![](https://knightfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/pilobolus2-1024x944_8.jpg?w=1024)
Pilobolus entwined
I’ve always found sweaty, entwined (possibly naked) bodies one of the most challenging forms of artistic expression. Sometimes things can get awkward, but not when said bodies belong to the incredibly talented dancers from Pilobolus. Pilobolus is an experimental dance company created out of Dartmouth College in 1971. In case you’re bad at math, that’s 40 years of dance experience and experimentation. Its headquarters are in Washington Depot, Conn., but its performed for stage and television, both nationally and internationally.
Its work has appeared in the repertoires of Joffrey Ballet Company, Aspen/Santa Fe Ballets, the Ballet National de Nancy et de Lorraine, among other amazing dance companies. For those of us a little less cultured (although pop-culture counts, right?), its also danced on popular shows like “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” and “The Oprah Winfrey Show.” It believes in “collaborative performance using the human body as a medium for expression.” While this is a lofty and commendable ideal, I have to admit I’m interested in the acrobatics, athletics, shadow play and wit of its dance routine.
Alastair Macaulay from the New York Times reviewed Pilobolus: “How many things can be made of a somersault! With Pilobolus Dance Theatre … acrobatics are liquefied into poetry, [and] the somersault prove as basic as the upright stance …” How many things can be made out of a summersault? What does liquefied poetry look like? Is the upright stance really basic? There’s only one way to find out. The Arsht Center, a Knight Arts grantee, hosts Pilobolus’s debut on March 2 and 3, 2012 at 8 p.m. You may even learn a somersault trick or two. But, please, don’t try these moves at home.
To learn more about Pilobolus and to see it in action, visit its website at www.pilobolus.com. It showcases stunning photos of the dancers. It also contains a history of the dance company, its artistic intent and its desire to use “art to build community … teach[ing] its group-based creative process to performers and non-dancers alike through popular, unique educational projects and programs.” To preview some of its work, you can visit its film channel at www.youtube.com/user/PilobolusDance.
March 2 & 3, 2012 at 8 p.m., Arsht Center, 1300 Biscayne Blvd., Miami, Fla. 33132, Tickets: $25 to $90. For reservations, visit www.arshtcenter.org or call the box office at (305) 949-6722. Visit www.arshtcenter.org for up-to-date information, details and schedules.
Recent Content
-
Artsarticle ·
-
Artsarticle ·
-
Artsarticle ·