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February 25, 2005

Heavenly Bodies

I led a small discussion group at Grace Cathedral last night on “Art and Spirit,” with a particular focus on dance. They asked me to bring videos, and I was happy to oblige. My participation was somewhat on the fly, so I reached for two perhaps predictable, certainly safe choices:

--Suzanne Farrell and Peter Martins dancing the opening pas de deux from Balanchine’s “Chaconne,” as included on the must-have Balanchine DVD.

--Paul Taylor dancing his solo from “Aureole” (spliced with footage of Patrick Corbin learning the role), as captured in the beautifully edited documentary Paul Taylor: Dancemaker.

Then, to spice things up, I finished with a less-than-ideal, commercially unavailable recording of the final section from Doug Elkins’ “Center My Heart.” It’s set to Islamic devotional songs but much of the movement clearly arises from Elkins’ hip-hop background. I think it’s gorgeous, but I have a hard time second guessing audiences, and I was worried the sub-par video wouldn’t allow the work’s beauty to shine through. I was wrong—the group members were thoroughly taken by it. And I was thrilled to share something I love.

Posted by Rachel at February 25, 2005 09:48 AM

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