Pilobolus Appears Oct. 11 at Mahaiwe in Great Barrington
Quizzing the Creators About Dance as Playful Art
By: Ken Ross - Sep 25, 2009
It "has a lot of arms" and its repertory is "constantly being fed," according to Jonathan Wolken during a recent phone interview.
What is this creature? And where can you find it?
On Oct. 11 at 7 p.m., head to the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center in Great Barrington. There, on the theater's stage, you'll find this hard to define and difficult to spell creature known as Pilobolus, which Wolken helped co-found in 1971 while a student at Dartmouth College.
Technically, Pilobolus is a modern dance company. But for those who have seen the Connecticut-based group before, they know it's much more than that. For nearly four decades, this group named after a type of fungus grown in cow manure has been mixing together dance, theater, acrobatics, contortionism and illusion to create highly entertaining, unique works of moving art that have legions of fans around the world.
"It's our brand," Wolken said.
What makes brand unique? How can you spot a typical Pilobolus dance? "It has every kind of bend," Wolken said. The performers are also "physically brave on stage. I think we are a more physical company than many dance companies."
The company is also not afraid to experiment and try something new. "Our vocabulary is really invented for each dance," Wolken said, adding that the company's vocabulary "can be wildly inventive.
"I think Pilobolus has broken the bounds of a lot of movement vocabulary," Wolken said. "When we go into the studio, we pretty much do what we like."
Often, they create moving sculptures with their intertwined bodies. Other times, they slide across the stage covered with water like gleeful children. Or they scamper about like children or move around the stage like a giant wheel or animal made of people. And whether you realize it or not, you've probably already seen some of their amazing creations.
The group has performed at three Olympic games (most recently, the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City), in a car commercial for Hyundai, another one for Ford and Volkswagen, as well as commercials for American Express, the NFL and on numerous television programs, including "The Tonight Show" and "60 Minutes."
And during the 2007 Academy Awards show, Pilobolus performers created shadow-like images for various movies nominated that year for Oscars.
Not bad for a group founded by a bunch of young, ex-jocks who first performed in public before a Frank Zappa concert at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
Recently, Pilobolus created a new work using shadow puppet-like techniques similar to the work created for the 2007 Oscars. Entitled "Shadowland," the new work is being premiered this month in Madrid, Spain and performed again in October in Zurich, Switzerland.
In Great Barrington, Pilobolus will perform a variety of pieces, Wolken said, including "Lanterna Magica," "Gnomen," "Men's Quartet" and "Megawatt."
New pieces are constantly being created, Wolken said. Specifically, the company normally creates three to four new works a year. So where do the dances come from? A particular piece of music? A specific movement? A certain idea?
"The answer is yes," Wolken said, adding, "The art of making a dance is kind of like addressing a canvas. You start to move. You start to invent. You play.
"I think a lot of what we do in the studio is serious play," Wolken added. And rather than ordering dancers around, Wolken said he encourages input from the dancers. Some of the finished works have stories. Others are "more scenarios," Wolken said, adding, "Most are really combinations of these things."
But no matter what they do, it's always entertaining. "I don't think anyone wants to be bored," Wolken said.
Tickets for Pilobolus' performance at Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center cost $50 to $75 each, $30 for students. To order tickets or for more information, call (413) 528-0100. Tickets can also be ordered on line at http://www.mahaiwe.org/dance.html
Ken Ross has been writing professionally about dance for more than a decade. He lives in Western Massachusetts. He can be reached at kenrossnow@hotmail.com