Pilobolus: Other Worlds Collection

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What has happened to Pilobolus?

Two programs, A and B, under the umbrella title “Other Worlds Collection,” made up the repertory during this visit to NYC.

If Program A at The Joyce Theater is any indication, the troupe has become—yipes!—a dance company:  no gimmicks, no mirrors; no feathers; no shadow play; no nudity; and, worst of all, no sense of humor.

Program A was particularly lacking in the last-listed quality, four works that took gloom and mystery to new heights (depths?).

“Tales from the Underworld” was the first of four works, created by many artists to an eerie music composition by Stuart Bogie.  The entire troupe of six, dressed in skin-tight red outfits decorated with black strips (by Valerie St. Pierre Smith), moved in a world dominated by murky red illumination (designed by Thom Weaver).  A white, translucent cloth was carried about as the dancers pursued each other in slow motion, covering each other in this cloth.  Somehow Weaver focused his lights to make the dancers appear to be drowning in a sea of red light.  The mood was mysterious, but emotionally diffuse.

“Awaken Heart” was performed by four dancers and was also assembled by a committee of choreographers to a score featuring sad piano music, its filmy costumes created by St. Pierre Smith.  Two women—Hannah Klinkman and Jessica Robling—and two men—Connor Chaparro and Ryan Hayes—formed ever shifting couples coming together in a clever pinwheel formation as they switched.  Pileups morphed into couplings:  lifts, drags, slow motion walks.  Helped by Diane Ferry Williams’ moody, smoky lighting, “Awaken Heart” managed to communicate angst with no beginning or end.

With its direct reference to a work by modern dance giant Martha Graham, “Lamentation Variations” stood out in a program of unfocused drama.  Performed in a series of Variations, “Lamentation” began with the six dancers all piled up under a huge white cloth upon which was projected the image of Graham, herself, performing the original “Lamentation” (although she always denied that this film was an accurate representation of one of her most famously mocked and revered works).  The multi-sourced score included classical tidbits and songs like “By the Light of the Silvery Moon,” and supported a series of short segments, mostly using the white cloth, to take Graham’s movement themes—limited by her being ensconced in a tight tube of cloth—and add agitation and sensuality.

The final work was “Sweet Purgatory” performed to a chamber symphony composed by Dimitri Shostakovich. Here the contributions of some of the original Pilobolus founders were evident in the muscular, ever-changing groupings that had the feeling of a community performing a ritual, helped by the warmth of the Shostakovich score.  Besides the four dancers previously mentioned “Sweet Purgatory” was danced Isaac Huerta and Darren Robinson, all in the nearly nude costumes by Lawrence Casey decorated beautifully by Martin Izquierdo Studios.

All the dancers displayed the muscular grace that is the foundation of this troupe.  Although the trickery and trompe l’oeil displayed in other programs wasn’t in evidence, these six dancers, under the artistic direction of Renée Jaworski and Matt Kent, made the most of the choreography.

Pilobolus, formed in 1971 by students at Dartmouth, always approached dance in an intellectual way.  They created works by committee, often as many as ten dancers committing to the creation of a work, like all the works on Program A.  Occasionally a masterpiece emerged, but usually, the lack of a single artistic vision hindered the artistic growth.  Without the special, quirky bits, the company loses some of it character.

Pilobolus: Other Worlds Collection (through July 13, 2025)

The Joyce Theater, 175 Eighth Avenue, in Manhattan

For tickets, call 212-242-0800 or visit http://www.Joyce.org

Running time: 90 minutes including one intermission