Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – TRISHA BROWN DANCE COMPANY stylishly, nostalgically celebrates its 50th anniversary at The Joyce (finally)

• By drediman
• May 30, 2022
• No Comments

This weekend, I attended a performance by the Trisha Brown Dance Company at The Joyce Theater in Chelsea. The weeklong run – which was delayed for a few years, as many things were, by the pandemic – marks the 50th anniversary of the revered contemporary dance company (the final performance of the run was yesterday afternoon). The enticing program included Foray Forêt and Astral Converted, a pair of sleek collaborations from the early 1990s between the company’s celebrated namesake founder and artist Robert Rauschenberg.

The evening commenced with 1990’s Foray Forêt, a dance that’s at once boldly conceptual yet delicately elusive. There’s a subdued quality about Brown’s gestural choreography, which gives the impression that the dancers are in quiet conversation with one another. Throughout, the movements were studied and precise, although I wish the dancers exuded a bit more freedom. The musical accompaniment comes by way of a marching band that largely plays offstage (e.g., in the wings, in the lobby). The effect is both spectral and sculptural, giving aural dimension to the piece that’s playfully sophisticated and slyly profound.

The program closed with Astral Converted, an equally conceptual piece which Brown and Rauschenberg premiered in 1991. Brown’s post modern choreography for nine dancers is distinctive, skimming the floor of The Joyce stage with fluidity and inevitability. The work – which features an austere score by John Cage – has a slight science fiction feel, complete with mobile, light-emitting towers and gleaming form-fitting costumes. Overall, the landmark celebration was a stylish, nostalgic affair, especially given Brown’s relatively recent passing in 2017.

RECOMMENDED

TRISHA BROWN DANCE COMPANY
Dance
The Joyce Theater
1 hour, 45 minutes (including one intermission)
Closed