Blue New York

今晚終於看到耳聞已久的艾文艾利美國舞蹈劇場（Alvin Ailey American Dance Thater），以及他們演出的《Revelations（啟示錄 ，1960）》。

這個作品分為三大部份。
第一部份〈Pilgrim of Sorrow〉，舞者動作和服裝讓我感覺好「葛蘭姆」。
第二部份〈Take Me to the Water〉，第一和第二小段有儀式的氛圍，身體與臀部的扭動動作漸漸增多，第三小段獨舞主要為地板動作，男舞者展現超強的腹部控制力與平衡感。
第三部份〈Move, Members, Move〉，第一小段的男子三人舞突然變得很芭蕾，然後又以非常黑人[註1]味道的服裝並結合戲劇的舞蹈橋段作結。

回家上網查了資料，生於1931年的Alvin Ailey在1949開始學習Horton Technique[註2]，並在1954年前往紐約參與百老匯演出並跟隨多位名師學習芭蕾和現代舞，他的老師包括Martha Graham與Doris Hemphrey等等。
Alvin Ailey在1960年創作這個作品時29歲，回家後我一直在想《Revelations》想要表達的是什麼；revelation 有天啟、啟示、揭發的意思（特別是揭發啟蒙、令人震驚的事物），他想藉由這個舞碼去呈現他在舞蹈與自己文化間的進程與連結嗎？
Alvin Ailey舞團男女舞者幾乎（清一色？我站很遠看不清楚）都是黑人，都有著可怕的柔軟度（腰和腿都是），很會跳躍、很會旋轉、也很會扭，動作技巧很賞心悅目，多色彩卻又柔和乾淨的舞台燈光我喜歡，但或許很多主題跟黑人文化有關，而我對於那些文化背景的了解不夠深，因此第一次看Ailey舞團的我並沒有被作品本身或舞台上的什麼打動；也可能因為打工中的我站太遠？
之前跟老闆meeting聊到「認同（identity）」，老闆提出一個很有趣（其實很複雜）的點讓我去觀察思考：Alvin Ailey的舞蹈主題是偏向讓黑人認同黑人還是要向白人（其他人種）介紹黑人文化並進而認同？
認同的問題，好深奧啊... 去年在紐約布魯克林一個小型劇場看一個剛成立幾年的團，除了藝術總監（編舞者）和舞者是黑人外，用的音樂也幾乎是黑人創作的，連現場觀眾幾乎全黑，只有我、我同學和個位數的幾個觀眾不是黑人。那次之後，再加上和老闆的一些討論，我開始會去注意一個團或編舞者的合作對象與選用音樂等，是不是有種族或血緣上的關連。不同種族的人，身體的律動感和動作質感真的不同，每個編舞者也都各有所好吧！ 

（光榮 -- Patrick and Me in 《光環 Aureole》, 4th Movement)

推！因為有幸參與排練並演出保羅泰勒的《光環 Aureole（1962）》，使我重新用不同的角度去看泰勒舞作，所以非得要來推薦保羅泰勒舞團在台灣的演出不可。
我在 2005 年於紐約林肯中心戶外藝術節第一次看保羅泰勒舞團的演出後，並沒有對泰勒的舞作產生共鳴，只覺得泰勒舞作的風格是像優雅芭蕾般的現代舞，不是我感興趣的風格；沒想到 2007 年剛進入現在的學校，就遇上該舞團教師駐校，並幸運甄選上《光環 Aureole》的舞者，而排練過程完全顛覆了我對泰勒風格的第一印象，排練老師剛開始很常對我說：我看得出你有不錯的芭蕾基礎，但你不必總是表現得完美，不能跳得像芭蕾。排練中，逐漸深深地感受到泰勒舞蹈動作與音樂高度結合的趣味。
PS. 我參與《光環 Aureole》的排練和演出都是在學校，不是甄選上保羅泰勒舞團啦（我還沒那麼強喔）。因為有朋友誤會了，所以特別加上此附註澄清一下。
在《光環 Aureole》裡，有幾個特定的手形：雙手上舉呈現穩定有力量的 V 字形，雙手向下或向上但手肘處彎曲使手臂呈現流暢的圓弧形以及從這個基礎上變化出的手部動作。由於配合音樂節拍的腳步及身體動作，有時相當的快而俐落，因此要保持手形的穩定，不讓手臂隨身體動作胡亂擺動，便挑戰著舞者的控制力。
跳《光環 Aureole》，要同時做到「放」與「收」。需要有充沛能量和情感的「放」，保持圖形變化流暢、大膽跳滿動作並彷彿對觀眾說著「嘿！你只能看我喔」的「放」，同時要控制動作的形、不使動作變成亂舞的「收」。這很不容易，就像一個人十分開心想手舞足蹈地說話時，要控制做出過於誇張的肢體語言，同時又要讓聽者能真切感受到這個人的內心有多熱情、多興奮，兩者之間有著奇妙的和諧，而非衝突。
推！因為去年十二月初保羅泰勒舞團到位於我學校的大劇場演出，我好愛《普羅米修斯之火 Promethean Fire, 2002》《禿鷹的盛宴 Banquet of Vultures（2005）》，當下我更敬佩泰勒大師舞蹈風格的多變、舞蹈與音樂的完美結合、以及簡單易懂、直接衝撞人心的作品意涵；這是對當今的生活有深刻體驗後的作品，是能跟觀眾產生對話的作品！如果事前不知道這是保羅泰勒舞團的演出，我應該會以為這是一位很棒但年輕些的編舞家作品；年輕，在此不意謂不成熟或莽撞，而是精神！2002 年，保羅泰勒已經 72 歲了喔，我覺得他的作品意念仍然很「新」，仍然有很強烈的實驗風格，但實驗中又沒放掉舞蹈動作，就像在過去的厚實基礎上，不以此為滿，反而持續開創新局。
推！保羅泰勒在舞蹈史上佔有一定的地位，由於泰勒早期曾跟隨瑪莎葛蘭姆（Martha Graham）跳舞，從舞蹈史的時間觀點上來看，可以觀察泰勒風格是否有受葛蘭姆技巧的影響。因此，喜歡看舞，尤其是對舞蹈有興趣深入研究的朋友們，真的不要錯過能現場欣賞大師作品的難得機會。看過，喜歡或不喜歡都沒關係，每個人對舞蹈感受總是不同；沒看過，永遠只能憑空想像了，即使觀看DVD，畢竟缺乏臨場感，感受會差很多的。
 
  （圖像擷取自 PAUL TAYLOR DANCE COMPANY official site ）
 
推！這次台北有三場，共九支舞碼，經濟負擔得起的話，建議三場都看，比較能好好認識保羅泰勒的舞蹈風格，從中進而比較、分析舞作間同異之處。如果時間或經濟因素不許可，購票前先上網做點功課吧，再挑自己最感興趣的場次看。另外，嘉義縣立文化中心將有一場演出，三支舞碼，不克北上的朋友們，把握南部場的機會囉！
推！台北最後一場 10 月 19 日演出後有舞團經理與資深舞者的座談，很推薦大家近距離去看看目前在此舞團工作的人，對於這個團會有比較真實的感受。去年十二月初，我學校有一天是「泰勒日」，保羅泰勒舞團的舞者在演出前，先欣賞我們舞蹈系學生跳《光環 Aureole》，再跟我們對話，幾位資深舞者非常親切、謙虛和敬業，對於舞蹈有很深入的分享；然後換我們舞蹈系學生參觀舞團彩排晚上節目，晚上再看正式演出。很好的交流！
趁著寫這篇文，上網做了一些功課。
擁有豐沛創作能量的保羅泰勒，被雲門舞集創辦人林懷民稱為「王者之王（King of Kings）」。泰勒出生於 1930 年，從 1954 年創立保羅泰勒舞團以來，幾乎每年都有ㄧ到五個新作品發表（其中只有 1959、1992、1996 未發表新作，參考 Paul Taylor Dance Company official site ），並曾經跟隨瑪莎葛蘭姆（Martha Graham）與喬治巴蘭欽（George Balanchine）的舞團表演過，是美國舞蹈史上不可不提的大師級編舞家。站在個人的立場，我很佩服今年高齡 78 的泰勒，仍然維持年年創作的熱情，憑著這一點，絕對值得去看他的舞團演出。總而言之，推！
相關網站
Paul Taylor Dance Company official site
新舞臺新舞風2008
年代售票（票價、優惠方案、各場次舞碼）
延伸推薦
文章 -- Why I Make Dances by Paul Taylor
紀錄片 -- Paul Taylor: Dancemaker

 

這學期舞蹈歷史課的第一個作業。
Time: 8 pm, 2008/2/1
Venue: Tilles Center for the Performing Arts, NY (2242 seats)
Group: Martha Graham Dance Company
Repertories: Appalachian Spring, Ardent Song (Redux), Diversion of Angels, Sketches from Chronicle
On the night of Friday, February 1, 2008, raining, thousands of the audience gathered at the 2242-seat North Fork Hall of Tilles Center, Long Island’s primary concert hall, for the performance of Martha Graham Dance Company, the oldest modern dance company in the world.
Before the curtain rose, instead of feeling particularly excited, I was feeling more curious about what I was about to see onstage in that I had ever watched two live performances that had different pieces presented by Martha Graham Dance Company in the March of 2006 at National Theater in Taipei, Taiwan, and the troupe’s performance at that time seemed unstable and lacked energetic spirit—even though it was still an extremely thrilling experience to see part of the “dance history” performed onstage and to feel the force of Graham’s choreography.  Approximately two years passed.  Has the company changed?
Among the four pieces shown at Tilles Center, Ardent Song (Redux) is the most appealing one to me; the others are Appalachian Spring (1944), Diversion of Angels (1948), and Sketches from Chronicle (1936).
In Ardent Song (Redux), five male dancers and five female dancers shift and dance in the different numbers of the combinations, and there is hardly a dancer keeping still for a while in a sculpture-like shape which is usually seen in Graham’s other dances.  The piece begins with four male dancer’s masculine movement then comes a female dancer who enters the stage in the relevé position very slowly, elegantly and femininely, and soon becomes the center of the male dancer’s attention as if she were a goddess to the men—which represents two of the features of Graham’s choreography: women’s power and sexuality.
In the midst this Redux, a piece of silver and shimmering cloth covers the whole stage, and a male dancer wears it from the center then makes it like a gorgeous skirt.  Afterwards two light coral orange swaths of fabric cross at the center of the stage, and a duet by a female and a male dancers is developed in the spaces separated by the fabric.  Finally, it ends with the powerful section full of jumping by the five male dancers.  Thus, visually, Ardent Song (Redux) creates the sense of flow and the images of abundance for the spectators.
By reading the introduction of the four repertories in the program after the performance, I realized why Ardent Song (Redux) looked more contemporary than the others: it is a reconstruction of Martha Graham’s 1954 Ardent Song, reconceived by the former principal dancer Susan McLain in 2006, and premiered on June 21, 2007 at Shubert Theater, New Haven, CT.
The reconstructive process was based on the original cast’s memories, the limited archival photos and reviews because Ardent Song “is a ballet we consider to be lost,” said by Janet Eilber, Artistic Director of Martha Graham Center.  Unlike Diversion of Angels, for example, has been in the company repertory since the day it was made, Ardent Song had not been performed since the 1950s, even though a critic once called it as “one of the most magical rituals” long time ago.  Therefore, Susan McLain re-envisioned the dance on the basis of Martha Graham’s movement and vocabulary, and made Ardent Song (Redux) a more contemporary piece for the present dancers and the audience.
Ardent Song (Redux) was the piece that interested me most on the program that night because of its choreography and visual images.  On the other hand, however, I also felt it was unlike Martha Graham’s other work; though it is actually not, and only was inspired by Graham’s original concept.  As the oldest modern dance company named after Martha Graham, Mother of Modern Dance, if the essentials of the newly-choreographed contemporary pieces and of the originally-made traditional (compared to now) pieces conflict, how would the company see it? Furthermore, how would the audience of the different generations see it?
In the search for the dance reviews on Ardent Song (Redux), I found a few critics such as the Plain Dealer dance critic Donald Rosenberg, wrote much more on the introduction and achievements of Martha Graham and the company, past and present, but gave less directly descriptions and comments on the re-envisioned work.  By contrast, the New York Times critic Claudia La Rocco commented austerely, “This ‘Redux’ does not quite fly… The effect is like that of reading a famous author’s unfinished novel, completed by an expert — someone with a wealth of knowledge but lacking an essential grasp of tone.”
An interesting discovery I found in Part Real — Part Dream online, the unpublished memoir of Stuart Hodes, who was a former principal dancer of Martha Graham Dance Company, reveals a backstage story of 1954 premiere of Ardent Song in London: the choreography had not been finished by Graham on the first few performances since the premiere night, and some dancers kept improvising while performing it.  After several nights, Graham finally went to watch how her dancers performed Ardent Song and decided to complete the choreography because she could not stand the chaos shown onstage.  Then the work got highly praised by the critics at the time soon.
After gaining the knowledge mentioned above, here comes a question in my mind: Why did the Company choose Ardent Song as their first reconstructive work and stage it in 2006? It was just after the time that the Company won the lawsuit against Ron Protas, who argued that he had inherited the rights to all of Graham's dances, and that the Company paid off all of their debt.  Since the piece has been reconceived, the contexts of the reconstruction have also simultaneously become a subject in dance history.
By the end of this paper, let’s go back to the night Martha Graham Dance Company at Tilles Center on February 1, 2008.  The audience members primarily comprised of the cultivated elderly.  Some of them might experience the social contexts in 1940s and 1950s when Appalachian Spring, Ardent Song (not Redux), Diversion of Angels, and Sketches from Chronicle were created; even a few of them had ever gone to the premiere at the time.  Dance history is born from the process, from the work, from the people, from the venues, from the time, and, from anything concerning the object.  It is the point of view of the minority history makers, but it is also the collective memories belonging to a certain generation or community.
When I was on my way out of Tilles Center, I heard a decent middle-age lady talking to her friend, “I really love Appalachian Spring. It’s so beautiful.”
Where is Martha Graham Dance Company’s next blossoming spring?  What is the road the company should take?
Today, five current dancers out of twenty-two have joined Martha Graham Dance Company since 2005.  Undoubtedly, they have shown their fairly nice dance techniques onstage.  However, the uniqueness of the physical aesthetics and of the spiritual gradations created by Martha Graham in the twentieth century seem to be seen little from the performance of those dancers of the new generation.  What’s the future of the oldest modern dance company?  We are keeping our eyes on it.