White Oak at Dance Center of Columbia College, Chicago, November 18, 2000

The White Oak Dance Project has been touring the country with Past Forward, an evening comprised of old and new dances by members of the original Judson Dance Theatre. After performances in a number of American cities, the program was presented at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York, June 2001. Below are perspectives on Past Forward by two critics who saw earlier performances in Tempe, Arizona, and Chicago.

The highlight of the season at the new Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago was a week of performances by Baryshnikov's White Oak Dance Project. Having seen White Oak several years ago in New York, I was expecting a repertory of classic modern dance--Hanya Holm, or perhaps a recently acquired Graham work. Like all serious artists, however, Baryshnikov constantly seeks the next challenge. In his latest endeavor, Past Forward, he produces a wide variety of works by the vanguard of postmodern dance: Trisha Brown, Steve Paxton, Yvonne Rainer, Simone Forti, David Gordon, Lucinda Childs, and Deborah Hay. These choreographers began their explorations in the sixties. In keeping with the iconoclastic spirit of that decade, they rebelled against classic dance (i.e., ballet and modern) and questioned the traditional aesthetics of the art form. It all started at Merce Cunningham's studio. A major innovator himself, Cunningham had left the drama of Graham far behind when he began creating his own experiments in the late forties. By the time this new generation of students arrived, he had formed his concept of chance dance and had been collaborating with John Cage for years. Dance composition at Cunningham was taught by Robert and Judy Dunn, he an accompanist and she a company member. Their students wanted a place to show off what they were learning, and Judson Church became that venue.

When I saw the Dance Center's press release for White Oak, my first reaction was, why Judson Church? Postmodern experimental dance seemed an unlikely project for the prince of classical ballet. My question was soon answered by Charles Atlas's film, narrated by Baryshnikov and interspersed throughout the program: he wanted to "indulge [his] curiosity." He became acquainted with the work of these seven choreographers at a benefit in 1999, almost 40 years after their inauspicious beginnings. (In fact, audience members can find out just how inauspicious by reading vintage reviews by such noted critics as Clive Barnes and Jack Anderson, posted in an adjoining gallery.) What Baryshnikov lacks in awareness he makes up for in enthusiasm. He wants to tell the story of the Judson, to bring the work to a wider audience than was originally possible, and to ensure that its role in dance history is not overlooked. My second thought was that these works would surely lose their rawness and become presentational, but I should have known better. Like Madonna who's name also begins with an M, Misha has the capability to constantly reinvent himself and, along with that, his company. The new White Oak is younger, hipper, more multicultural. Its six core dancers come from a variety of backgrounds: New York City Ballet to Bill T. Jones. Considering their wealth of technical training, they do an admirable job of hiding it. There is no hint of virtuosity in the movement, and the focus is the choreography, not the individual performers.

That being said, the group's range of experience is not unapparent; their beauty comes across in the subtlety of a gesture, or the kinetic fluidity of a fall. Interestingly, Baryshnikov is the most self-effacing and, at the same time, the least self-conscious. At turns he is awkward, goofy, vulnerable. If you go to Past Forward expecting him to be beautiful, you will be disappointed. About half the pieces in Past Forward are several decades old; the other half was...