Sitting in the gay man section …
Originally uploaded by swan lake samba girl via mobile.
Should be fun!
Update: Actually the whole theater turned out to be the gay section 🙂 Mr. Parsons is very popular amongst a certain population… Hehe, I can see why; it was a lot of fun and he’s got some very good dancers in his troupe. His piece “Caught” appears to be his claim to fame. In it, a man frantically runs toward various lights shining down from above and dances underneath their heat. But then the lights leave him and focus on another part of the stage. At one point, strobe lights just begin flashing all over the stage, completely overtaking him, and he can’t escape. He dances, doing some amazing moves — continuous grand jetes, high twisty jumps — as the lights continue to flash on him. It’s an amazing visual effect — he looks like he’s literally flying, never coming down to the ground — and he must be very focused to be able to dance in all that chaos. I’ve seen things not unlike this before, but the audience was going completely nuts with applause. The guy next to me said to his boyfriend, “it’s worth the price of admission for that alone!”
Parsons also does some interesting things with the body, the male body in particular. His main muse appears to be male dancer Miguel Quinones, judging from the first program. At one point Quinones does these really jazzy barrel turns, where he kind of shakes and shimmies his whole body on each rotation. He doesn’t always gain as much height as a classical ballet dancer, but it’s incredible that he can move so in the midst of the turn. (I was sitting next to a critic — I think the guy from the New Jersey Ledger. His pen started going the same time mine did at those amazing turns 🙂 ) At another point, Quinones did a lovely arabesque, but instead of remaining still, he did these body rolls, starting from his hips and undulating up through his waist, torso, chest, shoulders, then out to the fingers of the outstretched arm — all the while steadily balancing on one leg, the other beautifully lifted behind.
Anyway, I’m going to Program B as well, and I’ll do a write up after! They’re at the Joyce Theater in Chelsea through Jan. 20th.
Okay, gotta go glue myself to the TV — Oh my gosh, Hillary won, Hillary won, HILLARY WON!!!
CAUGHT is unique and always a showstopper. David used to dance it himself, and it has been performed by both male and female solo dancers.
When David and the late Christopher Gillis were with Paul Taylor they both accumulated a huge number of gay fans – they were icons for us. When the Taylor Company used to play at Jacob’s Pillow, we would all gather in the doorways of the old studio to watch David and Chris warm up. Once Christopher, taking a break, asked a friend of mine what time it was and my friend went speechless. When David started Parsons Dance we all attended their early performances at the Pillow and easily translated our admiration for him into an appreciation for his Company.
I can’t share your enthusiasm for Hillary; she doesn’t inspire…and I think this country needs fresh air, not another chapter of Bush/Clinton/Bush/…who will be next? Jed, then Chelsea?
Thanks for explaining, Philip 🙂 I was actually going to ask you on your blog if you didn’t say something because I have honestly never seen so many gay men in one place! — or at least at a dance performance. That’s very interesting about Jacob’s Pillow. Well, I really enjoyed the company so far and am going back for more later in the week!
As far as I know, though, David himself is straight. Michelle managed to help me get in for Programme A on Saturday matinee, so I get to see their entire Joyce rep. I could kick myself for having lost track of them for so many years!!