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Some 'Rites' to remember
Allan Ulrich, SF Gate
© 2013 Hearst Communications Inc.
February 24, 2013

"The Rite of Spring" has been performed so many times in so many ways, it's impossible to list them all. Following is a selective list:

The memorable

Joffrey Ballet's reconstruction of Nijinsky's original

Millicent Hodson and Kenneth Archer toiled heroically for years to retrieve this landmark work from the fog of history. Despite some questionable details, it's the closest we've come to learning how "Rite of Spring" looked and moved in 1913. Authentic? Joffrey unveiled it Sept. 30, 1987, in Los Angeles. The next morning, the city experienced a major earthquake. Draw your own conclusion.

Pina Bausch's Tanztheater Wuppertal in "Frühlingsopfer"

The formidable German Expressionist created her "Rite" in 1975 and it served for the company's American debut in 1984. The dancers must negotiate their way across a stage covered in earth, and they capture the ritual element of the score in an almost visceral manner. You can see excerpts in "Pina," Wim Wenders' filmed homage to the late choreographer, now on DVD.

Paul Taylor's "Le Sacre du Printemps (The Rehearsal)"

The master dance maker uses the four-hand piano version of the score as inspiration for this sardonic 1980 essay that juxtaposes a ballet rehearsal studio with a private-eye caper. As a rethinking of the original scenario, it makes loopy sense. As dance theater, it's drop-dead brilliant.

Molissa Fenley's "State of Darkness"

Fenley, a Mills College graduate, secured her career with this daunting, exhausting, encyclopedic 35-minute solo. The piece achieved a measure of notoriety when Fenley performed it topless. Since the premiere, she has set the piece on men, most famously Peter Boal, who also danced topless...

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http://www.sfgate.com/performance/article/Some-Rites-to-remember-4298467.php#photo-4192808

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