BY CATHERINE THOMAS 243-2122 ext.353 Navigator: Timeline | Listings | Interview | Pick Timeline 1970 Portland Dance Theater founded. 1974-93 Dancers' Workshop opens. 1979 Portland Dance Theater closes. 1993 Dancers' Workshop closes. 1994 Portland State University's dance department shut down. 1995 Conduit emerges from the ashes.                                 FOCUS ON: Gregg Bielemeier Next spring marks the 30th year of Gregg Bielemeier's career as a contemporary dancer and choreographer. A core artist and instructor at Conduit, Portland's modern-dance mecca, Bielemeier continues to produce compelling work that is increasingly gaining attention outside the region. Last season, Bielemeier's dances were a study in contrasts, including both huge, expansive movement on the proscenium stage and contained minimalism in intimate venues. The dancemaker, known for inflecting his work with subtle humor and for his talent at improvisation, turns 50 next year. The local boy from Mount Angel has come a long way. How did you begin as a dancer? I transferred to Portland State University as an art major in 1969, and I needed physical-education requirements. I braved up and signed up for a jazz class that Cathy Evleshin was teaching. It was a little scary: Here was this country boy walking into this room. Miles Davis and John Coltrane were blasting away, the room was dimly lit, and there was wild Cathy. I loved it. At that time, Cathy was a member of the newly formed company Portland Dance Theater. They came to see what the students were doing and saw this performance where I was the wolf in Peter and the Wolf. I was in a cardboard cage on the shoulders of four people carrying me through this crowd. That's what they said sold them on me. They asked me if I was interested in apprenticing. I was thrilled. I didn't know what the hell I was doing; I just knew that I enjoyed whatever this was. It was a whole new world to me. I started working with Portland Dance Theater. Those five women--Jann Dryer, Bonnie Merrill, Judy Patton, Pat Wong and Cathy Evleshin--got me going seriously, doing daily classes and daily work. I was developing choreography all along. Here were people who were miles ahead of me but had no problem with encouraging someone they saw something in. And I had all these incredible dancers to experiment with. What was Portland's dance scene like then? Portland Dance Theater was the first professional modern-dance company here, and it really put dance on the map here and in the Northwest. The company was in existence from 1970 to 1979. We were small. There wasn't much of a contemporary-dance audience here. We had to educate. We toured, brought in lots of guest artists. Other institutions popped up in the '70s. The Portland Center for the Visual Arts brought in performers. Other artists, like Susan Banyas' So&So&So&So, were adding into it. The group of dancers that formed Dancers' Workshop was starting to develop. They saw that it could be possible to do their own work. PSU's dance department closing in 1994 was hard on the dance community, but it was also a catalyst of sorts. The university was changing its focus. They couldn't see how valuable and viable that department was and how respected it was, nationally and internationally--all those people who worked so hard and who were so creative. But I went through my bitter stage. It's incredible: There was this group of us that wasn't going to let it disappear. That's been the great thing now about what Conduit provides. When did you get involved with Conduit? 1995. That was a period when everybody was bumbling around, not knowing what was going to happen. There wasn't any studio space at that time. Conduit was a venue we could actually perform in. It's really working. What's the state of dance in Portland now? More artists are being supportive of one another right now. I love how many other artists I get to collaborate with, as long as we can provide an environment in which we all get to continue experimenting and exposing our work. That's another reason I like being here. Portland artists are really working at their work. I'm proud that I'm a regional artist. It's time that regional artists were paid attention to more. What impressed you last season? Ann Carlson's Grass, Bird, Rodeo totally knocked me out. I thought it was brilliant. She's got a sense of humor. How has your dance evolved? I see how I dance now and how I danced 10 years ago, and it's amazing. I'm dancing so much more freely. When I step into that performance arena, whatever it is--a stage, a studio--it's truly me. When it comes to the final performance, hey, you work, you work, you work, you put it on stage. Once the lights go up, I have absolutely no control of it. I love that moment. It's like, OK, push, here we go. That's the mystery in all of this live performance that we do. I wish we could do it every day. Listings An All-Balanchine Evening Oregon Ballet Theatre presents a trio of classic works that span the career of the great Russian-born choreographer George Balanchine. Serenade, Balanchine's first American ballet, is simultaneously serene and clean in its abstract, non-narrative style. Balanchine incorporated accidental incidents from rehearsals into this ballet: a dancer falling while the ensemble ran offstage; a dancer entering a rehearsal late. The lyrical motion is set to Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's Serenade in C major for String Orchestra. Also on the program is Balanchine's 1957 Agon, a collaboration with composer Igor Stravinsky. Named for the Greek word meaning "contest", the piece is an abstract suite of dances with overtones of Olympian athletics. Concluding the program is Balanchine's 1970 Who Cares?, set to a collection of George Gershwin songs and reminiscent of a Gershwin musical and New York City. As a whole, this program offers a rounded retrospective of the 20th century's most influential choreographer. Oregon Ballet Theatre at Portland Civic Auditorium, 1500 SW 3rd Ave., 222-5538. 7:30 pm Friday-Saturday, Oct. 15-16 and Thursday-Saturday, Oct. 21-23. 2 pm Sunday, Oct. 17. $12.50-$76.50. Paul Taylor Dance Company Paul Taylor's choreographic brilliance has sustained his 16-member company for 45 years and defined post-Martha Graham modernism. Perhaps the best testament to Taylor's genius is that he consistently creates distinctive work. Whether the moving images are depraved, comedic or sweetly lyrical, Taylor's dances carry multiple meanings, articulating the complexity of the human psyche. His dancers are evidently dedicated to Taylor's vision: In the best of his pieces, they interpret his work with unreserved physicality, creating dance that is more than just gorgeous choreography. This company can sustain a lightning pace of leaps and lifts equally as well as it can mimic apes or create fluid sweeps of movement. Portland's program includes the West Coast premiere of Taylor's as-yet-untitled newest work and two other dances: Cascade (1999), set to three Bach concertos, and Syzygy (1987), a full-company piece that is 25 minutes of constant, high-energy movement. White Bird presents Paul Taylor Dance Company at Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 1037 SW Broadway, 224-8499. 7:30 pm Wednesday, Oct. 27. $15.50-$29. Dance of Nothing Portland Institute for Contemporary Art presents Israeli choreographers Liat Dror and Nir Ben Gal in a tale of forbidden love set in the war-riven Middle East. Tiffany Center, Emerald Ballroom, 1410 SW Morrison St., 242-1419. 8 pm Thursday-Friday, Nov. 4-5. $19 general, $16 PICA members. The Nutcracker The traditional holiday tale with an erotic subtext (girl meets wooden toy). Oregon Ballet Theatre at Portland Civic Auditorium, 1500 SW 3rd Ave., 222-5538. 7:30 pm Wednesday-Saturday, Dec. 8-11, Tuesday-Saturday, Dec. 14-19 and Tuesday-Thursday, Dec. 21-23. 2 pm Saturday, Dec. 11 and 18, and Wednesday-Thursday, Dec. 22-24. 1 pm and 5 pm Sunday, Dec. 12, 19 and 26. $5.50-$87. Open House 01 Portland Institute for Contemporary Art presents choreographer Wally Cardona and his quartet of dancers in a suite of dances that use four distinct movement vocabularies to explore the human body. Portland State University, Lincoln Hall, 620 SW Park Ave. 242-1419. 8 pm Friday-Saturday, Jan. 21-22, 2000. $16 general, $13 PICA members. Diavolo's Catapult: La Comédie Humaine Diavolo Dance Theater's demonic logo notwithstanding, this is a serious company doing original postmodern work. While the Diavolo dancers are highly acrobatic, the company's repertoire extends far beyond gymnastic tricks. Artistic director Jacques Heim creates visually and aurally surreal environments to comment on the darkness and absurdity of human nature. Dancers move under, inside and around metal cages, pipes and doors; they hang from trapeze rings or ski down a flight of stairs. Costumes signal the mundane (three-piece suits, tank tops and boxers) and the bizarre (a torso becomes a large box). The intensely physical movement is provocative; Heim is as likely to reveal large patterns created by many bodies as he is to fix the eye on the image of a monk dancing with a candle as if it were an extension of his body. Add to that elements of incongruity and undercurrents of gritty industrial sound that build creepy tension. Diavolo's Portland program is a full-length piece; this performance already has me in suspense. White Bird presents Diavolo Dance Theater at Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 1037 SW Broadway, 224-8499. 7:30 pm Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2000. $15.50-$29. Carmina Burana BODYVOX's amazing collaboration with the Portland Opera returns to the Portland stage after a two-year absence. In the first season's production, a gorgeous, sexually charged mythology unfolded as a red-haired Lilith-like goddess danced with a boa constrictor and beckoned a mesmerized Eve figure. Seeing dance performed to live opera was pure visceral gratification. Portland Civic Auditorium, 1500 SW 3rd Ave., 241-1802. 7:30 pm Saturday, Feb. 12, Monday, Feb. 14, Wednesday, Feb. 16, Saturday, Feb. 19, 2000. $25-$125. Ballet Hispanico Latin rhythms inflect every piece of Manhattan company Ballet Hispanico's versatile repertoire, which includes works by a variety of choreographers and ranges from stylized ballroom scenes to gypsy folk dances to modern-dance forms. Artistic director Tina Ramirez's ensemble includes dancers from Cuba, Puerto Rico, Italy, Israel and the United States, but there's one thing they all have in common: These dancers know how to ride the rhythm wave. Gyrating hips in a slow, frankly sexual, all-female piece contrast with sharp stop-action and angular edges by a chorus of men. Cowboy-garbed gauchos dance a funny, flashy Broadway-pop piece. Sweeping, elastic bodies give way to funky body beats or slinky slides. The troupe even performs a version of a drum circle, sitting in chairs while shouting and stamping their feet. In a spoken-word piece, the entire ensemble dances to a whisper. In their best pieces, the dancers of Ballet Hispanico display a sensousness in their movement so genuine that it goes beyond performance. White Bird presents Ballet Hispanico at Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 1037 SW Broadway, 224-8499. 7:30 pm Tuesday, February 29, 2000. $15.50-$29. Dance Near the Edge Oregon Ballet Theatre artistic director James Canfield and resident choreographer Trey McIntyre unveil two world premieres. Not to be missed. Oregon Ballet Theatre at Portland Civic Auditorium, 1500 SW 3rd Ave., 222-5538. 7:30 pm Friday-Saturday, March 3-4, 2 pm Sunday, March 5, 7:30 pm Thursday-Saturday, March 9-11, 2000. $12.50-$76.50. Garth Fagan Dance Garth Fagan may be known as the Tony Award-winning choreographer of the Broadway show The Lion King, but his modern-dance company is the polar opposite of Disney. This company of 12 dancers makes physically difficult and often precariously off-balance movement look loose and free. They're also gifted at traversing a wide expanse of expression, including Kenyan rhythms, New Orleans jazz saxophone, and layered chanting. Light period pieces in turn-of-the-century costumes mix with traditional, feathered African costumes and swimsuits. Nonetheless, what gives this company its distinctive look is not the costumery but the earthiness the dancers give to balletic choreography and the risks they take with balance. Fagan keeps the repertoire interesting by varying tempo and exploring ranges of movement, from breathtaking airborne, wide-body leaps to the muscular minimalism of gyrating torsos. White Bird presents Garth Fagan Dance at Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 1037 SW Broadway, 224-8499. 7:30 pm Wednesday, March 15, 2000. $15.50-$29. New Work Portland Institute for Contemporary Art presents Portland dancer and choreographer Mary Oslund in an exploration of how human beings mirror the language of technology. Portland Community College-Sylvania Campus, Performing Arts Center, 12000 SW 49th Ave., 242-1419. 8 pm Thursday-Saturday, March 23-25, 2000. $16 general, $13 PICA members. Moving Signatures This annual program is an excellent opportunity to see original work by Northwest choreographers in a venue more intimate than the typical ballet experience. Dancers and choreographers also answer audience questions after the performance. Watch Dance calendar listings for program details as they are announced. Oregon Ballet Theatre at Portland State University, Lincoln Hall, 1620 SW Park Ave., 222-5538. 7:30 pm Wednesday-Sunday, March 29-April 2 and April 6-9, 2 pm Saturday-Sunday, April 1-2 and April 8-9, 2000. $17. aero/betty aerial dance theatre The leaders of this Portland company of acrobats are both fine athletes and gorgeous dancers. Artistic directors Mike Barber and Suzanne Kenney lead an 11-member company of local dancers through impressive aerial maneuvers that never look constrained by the props. Bodies are layered on trapezes in slowly-moving shape sculptures or hurtle across the space at odd angles. The repertoire blends haunting, expressive dance with gymnastics that sometimes seem physically impossible. This program will feature original choreography and live music. An added bonus is the intimate venue; the theater houses 400 seats, and every one of them has a great view. White Bird presents aero/betty at Portland Community College-Sylvania Campus, Performing Arts Center, 12000 SW 49th Ave, 224-8499. 8 pm Thursday-Friday, March 30-April 1 and April 6-8, 2 pm Sunday, April 2 and April 9, 2000. $10-$20. Mark Morris Dance Group Mark Morris has been called the bad boy of contemporary dance for both his irreverent responses to critics and for his brazen choreographic expression, which runs from a satirical version of The Nutcracker to onstage masturbation and obscenity with dolls. The 40-year-old Seattle native is adamant that his company only perform to live music. Music is the principal inspiration for all of Morris' choreography, and his tastes are eclectic: George Gershwin, 17th-century Claudio Monteverdi madrigals, Handel, and the Violent Femmes are as likely to be part of the program as the musical traditions of Tahiti and India. Morris' dancers reflect his musical diversity in movement that runs from folk to wild ritualism in choreography that refuses to be bound by staid gender roles. Although Morris returns to Seattle yearly, this is the first time the company will perform in Portland in 15 years. White Bird presents Mark Morris Dance Group at Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, 1037 SW Broadway, 224-8499. 7:30 pm, Tuesday, May 2, 2000. $15.50-$29. I Hate Modern Dance Portland Institute for Contemporary Art presents former Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company dancers Heidi Latsky and Lawrence Goldhuber in a work that reconceptualizes modern dance and dancers. Portland Center for the Performing Arts, Dolores Winningstad Theater, 1111 SW Broadway. 242-1419. 8 pm Thursday-Saturday, May 25-27, 2000. $16 general, $13 PICA members. American Choreographers Showcase 10 Oregon Ballet Theatre presents two programs featuring OBT resident choreographer Trey McIntyre's world premiere Alice in Wonderland, based on Lewis Carroll's classic children's book. Alonzo King, artistic director of San Francisco's Lines Contemporary Ballet, will also premiere a new work. Oregon Ballet Theatre at Portland Center for the Performing Arts, Newmark Theatre, 1111 SW Broadway, 222-5538. Program X: 7:30 pm Friday-Sunday, June 2-4 and Wednesday-Sunday, June 14-18, 2 pm Sunday, June 4 and 18, 2000. Program Y: 7:30 pm Wednesday-Sunday, June 7-11 and Wednesday-Saturday, June 21-24. 2 pm Sunday, June 11. $12.50-$76.50. Pick Pick: "I Hate Modern Dance," brought by Portland Institute for Contemporary Art - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Willamette Week | originally published September 15, 1999