Full Description
The dynamic history of the innovative, beloved, and critically acclaimed dance theater company, with revelatory behind-the-scenes details of its creators and significant works
The ingeniously innovative and enduringly popular American dance theater company Pilobolus has helped redefine, remix, and rejuvenate the essence of dance with its eclectic sensibility and daring athleticism. Now, for the first time, the story of Pilobolus, from its counterculture origins through its pop-culture triumphs and contemporary global acclaim, is revealed in a book that will entrance longtime admirers and newcomers alike.
Written with unprecedented access to the company—with insights from unpublished archival materials and interviews with its founders, dancers, and current artistic directors—and featuring both classic and never-before-seen photos, Pilobolus offers previously untold details about the group's history and the creation of its most significant works. Robert Pranzatelli describes the company's genesis in a Dartmouth dance class in 1971 and how Pilobolus revolutionized dance with its blend of sensuality, physical achievement, and visual wit. In these pages, the troupe performs on Broadway, travels the world, and by the late 1980s secures a place in dance history, while its growth is marked by periods of internal conflict, challenges, and change.
As Pilobolus continues to morph, invent, and thrive with the arrival of new artists and collaborators, its story encompasses love, loss, grief, and rebirth, as well as insights into the secrets of the creative process—how performers and choreographers think and work. More than a history, Pilobolus is a narrative of life and art, and the vitality that infuses and inspires both when they align and inhabit each other.
Contents
List of Illustrations ix
Part One
One • First Person 3
Two • Dartmouth 16
Three • Quartet 40
Four • Tall Ladies 60
Five • Broadway 73
Six • Reinventions 97
Part Two
Seven • Among the Gnomen 117
Eight • Pools of Light 134
Nine • Combinations 155
Ten • Differences 179
Eleven • Dreams and Silhouettes 190
Part Three
Twelve • Shadows 205
Thirteen • Partners 221
Fourteen • Branches 236
Fifteen • Life 251
Acknowledgments 261
Pilobolus Dancers through the Years 263
Bibliography of Sources 265
Index 273