If the anticipation is all, it’s only fair to add that it can also lead to disappointment. I wish that I could be more enthusiastic about Serenade/The Proposition, the current work by Bill T. Jones, playing at Jacob’s Pillow, July 21-25.
The
company of twelve is as powerful as any I have seen and the interaction of
dance, spoken word, song and video is always engaging. But the sixty-minute
presentation lacks an emotional and/or intellectual centre.
The opening moments, during which a male dancer enters and challenges his space with movements of exquisite grace and power, are a highlight. As he is joined by the rest of the dancers, the signature Jones choreography – aggressive, eclectic and without any predictable pattern, generates a level of excitement that dissipates much too soon. The original music, by Jerome Begin, Lisa Komara and Christopher Antonio William Lancaster, complements the dance passages. It is less successful with the vocal treatments. The spoken word, a blend of documented excerpts and original text by Jones, himself, also worked against the piece. Collage-like, quietly moving in the dance’s final sequence, the return to the lecterns at both sides of the stage throughout grew tiresome.
To judge by the audience reaction, mine is very much a minority opinion. To repeat – I am a great admirer of this man and his work. And there is no avoiding the fact that every piece of art cannot thrill. Still, there is no doubt that Serenade/The Proposition challenges and stimulates. There is also no doubt that the anticipation of the next Bill T. Jones project will generate no less enthusiasm or anticipation.
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