If an art critic wrote that he/she was startled to see a work of genius made from found objects, that critic would be consigned to the school of out-of-it. Since the early 20th Century, reworking found objects has been a staple. Needless to say, that critic would not be employed by the New York Times, where Holland Cotter, Roberta Smith, Ken Johnson and Michael Kimmelman set a higher standard.
Dance criticism is another matter. The school of out-of-it is in session at the Times whenever Alastair Macaulay ventures into the contemporary. In ballet, Macaulay has few peers. He conveys the depth of his understandings with clarity and even elegance. And yet contemporary reminds for him a mystery. Remember that he is the only full-time dance critic one of the only full-time dance critics employed full time at a newspaper in America. (There’s also Sarah Kaufman.)
Here’s Macaulay’s opening sentence for a Mark Morris review:
It’s startling to see a work of genius composed largely from movements as basic as walking, running, hopping, skipping, lying down and the like. (more)
Startling? Dance made of ordinary movements is, like the found object in art, ubiquitous. More than that. Following Paul Taylor’s Esplanade from 1975, it has become the single most important element in dance of the last 35 years. In her review, Arlene Croce heralded Esplanade as conferring “a mythic dimension on ordinary aspects of our daily lives.”
I saw it in 1975 and was struck dumb by joy. That version is now available on YouTube, with the endlessly great original dancers.
Thank you, again.
Please note that this year the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism was awarded to a dance critic, Sarah Kaufman, who is employed full time by The Washington Post.
Excuse me, but isn’t Sarah Kaufman, who recently won a Pulitzer Prize for criticism, a full-time, i.e., dedicated dance critic for the Washington Post?
LW
Regina: The Washington Post’s Sarah Kaufman is a full-time dance critic employed by a major newspaper. She even won this year’s Pulitzer Prize for criticism.
Not to argue with your larger point. I tried to add an art reference with a painting of the Paul Taylor company by Willard Midgette from the early 1970s (called “Choreography,” now at the North Carolina School of the Arts), but I couldn’t locate the image I wanted.
Thanks Anne! I already corrected it. Fog rolled into my brain w/o me noticing.
Thank you for this. I wrote to Macaulay on this very subject but received no reply. On first viewing of the Morris work I found myself enraged by the blatant plagiarism from “Esplanade,” and other viewings only made me madder. In this Sunday’s piece about story ballets he did it again – appropriating a quote from Taylor (2 people on stage, one exits – the one who is exiting is, in the viewer’s perception, leaving the other)and crediting it to Cunningham. Thanks, too, for the Esplanade videos – they made me cry. Was there ever a greater group of dancers than that original cast? To use and overused term, a true Golden Age. I count myself lucky to have been there.
Hi Bob Y: I too feel lucky to have seen them, and yes, this dance and those dancers are the best.
It is shows like this that remind you that dancing is a true art form and not to be taken for granted.