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Chicago's Treasured Troupe
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10378 |
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Section : |
THE ARTS
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| Issue
Date : |
2 / 1993 |
1,925 Words |
| Author
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Bruce Merrill
Bruce Merrill, currently based in Paris, is a dance writer,
critic, and teacher. |
As an American dance critic who has spent the last twenty-five years in Paris, I have seen the Hubbard Street Dance Company perform in both its native Chicago and France. I first saw the company in the 1970s during its fledging years. In 1982, at the Georges Pompidou Center in Paris, it received only moderate attention (it was considered too jazz-oriented), but in 1991 it was widely acclaimed in Suresnes, a cultural center outside Paris.
The company's performance in its own home, at Chicago's Ravinia Festival last summer, reconfirmed that the troupe has continued to develop its own unique style, using ballet, Modern Dance, and jazz. The dancers' range and brilliance of movement, and their energy level, make them ideal interpreters of a wide spectrum of contemporary works. The dancers themselves have completely changed in the last few years, and one could say this is now the second or third generation of dancers, but the style and feeling have maintained the same basic concept.
The Hubbard Street started with one choreographer, Lou Conte, as most contemporary companies do, and then moved on to a diversification of choreographers while continuing a certain American style of dance. The company has not abandoned its musical comedy and jazz influence but has simply encompassed Modern Dance as well. There are few, if any, European companies of this style. In France there are several jazz dance companies, but they have never found a large audience.
Different Approaches
Seeing the Hubbard Street perform brings out several areas where American companies differ from their European counterparts. American choreographers, in general, use more dance--pure dance without performance art--and the dancers (and equally the choreography) reflect a higher energy level. In America ballet is used as a base for contemporary and jazz companies more often than in Europe, and there is much less theatricality.
European companies also tend to try to be intellectual, to make social or psychological statements. They are not satisfied with just being entertaining. This viewpoint is also something encouraged by the ministers of culture and dance. In France it is virtually impossible for companies to exist without federal or regional subsidies, so they are obligated to conform to a certain mold to quality for aid. Dance, which really resembles performance art--using spoken words, mime, gymnastics, and a great deal of stage effects. Jazz dance is considered too
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