Published: November 01, 1994

Choreography That's New, But With Baroque Touches Gould Hall

Catherine Turocy, an authority on 18th-century dance, is also an expert at the tricky work of creating new choreography based on old forms and vocabularies. So there was a good deal to admire and enjoy in "Bach, Handel and the Dance," a program of four new and recent dances choreographed by Ms. Turocy. They were performed by her New York Baroque Dance Company on Friday night to music played by Concert Royal. But the evening was also something of a disappointment.

The opening piece, danced to Bach's Orchestral Suite No. 1, served as an attractive statement of style and point of view. Beautifully costumed -- as the dancers were throughout the evening -- a sun king, shepherdesses and soldiers moved through brief dances that were regal or buoyant, circumscribed or decorously flyaway, according to their stations in life. Most fascinating was the deftly articulated fast footwork, which resembled modern classical ballet performed with a softer, gentler attack.

The most charming dance was a picnic scene, complete with polite games, flirtation and a sudden shower, which unfolded to Handel's Chamber Suite from the "Water Music." But even here, the acting, particularly from Ms. Turocy, was so awkward and unbelievable as to be a distraction. Artificial behavior is one of the worst ways to suggest artifice.

Ms. Turocy's acting was most awkward in a solo performed to Handel's Concerto Grosso No. 6 in G minor (Op. 6), in which she portrayed a heartsick ballerina modeled on Marie Salle. The lovers in a dance to Bach's Orchestral Suite No. 2 fared better, particularly a dreamer played by Carlos Fittante. The company was completed by Ani Udovicki, Keith Michael, Derek Clifford, Patricia Beaman and Rachel List. James Richman conducted. JENNIFER DUNNING