ENIGMATIC DANCE (FROM WEEKEND IN N.Y.)

This article originally appeared in the Culture section of Bloomberg News on July 21, 2006.

July 21 (Bloomberg) — Saburo Teshigawara, who performs his “Bones in Pages” at the Rose Theater through Saturday as part of the Lincoln Center Festival, is billed as choreographer, dancer, designer and collaborating composer.

You might also call the visitor from Japan a standup philosopher. This 55-minute solo means something, though the something remains enigmatic.

The installation invites decoding. It includes a wide, high wall of books with fanned-out pages, a large collection of derelict shoes, a table piled with jagged glass shards and a live crow.

`Sculpting Air’

Teshigawara’s dancing alternates movement that’s infinitely delicate and slow — almost to the point of stasis — with swift, spasmodically violent activity. In interviews, the artist talks about “sculpting air.”

The production is essentially a one-man show. Now and then Teshigawara is abetted by two women, whom the irreverent may associate with old-time magician’s assistants. Viewers more susceptible to Teshigawara’s aesthetic will be conjured into thinking deep thoughts.

© 2006 Bloomberg L.P. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission.