What a Pair

All kinds of unexpected, coincidental, even accidental elements can contribute to the making of a dance—along with the essential inspiration. One thing that Pam Tanowitz knew, heading into her next project after last year’s intelligent and beguiling Be in the Gray With Me, was that she wanted to shake things up musically. That work, presented by Dance Theater Workshop, featured a collage of contemporary music, much of it Russian. For earlier works, she often turned to 20th-century American composers—Charles Wuorinen, Henry Cowell or original scores by Dan Siegler.

“I realized the next thing I wanted to do was not to work with a collaged score; I really wanted to try a classical piece, unto itself. I was trying to start fresh and look around,” Tanowitz says.

She headed towards the 19th century, exploring pieces by Schubert and Schumann. She came upon the former’s 1822 Wanderer Fantasy, which seemed to be a manageable length and captured her imagination on several levels. She also faced a decision, since the score—in four continuous movements on a theme Schubert used in an earlier song, “The Wanderer”—exists in several versions. Schubert’s original, Fantasie in C major, Op. 15 (D. 760) is for piano, but Franz Liszt was sufficiently taken with the work to transcribe it for piano and orchestra, as well as for two pianos. She sensed the Liszt wasn’t appropriate for a dance for her eight company members.

Then circumstances intervened. Tanowitz received a commission from Danspace Project for her next company work, and was also asked to choreograph a piece for SUNY Purchase students. Both events would take place within weeks of each other. Suddenly she saw an opportunity to create two separate yet related dances, one to the solo piano score, another to Liszt’s expanded version. “I thought, what if I make the two dances relate through the set and the music and some shared movement?” she says. “So, it’s really an experiment. I love the idea of the duality, and it morphed into what it is now.”

When The Wanderer Fantasy (Dances 1 and 2) has its premiere at Danspace Project this week, it will open with the expansive work she created for 18 SUNY Purchase students, which was recently performed on its own (and in a very differently configured space) as part of the school’s spring dance concert. The second half, with pianist Alan Feinberg performing the complex score live, will be danced by Tanowitz’s company members. Linking the two parts—which are separated by a series of brief “palate cleanser” solos—is the set and lighting design by Philip Treviño, his third collaboration with the choreographer. His renderings suggest a soothing pastoral reverie, with trees on both levels of the St. Mark’s Church sanctuary. “I wanted to use the space differently than I did last time in 2006, when I had the whole space open and you could see doors and windows. I wanted to mask it all,” Tanowitz explains. She describes the intended look, which incorporates 400 stacked boxes painted green, as “a ballet landscape come to 3-D” and “a fantasy in the woods with an urban twist.”

Tanowitz’s exemplary group of dancers—most of whom have worked with her on several projects—exude a serene intensity as they rehearse the meticulous, sophisticated choreography, which includes striking recurring arm gestures and bodies abruptly crumpling to the floor. Tanowitz frequently juxtaposes several pairs of dancers working intently together, each focused on his or her own path. She favors crisp, fleet footwork. “A couple of years ago, I realized, when I was going to modern dance concerts, that a lot of people don’t even use their feet. I think it’s important. I like articulate feet. Even if it’s not pointed, it needs to be clear that it’s not pointed.”

Choreographing two dances at the same time was a new experience for her, as was working with the large group of Purchase students. “That piece was the first time I’ve used more than nine dancers, and my inspiration for that was really composition, and how I could move groups around. So in a way, the bigger piece is simpler in its actual movement. Working with all new dancers is always a challenge—and good for me, because I have to be more clear. When I’m working with dancers who know me, I can get away with stuff!”

Pam Tanowitz Dance

May 20 through 22, Danspace Project at St. Mark’s Church, 131 E. 10th St. (at 2nd Ave.), 866-811-4111; 8, $18.