12.4.08
The Biblical origins of Bob Dylan's IT'S ALRIGHT MA (I'm Only Bleeding)
King Solomon inspired one of Dylan's most enduring songs
12.2.08
Napping more effective than a cuppa joe
Reports says replace afternoon coffee with a lie-down
11.29.08
[BOOK REVIEW] LUSH LIFE by Richard Price
Review by Seth Rogovoy, critic-at-large, Berkshire Living
11.26.08
MASS MoCA DIRECTOR to BRING SOL LEWITT SOUTH
Rest of the Story event at the Triplex on Dec. 14
11.25.08
[FILM REVIEW] QUANTUM OF SOLACE
Review by Seth Rogovoy, BERKSHIRE LIVING Magazine
11.23.08
[FILM REVIEW} A SECRET by Claude Miller
Review by Seth Rogovoy, critic-at-large, Berkshire Living
11.23.08
Why so many Holocaust films, and what do they say about us?
Film critic A.O. Scott asks penetrating questions about our obsession with Nazis and their Jewish victims
11.23.08
Lenox Gallery to feature small works by top regional artists
[PRESS RELEASE] Shade Gallery at the Bookstore opens new show on December 4
11.23.08
First English pubs, now French cafes are fading
Along with smoking and drinking, so goes the French way of life
7.7.08
CHATHAM SYNAGOGUE TO CELEBRATE LEGACY OF MARC CHAGALL
[PRESS RELEASE] Discussion of his life and work
11.17.08
[FILM REVIEW] RACHEL GETTING MARRIED
Review by Seth Rogovoy, BERKSHIRE LIVING Magazine
11.7.08
Police, school administration apologize for terrorizing MMRHS students
Overreaction to bomb threats prompts indiscriminate police interrogation of innocent students
11.6.08
Another look at Dylan's IS YOUR LOVE IN VAIN?
Dylan's post-divorce song offers great insight into the transitional period
11.4.08
Dave Mason to perform at the Mahaiwe Dec. 5
[PRESS RELEASE] Legendary rocker, former member of Traffic, brings guitar and band to Great Barrington
11.4.08
Ani DiFranco to play Bardavon
[PRESS RELEASE] Indie folksinger performs in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., on November 19, 2008
11.4.08
Ani DiFranco to play Bardavon
[PRESS RELEASE] Indie folksinger performs in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., on November 19, 2008
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[DANCE REVIEW] STOCKHOLM 59 DEGREES NORTH AT JACOB'S PILLOW
8.7.08
Stockholm 59° North [photo Mats Backer]
JACOB'S PILLOW DANCE
Stockholm 59 North
Ted Shawn Theatre
August 6-10, 2008
by Seth Rogovoy
(Becket, Mass., August 6, 2008) -- Comprised of the more adventurous dancers from the Royal Swedish Ballet, Stockholm 59 [Degrees] North is an offshoot ensemble, directed by Jens Rosen, firmly rooted in the centuries-old classical ballet while adopting an up-to-the-minute, twenty-first century approach in its choreography and production.
Thus, as seen last night in a program running through Sunday in the Ted Shawn Theatre at Jacob's Pillow, the company takes a much lighter, even humorous approach to dance -- call it modern ballet if you must -- in works by company choreographers Cristina Caprioli and Mats Ek (the program also included an evening-closing dance by CND2's Nacho Duato).
The company builds its dances around contemporary or alternative, non-balletic music -- in this case that of South African composer Kevin Volans or that of several Swedish composers and groups.
The Pillow program features Cicada, a world premiere by Italian-born Swedish choreographer Cristina Caprioli. The dance begins starkly and simply, with three ballerinas take solos in turn. The minimalist aesthetic extends to their movement -- simple gestures like slightly pulling the edges of ones skirt outward to change one's shape or silhouette, or bending in such a way that line shines on the back of a flourescent dress. Once the dance moved beyond this initial phase and incorporated men and ensemble work, its energy seemed to dissipate.
The two pieces by Matks Ek were magnificent and are signatures of the Stockholm style. They are at once lighthearded and humorous -- poking fun both at the conventions of dance and boasting serio-comic narratives -- and works of terrific virtuosity. Apartment postured a man and a woman's relationship surrounding nothing but a freestanding door -- you couldn't go over it, you couldn't go through it, but you could go around it. And his Pas de Danse, set to Swedish folk music, upended the conventions of rural Swedish life in what appeared to be a domestic drama, including an interval in which the two characters stopped in their thoughts and remembered back to their younger lives, embodied by two younger-appearing dancers who snuck in through the actual Ted Shawn's barn door.
It was lovely to see dance that took your breath away in its virtuosity and beauty but at the same time enjoyed not taking itself too seriously and incorporating a high entertainment quotient. You can't go wrong this weekend with this program.
Seth Rogovoy is Berkshire Living's editor-in-chief and award-winning critic-at-large.
Nadja Sellrup of Stockholm 59° North [photo Christopher Duggan]
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