In the final seconds of Bill T. Jones` glorious dance ”D-Man in the Waters,” one of the performers, Arthur Aviles, whose short height, coffee complexion and shaved head give him the look of a ”Thief of Bagdhad” genie, is tossed upward by a circle of eight others, captured in mid-air by the work`s final, fading spotlight.
It`s something of a group cheer for Aviles, whose forceful limbs and quick-witted moves help energize all three pieces on the program. It`s also an especially appropriate flourish for Jones` amazing 1989 chamber extravaganza. Serious dance, when slow and beautiful (as it sometimes is in this work`s second movement), cuts to the heart of the art form. But, when it`s fast, furious, intricately designed and bursting with breathtaking energy-the delightful first and third movements here-dance celebrates life, sending even the audience momentarily skyward.
”D-Waters” is all the more astonishing on that score in that it was inspired by a company member who is reportedly gravely ill. Sickness and death are nothing new to the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane & Co. troupe, which is performing ”D-Man” and two other pieces at the Dance Center of Columbia College. Cofounder Zane died in 1988 from AIDS, leaving Jones behind to carry on with a company whose accessible dancing is gently underscored by a heightened feeling for frailty and tragedy.
Mingling light, classically inspired choral moves with unexpected whimsy, eccentricity and, especially in the slower movement, dignified images of human support, ”D-Man” is never less than captivating and intoxicating.
That`s as true about the dazzling ways that the simple designs are used for a cascading variety of effects as it is about the work`s most unusual player, an actor/dancer named Lawrence Goldhuber, whose bald pate and rotund appearance make him both an amusing and inspiring stage presence, especially since he`s such an accomplished dancer.
The two opening works both owe heavy debts to the late Zane.
The first, ”Gift/No God Logic,” he choreographed not long before he died, a quartet in three movements, the first two set to arias for Verdi`s
”La Forza Del Destino,” and the last to no accompaniment at all.
The 1989 ”Forsythia” is Jones` evocation of his partner, choreographed to Zane`s spoken text. It`s an odd, distinctively imagined duet (performed by Jones and Aviles), one with very personal images, at times resembling the unself-conscious contortions of a young child having fun in front of a mirror. Ferociously energetic, it takes the duo through a lengthy workout, their violent breathing as much a part of the score as the narration or the music by Guillaume Dufay.
BILL T. JONES/ARNIE ZANE & CO.
A dance troupe performing a repertory of works by Bill T. Jones and the late Arnie Zane. Playing at the Dance Center of Columbia College, 4730 N. Sheridan Rd., at 8 p.m. Tuesday. Tickets are $12. Phone 312-271-7928.
