When Moses Pendleton refers to himself as an “avant-gardener,” he’s being his usual sly and witty self, but he’s also being quite accurate. Certainly the imagery and imaginative range of Botanica, his latest work for Momix, would not exist did he not spend a great deal of time gardening, roaming the woods, creating landscapes of sunflowers in addition to time developing ideas in the troupe’s Connecticut barn studio.
Several years of experimentation and contemplation—along with projects for corporate ventures such as Mercedes Benz and Hanes, and a collaboration with Kirov Ballet star Diana Vishneva—have gone into this latest production for the enterprising troupe of self-described “dancer-illusionists.” Pendleton and his associates can always be relied upon to astonish, mesmerize and delight, incorporating an amazing blend of physical skills and visionary design effects to conjure a fantastical world. Longtime collaborator Michael Curry has contributed numerous, and sizable, puppet and design elements to Botanica, which is performed by a cast of 10 and also features complex projections.
As its title implies, the work explores many forms of plant life, but extends its reach mush further. “The point is to make contact with all those forms in nature—rocks, mythical beasts, plants, weather—all those green things that we must be in touch with. Making that contact, I think, is part of my job,” Pendleton explained in a recent phone interview, describing the piece as exploring “where we might venture into a Momix botanical garden.”
“I tried to make it into a very loose interpretation of the four seasons. The logic of it might be surprise, but the feeling is that you’re going from the dead of winter through the melting snow and the spring blooms, and midsummer night, and August thunderstorms, and sunflower maturations, and gathering of autumnal trees, the fall harvest, and then the cold river runs again, to complete a kind of cycle.”
Sunflowers are especially close to Pendleton’s heart. He has long cultivated them and included them into his stage works and is even now getting commissions from neighbors to “create landscape art out of sunflowers.” But plenty of other forms of flora and fauna make appearances in Botanica. In the course of discussing it, he mentions Marigolds, earthworms, hornets, centaurs. Sections evoke prehistoric times, and there is an allusion to Persephone in the Underworld.
“I’ve been playing around with imagery for this piece for about three years. Much of it comes from working on other productions. This is a very green idea to recycle an idea.” Some of those productions have taken Momix into venues far removed from where most dance companies go—such as a presentation for Mercedes Benz at the Frankfurt Motor Show, as the auto company sought to emphasize its capacity to produce cars in accordance with new emission standards. “We weren’t really selling ourselves out to Mercedes Benz; so much as they were coming to us,” Pendleton notes. “They were buying into Moses Pendleton as basically a green choreographer. That imagery is something that they were interested in having to open their presentation. We did a fantastic show, with a large catwalk for cars. But in it, and around it, we presented our ‘trees,’ a natural world that was in and amongst these automobiles, to make that connection.”
Botanica continues and extends the fantastical, sometimes trippy imagery and sense of surprising possibility that have marked recent Momix productions such as Opus Cactus and Lunar Sea, in which shapes evolve and creatures materialize. Pendleton notes, “There’s a lot more dance in this than you’ve seen before. Along with the imagery, there’s a lot of physicality. It’s challenging, and for the dancers, this is their favorite show to do.”
One can always count on Pendleton to assemble an marvelously appropriate and often unexpected musical collage, and for Botanica the mix includes modern techno music, Delirium, bird recordings, Vivaldi, Peter Gabriel and much more—25 selections in all. “I spend most of my time walking the back oak woods with headphones on, going through thousands of sources of music,” he said.
Pendleton is already contemplating the next Momix production, which will focus on water. He envisions some enjoyable research. “It might be lovely summer—what an excuse to spend four or five hours in the lake. ‘Where’s Moses?’ “He’s sitting out in the middle of Mt. Tom pond, rehearsing!’”
> Botanica
May 12 through 31, Joyce Theater, 175 Eighth Ave. (at W. 19 St.), 212-242-0800; times vary, $19-$49.
Several years of experimentation and contemplation—along with projects for corporate ventures such as Mercedes Benz and Hanes, and a collaboration with Kirov Ballet star Diana Vishneva—have gone into this latest production for the enterprising troupe of self-described “dancer-illusionists.” Pendleton and his associates can always be relied upon to astonish, mesmerize and delight, incorporating an amazing blend of physical skills and visionary design effects to conjure a fantastical world. Longtime collaborator Michael Curry has contributed numerous, and sizable, puppet and design elements to Botanica, which is performed by a cast of 10 and also features complex projections.
As its title implies, the work explores many forms of plant life, but extends its reach mush further. “The point is to make contact with all those forms in nature—rocks, mythical beasts, plants, weather—all those green things that we must be in touch with. Making that contact, I think, is part of my job,” Pendleton explained in a recent phone interview, describing the piece as exploring “where we might venture into a Momix botanical garden.”
“I tried to make it into a very loose interpretation of the four seasons. The logic of it might be surprise, but the feeling is that you’re going from the dead of winter through the melting snow and the spring blooms, and midsummer night, and August thunderstorms, and sunflower maturations, and gathering of autumnal trees, the fall harvest, and then the cold river runs again, to complete a kind of cycle.”
Sunflowers are especially close to Pendleton’s heart. He has long cultivated them and included them into his stage works and is even now getting commissions from neighbors to “create landscape art out of sunflowers.” But plenty of other forms of flora and fauna make appearances in Botanica. In the course of discussing it, he mentions Marigolds, earthworms, hornets, centaurs. Sections evoke prehistoric times, and there is an allusion to Persephone in the Underworld.
“I’ve been playing around with imagery for this piece for about three years. Much of it comes from working on other productions. This is a very green idea to recycle an idea.” Some of those productions have taken Momix into venues far removed from where most dance companies go—such as a presentation for Mercedes Benz at the Frankfurt Motor Show, as the auto company sought to emphasize its capacity to produce cars in accordance with new emission standards. “We weren’t really selling ourselves out to Mercedes Benz; so much as they were coming to us,” Pendleton notes. “They were buying into Moses Pendleton as basically a green choreographer. That imagery is something that they were interested in having to open their presentation. We did a fantastic show, with a large catwalk for cars. But in it, and around it, we presented our ‘trees,’ a natural world that was in and amongst these automobiles, to make that connection.”
Botanica continues and extends the fantastical, sometimes trippy imagery and sense of surprising possibility that have marked recent Momix productions such as Opus Cactus and Lunar Sea, in which shapes evolve and creatures materialize. Pendleton notes, “There’s a lot more dance in this than you’ve seen before. Along with the imagery, there’s a lot of physicality. It’s challenging, and for the dancers, this is their favorite show to do.”
One can always count on Pendleton to assemble an marvelously appropriate and often unexpected musical collage, and for Botanica the mix includes modern techno music, Delirium, bird recordings, Vivaldi, Peter Gabriel and much more—25 selections in all. “I spend most of my time walking the back oak woods with headphones on, going through thousands of sources of music,” he said.
Pendleton is already contemplating the next Momix production, which will focus on water. He envisions some enjoyable research. “It might be lovely summer—what an excuse to spend four or five hours in the lake. ‘Where’s Moses?’ “He’s sitting out in the middle of Mt. Tom pond, rehearsing!’”
> Botanica
May 12 through 31, Joyce Theater, 175 Eighth Ave. (at W. 19 St.), 212-242-0800; times vary, $19-$49.
