Margie
Gillis
White
Bird/ Portland State University Dance Series at Lincoln Hall,
Portland State University, 1620 SW Park Ave., 224-8499. 8
pm Thursday-Saturday, Dec. 14-16. $24.
In 1979, Gillis
was the first modern dancer allowed to perform in post-Gang
of Four China.
Margie Gillis' career as a solo dance artist is, in many
ways, reminiscent of the famous American monologist Ruth
Draper. On a bare stage, and with a minimum of props and
costume, Draper created a vast emotional landscape where
she brilliantly explored the great range of human sentiment
and passion. Gillis possesses the same interpretive intelligence
as Draper, and, though she chooses to translate the human
experience through movement and mimetic gesture, the electric,
raw-edged honesty generated on stage is equally
present.
There's a striking athleticism to Gillis' work, which she
has come by naturally--most members of her family are leading
Canadian athletes. But rather than direct her energy toward
skiing or hockey, she and her late brother, Christopher
Gillis, immersed themselves in dance. While her brother
had a long and fruitful partnership with the Paul Taylor
Dance Company, Gillis has spent the past 20 years establishing
a reputation as a solo artist, though she has also worked
with Paul Taylor, as well as Momix and Martha Clarke. As
part of White Bird's important PSU series, Portlanders will
now get a chance to see Gillis' work over the coming weekend.
In this untitled collection of eight pieces, Gillis runs
the gamut from joy to madness. In Variations, Gillis
physically responds to the music of J.S. Bach with great
verve and humor. In fact, the evening begins and ends with
Bach, concluding with Slipstream, Gillis' signature
piece, performed to the Prelude, Suite No. 1 in G Major.
In between there's The Little Animal (an attempt
by Gillis to place intellectualism within a spiritual context)
and Thrall, choreographed by Irene Dowd to music
by Astor Piazzolla, which deals with faith.
One striking feature in Gillis' work is her interpretation
of spoken text and sounds from nature. In Bloom,
she physically translates the great "Yes" monologue of Molly
Bloom's that ends Joyce's Ulysses. As in Joyce, Gillis
presents one of the greatest affirmations of life through
the sensual and tactile sensations of Molly (read by the
great Irish actress Siobhan McKenna). In Loon, Gillis
delves into the wilder side of human nature, often labeled
as "madness," to the racket of insects and the keening of
loons.
Gillis has said of her work, "I try to strike a universal
chord with my characterizations, and I try, most of all,
to dance with integrity." As Draper did, Gillis performs
from the inside out.
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