Trisha Brown was a trailblazer in the postmodern dance scene of the Sixties and Seventies. Now aged 76, the US choreographer has announced her retirement and brings her last ever work to the Dance Umbrella festival.
As a choreographer who can be the epitome of understated, Brown was never going to go out with a bang. But neither is I’m going to toss my arms — if you catch them they’re yours, a whimper. Instead it’s a gently mesmerising work for nine dancers on a stage set with nine industrial fans, a chain of lazily paced steps and skips and turns that’s both careful and carefree, meandering and purposeful. In its own subtle way it’s a fitting end.
It comes preceded by a work from 1989, Astral Convertible, which owes much to the cool-headed shape-shifting of Merce Cunningham. But the real gem is a tiny slice of dancey deliciousness that is sandwiched in between: Watermotor, a three-minute solo Brown made for herself in 1978, here performed by Neal Beasley. Danced in silence, it’s a nonchalant study in rhythm, propulsion, freedom and pluck, made of modest swoops and gallops all improvised out of Brown’s body. It’s her physical signature, even when danced by somebody else, and it is a brilliant way to remember Trisha Brown.
Until Friday. Dance Umbrella festival continues until Oct 20 (020 7387 0031, danceumbrella.co.uk)
