ItzhakPERLMANTICKETS AVAILABLE AT UTPAC.ORG,THE BASS CONCERT HALL TICKETOFFICE, 800.982.BEVO, AND ALLTEXAS BOX OFFICE OUTLETS,INCLUDINGMOST H-E-B STORES.GROUPS: 512.471.064834 T H E A U S T I N C H R O N I C L E MARCH <strong>27</strong>, <strong>2009</strong> a u s t i n c h r o n i c l e . c o m*** If this is on a dark or colored background, just makethe entire logo reverse to white
THEarts36 David Mark Cohen New Works Festival 40 After a Fashion 74 Arts ListingsPAUL TAYLOR DANCE COMPANYForget the labels, enjoy the dance<strong>The</strong> origin of modern dance is usually attributed to thebarefoot dance-makers who rebelled against ballet from the1930s to the early 1960s. After that, the Judson Churchmovement (which included <strong>Austin</strong>’s own Deborah Hay) usheredin the new avant-garde, further unraveling dance. Nowwe are in the era of contemporary dance, an overarchingphrase synonymous with “postmodern dance” and rooted inNew York City’s downtown art scene of the 1980s. It owedmuch to the explorations of Judson Church but with renewedtechnique and inventive formalism.As history is not always neat and linear, labels don’talways apply. For more than 50 years, choreographer PaulTaylor has been making masterful dances, and when hiscompany performs next Wednesday at Bass Concert Hall,distinctions between modern and contemporary dance willblur. What makes Taylor interesting is that he is both behindand ahead of the times simultaneously.In 1957, Taylor presented his radical 7 New Dances, predatingthe Judson Church revolution. During one section,Taylor stood silently on stage for several minutes withoutmoving his body or even blinking his eyes. (Keep in mindthat John Cage’s infamous 4’33” debuted only five yearsearlier.) Responding in kind, Louis Horst’s review consistedof 4 inches of blank white space, mentioning only Taylor andthe theatre’s name. Touché.Taylor was, like Merce Cunningham, a Martha Grahamdancer who went on to establish his own company.Cunningham veered to the edges and became known as theintelligent, arty one. With the exception of works like 7 NewDances that broke form, Taylor more often than not chosethe middle of the road, trying to please audiences along theway. He struck gold with great, influential works such as“Esplanade,” “Cloven Kingdom,” “Company B,” and“Promethean Fire.”Taylor once said he “had no idea what modern dance wasanymore.” Over the years, audiences have witnessed therange of Taylor possibilities: serious, traditional, humorous,human – all with a grand sophistication. To really understandall the styles of Paul Taylor, one need only to look atformer Taylor dancers who have become respected choreographersthemselves: Laura Dean, Twyla Tharp, Dan Wagoner,Senta Driver, David Parsons. It’s as if each extrapolated aparticular Taylorism and singularly built upon it.In <strong>Austin</strong>, Paul Taylor Dance Company will perform threenew works featuring the choreographer’s contemplativeside. “De Sueños (Of Dreams)” and “De Sueños Que SeRepiten (Of Recurring Dreams)” are companion pieces intertwiningMexican culture and Jung’s collective unconscious.With lighting designer extraordinaire Jennifer Tipton, SantoLoquasto’s fantastic costumes and sets, and the music of“De Sueños Que Se Repiten”Kronos Quartet, Taylor creates an extravagant hallucinogenicworld. “Beloved Renegade,” inspired by Walt Whitman andset to choral music by Francis Poulenc, was hailed by <strong>The</strong>New York Times as “one of the great achievements of Mr.Taylor’s long career and one of the most eloquently texturedfeats of his singular imagination.”Opportunities to see large touring dance companies in<strong>Austin</strong> are few. Taylor is one of the last remaining titans of abygone era of dance that is still extremely fresh and relevant.It is worth a night out to the theatre. – Andrew LongPaul Taylor Dance Company will perform Wednesday, April 1, 8pm, atBass Concert Hall, East 23rd & Robert Dedman Drive, on the UT campus.For more information, call 477-6060 or visit www.utpac.org.ANTON NEL‘Do I have the piano for you!’Anton Nel really likes the new Hamburg Steinway at theLong Center for the Performing Arts. And why shouldn’t he?He picked it out himself.Three years ago, the celebrated concert pianist and professorof piano at UT’s Butler School of Music was playinghis regular summer gig at the Aspen Music Festival, where,he says, truckloads of Steinways are brought down fromNew York every year. And upon playing this one particularHamburg Steinway, he was, he says, “completely smittenwith it. It was the funniest thing, because I play lots of pianos,and I’m blasé about these things now.” But this onewas so remarkable that he had the impulse to buy it, eventhough he knew he couldn’t afford it. “So I played it happilyabout 10 or 12 times for the concerts that summer, and itwent back to New York,” he says. “And that fall, I was puton the committee to find the pianos for the Long Center.And I said, ‘Boy, do I have the piano for you!’”What drew Nel to the instrument was its versatility. “AHamburg Steinway is a tricky piano,” he notes. “In America,people don’t play them that much. <strong>The</strong>y have a darkersound, so sometimes they may not be ideal to play the reallybig concertos on. But this one can do it. It can do everything.It also has this wonderful range of softer colors. It’sreally amazing. <strong>The</strong>y can use it in that space for concertosand recitals and chamber music. It does everything well.”Based on Nel’s recommendation, the Long Center securedthe instrument. <strong>The</strong> pianist has played it publicly in its newhome at the Long Center’s grand opening and, more recently,with the <strong>Austin</strong> Symphony, but until this week, he’s neverbeen able to put it in the spotlight. This Sunday, he givesthe first piano recital in Dell Hall, and he’s eager to showcasehis discovery. “I love playing this instrument,” he says.“It gives me great pleasure. And the music that I’ve chosenis going to show off the piano fabulously in every possibleway. <strong>The</strong> Brahms is going to show the piano off magnificently,because it has such a dark side to it. <strong>The</strong> piano has avery sparkly upper register, which the Schubert is perfect for.“It’s a very mainstream program, but I adore it. I justwanted to play things that I like. I’m at the age now whenI don’t do politically correct things anymore. I’m over that.I play things that I like and that I feel I have an affinityfor. I wanted to put Haydn and Mendelssohn on itbecause it’s their years. That’s important to me. And therest of it is just really stuff that I like. It’s a Sunday afternoonconcert, and I wanted something that everyonewould enjoy, myself included.”– Robert FairesAnton Nel plays a recital Sunday, <strong>March</strong> 29, 4pm, in Dell Hall at theLong Center for the Performing Arts, 701 W. Riverside. For more information,call 474-5664 or visit www.thelongcenter.org.CANDIDATES FORUMON THE ARTSAll you creatives,it’s time to show upHey you, with the brush/script/instrument/camera inyour hand: If you care about creativity in <strong>Austin</strong>, you needto be at the Paramount <strong>The</strong>atre Wednesday, April 1. That’swhen all the candidates for mayor and City Council will beonstage telling you where they stand with regard to thearts, culture, and creativity. And if there are only a dozenbodies scattered around the first few rows, well, they won’tfeel much need to treat the city’s creatives as a priorityonce they take office.And they should. Pardon my soapbox, but collectively thecreative sector in <strong>Austin</strong> – music, film, the arts, digitalmedia, et al. – generates $2.2 billion in economic activityevery year and employs 44,000 people. That sector is notonly responsible for a lot of the city’s international rep(<strong>Austin</strong> City Limits, Slacker, Stevie Ray, Willie, South bySouthwest, to name a few), but it’s grown steadily over thepast 30 years, even through the real estate and dot-combusts. Hey, if you’re looking for economic stability …But when money gets tight, if anything gets cut fasterthan library hours, it’s arts and culture. And part of thereason is we don’t show up. Let’s not make that mistakethis time. A packed Paramount would send a pretty powerfulmessage to City Hall. I think I saw it on a trailer at theSXSW Film Festival: Creativity is all. All is creativity.Betty Dunkerley will moderate. <strong>The</strong> action starts at 7pmat the Paramount, 713 Congress. You can park free at OneAmerican Center, 600 Congress, after 6pm. <strong>The</strong>Paramount bar will even be open. So come on, let’s fillthe joint.– R.F.a u s t i n c h r o n i c l e . c o m MARCH <strong>27</strong>, <strong>2009</strong> T H E A U S T I N C H R O N I C L E 35
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