Forsythe’s Three Atmospheric Studies Comes to the US
Posted by Sloan
photo by Kate Bordwell
This past October, some of you may remember our London (now Glasgow) contributor, Kate, writing about her experience upon viewing William Forsythe’s “Three Atmospheric Studies” at its premier in London.
Building up the US premier of the piece, a recent article in the NY Times (by Diane Solway) explores the role of politics in dance, with quotes from Forsythe, Baryshnikov and others.
“This evening-length work has played to audiences in Europe, but on Thursday will have its American premiere at the University of California, Berkeley, before arriving at the Brooklyn Academy of Music on Feb. 28. To those who question whether dance and politics make good partners, the ever provocative Mr. Forsythe is ready with a question of his own: ‘Since when aren’t artists citizens?’
“…’Artistic dissent is a beautiful lake with very thin ice,’ Mikhail Baryshnikov said recently, pointing out that a number of politically minded works have not risen to the level of enduring art. Still, he added, some have succeeded, and ‘if an artist has enough guts and enough talent to put their personal statement on the floor, I welcome all that.’
“…’There are exceptions,’ said Joseph V. Melillo, the longtime executive producer of the Brooklyn Academy of Music, a leading showcase for progressive art. ‘But the majority of contemporary choreographers in the U.S. today do not think about their place as citizen-artists in response to the political atmosphere. That’s not to say they don’t talk about the war when they’re having a cup of coffee at Dean & Deluca, but they’re not doing that in their art. There’s a disconnect.’
“…’Three Atmospheric Studies’ opened to admiring reviews at its London premiere last fall, though the critics seemed divided about whether to call it dance or theater. Those distinctions don’t interest Mr. Forsythe, who said art forms are too narrowly defined by audiences, critics and sometimes artists themselves. Calling the dance world ‘a bit hermetic,’ he said it is the possibilities of the human body that intrigue him.
“’If dance only does what we assume it can do, it will expire,’ he said. ‘I keep trying to test the limits of what the word choreography means.’ To him it as much about ‘motion organization’ as it is about moving the viewer’s brain around an idea.”
I’ll definitely try to see this when it comes to BAM. I’m intrigued by everything I’m hearing about the piece, and I’ve also never had the opportunity to see Forsythe’s Company in person. For a peak at some of his choreography, here’s a youtube clip of Sylvie Guillem rehearsing and talking about Forsythe’s “In the Middle Somewhere Elevated”.
