THE HANGOVER REPORT – MARK MORRIS DANCE GROUP continues to thrive at The Joyce with generous repertory programming

Mark Morris Dance Group’s Nicole Sabella and BJ Randolph in “A minor Dance” at The Joyce Theater (photo courtesy of MMDG).

This past weekend, I attended Program B of Mark Morris Dance Group’s first-time residency at The Joyce Theater (you can read my rave review of Program A here). Over the years, I’ve been primarily exposed to the company’s full length length works. As such, it’s been a pleasure to see them thrive these past two weeks engaging in generous repertory programs, which have been particularly vibrant in the moderately-sized Joyce, a Chelsea dance venue that seems just right for an ensemble like MMDG (the company concluded its two-week this on Saturday).

The program began with the stage premiere of Tempus Perfectum, a piece that was originally choreographed during the dark days of the Covid pandemic. Even though it doesn’t quite have the same vitality as Morris’s trademark works, there’s a certain wistful melancholy that pervades the piece, as befits the circumstances of the time when it was created. The bill continued with All Fours, an extravagant dance that depicts the tug-of-war between darkness and light. Set to a spiky Bartók score for string quartet, it brought the first half of the program to a rousing close with its sweeping steps and exciting quicksilver shifts between the two realms.

The second half began with the beautifully-etched A minor Dance, the sole “real” world premiere across the two programs, and it’s a keeper. True to Morris form, it brought elegant articulation and a deeply humanistic quality to the piano score by Bach (Morris’s musical comfort zone, played sensitively by Colin Fowler, the company’s music director). The evening concluded with an early Morris gem — Castor and Pollux, a work originally performed in 1980.  Infused with folk dancing and tribal ritual, the dance is a rare opportunity to witness the company in a visceral mode. In contrast to the humanism typical of Morris’s pieces, the dance eschews decorum in favor of raw instinct.

Throughout, the grounded, exquisitely musical company performed with dignity and an easy outward joy that imbues their dancing with a lightness and serenity that’s distinctive to the Mark Morris aesthetic. It’s the kind of dancing that’s been often copied but rarely replicated. Suffice to say, it’s been a real treat to see the troupe once again in action, especially performing lesser known works from the company’s rich repertory.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

MARK MORRIS DANCE GROUP
Dance
The Joyce Theater
Approximately 2 hours (including an intermission)
Closed

Categories: Dance

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