David Taylor's ZIKR Presents "Sermons" and Sacred Dance

The former Artistic Director of the David Taylor Dance Theatre (DTDT) presented his new "ZIKR Sacred Dance Ensemble" in six new sacred dance works in the Boulder, Colorado Dairy Center for the Arts East Theatre on November 6th, 2009. That program was filled out by two works from the DTDT repertory, with one of those significantly reworked. Mr. Taylor provided a rather lengthy pre-show lecture on the intentions of ZIKR, and on the intent inherent in all sacred dance. He also covered for costume changes by the small ensemble with equally lengthy expositions of each dance. Some audience expressed that the dances should have been allowed to speak for themselves, others, perhaps knowing too well the inability of audiences to sense what dance is saying to them, welcomed the clear summaries on origin and intent.

None of the work in this concert could be described as original. All six of the sacred dances were steeped in histories reaching back hundreds and even thousands of years. What was presented were wonderfully costumed - a David Taylor trademark ably aided by costumers Charles Rowbotham, Paulette Campbell, and Kathy Scoggins - examples of dances with deep ties to heaven and earth - to present existence and eternity, from around the world and through millennia. All were well executed by an ensemble deeply rooted in what Front Range Colorado has seen from DTDT. Most were striking in their simplicity - a simplicity that often required virtuosity to implement - and a semblance to practices in Buddhism, where the very act of doing the practice takes the practitioner to new states of awareness. Of special note were three works derived from research and music of G.I. Gurdjieff and Thomas Hartman - "Note Values" and "Ho Yah," the former consisting of obligatories inherent in a form, and "Trembling Dervish." In "Trembling Dervish" movement by Xilin Zhu amidst a bass background set by the ensemble was striking.

The first re-staging of a DTDT work was a duet. "Parallel and Elevated," set to an elegant music score by Brain Eno and danced by Natalie Kitka and Peter Strand. Kitka embodied the very difficult phrasing almost flawlessly, but the work suffered from Strand's seeming inability to find the strength and flow necessary for his part and the partnering therein. The second, an excerpt from "Times Up," lacked performance life with the exception of a stunning closing section added from Gurdjieff's choreography of an "Om Circle."

ZIKR is, and will bring a refreshing modality to Front Range Colorado dance for reasons steeped in history and spiritual awareness through dance. And that is a place where dance becomes exceptionally powerful.

Donald K. Atwood MFA, Ph.D.

© Copyright World Dance Reviews 2009