Eye On the Arts

                   A TOUCH OF THE POET Spotlight Review by Celia Ipiotis               Kate Forbes and Robert Cuccioli in Eugene O'Neil's A Touch Of The Poet. Photo by Carol Rosegg Frustrated dreams plague the house of the Melody inn and pub. After losing his patrimony, castle and dreams in Ireland, the only thing Cornelius Melody (Robert Cuccioli) retained was his outsized pride in  A Touch of the Poet . On the edge of bankruptcy, his wife Nora (the marvelous Kate Forbes) and her daughter Sara (Belle Aykroyd) work the place, and haggle for credit while he preens. Self-effacing, kind and generous towards all, Nora can never forget she got pregnant after falling in love with her husband, while working on his family's grounds. The pregnancy forced them to abscond for America. On the other hand, Sara faces forward towards the future, a place of open opportunity not paralyzed by class distinctions. When a young man of means falls ill and lands at the inn, Sara becomes his nurse

                    PAUL TAYLOR DANCE COMPANY Review by Celia Ipiotis Sandwiched between two major Taylor works, Lovette's  Pentimento to a score by the classical Argentine composer Alberto Ginastera excels in the ease with which the dancers embody the movement. Like Taylor, Lovett dispenses with over-wrought choreography, and instead aspires towards a cleaner palette. In fact, it makes sense to import a NYC Ballet dancer turned choreographer, because Paul Taylor actually appeared as a guest artist with NYC Ballet from 1959-1960. Although retired from NYCB, Lovett remains an eloquent performer and her embodied experiences translate seamlessly to her interpreters. Effectively locating dancers' comfort zones, Lovett forms highly organic choreography filled with spatial clarity.  In this instance, Lovett imbued herself in the Taylor athletic style -- one that pulls dancers to the ground rather than into the heavens.  Despite this earthy technique, speed remains central--similar to

             HER BODY AS WORDS By Norah Witke Mele                                       Peggy Baker photo by Jeremy Mimnagh Contemporary dance icon Peggy Baker’s new dance film,  her body as words , is an exploration of what it means to be a woman today. Presented by Baryshnikov Arts Center, it is made up of nine solo dances, created in collaboration between the performers and Baker herself. Filmed in portrait (as if to be viewed on a phone) by Jeremy Mimnagh, the dancers move in a dark room, where the lights transform air into smoke, rendering the space countless shades of grey marked by only the barest traces of color. The editing is excellent, almost seamlessly cutting in and out of proximity to the performers. Similarly, the dances are delivered with seriousness and poise, catching complicated shapes between swift articulations of the hands. To Continue....