Dance Company Performance Superb

Martha Graham Dance Company Tuesday, Jan. 28, Opera House

For half a century critics have been writing about the dances created by Martha Graham and performed by her company.

One of the early performances of the Martha Graham Dance Company was booed in Paris, but the rave reviews since have drowned out any naysaying. And a vast range of superlatives in a number of languages have been used to describe and applaud Martha Graham Company performances.

To say that the performance of the Martha Graham Company Tuesday night in Spokane was one of the finest hours of dance - modern or otherwise - in this city would not be overselling the event, nor would it be inconsistent with what critics have said for decades about the troupe.

That Martha Graham was one of the best choreographers this country has ever seen is evident to anyone who has seen her dances. They are layered with a sophistication in use of space, pacing, rhythm, movement and an understanding of musicality.

Tuesday, the company performed three of Graham’s dances - all created in the late 1940s. That the dances are as fresh and stimulating 50 years later only underscores the integrity of Graham’s work. Of the three, the most arresting was “Cave of the Heart.” Dancers Terese Capucilli as Medea and Gary Galbraith as Jason were stunning in the Greek legend, set to music by Samuel Barber, and at moments the performance was literally breathtaking.

Because so little modern dance follows a story line, the audience must interpret complex and subtle symbolism in the choreography and spare sets. At its most elemental level, modern dance can be admired and appreciated for complex movement. Graham not only excelled in stringing together physical movements so they flowed one to another, she applied as much energy to the use of sets as part of the dance rather than just a backdrop, to setting up dance steps with musical passages, and to incorporating symbolism in a way that’s never heavy-handed.

The evening ended with a relatively new dance, “Cool River,” by Martha Graham company dancer Steve Rooks. At every turn it differed from Graham dances. Although imitation may be the greatest form of flattery, in this case, the greatness of Graham’s legacy is that those she taught and inspired can create dances that reach for her level of genius in their own ways rather than being simply cheap knockoffs.

, DataTimes