WORKS BY DORIS HUMPHREY
A new spirit is making its presence felt in dance these days. More accurately, I suppose, I should say that this new spirit is the past–the nearly lost, nearly forgotten dance of the past, which is being restored to life on stages everywhere. For too long, dance troupes of all disciplines were so involved with making new dances that they arrogantly dismissed older dances as disposable, not worthy of preservation.
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Happily, a number of today’s dancers are discovering that a knowledge of dance history and tradition is essential to a full understanding of the art they practice. This belated recognition is accompanied by a new sense of urgency, for time is the enemy. The longer one waits to re-create the original work, the more difficult the task, as the creators and performers of former generations disappear. Since film, tape, and notation were either unborn or in their infancy, recovering the past requires the dedication and intuitive skills of dance archaeologists, who are very busy these days.
Although Nicholas doesn’t resemble Limon physically, his technically skilled performance offered a valid interpretation–much stronger and more theatrically effective than his performance last season. The other cast members were convincing in both virtuosity and characterization. An interesting work that deserves more public exposure.
