BWW Reviews: Pilobolus Dance Theatre Captivates MPAC Audience

Pilobolus Dance Theatre had a one show only performance at the Mayo Performing Arts Center (MPAC) in Morristown on Friday, April 19^th, and the audience was intrigued. Once again, MPAC's spring line-up included a dance performance that gave area audiences a chance to experience culture at its best. Morristown theatergoers realized the power of their own imaginations as they viewed the creative talents of this unique company.

Pilobolus is a modern performance company, founded in 1971. In keeping with its fundamentally collective creative process, Pilobolus Dance Theatre now curates and convenes groups of diverse artists---including the MIT Distributed Robotics Laboratory, Art Spiegelman, OK Go, Radiolab, and many others---to make inventive, athletic, witty, collaborative performance works on stage and screen, using the human body as a medium for expression. Pilobolus makes art to build community. It teaches its group-based creative process to performers and non-dancers alike through popular, unique educational projects and programs.

On Saturday, Pilobolus opened the show at MPAC with an exciting combination of grace, athleticism, and acrobatics in their piece, Automoton. This new collaboration with the internationally renowned choreographer, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, resulted in a cyborg of a dance that questions the difference between human and machine. With the use of three large mirrors as props, Pilobolus dancers moved seamlessly between their roles, and proved the fact that the company works perfectly as a collective.

Admittedly, my favorite piece of the evening was the second dance, Skyscrapers. Based on original choreography by Trish Sie for the music video "Skyscrapers for OK Go in 2012, the Pilobolus performers danced in pairs across the stage. The grace of the tango and the raw emotion of street dance designed the romantic elements and connections between the pairs. The colorful costuming by Phoebe Katzin and Trish Sie, and brilliant ever changing video background by Paula Shalhany, complemented the works.

The first half of the program finished with Symbiosis, a male-female duet. The depth of the relationship between the two creatures was sensuous and curious as they intertwined their bodies in seemingly impossible, but beautiful movements. Choreographed by Michael Tracy, Symbiosis is an emotional investigation that succeeds in questioning the mystery of living romance.

Pilolobus continued the program with All Is Not Lost, which was created by OK Go, Pilobolus and Trish Sie in collaboration with Pilobolus dancers Shawn Ahern, Winston Dynamite Brown, Matt Del Rosario, Andy Herro, Eriko Jimbo, Jordan Kriston, Jun Kuribayashi and Nile Russell. All Is Not Lost is the live companion to Pilobolus' video collaboration with the Grammy-winning band, OK Go. Playing with multiple perspectives, gravity, and dimensionality, the piece changes the way we look at dance through a kaleidoscopic view of human connection. The unique movement perspective was displayed with the clever use of a camera located beneath a raised glass surface. The performers, dressed in pure white, developed their "kaleidoscope" with simple, perfectly orchestrated group movements. All Is Not Lost proves the company's innovative approach to movement using the most creative technical elements available.

The program finished with Rushes and the audience learned first-hand how much can be done with a dozen chairs and six talented dancers. Rushes is the result of Inbal Pinto and Avshalom Pollak's collaboration with Pilobolus Assistant Director, Robby Barnett, and the entire company. The dance and movement were a depiction of an isolated community of broken dreams. And the piece itself serves as another breakthrough for Pilobolus Dance Theatre's constantly morphing aesthetic.

One of the most extraordinary facets of the Pilobolus Dance Theatre is their video presentations. Ants, motorcycles, streams of light, a lawnmower on a carpet, and indoor fireworks were just some of the moments in video that preceded the dance performances. Pilolobus Dance Theatre is a treasure for the dance enthusiast, those whose enjoy imagiNative Theatre, and for people who admire the clever melding of technical innovation with art.

Metropolitan area audiences will enjoy the eclectic variety of professional dance, theater, and music presentations at the Mayo Performing Arts Center during the month of May. Located at 100 South St, in Morristown, the theater is easily reached by mass transit or by car, with generous parking in the area. For ticketing and more information on upcoming shows, visit their website at www.mayoarts.org. or call (973) 539-8008.

Photo Credit: John Kane