Debra Ramsay

I recently attended “Dance” at the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia. It was a collaboration conceived around 1979 by Lucinda Childs, Sol Le Witt, and Phillip Glass. While I’m no dance critic, my daughter’s devotion to the art form for 18 years has given me some knowledge, via osmosis. LeWitt’s passion for a paired down aesthetic, utilizing variation within a  set of restrictions was translated into dance…or I should say, in collaboration with Childs, the choreography reflected this working method. The dancers were limited to a  few movements and these were varied by speed and the number of dancers performing them at a given time on the gridded floor.  It was exhilarating to see this played out and meshing not only with Cage’s score but with images from the LeWitt film of the original dancers in 79 which was projected on a transparent scrim hanging in front of the stage. There was an elegant sense of timelessness as the dance was brought to life before us and connecting to the performance of the past. If you ever have the opportunity to see this performance I’d urge you to do so.