The word Pilobolus is a phototropic fungus stemming from the Greek word meaning "hat thrower." The spores of the fungus are cast out up to 45 mph and adhere to wherever they land. The word dance refers to rhythmic movement to music typically following a set sequence of steps. The Pilobolus Dance Company plays very unconventionally with the term "dance". The program tells us. Pilobolus is a rebellious dance company and informs us that the Artistic Dir. Matt Kent joined Pilobolus in 1996 without any formal dance training. Art begs to be radical, provocative, inspiring and oftentimes, aesthetically pleasing. Dance is an art form that combines movement and musicality within a choreographed framework. Modern dance brings new paradigms to choreographic works. The Pilobolus program at Luther Burbank last evening "recreated" dance to become more of a theatrical performance not unlike buskers panhandling on public corners. Calling the performers dancers is more of an appendage as I would describe the troupe as theatrical performers aligned with mime than dance. The discordant synthesized music for the works set a mood that was eerie and pulsating without supporting the movements. The absurdist piece "Walklyndon" was sophomoric and slapstick. "Rushes" included a shadow silhouette on screen that was geared towards pre-teens. I have seen Pilobolus Dance Theater for the second time and the last time.
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