As the title suggests, there’s more talking than turning in “From the Horse’s Mouth.” But if you’ve ever wondered about the lives of male dancers and choreographers, here’s your chance to find out.
Former New York City Ballet stars Jock Soto and Charles Askegard are among a cast of more than 25 guys — ages 17 to 88 — who share the stage in Tina Croll and James Cunningham’s production, which ran, in slightly different form, at Jacob’s Pillow this summer. One by one, each tells a brief anecdote from his life, or sings a song. Around him, three other dancers move slowly in their own way — classically or free-form. The man in the chair gets up, replaces one of the dancers, and the process continues.
The connecting thread? It’s a thin one, but it weaves into a tapestry of ages, bodies and experiences.
Trent Kowalik, a 17-year-old champion step-dancer, talks about moving to London after getting the lead in “Billy Elliot.” David Vaughan, 88, recounts heading in the opposite direction from London to New York in 1950, and his long association as a jack-of-all-trades with Merce Cunningham.
Emanuel Abruzzo, a former dancer with the all-male Ballet Trockadero, enters wearing only pointe shoes and a pristine white tutu skirt. Former dance critic Jack Anderson uses a walker, joined by his partner of 47 years, now husband, fellow critic George Dorris.
Often the dancing and stories seem unrelated, but they subtly converge. Dance historian Norton Owens jokes lightheartedly about the sex lives of male dancers, which — gay or straight — turn out to be pretty much like everyone else’s. While he’s talking, two other men slowly and tentatively waltz together.
The experience is so wide-ranging that it starts to make sense only as the tapestry grows. You finally stop looking for common elements and celebrate the diversity.
The casts changes from show to show so each version will be slightly different. But it always ends the same way, with an invitation to meet the men onstage — and tell your own story.