Sensual Animated Graphics

Summer Spontaneity

For those of us who were around when Pilobolus—an ensemble of imaginative collegiate free spirits founded at Dartmouth who explored the possibilities of linked bodies in clever, often sexy ways—was new on the scene, it’s hard to accept that this feisty ensemble is now middle-aged. But the troupe has hit the ripe age of 40. The one-time renegade bunch now proudly identifies itself in a program note as “a stable and influential force in the world of dance.” The passing of time has indeed made Pilobolus Dance Theatre (to use its full, official name) an institution—and kudos to them for weathering the dance world’s cyclical ups and downs over four decades. As a further sign of middle age, they’ve even, sadly, endured the loss of one member of that creative first generation—Jonathan Wolken, who died last year at 60. Their annual four-week season at the Joyce is a mainstay of the summer dance calendar, and once again they are back with three programs, each featuring a new work.

Collaboration has long been the Pilobolus modus operandi, with the creative credit for each dance often going not just to a choreographer (or two) but to the original cast of dancers. Improvisation and a spirit of free play is crucial to their process, and the results were often marked by a sense of spontaneous discovery, with bodies shaped and manipulated to create surprising, revelatory effects. In recent years, their focus on collaboration has expanded as they developed works with artists from other disciplines or from very different areas of the dance world. These have ranged from Maurice Sendak to Art Spiegelman to Steven Banks. Some of the resulting pieces have revealed an admirable meeting of the minds ( A Selection —a trio for a male dancer and two airborne robots. Matt del Rosario, with his long, flowing hair, wearing only a thong, seems to embody Natural Man as he enters the darkened stage with a small flashlight attached to one hand, seemingly sending out signals in the hope of communication. He encounters the first of the two whizzing, buzzing X-shaped creatures, flashing blue lights, with initial wariness, even fear. After some mutual exploration, man and robot seem to reach an understanding, but just then a second robot—red lights flashing angrily—swoops in from the wings like a jealous lover. Further standoffs, then cooperation, ensue. The alliances shift and evolve, supported by the appropriately rhythmic and dramatic accompaniment of Schubert’s gorgeous Andante from his Trio No. 2 in E Flat, a good choice. , a meditative, sensual 1978 duet by Alison Chase set to a hauntingly simple flute score by Riley Lee. Performed with riveting focus by Jordan Kriston and Nile Russell, it is an eloquent example of the troupe’s early work, and can be seen as a template for much that came afterwards.