Utpal K Banerjee talks to Robert Moses who draws inspiration from ballet and remoulds it in a contemporary format
Classical ballet — as promulgated by Petipa and Balanchine — in the West has all but disappeared since its heydays in the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries, barring prevalence in Russia and occasionally resurrected in the rest of Europe. Contemporary dance — as a popular form — developed during the mid-20th century and grew to become a dominating performance genre for formally-trained dancers throughout the globe. Although originally informed by and borrowing from classical, modern, and jazz styles, it came to incorporate elements from many forms of dance. About focus of its technique, contemporary dance utilises both strong and controlled leg-work of ballet and modern dance’s stress on the torso, and employs contact-release, floor-work, fall-recovery and other improvisation characteristics. Unpredictable changes in rhythm, speed and direction are often used as well. It sometimes incorporates elements of non-Western dance cultures, such as, elements from African dance, including bent knees or movements from the Japanese contemporary dance, Butoh, especially its playful and grotesque imagery, taboo topics, extreme or absurd environment and white body make-up.
In this background, Merce Cunningham was the first choreographer to develop an independent attitude towards modern dance and defy the ideas that were established by it. In 1944 Cunningham accompanied his dance with music by John Cage, who observed that Cunningham’s dance “no longer relies on linear elements, nor does it rely on a movement towards and away from climax. As in abstract paintings, it is assumed that an element (a movement, a sound, a change of light) is in and of itself expressive; what it communicates is in large part determined by the observer themselves.”
When one observed Cunningham in Mumbai in the 1980s, one was struck by its genre of serially-numbered ‘Happenings’ and arbitrarily performing any sequence of any of these ‘Happenings’: also regardless of Cage’s compositions of ‘concrete music’.
Double Tree was presented by Robert Moses’ Kin — hailing from San Francisco, USA — under the aegis of Interface 2014, organised by Sapphire Creations Dance Company from Kolkata. Directed by Robert Moses, the piece bore a verisimilitude to Cunningham’s path-breaking work in its total style. One, the vignettes — created by the multiple solos (by Katherine Disenhof or Norma Fong), the few pas de deux (by either of them with Victor Tailedos) and the relatively rare pas de trios (by all of them) — were much in the nature of disjointed ‘Happenings’: trade-marked by Cunningham. Two, music, too, appeared without any integration with the performance, changing over, say, from Minimalist to Electronic, or to other genres. Three, there were no climaxes in the sequences: either as convergences or as divergences in the choreographic vision.
Where Double Tree triumphed was in its highly sophisticated dance, with a total command on the technique and the astounding ease with which the performers could move from one genre to another. Their effortless essays into classical ballet from time to time were particularly revealing.
Some Western critic, who called it “A visually delicious beast that never comes short of dazzling the senses,” did not seem to be far off the mark. Excerpts from interview with the director:
How do you categorise your pieceIJ
Double Tree is an abstract item. It draws from both company standards and completely new work.
But do you do stories as wellIJ
Yes, I do both. This one is completely non-story, just energy!
One seldom finds contemporary dance as a narrative form of art …
I entirely agree that’s the trend.
Your choreography occasionally appears disordered, but nevertheless relies on strong technique…
It entirely depends. For me, energy is the main factor.
In your contemporary dance, do you reject classical ballet’s leg technique in favour of modern dance’s stress on the torsoIJ
I refuse nothing. Their incidence does not matter in terms of technique.
.There’re often unpredictable changes in rhythm, speed and direction…
Absolutely, we put in place whatever is useful.
What about multiple and simultaneous actionsIJ
They occur as the need arises. They’re not intentional.
There are at times suspension of perspective and symmetry as found in ballet scenic frame, such as, front, centre and hierarchies…
Not really, they should occur and we do use them.
Do you exercise creative freedomIJ
Absolutely, it’s the most important object in my choreography.
But do the performers contributeIJ
About 70 per cent are my ideas, 30 per cent theirs. Very often, we toss to and fro my thoughts and hone them together.
