Pilobolus (dance company)

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This article is about the dance company; for information on the fungus genus, see Pilobolus.

Pilobolus is the name adopted by an internationally-renowned dance company, whose origins are traced to a 1971 Dartmouth College dance class taught by Alison Chase; the founding members were Robby Barnett, Lee Harris, Moses Pendleton, and Jonathan Wolken. The group first began performing in October of 1971, and has been touring worldwide since that date, primarily with artistic directors Barnett, Chase, Wolken, and Michael Tracy, though Chase left in 2006, after having collaborated with Pendleton in 1980 to form the offshoot group Momix. Their performances have long been characterized by a strong element of physical interaction between the bodies of the performers, and exaggerations or contortions of the human form (or other anthropomorphic forms), often verging on gymnastics.

From the group's website: "The group was immediately acclaimed for its startling mix of humor and invention and Pilobolus soon became a self-sufficient organization, its members choreographing, dancing, managing, and publicizing their own programs.

Pilobolus has received many awards, among them the Berlin Critic's Prize, the Brandeis Award, the Scotsman Award for performances at the Edinburgh Festival, the New England Theatre Conference Prize, the Connecticut Commission on the Arts Award for Excellence and, in 1997, a Primetime Emmy Award for outstanding achievement in cultural programming. In June 2000 Pilobolus received the Samuel H. Scripps American Dance Festival Award for lifetime achievement in choreography, and in 2004 the company was the subject of a feature profile on CBS' 60 Minutes."

In 1999 Pilobolus collaborated with Maurice Sendak and Arthur Yorinks, in the production of "A Selection", a work with the Holocaust as its theme (documented in the film Last Dance).

More recently, they appeared as performers in the 2007 television broadcast of the 79th Academy Awards. Their act was done in silhouette behind a white translucent screen, where they formed various figures at intervals during the show: first, the Oscar statue itself; then logos (or scenes) from various films: Happy Feet, Little Miss Sunshine, Snakes on a Plane, The Devil Wears Prada, and The Departed. At one point they were introduced to the audience, and were wearing loose-fitting wraps. The act for Snakes on a Plane included host Ellen DeGeneres, who said afterwards, "They're naked!" Whether she was joking or serious was left to the imagination, but their website does contain some photos of nude or near-nude poses.

Pilobolus has, at present, four branches: Pilobolus Dance Theatre (a touring company); The Pilobolus Institute (educational programming); Pilobolus TOO, (a duet company); and Pilobolus Creative Services (administrative).

Pilobolus Dance Theatre, the group's performance "flagship", is based in Washington Depot, Connecticut. It currently possesses a repertory of over 85 works.

[edit] External links

• Pilobolus Home page
• Pilobolus Dance Theater from the Columbia Encyclopedia
• "Pilobolus Dance Theatre - The Brass Ring, Night of the Dark Moon, Ben's Admonition, Day Two" review from ExploreDance.com
• "“Fungi-Form”: The Story of Pilobolus Dance Theater" from Ballet-Dance Magazine