Joy to the World
felix
I’m a self-aware non-dancer. I’ve made peace with it. I enjoy watching others dance and derive pleasure from their joy. There are few situations currently that would draw me out of my static stance. One of those situations would be meeting married dancers Carmen de Lavallade and Geoffrey Holder, the subjects of the eponymous documentary now out in theaters, Carmen and Geoffrey.
I didn’t know much about modern dance in the United States, and filmmakers Linda Atkinson and Nick Doob do a great job of placing these two artists in the context of 1950s America, their contributions to the art and the development of their personal and professional relationship. Holder is an award-winning renaissance man—dancer, director, choreographer, painter, costume designer—who is currently working on an African-American version of Alice in Wonderland. De Lavallade was a principal dancer at the Metropolitan Opera, shared a stage with Josephine Baker and toured with Alvin Ailey.
The majority of the film is comprised of interviews with the main subjects as well as with dance critics, historians, relatives, and other associates. Most compelling is the archival footage of Holder and de Lavallade, dancing together, solo, or with different partners. In fact, the doc soars when it shows the creative process itself: choreographing a number, practicing it (and goofing off), and then performing the final piece. Watching tall and lean Holder and de Lavallade, who contrasts yet matches him perfectly, is inspiring.
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| Posted on March 16, 2009
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