They've danced on water. They've smoked cigarettes in kitchens of fine-dining establishments. They've ridden bicycles over crystal ware- and velvet-adorned tables, rudely interrupting dinner-party conversations (well, at least on video). David Parsons himself has, with minimal help from a strobe light, mastered the art of flying. Parsons Dance Company members will add yet another accomplishment to their list this Sunday night when they present a show at the Wisconsin Union Theater choreographed in part to music by the Dave Matthews Band.
No doubt artistic director David Parsons has run up against his fair share of opposition since striking out on his own in 1987 (see "Scrutiny," a piece Parsons says he composed as an acknowledgement to negative judgment after being filled with a sense that his contemporaries wanted him to fail). Dancing other people's work, losing one's individuality in the cast of others' artistic visions, stales fast, and Parsons made the break from well-respected modern-dance-company leviathan Paul Taylor Dance Company after spending nearly a decade there. He sold his first piece of choreography, a gleefully comical work called "The Envelope" in which dancers rally against a rebellious but fortunately imaginary piece of stationery, and realized that he wasn't the only person who wanted to see his choreography — everyone else did, too.
Nineteen years later, in testament to his diverse artistic success, he was awarded an honorary doctorate of fine arts from the University of Missouri in his hometown of Kansas City and presented by the mayor with a key to the city. Thriving on sharp but playful wit, irreverent jests and, of course, tricks-of-the-eye experimentation, Parsons has proved that the world of dance (and sometimes the key to the city) belongs to the creator. Sunday night's performance will feature his classic mind-boggler, "Caught," guaranteed to leave the audience wondering if gravity is such a limitation after all.
Parsons, though owning an original style, nonetheless follows in the meandering scheme of teacher-student succession that has kept the modern dance evolving since its origin. In Parsons' case, the break for independence came from teacher Paul Taylor; in Taylor's case, from teacher Martha Graham; in Graham's case, well … Graham's about as far back as you can get, and that’s only to the 1920s. The Union encourages students not to miss this chance to catch their share of a breathtaking modern dance tradition — and some classic Dave Matthews songs.
Tickets for the Parsons Dance Company's Sunday, Oct. 2, performance at 8 p.m. are $10 for students at the Wisconsin Union Theater box office. Company members will also hold a master class Monday, Oct. 3, 1:20-3 p.m., in studio 349 of UW's Lathrop Hall.
