dirac Posted July 8, 2005 Share Posted July 8, 2005 Apollinaire Scherr reviews at some length the Merce Cunningham company in “Ocean” at the Lincoln Center Festival. Devoted fans and critics commonly dismiss one aspect or another of his complex art so they can fit it into their own smaller notions of dance.They may enjoy his formal rigor, his objective cool and his vocabulary - which, in its elegance and systematic approach to the body, rivals ballet. But then they cover their ears to block the electronic blurps bouncing from the orchestra pit, as if this carefully devised aural anarchy didn't contribute to the dance's bracing air of bright serenity. Others may applaud the radical use of chance operations. The dance, music and set are each constructed with little foreknowledge of one another. Plus, the choreographer basically throws dice to help determine the order and duration of the movement phrases; the number and location of dancers onstage at any given moment; the shifts from riveting stillness to long arcs or sudden flutters of motion; even the relation of a performer's arms to her legs. And yet this postmodern audience will fail to notice something as traditional as the dancers' adherence to a count. Link to comment
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