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Erick Hawkins' Americaby Tom Clark; The Erick Hawkins Dance Company

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Page 1: Erick Hawkins' Americaby Tom Clark; The Erick Hawkins Dance Company

Erick Hawkins' America by Tom Clark; The Erick Hawkins Dance CompanyReview by: Jumay ChuNotes, Second Series, Vol. 54, No. 4 (Jun., 1998), pp. 976-977Published by: Music Library AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/900094 .

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Page 2: Erick Hawkins' Americaby Tom Clark; The Erick Hawkins Dance Company

NOTES, June 1998 NOTES, June 1998

the freest body." One section of the video is devoted to the history of the Duncan Dance Schools. Duncan hoped to educate the spirit as well as the body; the current school attempts to instill Duncan's spiritual vision, acknowledging how different it is from the aims and methods of contempo- rary dance. Many of the dancers perform- ing on the video had studied with Mantell- Seidel since the age of twelve and were, at taping, seventeen or eighteen years old. The students' attachment to the style of movement comes across especially well in the class work introduced by Daniel Lewis, dean of dance at the New World School of the Arts. The simple demonstrations of slow movements, walking, running, leap- ing, and skipping-as well as studio pieces in Dionysian style and in polka rhythm- give the most intimate view of the dancers' expressive connection to the movement.

The video shows excerpts from thirteen Duncan dances along with complete per-

the freest body." One section of the video is devoted to the history of the Duncan Dance Schools. Duncan hoped to educate the spirit as well as the body; the current school attempts to instill Duncan's spiritual vision, acknowledging how different it is from the aims and methods of contempo- rary dance. Many of the dancers perform- ing on the video had studied with Mantell- Seidel since the age of twelve and were, at taping, seventeen or eighteen years old. The students' attachment to the style of movement comes across especially well in the class work introduced by Daniel Lewis, dean of dance at the New World School of the Arts. The simple demonstrations of slow movements, walking, running, leap- ing, and skipping-as well as studio pieces in Dionysian style and in polka rhythm- give the most intimate view of the dancers' expressive connection to the movement.

The video shows excerpts from thirteen Duncan dances along with complete per-

formances of Slow Mazurka, Dance of the Blessed Spirits, and Dubinushka. Andrea Mantell-Seidel performs excerpts from Revolutionary Etude, revealing a darker side of Duncan's choreography.

Those who have seen sketches and pho- tos of Isadora Duncan will recognize in sev- eral of the dances the bent-legged skip, the upward reaching gesture, and the reclining posture and will see them brought to life through movement. Although the impact of Duncan's own performances cannot be reproduced, this video, a companion to Julia Levien's Duncan Dance: A Guide for Young People Ages Six to Sixteen (Pennington, N.J.: Princeton Book Company, 1994), is a sensitive and educational reconstruction of her work.

JOYCE MORGENROTH

Cornell University

formances of Slow Mazurka, Dance of the Blessed Spirits, and Dubinushka. Andrea Mantell-Seidel performs excerpts from Revolutionary Etude, revealing a darker side of Duncan's choreography.

Those who have seen sketches and pho- tos of Isadora Duncan will recognize in sev- eral of the dances the bent-legged skip, the upward reaching gesture, and the reclining posture and will see them brought to life through movement. Although the impact of Duncan's own performances cannot be reproduced, this video, a companion to Julia Levien's Duncan Dance: A Guide for Young People Ages Six to Sixteen (Pennington, N.J.: Princeton Book Company, 1994), is a sensitive and educational reconstruction of her work.

JOYCE MORGENROTH

Cornell University

Erick Hawkins' America. Narrated by Tom Clark. Dances performed by the Erick Hawkins Dance Company. A Dance Horizons Video. Pen- nington, N.J.: Princeton Book Co., 1992. (VHS; 58 minutes); ISBN 0-87127-181-8.

Erick Hawkins' America. Narrated by Tom Clark. Dances performed by the Erick Hawkins Dance Company. A Dance Horizons Video. Pen- nington, N.J.: Princeton Book Co., 1992. (VHS; 58 minutes); ISBN 0-87127-181-8.

Erick Hawkins' America is a clear and thoughtfully produced video of an impor- tant choreographer of modern dance. In fifty-eight minutes, it features Hawkins talking about his career with great spirit and warmth and includes short segments from four dances as well as two complete pieces. Together, these features describe with economy and precision the various sources of his inspiration and clearly dem- onstrate the body of his work. As such, this video would be an especially helpful text for the study of the history of modern dance.

Erick Hawkins's choreography and dance company are of particular impor- tance today: they were shaped by the aes- thetics of modern dance defined in the late 1940s and '50s, sensibilities that we con- tinue to try to understand in today's age of postmodernism. Hawkins speaks briefly yet passionately about the question of the in- dividual in society and the animal and nat- ural worlds around him-a philosophical theme that underlies all his work. He em- ploys Native American mythology, histor-

Erick Hawkins' America is a clear and thoughtfully produced video of an impor- tant choreographer of modern dance. In fifty-eight minutes, it features Hawkins talking about his career with great spirit and warmth and includes short segments from four dances as well as two complete pieces. Together, these features describe with economy and precision the various sources of his inspiration and clearly dem- onstrate the body of his work. As such, this video would be an especially helpful text for the study of the history of modern dance.

Erick Hawkins's choreography and dance company are of particular impor- tance today: they were shaped by the aes- thetics of modern dance defined in the late 1940s and '50s, sensibilities that we con- tinue to try to understand in today's age of postmodernism. Hawkins speaks briefly yet passionately about the question of the in- dividual in society and the animal and nat- ural worlds around him-a philosophical theme that underlies all his work. He em- ploys Native American mythology, histor-

ical events, and early American settings to work out his ideas about the human spirit and his theories of the beautiful. His use of music, closely integrated with the struc- ture of his dances, parallels the idea of the individual in harmony with the universe. This concept is central to his work; he firmly believed in choreographing to the music of living composers and performing with live musicians.

The video begins with a performance of Plains Daybreak (music by Alan Hovhaness) and ends with a performance of Classic Kite Tails (music by David Diamond). The video camera records these works from the house looking onto a proscenium stage, giving the viewer the sense of attending a formal dance concert. The colors of the lighting are sharp and rich, shaping the texture of the space as in live performance while adequately illuminating the dance well enough for a high-quality video recording. The camera moves just enough to prevent a static feeling, and the director does not interfere with the viewer's experience by imposing too many cuts. There are effec-

ical events, and early American settings to work out his ideas about the human spirit and his theories of the beautiful. His use of music, closely integrated with the struc- ture of his dances, parallels the idea of the individual in harmony with the universe. This concept is central to his work; he firmly believed in choreographing to the music of living composers and performing with live musicians.

The video begins with a performance of Plains Daybreak (music by Alan Hovhaness) and ends with a performance of Classic Kite Tails (music by David Diamond). The video camera records these works from the house looking onto a proscenium stage, giving the viewer the sense of attending a formal dance concert. The colors of the lighting are sharp and rich, shaping the texture of the space as in live performance while adequately illuminating the dance well enough for a high-quality video recording. The camera moves just enough to prevent a static feeling, and the director does not interfere with the viewer's experience by imposing too many cuts. There are effec-

976 976

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Page 3: Erick Hawkins' Americaby Tom Clark; The Erick Hawkins Dance Company

Video Reviews

tive clean shots of close-ups, with brief, sud- den cut-aways to the whole group. Indi- vidual dancers are cut close, but the sense of the entire composition on the stage is never lost.

The great strength of this video is the dancing, clearly and simply recorded. Touching briefly, but effectively, on some

of Hawkins's most important influences, the viewer comes away with a good un- derstanding of the beautiful in his dancing as well as in his choreography.

JUMAY CHU Cornell University

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