On Saturday, May 31, 2014 at 5:00 PM, the Green-Wood Historic Fund will host a tribute to Isadora Duncan (above), one of the most innovative and fascinating figures in the history of dance, as Catherine Gallant and her dance company (Catherine Gallant/DANCE) perform some of Duncan’s most memorable works.
Green-Wood (above) is located at 5th Avenue and 25th Street in Brooklyn. Further information and tickets here.
The performance marks the centennial of Duncan’s GRANDE MARCHE (created in 1914), set to the music of Franz Schubert, and further includes other late-period Duncan dances born of her sorrow. The Company will also present works of hope and rebirth, set to a Nocturne and Polonaise of Chopin, followed by Isadora Duncan’s dances of exuberance and light to celebrate the rising of the sun.
Since I was otherwise engaged on the day of the performance, Ms. Gallant (above, with dancer Michelle Cohen) very kindly welcomed me to a studio run-thru of her programme; this took place on an overcast, rainy afternoon at the Gibney Dance Center. Beautiful atmosphere in the studio as the women prepared their costumes and arranged their hair for the dances to come.
In addition to the Duncan works beging presented, Catherine Gallant has created new pieces which resonate with the inspiration of Isadora. One of these, WAVE (set to Chopin) was being rehearsed when I arrived:
Above: Magherita Tisato, Megan Minturn (seated) and Michelle Cohen rehearsing WAVE…
…and (above), the same moment in costume. Ms. Gallant has also created PRAYER, set to music of Leonard Bernstein, which will close the programme.
In addition to GRANDE MARCHE, the Duncan works to be presented are: POLONAISE (1919); HARP (1920); MOTHER (1923); ANDANTE (1917); SCHERZO (1917); and NOCTURNE (1914).
Here are some photos from my studio visit:
Megan Minturn in WAVE
The ensemble in POLONAISE
Margherita Tisato, Megan Minturn, and Natalia Brillante
Michelle Cohen
Catherine Gallant
Loretta Thomas, soloist in GRANDE MARCHE
Margherita Tisato and Loretta Thomas in GRANDE MARCHE
Loretta Thomas and Margherita Tisato
Loretta Thomas
Recessional from GRANDE MARCHE
This was one of those studio experiences that seemed to touch upon the very essence of dance; as Miki Orihara said of her recent solo concert RESONANCE, we must look to the past to find the future of this art form. Those who think that Isadora’s dances are outdated and irrelevant today should perhaps stop thinking and start feeling. In the work of Ms. Gallant and her dancers, the past finds us in the present; I commend them all for keeping the flame burning.
Oberon's Glade 