World-renowned dancer David Parsons,
fresh from choreographing the New
Year’s celebration in Times Square,
brings his dance company to Eugene
■ ..
DANCE
By Sara Jarrett
Oregon Daily Emerald
Known for ensnaring audi
ences in his emotional web of de
lightfully quirky movement for
the last 13 years, David Parsons
shows no signs of slowing down.
In fact, the modern dance com
pany that bears his name seems to
be on a mission to achieve a level
of success that is almost unheard
of in the field.
Even if you haven’t heard of
Parsons, chances are you’ve seen
his work. Most recently, he was
commissioned by the Times
Square Business Improvement
District to choreograph New York
City’s 24-hour millennium cele
bration.
The opportunity was a choreo
grapher’s dream come true, and
Parsons was up for the challenge
of entertaining an estimated one
billion people. He asked more
than 60 dancers from around the
world to join in the project and
incorporated hundreds of
dancers, puppets and actors to
perform cultural representations
of each country as they celebrat
ed the arrival of the year 2000.
Hailed as Parsons’ “most deca
dent bash yet,” this venture may
have been just what he needed to
create a household name for him
self. Time will tell.
OfJiis own work, Parsons told
the New York Times last year that
“it’s not about getting people to
love me. It’s about following what
I want to do.”
Luckily for him, people seem
to love what he wants to do, and
those in Eugene get to show their
appreciation Saturday night,
when the Parsons Dance Compa
ny graces the stage of the Silva
Concert Hall at the Hult Center
for the Performing Arts. A pre
performance talk is scheduled for
7 p.m., with the main event at 8
p.m.
Also, two master classes are
planned: one for the members of
the community and another for
students of both the University
and Lane Community College’s
dance programs.
This level of community in
volvement is what sets apart the
Parsons Dance Company from
other dance groups. The compa
ny’s mission to bring modern
dance to as many people as possi
ble has received criticism from
dance highbrows, however, who
believe appealing to the masses
cheapens the art form.
Another group of dance enthu
siasts, however, see making mod
ern dance accessible to a wide
range of people as a move in the
right direction, especially if Par
sons maintains that he always fol
lows his visions and not those of
his audience.
Just five days after performing
in Eugene, the
company is
scheduled to pre
miere its new work, “Images,” in
Irvine, Calif. Parsons collaborated
with renowned photographer
Howard Schatz to create “magni
fied black-and-white images pro
jected behind the dancers. The
audience can observe extreme
closeups of a shoulder, a facial ex
pression, a sweeping gesture or
a sensuous encounter,” a
writer in Dance magazine
observes.
This is not the first time
Parsons has been influenced
by the notion of capturing
images through photog
raphy. “Caught,” cho
reographed in
1982, utilized a
strobe light, ? -
with the
dancer
seemingly
suspend
ed in the air
dinring the en
tire piece. He was
apparently defying gravity by
walking, skipping and leaping
through space without ever push
ing off from the ground.
Though choreographed for
himself, the 40-year-old Parsons
has retired from performing his
signature work.
“You find yourself using the
bodies around you to do what
you used to do yourself,” says
Parsons, quoted in Dance maga
zine. While 40 is an age when
most other professionals might
anticipate a successful peak in
the years to come, a dancer’s per
formance career begins a down
ward spiral.
In the height of his career, Par
sons was likened to a quarterback
instead of a dancer, yet he is now
a business man and choreogra
pher. His boyish good looks may
be far from looking their age, but
years of dancing have taken their
toll.
The magnitude of success the
company has achieved is another
facet that makes it stand apart
from competitors. In an age when
dance groups struggle for funding
— and are short-lived because of
that — Parsons tours and per
forms 40 weeks out of the year.
The company operates in the
black with an annual budget of
$1.3 million, with 80 percent of
its revenue coming from perform
ances and the rest made up from
grants and contributions. Its
repertory includes more than 50
original works, and it has toured
five continents, giving more than
700 performances. Parsons also
strives to feature all his dancers in
almost every piece and routinely
choreographs solos for them.
There is usually something for
everyone in a Parsons perform
ance. The company explores
wide thematic ranges and move
ment motifs. Audiences are often
left struggling between laughing,
crying, sitting in awe
some contemplation and
shaking out the uncomfort
ableness.
“I want audiences to under
stand what I’m saying and at
the same time offer them
something for the imagina
tion and personal interpre
tation,” Parson said,
think it’s very important
an artists to touch people.
His virtuosic dancers, com
bined with innovative artistic
direction, make watching the
Parsons Dance Company a
truly unique experience.
Novices and dance
sionals alike will
something to appreciate in
Saturday’s performance.
The Parsons Dance
pany performs at 8 p.m. ir
Silva Hall. Tickets are $15
and $20. Call 682-5000
order tickets
information
LANE CO. FAIRGROUNDS
.EUGENE • FEB. 19-20, 2000
10 am-6 pm • Adults $4
Youth 12 & under FREE
Information available at 541-687-9600 or
www.ci.eugene.or.us/Events/ACevent
0K.IKKOMAN
KEZJ9
®- ©
008216
Courtesy of The Hult Center
John Henry’s Dance Nights
no cover for women!!
136 E.11th, Eugene
Wednesdays: io pin lustice
League of America presents
Dance Hail House Tunes
342-3358
Tuesdays: lustice League of
America presents Tuesday Hite
at the House
O
o o °o
io pro 8o s
t-a time
21 and overt O