Alastair Macaulay was unambiguous. Closing his 2018 review of the world premiere of FOUR QUARTETS—a collaboration between choreographer Pam Tanowitz, artist Brice Marden, and composer Kaija Saariaho—with the following paragraph, the former New York Times dance critic made its case for posterity:
If I am right to think this is the greatest creation of dance theater so far this century, we’re fortunate that FOUR QUARTETS will travel to other stages. I long to become more deeply acquainted with the many layers of its stage poetry.
The drawback for Los Angeles audiences is that this landmark work will be performed at Royce Hall in early 2020 only twice—a highlight of a remarkably strong CAP UCLA 2019–2020 dance season.
The season begins at Redcat, where Adam Linder presents THE WANT—a contemporary opera/performance piece based on a play by Bernard-Marie Koltès, with music by Ethan Braun.
Sankai Juku—Ushio Amagatsu’s all-male troupe of Butoh dancers, performing MEGURI—will be at Royce for one night only, as will Michael Keegan-Dolan’s Teaċ Daṁsa (House of Dance) in a new interpretation of SWAN LAKE, featuring a score by Slow Moving Clouds.
The great ballerina Wendy Whelan will dance at Royce, for two nights, in THE DAY. Choreographed by Lucinda Childs with a score by David Lang, Whelan will be joined onstage by cellist Maya Beiser.
The dance season closes in April 2020 at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion with the Dance at the Music Center co-presentation of PALERMO PALERMO, a 1989 work by dance legend Pina Bausch and Tanztheater Wuppertal.
See link below for details.
CAP UCLA 2019–2020 SEASON OF DANCE
From top: Sankai Juku, Meguri; Adam Linder, The Want, photograph by Shahryar Nashat; Michael Keegan-Dolan, Teaċ Daṁsa, Swan Lake, photograph by Colm Hogan; Maya Beiser, Wendy Whelan, Lucinda Childs, and David Lang, The Day; Pina Bausch, Palermo Palermo, photograph by Jochen Viehoff; Pam Tanowitz, Brice Marden, and Kaija Saariaho, Four Quartets, photograph by Maria Baranova. Images courtesy and © the artists and photographers.