Dance

Gongs with robot

By MARCIA B. SIEGEL | November 25, 2008

After anticipatory twitches and shakes of the curtain, the first character appears. Red-faced, bug-eyed, with a big black moustache, Keras is a rough and tough guy who fights other people's battles for them. He dips and rises in the movements of a warrior dance, then leaves with a tiny nod to the audience. Monyer, the next to appear, is a pale, androgynous figure who seems to smile as he advances. He circles the space with slow steps and tiny vibrations of the fan he sometimes uses as a mirror to admire himself.

The Dalem, a noble, elegant figure, would take the role of the king in a drama. His is the longest dance, as he surveys the audience, with striding assertiveness and stern admonishing gestures. After he leaves, a benevolent demon appears to clear the air, with invoking, threatening gestures, hoarse cries, and laughter.

< prev 1 | 2 |

Topics: Dance , Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Blake Newman, Evan Ziporyn, More

Comments

Add a Comment

Today's Event Picks

[MUSIC] Boston 8bit's Chiptune

ARTICLES BY MARCIA B. SIEGEL

SNACKS | November 24, 2009
The most substantial item in the assortment of dances by the Trey McIntyre Project last weekend was an oddly proportioned 20-minute meditation on climate change and Glacier National Park. McIntyre, whose company appeared at the ICA as part of the CRASHarts series, has gotten a lot of press exposure as an up-and-coming choreographer with serious ideas.

SUSTAINABILITY | November 04, 2009
If you wanted to know what happened at the Merce Cunningham memorial a week ago Wednesday in the Park Avenue Armory, you could get a thousand answers.

DEFINITIONS | October 28, 2009
Boston Ballet’s artistic director, Mikko Nissinen, wants us to think of his company as utterly contemporary, but it’s a tricky balance to pull off.

SUNDAY SCHOOL | October 21, 2009
Ronald K. Brown’s flamboyant choreography comes with a big serving of spirituality.

REQUIEM DETEXTED | September 30, 2009
Mozart's Requiem is one of the most controversial works in the classical repertory. Mozart had completed only parts of it and sketched other parts when he died, unexpectedly at age 35, in 1791. His death ignited immediate speculation and myth.

See all articles by: MARCIA B. SIEGEL

Most Viewed

Most Emailed

REVIEW: CALL OF DUTY: MODERN WARFARE 2
You're standing in an elevator with men wearing bulletproof vests and wielding machine guns. "No Russian," the leader reminds you, as the doors open to reveal a line of persons waiting at the airport security gate.

PHOTOS: GROSS THANKSGIVING FOOD TO AVOID
Thanksgiving is a time for gorging on food and hanging out with family, but really it's mostly about the food. There are some dishes that take it too far, however, and we are here to help you steer clear of those.

GREG EPSTEIN, ATHEIST SUPERSTAR
Once an intellectual taboo, atheism has become one of the great growth industries of the third millennium.

TALE OF THE TAPES
Soon after music-minded UMass-Boston management professor Pacey Foster signed on to write a Boston chapter for the most comprehensive hip-hop tome ever compiled, his mission brought him to rural Maine, where it has long been speculated that the Hub rhyme scene's Holy Grail is safely stored.

REVIEW: FANTASTIC MR. FOX
In The Royal Tenenbaums and The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, Wes Anderson excelled at telling adult stories with childlike whimsy. Telling children’s stories with adult whimsy is another matter.

CLASSIC ROCK?
If you're looking for meaning in the overly sanitized myth that is our national Thanksgiving celebration, a good place to start is southeastern Massachusetts, where nearly 400 years ago that band of hungry, ill-prepared religious zealots tried to colonize the middle of nowhere at the start of winter.

THE X FACTOR
Martha Coakley should be plenty thankful for the holiday weekend. The polls suggest that, if nothing significant changes between now and the December 8 primary, she should handily claim the Democratic nomination for US Senate.

CRITICAL MASS
If free speech is what gives value to the campus "marketplace of ideas," UMass Amherst would long ago have gone bankrupt.

GREG EPSTEIN, ATHEIST SUPERSTAR
Once an intellectual taboo, atheism has become one of the great growth industries of the third millennium.

WHALIN' ON PALIN
Give Sarah Palin this: she isn’t driven by polls. If she wanted to improve her chances at political success, she would have used her book and promotional tour to convince America that she has substance and gravitas .

HOT TOPICS

Brandeis University , Cameron Jamie , Harvard University , DeCordova Museum , Philip Glass , Curt Columbus , Museum of Fine Arts , Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , Peabody Essex Museum , Lorna Feijoo

Dance

Gongs with robot

Snacks

Sustainability

Both ears and the tail for this Carmen

Definitions

Photos: Boston Ballet's World Passions