{"id":4347,"date":"2016-07-03T16:39:57","date_gmt":"2016-07-03T20:39:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/dancebeat\/?p=4347"},"modified":"2016-07-04T10:52:17","modified_gmt":"2016-07-04T14:52:17","slug":"enter-the-men","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/dancebeat\/2016\/07\/enter-the-men\/","title":{"rendered":"Enter The Men"},"content":{"rendered":"

10 Hairy Legs presents work by four choreographers at New York Live Arts.<\/p>\n

\"Doug

Doug Varone’s mark<\/em> for 10 Hairy Legs. (L to R): Derek Crescenti, Tony Bordonaro, Alex Biegelson, and William Tomaskovic. Photo: Rachel Neville<\/p><\/div>\n

There\u2019s a problem. Well, not much of one. Randy James gave the name\u00a010 Hairy Legs to the all-male company he founded in 2012 . I counted twelve legs (and won\u2019t debate the hairiness quotient).<\/p>\n

Obviously, I don\u2019t recommend a name change, but I bring it up because I wish that the program I saw at New York Live Arts had included a work for all six of the engaging performers. Instead it consisted of two duets (one by David Parker, one by Tiffany Mills) and two quartets (by Doug Varone and by Megan Williams). Perhaps practical considerations (such as no long waits between dances) dictated the casting. . . .<\/p>\n

\"William

William Tomaskovic (upside down) and Derek Crescenti of 10 Hairy Legs in David Parker’s Slapstuck<\/em>. Photo: Rachel Neville<\/p><\/div>\n

Except for the opening work, Parker\u2019s Slapstuck<\/em>, all were premieres. Slapstuck <\/em>has a deliciously nutty premise. It takes a while to discover that the outfits of these two rivalrous fellows (Derek Crescenti and William Tomaskovic) are loaded with Velcro. The only sound beside the men\u2019s stamps and claps is that wrenching apart of the broad strips sewn to their costumes whenever they come together. As the boisterous soft shoe number they attempt expands, problems develop. One man, stuck to another, can be carried along like an unanticipated burden. Crescenti, flailing unwisely, becomes stuck to himself and can only get free with a might ripping noise. Among the surprises (to the men as to us): their hand grip proves to have illusory glue, and wherever one wishes to go, the other may be yanked along. Slapstuck <\/em>is hilarious, but it also sends a firm little message about partnership and its liabilities.<\/p>\n

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\"Tiffany

Tiffany Mills’ Should We Go? <\/em>Peter Whitehead (L) and Kyle Marshall astride Robert Mark Burke. Photo: Rachel Neville<\/p><\/div>\n

Mills\u2019 Should We Go?<\/em> turns out to have been inspired by Samuel Beckett\u2019s play Waiting for Godot. <\/em>I hadn\u2019t read the program note noting it as a \u201cspringboard\u201d before the piece began, but the themes of waiting and of a long-term relationship are evident from the beginning. Robert Mark Burke lounges on a park bench. Kyle Marshall stands near the chair where composer Peter Whitehead will sit to play his guitar, sing, and twiddle dials. Time hangs heavy. Burke gets playful with the shoes he has evidently removed, holding one to his ear as if it were a cell phone. Marshall tosses socks at him, and he responds by trying to put it on over his shoe, once he has figured out that it is<\/em> a shoe. Had I read the program first, I might have identified this as a delaying tactic, instead of wondering if Burke\u2019s character was meant to be childish.<\/p>\n

I enjoy Whitehead\u2019s guitar playing and quiet singing of his own compositions, although I wonder what this character is doing here in this place with these two guys he\u2019s watching intently. Maybe he\u2019s just another Central Park denizen who has gotten curious. At some point, however, you realize the lyrics are relevant; he sings of waiting for something that never comes.<\/p>\n

\"Kyle

Kyle Marshall (L) and Robert Mark Burke of 10 Hairy Legs in Should We Go?<\/em> Photo: Rachel Neville<\/p><\/div>\n

Burke and Marshall depict what seems to be end-of-the-line lassitude and fiddling-around with charm and skill. These men\u2019s relationship to each other appears to be more one of tolerance than one of love. They share the bench, but aren\u2019t above nudging each other off. One man\u2019s hand rests on the other\u2019s knee, one\u2019s head on the other\u2019s shoulder. Burke leans over and (briefly) makes Marshall\u2019s lap his pillow. They scour the horizon, point in different directions: which way to go? They look up: will it rain?<\/p>\n

A diversion of sorts occurs when Burke pulls carrots out of a bag near Whitehead and starts tossing them around, as if he\u2019s looking for something better. They\u2019re edible, so that\u2019s something. Marshall tries to leave but is pulled back. At one point, the two perform separate, mildly tantrummy dancing. But that\u2019s not what you remember about this work of Mills\u2019 (to which Burke and Marshall contributed). It\u2019s the engaging \u2014if sometimes a bit too whimsical\u2014behavior of the two and the naturalness with which the performers confront their roles.<\/p>\n

\"Doug

Doug Varone’s mark<\/em>. (L to R): Alex Biegelson, Tony Bordonaro, William Tomaskovic, and Derek Crescenti of 10 Hairy Legs. Photo; Rachel Neville<\/p><\/div>\n

Varone\u2019s mark<\/em> mates strongly designed movements with cool precision. Alex Biegelson, Tony Bordonaro, Crescenti, and Tomaskovic wear tight shorts and t-shirts in shades of blue and gray, and Amanda K. Ringger has lit the dark back wall of New York Live Arts until it glows blue too. Yet the initial sound (Holly Herndon\u2019s Terminal<\/em>) announces catastrophe the minute the piece begins. You imagine a bucket load of gravel being forcefully emptied, then another, then another, before a rhythm sets in.<\/p>\n

The only thing that\u2019s clear about the title is that Varone doesn\u2019t want us to think that it\u2019s somebody\u2019s name, and definitions of the word take up too much dictionary space to focus on one. However, it is <\/em>clear that these are agile men collaborating. For instance, three catch one and lift him. They\u2019re watchful\u2014ready to integrate themselves into a design that\u2019s forming, to follow a leader. They send gestural signals. One moment, each is dancing his own steps; the next moment they\u2019ve slipped into unison or two-part counterpoint.<\/p>\n

But Herndon\u2019s other two startling pieces of music are also dangerous sounding. Interlude<\/em>\u2019s burblings and gulpings keep being choked off, and the intermittent soprano voice of Dao<\/em> contends with spattering percussion. And while the men, trot, run, prance, leap, and raise their legs like flags, they also do some edgier things, such as raising fisted hands overhead, crawling, rolling, and crouching bent over, as if they\u2019ve been punched in the gut. Their projected shadows tangle on the wall behind them. As the lights slowly fade, our last image is of them kneeling, their heads dropped to their chests. In retrospect, I wonder whether this sometimes playful ordeal is an abstraction of sports.<\/p>\n

\"Megan

Megan Williams’ Quadrivium<\/em> for 10 Hairy Legs. (L to R): Robert Mark Burke, William Tomaskovic, Alex Biegelson, and Derek Crescenti. Photo: Rachel Neville<\/p><\/div>\n

The cast of Williams\u2019s Quadrivium <\/em>differs from Varone\u2019s mark<\/em> by one man. Burke joins Biegelson, Crescenti, and Tomaskovic. The accompaniment is Steve Reich\u2019s New York Counterpoint<\/em>, and and Jason Flamos\u2019s lighting creates a warm place. The men\u2019s everyday casual attire is credited to Naomi Luppescu.<\/p>\n

These guys want us to like them and aren\u2019t sure we will. At least, that\u2019s how I read the initial movement, when they stand shoulder to shoulder, close to the first row, and inspect us. Occasionally one of them gives a small, uncertain smile. OK, guys we\u2019re with you, and \u2014as Reich\u2019s initial sounds ring out\u2014we can tell by the group hug that these are buddies. That they hold hands as a foursome and in pairs to spin confirms this, as do the way their tricky individual paths come together in elaborate counterpoint. They face one another and practice leaning as far to the side as they can without falling.<\/p>\n

Williams has fitted her springy, well-designed choreography intrepidly to Reich\u2019s insistent rhythms (a strong repeating section in \u00be time incites big, scooping-the-air steps). I suspect that she has not named her dance after the four areas of study laid out in the sixth century (arithmetic, geometry, music, and astronomy), but instead treated \u201cquadrivium\u201d in its more basic meaning as simply as a place where four ways meet. Which in this case they do\u2014pleasantly, cleverly, and with good humor.<\/p>\n

\"Here's

Here’s looking at us. (L to R): Derek Crescenti, Alex Biegelson, Robert Mark Burke, and William Tomaskovic in Megan Williams’ Quadrivium<\/em>. Photo: Rachel Neville<\/p><\/div>\n

Varone and Williams chose, it seems to me, a structure that has a built-in difficulty. A group of four doesn\u2019t present many spatial options: two and two, three and one, all four. The spacing readily suggests compass points, a card game, a doubles match, two couples. Decades ago, the pioneering choreographer Doris Humphrey decreed that symmetry could be \u201clifeless\u201d and should be used with discretion. I\u2019m not saying that these two choreographers didn\u2019t cope admirably with that difficulty or that I quibble over artistic director James’s choices. It’s just that I look forward to seeing what ten nimble hairy legs onstage together can do.<\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

10 Hairy Legs presents work by four choreographers at New York Live Arts. There\u2019s a problem. Well, not much of one. Randy James gave the name\u00a010 Hairy Legs to the all-male company he founded in 2012 . I counted twelve legs (and won\u2019t debate the hairiness quotient). Obviously, I don\u2019t recommend a name change, but […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4352,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6,1],"tags":[2153,2158,1083,2151,653,2159,1266,2088,2160,133,2156,2155,1151,2157,812,2152,2154],"class_list":{"0":"post-4347","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-postmodern-new-york","8":"category-uncategorized","9":"tag-alex-biegelson","10":"tag-amanda-k-ringger","11":"tag-david-parker","12":"tag-derek-crescenti","13":"tag-doug-varone","14":"tag-jason-ramos","15":"tag-kyle-marshall","16":"tag-mary-kokie-mcnaugher","17":"tag-megan-williams","18":"tag-new-york-live-arts","19":"tag-randy-james","20":"tag-robert-mark-burke","21":"tag-steve-reich","22":"tag-ten-hairy-legs","23":"tag-tiffany-mills","24":"tag-tony-bordonaro","25":"tag-william-tomaskovic","26":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/dancebeat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4347","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/dancebeat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/dancebeat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/dancebeat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/dancebeat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4347"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/dancebeat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4347\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4361,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/dancebeat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4347\/revisions\/4361"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/dancebeat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4352"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/dancebeat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4347"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/dancebeat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4347"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/dancebeat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4347"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}