Post-modern performance stretch traditional boundaries
By Daily Bruin Staff
Oct. 22, 2000 9:00 p.m.
 Illustration by JENNY YURSHANSKY/Daily Bruin
By Michael Rosen-Molina
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
Talk of modern dance usually brings to mind incomprehensible
images of pretentious people in turtlenecks. Certainly one would
not expect to see dancers piled in a squirming heap, hear rock
music, or find audience members randomly walking across the stage.
Nevertheless, the White Oak Dance Project brings all this and more
to Royce Hall this weekend.
Founded by Mark Morris and Mikhail Baryshnikov, the group is
dedicated to bringing exposure to new and little known works by the
world’s premier choreographers, including Lucinda Childs,
Trisha Brown, Simone Forti, Steve Paxton, Yvonne Rainer, David
Gordon and Deborah Hay.
The White Oak Dancers perform two separate programs written and
directed by Gordon at Royce Hall, shuffling the contributions of
the different choreographers.
The Royce Hall presentation, “Past Forward,”
combines the work of seven different choreographers, in a tribute
to the Judson Dance Theatre, a major cultural center for young
artists during the ’60s and ’70s.
“It was a time when we were breaking away from
tradition,” said Forti, choreographer of pieces such as
1961’s “Huddle,” in which performers pile into a
sort of dance mountain, alternatively falling beneath and then
scrambling over one another.
“I was interested in the movement of climbing,”
Forti said. “There will be a camera person walking around it
and looking at its details.”
 Photos by The White Oak Dancers Writer and director
Davis Gordon will present "Past Forward" this
weekend at Royce Hall. While some dances concentrate on innovative
ideas of movement, other entries strive to break down the imaginary
boundaries between actor and audience. Paxton presents
“Satisfyin’ Lover,” an exercise in audience
participation wherein 42 people, both professional dancers and
ordinary pedestrians intermingle and walk across the stage.
Gordon’s 1970 “Matter” also uses
nonperformers, local volunteers of all ages, races and dispositions
recruited by the show’s presenter.
“Dancing was not financially rewarding. At the time, I was
free-lancing in design and display work,” Gordon said.
“With this piece, I was trying to put my two lives
together.”
Gordon also choreographed “For the Love of
Rehearsal,” a new piece using the preludes to six Bach
suites, and “Chair,” a piece featuring two women
dancing with two metal folding chairs, once in silence and once
while singing the melody of “Stars and Stripes
Forever.”
Gordon describes himself as the director “on paper,”
but is quick to point out the collaborative nature of the show.
“I think that I helped to find the format that put it on
stage, but its still the work of seven artists,” he said.
 Photos by The White Oak Dancers Yvonne
Rainer will choreograph “Mat” and
“Chair-Pillow” as part of the White Oak Dance
Project.
Like in “Chair,” the juxtaposition between sound and
silence also plays a role in Rainer’s “Talking
Solo.” The piece consists of two dancers moving, one
silently, one reciting an academic essay on the metamorphosis of
the butterfly.
“The movement has nothing to do with language,” said
Rainer, “The talking and the dancing are two separate
trajectories coming from the same body.”
While many dance companies focus on perfectly laid out minutia,
the avant-garde White Oak Dancers recognize the need for some chaos
in their productions.
“It’s organized around chance procedures,”
Rainer said. “It gives up the dictates of taste.”
Rainer’s first piece in the performance, “Trio
A,” is her signature solo piece from 1966, a dance piece
originally written for three people performed to Chambers Brothers
music.
Rainer’s “Mat” derives its name from the foam
rubber mats over which the performers tumble and somersault. While
“Mat” takes place in silence, “Chair
Pillow” features music by Ike and Tina Turner.
“It’s some of the greatest rock music ever
made,” said Rainer of her decision to include the
unconventional score.
Because the work of each choreographer is entirely unique,
Rainer was hesitant to label the White Oak Dancers as members of
any one dance genre. No conscious theme runs through the show,
although all of the diverse segments have been described as
post-modern.
Rainer explained the post-modern concept, comparing the White
Oak Dancers to the work of famous modern choreographers.
“They’re post-Cunningham and post-Martha
Graham,” he said. “The ’60s were a point of
fracture in all the arts. All the arts went against what went
before.”
“Ideas about randomness and chaos were very
important,” Rainer continued. “John Cage especially
influenced some of the choreographers in the project.”
Although the underlying ideas of random chance permeate the
performance, Rainer stressed that, first and foremost, people
should enjoy the show rather than search for any hidden
lessons.
“There’s no one thing people should get out of
it,” he said. “Just watch and enjoy.”
DANCE: The White Oak Dancers perform “Past Forward”
at Royce Hall, Friday- Saturday, Oct. 27-28, at 8 p.m. For
ticketing information, contact the Central Ticket Office at
310-825-2101.
