I was supposed to go to see Alvin Ailey, American Dance Theatre this weekend with my daughter, who could
not come home from Rio. So, instead, I went with a friend. I was coughing and sneezing and exhausted, but determined to see the modern dance performance I'd been eagerly awaiting since early September. (Also, the tickets cost $126. Each.)
Between Christmas and New Year's Eve, Manhattan is always packed, but this year, as a friend told me, "you need a machete to cut through the crowds." It took us 38 minutes to drive to West 55th Street, and another 40 minutes to drive about six blocks, where we could finally ditch the car. (For slightly more than three hours, it cost $30 to park!) We saw "Love Stories," a work choreographed by Judith Jamison that featured great music by Stevie Wonder, and lots of throbbing, vibrant dancing that was nearly as much fun to watch as to perform. Next, was "Urban Folk Dance," a piece for two men and two women, danced at desks and office chairs in front of two chalkboards. I have absolutely and utterly no idea what it meant, and trying to figure it out made my head feel heavy.
"The Groove to Nobody's Business" was a brand new piece set in a subway station, featuring a bunch of dancers waiting for a train, and then, I think, actually on a train. I guarantee that it's the most
entertaining bit of art, ever, that focuses on subways. If RioGringa had been with me, she could have explained the movement here, and the way in which the dancers mimicked, so uncannily, the swaying movements invoked while sitting on a train. But she wasn't, so my fuzzy brain just had to deal.
The last piece, "Revelations," I've seen about ten times, and it thrills and elates me every single time. Except last night. We were just so tired, that the thrill was gone. I can't figure out, though, if the performers were not as great, or if I've seen it so many times I'm no longer surprised. By the time we hit "Rock My Soul in the Bosom of Abraham," which always has the entire audience on their feet and cheering, we'd sneaked out into the lobby and were on our way back to our expensively parked car.
TiVo Lady needs to recover from her cold. Fast.