The Lubovitch Aesthetic

Lar Lubovitch has made a name for himself as one of the “ten best choreographers in the world” as stated by the New York Times. His versatile movement appeals to crowds with backgrounds in modern, ballet, and jazz. After watching a couple of clips of his work, it is obvious that his movement is a balance of strength and control, weight shift and continuity of movement, creating a sense of elegance. One of his dancers said that “Lubovitch is able to penetrate the physicality of the dancer’s essence.” In a quote from Lubovitch he states, "I've been making dance for a long time. I've seen a lot of dance come and go. I've done what I do, and I haven't altered myself in relationship to what was expected or what was current. I'm not interested in the newfangled, no am I interested in old fashioned. I'm interested in getting to the heart of what I do very honestly and with integrity."  In his enthralling, bolding original, "Othello," choreographer Lar Lubovitch proves himself a master of such words-into-motion "translation," weaving this classic tale of love and all devouring jealousy in the most fluid and audacious dance terms. The work of Lubovitch is often free flowing, maintaining a fluidity and consistency that is quite beautiful.  The movement in relation to the body exudes from each dancer and displays an honest and vulnerable form of dance.  There is a quote by A. Kisselgoff which was posted in the New York Times that exemplifies the aesthetic of Lubovitch.  He states, "Repeatedly, the new choreography produces new steps, new movement, new patterns, new twists on highly sophisticated formal structures--and all with a vibrantly alive human passion that emanates from the dancers at every moment.  Why beat around the bush?  The truth is that this is what dance is really about."

Why I Love Lar Lubovitch and His Company

          This past summer I had the opportunity to attend the first ever Lar Lubovtich Summer Program, which took place at the North Loyola Campus in Chicago, IL.  The 2 week intensive included a compilation of  both technique and repertoire classes each day.  For me,  it was a deeply inspiring and motivating experience.  The company members were actively involved in teaching, assisting, taking classes with us, and consistently giving feedback on ways in which to improve.  It was obvious that these dancers truly personified the Lubovitch aesthetic and were chosen for their overt style, technicality, and individuality.  I was grateful for the hospitality and the kindness of the company members and meticulously observed the collective artistry within this group.  From the beginning of the first week, I felt a deep connection to Lubovitch's movement and message.  I'm not sure if it had anything to do with the fact we hail from the same region but I felt very at home within his style.  It is difficult to place a solid definition on the Lubovitch movement because it is clearly not just modern, or ballet, or jazz, but instead this fusion of dance that when impressed on the body epitomizes the expressiveness of art.  Another reason I found this work so enlightening was the honest relationship between dancer and music. In a quote Lubovitch states, "The dances I compose are a way of seeing the music on the body...It's about dancing and dancing in response to music."  Although I respect the work and processes of artists such as Merce Cunningham and John Cage, just like Lubovitch it is the music that inspires me to move.  The aspect of Lar's choreography that stood out most to me was the continuity and fluidity.  The form of this blog represents this idea, that every movement is followed by the movement that was destined to follow it.  It is less about choices and more about the pure unadulterated flow of motion, transitioning naturally in relation to the music.  I left this intensive greatly inspired and enlightened.  I hope to attend next summer's intensive to continue to grow and learn with a company that I have an unmatched admiration for.      

Lar Lubovitch Dance Company at the Baryshnikov Arts Center

            Masterfully crafted, ingeniously musical, naturally lyrical, and bubbling with pleasing body shapes and effervescent motion, Lar Lubovitch's choreography is the pink champagne of modern dance. One feels giddy with delight watching his intoxicatingly fluid phrases organically fill the space and time with movements so entrancingly designed and emotionally rich that you never want his dances to end. One of the most pleasing characteristics of Lubovitch's choreographic vocabulary is its three-dimensionality. While much of today's contemporary dance is marked by a sharp linearity, Lubovitch's work makes full use of all spatial planes, levels, and dimensions within and encircling his dancers' bodies, creating spirals, swirls, and arcs of movement that feel gratifyingly holistic.

In its current engagement at the Baryshnikov Arts Center, the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company, which was formed 42 years ago, opens its program with Lubovitch's signature 1978 ensemble piece "North Star." A classic example of the choreographer's genius for creating continually evolving, enthrallingly complex patterns of motion, the work is set to a Philip Glass score, reminding us that Lubovitch was one of the pioneering artists in the marriage of minimalist music and modern dance.

The centerpiece of the program is the world premiere of Lubovitch's mysterious "The Legend of Ten," in which a band of what look like Robin Hood–era woodsmen interpret the rhythms and musical textures of a Brahms score. But with its clever incorporation of abstracted clapping, finger snapping, and folk-dance maneuvers, the choreography also conjures drama, evoking the tensions, longings, and sense of tribal identity within the group.

Katarzyna Skarpetowska and Brian McGinnis give an impressive performance of the extremely challenging lifts and strength moves in the slow, shape-driven duet from Lubovitch's "Meadow," choreographed in 1999. And just when you thought it couldn't get any better, Coltrane is added into the mix. The program closes with a new production of Lubovitch's "Coltrane's Favorite Things," choreographed last spring to a 1963 recording of Richard Rodgers' "My Favorite Things" performed by the John Coltrane Quartet. Comprising a duet, quartet, and trio, the piece layers bouncy jazz qualities and an improvisatory feel upon Lubovitch's comely vocabulary and is danced with a winning combination of relaxed and spirited energies.

By Lisa Jo Sagolla

NOVEMBER 19, 2010

The Man Behind the Vision

         Lar Lubovitch was born in Chicago, IL in 1943.  As a freshman studying art at the University of Iowa Lubovitch attended a performance by the Jose Limon Dance Company and it was then he knew what he wanted to do.  "I came to dancing very late," Lubovitch says in Gruen's 1988 book, PEOPLE WHO DANCE.  "But I had a ferocious determination to achieve certain abilities that the dancers around me already possessed." Lubovitch went on to attend the Julliard School in New York City on full scholarship.  His teachers there included Anthony Tudor, Jose Limon, Anna Sokolow, Martha Grahm, and Louis Horst.   From Julliard Lubovitch went on to study at the Martha Grahm School and the Joffrey Ballet School.  After dancing with numerous dance companies he started the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company in 1968.  Since 1968 Lar has made his mark on the choreographic world choreographing.  In 1987 he made his broadway debut with "Into the  Woods," in which he received a Tony Award nomination.  He also choreographed for the broadway show "The Red Shoes." For his work on that show, he received the 1993-94 Astaire Award from the Theater Development Fund. In 1996 he created the musical staging (and two new dances) for the Tony-Award-winning Broadway revival of The King and I. Most recently he devised the musical staging for Walt Disney's stage version of The Hunchback of Notre Dame in Berlin. In 2004 he was honored with the Elan Award for his outstanding choreography.  Lubovitch has also gained much recognition for his rendition of "Othello," which aired on a PBS special.  

In addition to his work for stage, screen and television, Lubovitch has also made a significant contribution to the advancement of choreography in the field of ice-dancing. He has created dances for Olympic gold medalists John Curry, Peggy Fleming and Dorothy Hamill and has choreographed a full-length ice-dancing version of The Sleeping Beauty, starring Olympic medalists Robin Cousins and Rosalynn Sumners. For French Olympic skating champions Isabelle and Paul Duchesnay, Lubovitch choreographed a television project based on The Planets by Gustav Holst; telecast by the A&E network in 1995, the program was nominated for an International Emmy Award, a CableACE Award and a Grammy Award.

In 2007, to supplement the activities (creating, performing and teaching) of the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company, he founded the Chicago Dancing Company, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to present a wide variety of excellent dance and build dance audiences in his native Chicago. Initiated by Chicago-born Lubovitch (and our Chicago-based dancer Jay Franke), the Chicago Dancing Festival (CDF) was launched in cooperation with Chicago's Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) and the City of Chicago. The official premiere of the festival was a free one-night-only dance concert at the Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park. More than 8,000 people attended the performance, which featured dancers from seven leading American companies. For 2008, CDF will be expanded to include three days of programming. For his visionary risk-taking in establishing the Festival, Lubovitch was named a "2007 Chicagoan of the Year" by the Chicago Tribune.