February 24, 1970
The N. C« Essay
Two Fridays ago the Duke Arts
Festival presented a performance of
the Mimi Garrard Dance Theatre as
the dance section of the Gestival's
"Interface: Art/Technology."
Appropriately enough, notices of
this were posted abundantly through
out the main building of NCSA
almost a week in advance (congrat
ulations, and thank you, whoever put
them up!). Two NCSA students managed
to attend the program. It seems
there was a lot going on at NCSA
that night, rehearsals and such—
so many were busily engrossed in
activities here on campus, and
others just didnjt feel the energy
to find a way to Durham, if they
were interested at all. Oh, well.
It was a good program. True,
Mimi Garrard is not a well-known
name around here, but the photo
graphs on the posters, and the des-
scription of her work made me inter
ested to see what she had to offer.
The program was not of a sort we
see often in North Carolina. Having
had training and experience mainly
at the Henry Street Playhouse, and
with Alwin Nikolais and Murray
Louis Companies, Miss Garrard has
been greatly influenced by these
choreographers. Thus her perform
ance included the presentation of
several experimental films, as well
as pieces which involved unique
lighting effects.
The evening began with Game^
danced to music from Mozart. Bodies
played with bodies a game of weight
changes and exchanges, shape
changes and exchanges, sometime
almost a game of body dominoes.
Initially I was negatively surprised,
but as the piece progressed, I
relaxed and got into it r finding
Game delightful fun, clever, and
unique.
Then followed five presentations,
including 2 films. Now, two
weeks later, I am enthusiastic
about the performance, but can't
seem to remember sufficient detail
to report to you adequately. I have
pictures in my head, mental after
images of the performance, and good
feelings about the evening, but
find it difficult to attempt to
communicate these. Wish you had been
there. Yes, you.
I do recall the final piece,
called FVuXj danced in plain
and colored unitards, with use of
5 screens (much like the "Screenplay"
screens). Miss Garrard describes it
as "an attempt to create a wholly
illusory space through projected
film images (the only source of
lighting in the dance) which are de
signed to integrate with and amplify
the dynamics of the choreography."
Projected film - backgrounds of
dots, horizontal and vertical lines,
multicolored lines, etc., created
unreal dimensions for the dancer to
move in - alternating with white-lit
heads moving in dark body-long
boxes on a dark stage.
Without special effects, Miss
Gar rard's chor eogr aphy would,
generally speaking, probably be un
exciting. Yet it is integrated well
with the lights, films, and props,
so that it forms a substantial whole.
A performance of Miss Garrard's
work is something which anyone who
is interested in cinedance should
experience.
ROCK'-" FILM
(Cont. from page 3)
not great rock, at least preserves the
humor of the music. Roger McGuinn's
Ballad of Easy Rider always shakes me.
The song flows like a river, like
Captain America's dream. But it also
has the reality. "All he wanted
was to be free and that's the way it
turned out to be." An overhead
shot shows the flames from Wyatt and
Billy's bikes and the film ends.
But many songs are predictable,
misused, or out of context. The Weight
is nice, but obvious. Hendrix's If
6 f/as 9 doesn't fit. The major mis
take (musically) is Dylan/McGuinn's
It's All Right Ma. The song's bitter
irony is missing in the scene (Wyatt
and Billy leaving New Orleans). It's
the right song for this crucial
point, but it fails, it's sense
of foreboding doesn't strike the
viewer/listener. Perhaps Dylan's
version should have been used in
stead of McGuinn's, although
Roger's is perfectly suitable on
record. A shame, for this could have
been a powerful mixing of rock with
film.
Thus, the music of Easy Rider
makes it on a general level, but
fails when it should really be
happening.
Although there have been some
fine things done with rock in film,
never has a solid, complete distill
ation of the two been fully realized.
Achievement has been sporadic, at
best. But with many good rock
people interested in film and top
directors anxious to work with them,
a solid amalgamation of the two is only
a matter of time. It will be an
important step for both forms, for
few medias have the potential for
commenting on and interpreting the
events of today.
Page 4
REVIEW
(Cont. from page 2)
which moved me. Bobby Johnson
and Linda Kent of the Ailey
Company, however, simply did not
give what the piece required. Their
performance was a crime. Perhaps
with deeper rehearsals and more’
maturity these two will be able to
dance Poeme as they should.
Technically, it was all there, but...
inner quality and involvement were
lacking.
I think we were disappointed
also that Leland Schwantes, who left
NCSA just last semester, and who is
Bobby Johnson's alternate for Poeme^
did not perform it that night.
Metallios3 choreographed by
Paul Sanasardo with music of Henk
Badkings and Henry Cowell, was third
on the evening's program. This was
an interesting interplay of props and
people, performed much more strongly
and closer to compellingly than
either Poeme olo Dance for Six.
Michele Murray, dressed in black,
moves around a cage-like hanging of
metal rods and a horizontal rod
supported by two metal blocks a few
inches high. She is invaded by a
couple dressed white. The relation
ship between the two and the one
begins as one of suspicion, moves to
insecurity, and finally develops to
a point where the two and the one
reach out to one another. Metallios
convinced me that Alley's dancers had
something to give.
The truly saving factor - and it
became more than saving, it was
exhiliarating - was the final pre
sentation, Revelationsy choreographed
by Ailey to Negro spirituals. In
the program notes, Ailey points out
the legacy of music which the American
Negro leaves us. "We being you
the exuberance of his jazz, the
ecstasy of his spirituals, and the
dark rapture of his blues." Revel
ations truly revealed the spirit, the
energy, and the excellance of Alley's
dancers! It was fun ~ it was
soulful — it made me want to dance.
It was in Revelations that Miguel
Godreau gained an NCSA fan club!
(In the beginning of the program,
he was the one who shocked the aud
ience to whispers with his long hair.)
Alley's choreography for Revelations
is strong, it has substance, it moves,
and it is appropriate.
The audience needed Revelations
at that point in the evening's pro
gram (probably the dancers did, too)—
and responded with a standing ovation.