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IMPRESSIONS: Amy Pivar and Seán Curran in "Together Again" at NYU Tisch Dance
By Deirdre Towers/Follow @deirdre.towers on Instagram
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Published on September 10, 2024
Benjamin Freedman, Séan Curran and Amy Pivar. Photo: Press
Choreographers/Dancers: Amy Pivar, Seán Curran, Benjamin Freedman
Rehearsal Director for Amy Pivar: Janis Brenner
Composers: The Kahalas, Billie Eilish, Alexa Sunshine Rose, Lisa Sokolov, Sol Rising, Aly Halveert, Robert Schumann
Pianist: Peter Groch
Singer: Daniel McGrew
Text: Heinrich Heine, Meghan Dunne
Lighting Design: Susan Hamburger
Costume Design for Seán Curran: Liliana Casaba
Date: September 6, 2024
It’s hard to believe Amy Pivar and Seán Curran could ever be far apart, they danced so well as a duo in the 1980s both in their own work and as founding members of the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company. At the top of Together Again at NYU Tisch Dance, we saw them match energies, timing, and thrust in a sadly diminished performance video of their collaborative duets, Buffalos Roam and Enough, shot in the pre-digital era. Curran partnered Pivar with a deftness that revealed the depth of their connection. The murky nature of the video set us up for the impact of the live, up close and personal appearance of these two.
I can’t recall when I have cried with such a mix of catharsis and tender affection during a show. Tears are the undercurrent of this creation. Pivar choked one quick beat as she stepped forward, holding her mother’s Mu’u mu’us folded on her arm, for the close of her solo Detraumatizing the Archive: Mu‘u mu‘u Dances. Yet, she never overstated or exaggerated her feeling. She danced with a reverence for the spirit of the present moment, sweetened it with whimsy, peppered it with gestures, grounded heel-first walks, and fabric manipulation that brought to mind Martha Graham and Mummenschanz.
The pianist Peter Broch flawlessly accompanied tenor Daniel McGrew. With his slight body, McGrew moves and sings with a rare grace and clarity. His face is so evocative and tone so supple. Curran spoke his poetic reflections during brief musical pauses. Several times, the singer, dancer, observer, facing different directions, made the same subtle hand gesture, syncing them with an emotional sting.
Oben Lust, in Busen Tucker. Joy above, malice in my heart:
Strom, du best der Liebsten Bild! river, you are the image of my love.
Die Mann such so freundlich sicken. She can nod just as sweetly,
Lachelt such so Fromm und mild. smile just as gently and innocently
