BWW Reviews: Tom Gold Dance Company

Tom Gold was one of my favorite dancers when he was a soloist with New York City Ballet. You never expected anything but the very best when he was on stage, and I always got it. After leaving the company in 2007 he founded his own company, Tom Gold Dance, which I attended on Thursday, March 8.

The performance put me in a dilemma, because I wanted so much to enjoy it, but instead came away disappointed. Since I had not seen Mr. Gold's company before, which consists of dancers from other companies in the New York area, I was hoping to be enlightened and entertained, as Mr. Gold had done in his performing career. So what can you say about a respected artist?

As a dancer, one absorbs the ways of his company and the choreographers he's worked with. Those who have a desire to choreograph may wish to express something in a "new" way, to spread wings and to grow. Some may approach the art in a way learned from his predecessor(s), perhaps thinking that he is well equipped to do the same. This second scenario may be dangerous in that the special, individual "je ne sait quoi" of the former is lost, if not replaced, by an equally special "je ne sait quoi" of the present choreographer.

This is exactly Mr. Gold's problem. The choreography, in general, had no ebbs and flows or highs or lows. It seemed stymied, unable to decide just which way it wanted to go. Clearly Mr. Gold knows his ballet vocabulary, but could not infuse it with anything new.

Urban Angels is a dance inspired by Weeping Angels from "Dr. Who." The piece strove for originality and tried to project a feeling of unrest. The repeated steps were a rounded forward bend, possibly an attempt to use a more "modern" vocabulary. In none of the tries to do this did any of the dancers allow the head to follow the curve, via the spine, going forward. In each case, the body remained curved forward, but the head and eyes were up, looking uncomfortable. I should suppose that this is what the choreographer was looking for, as he must have rehearsed them.

When the curtain rose on The Ladies' Room, the sets by Ted Porter made me think of a Jerome Robbins romp. Who doesn't want a good laugh? But as presented, it was nothing more than a sashay through the talk of three women. The pity of it is that they had nothing to say, or dance. They danced and danced, but to no avail. I'm sure that most people came to see Sterling Hyltin, a principal with the New York City Ballet, perform, but if that was the only reason, they were sorely disappointed. While perfectly pleasant, it fell flat. Where was Mr. Gold's sense of stylish fun or total dance abandonment?

The centerpiece of the evening was also the least exciting piece of the performance: La Plage set to music by popular avant-garde composer John Zorn and made for the entire company. It was bland and strove to be original, but all in naught. There were some interesting projections, but projections do not a ballet make. I thought for the last time: where am I supposed to be going with the choreography?

Only Mr. Gold can answer that. I hope he gives more thought to his future in the ballet world.

Photograph: Eugene Gologursky

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