Thursday, 5/1/97 Brown’s passionate imagination carries her
success over lifetime Choreographer, dancer continues to evolve
artistically, experiment with movement
By Alicia Cheak Daily Bruin Contributor "The stereotypes don’t
always live up to their reputation," says Trisha Brown as she
explains why, at age 60, she is still dancing and choreographing.
Age shouldn’t even be an issue, or a limit, but how does a person
keep at her craft and continue to be a major force in her field for
close to forty years? It might be a question quickly resolved as
dancer/choreographer Trisha Brown takes the stage at Veterans
Wadsworth Theater this weekend. The performance by Brown and her
company of nine dancers will give the audience an opportunity to
experience and judge for themselves the structural beauty of one
woman, her group, and her art. "It takes imagination (when) the
dance, which is given to me by another choreographer, is not as
fulfilling as what I can think up on my own," Brown says.
Imagination and the courage to use it are factors which carried the
fledgling dance student at California’s Mills College to the
forefront of the dance world. Unremitting perseverance, Brown
stresses, is another factor. "It’s been hard my many years in the
field," Brown adds. Though she might be in an enviable position now
– doing what she loves and having others love what she does – Brown
has had to put in a life’s work to achieve it. After Mills College,
Brown studied with Louis Horst at Connecticut College. In the early
1960s she began choreographing in New York City and a few years
later was part of the renown Judson Dance theater. In 1970, she
formed her own dance company. Since then she has receivedthe
Laurence Olivier Award in ’87, the Samuel H. Scripps American Dance
Festival Award in ’88 and 5 fellowships from the National Endowment
for the Arts. In ’94, Brown was appointed by President Clinton onto
the National Council of the Arts. But with all these apparent
riches, Brown remains modest, emphasizing movement itself as the
real reward. The pieces to be performed are part of a cycle. "If
you couldn’t see me," "M.O.," and "For M.G.: The Movie" are
explorations of movement, reflecting the author’s accumulated
knowledge and love of her art. "Trisha Brown and her dancers have a
kind of knowledge about movement that is equivalent to being a
rocket scientist," says UCLA World Arts and Cultures professor and
choroegrapher Victoria Marks. Marks will lead a CenterStage
discussion on Brown an hour prior to the performance. Because Brown
works primarily in ensembles, "If you couldn’t see me," a 1994
solo, will treat the audience to a simple look at the dancer. On a
sparsely lit stage, Brown will explore movement, specifically the
geometriy of movement. "’See me’ is an anomaly, a bit of what my
life is," Brown says with a laugh, yet not without slight gravity.
"It’s a solo with my back to the audience and through it I try to
work with limitation as structure…it’s a pretty unique piece."
Ironically, Brown’s chiffon tunic, designed by long time
collaborator Robert Rauschenberg will offset to the rigidity and
formality of her movements. The change in perspective for many who
are accustomed to seeing the face and the front portion of a
performer might be jarring. It could equally be mesmerizing. A
George Washington University review of Brown’s performance reads,
"[Brown] reached quiet stances reminiscent of Greek tableaux that
momentarily froze, only to be reactivated by rippling movements
which eventually took her to new stances. The audience was
captivated by Brown’s seemingly effortless ability to surge into
phrases of supple vibrato." Brown herself is placed in a vulnerable
position from which she is unable to return the glances of those
watching her. As such, the piece turns out to be an extremely
private exploration of movement–because it is only Brown and her
movements on stage. The audience just happens to look in. An
excerpt from the 55-minute long "M.O." is also part of the weekend
repertoire. And once again, there is a bit of the unusual to it–a
dance interpretation of Bach’s harpsichord score, "Musical
Offering." "In M.O. I was working with classical music," Brown
explains. " I took Bach’s compositional structure and thought about
it in musical terms. They might not be exactly what he did, they
may even be oppositional but they were relevant, structurally and
compositionally." Again, there is the emphasis on form and on
discipline. Brown’s choice of a challenging and complex score
echoes very much the mentality she possess in making decisions
throughout her career and life. "I don’t have formulas so I’m
always on the edge of discovery," Brown says, " and I go into the
areas that I don’t know, that I have questions about." "That
propensity, or curse, always has an evolutionary result and people
don’t get tired of me," Brown says. Both body and style have had
time to mature, be shaped and reshaped. And although her kinetic
and formal structure are considered part of the foundations of
contemporary dance, Brown’s artistry continues to evolve. It is
part of survival and partly explains why Brown continues to recieve
invitations to perform all over the world and endorsements for
future projects. But if there is a constant in her work, it is her
passion. "There was a point where I was guided by the stereotypes
and I began thinking I should wind down in my dancing," Brown
recalls. "And then it dawned on me that I will never stop because I
will always want to be a person of health, which requires exercise.
"I will always be doing my daily dozen so if I’m going to bother to
warm up I might as well bother to keep dancing." Summing up what
dance means to her, Brown says, "At the base of dancing is the
physical body engaged in exercise and discipline and that exercise
shaped into phrases of choreography are euphoria giving." Sounds
almost too good to be true. With another laugh, Brown adds, "And if
I didn’t have those endorphins in me, I would not have been able to
sustain this." DANCE: The Trisha Brown Company performs at Veterans
Wadsworth Theater May 2 and 3, 8 p.m.. Tickets are $30, $27 and $9
for students. For more information, call (310) 825-2101. UCLA
CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS Trisha Brown and her company will
showcase their post-modern dance technique at the Veterans
Wadsworth Theater this weekend. Related Links: National Endowment
for the Arts Home Page