Submitted by zoe on Thu, 2011-08-04 14:41

Visitors to Vail Colorado are especially fortunate during the summer months – there are so many things to do! Those in attendance at the Vail International Dance Festival performance last night were certainly lucky - Mark Morris Dance Group burst onto the stage with an intoxicating, varied repertoire that challenged a little and delighted a lot. See what you missed or revisit MMDG’s synergy and spirit.

Strikingly different, the trio of pieces on the program nevertheless showed off founder and choreographer Mark Morris’s intense love of music and signature wit. Silhouettes was equal measures light humor and a sense of nostalgia, with breezy piano melodies evoking 1930’s musicals - you know the kind: boy meets girl and the magical evening ends all too soon. In truth, the dance featured two men who intermittently mirror each other in a series of steps. That’s what’s best about dance, as in any art the feelings and memories aroused are personal indeed.

Going-Away Party, set to the tunes of lone-star state swing and blues legends, Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys, was a sly concoction of vignettes, one bit bawdy and two bits bittersweet. The evening took a sharp and final turn with the celebrated Grand Duo, an ensemble work with tribal underpinnings that begins in a cerebral, aloof fashion and ends on an urgent, primeval note.

It’s a good thing that an assortment of eateries are located near our Vail and Beaver Creek dance venues – if you’re like us, you’ll want to continue talking about the thrilling evenings of music and dance with your companions. Or maybe you’ll be inspired to dance to some music yourself….

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