arts. American Ballet Theatre. "Deuce Coupe II". which offered a sharply "modern" --Curtis L. Carter

DANCE DIMENSIONS 1977