April 29–May 6, 1999

critic pick

Helping Louise to Fly

Last year, when dancer/choreographer Louise Gillette learned that she was suffering from a brain tumor, her friends sought a way to raise money so she could do what she wanted to do most: reduce her workload as a physical trainer and marshal her diminishing energies into making dance for her aerial dance company, TRAPEZIUS. So they formed the Friends of Louise Gillette Committee, a remarkable coalition of cultural movers and shakers under the leadership of Jonathan and Judy Stein, and organized the benefit concert taking place Monday—a dance event which, even it weren't for such a good cause, would be a must for every dance fan in the city. The lineup is rich in talent and history: Janet Pilla and Sandy Chase, who were the first two dancers Gillette trained on the trapeze; Adam Battlestein, who hired Gillette as a trainer in his Pilates studio before moving away to join Pilobolus; choreographer Stephen Welsh, a close friend of Gillette's who came up with the benefit concert idea; and a stellar lineup of local talent including Headlong Dance Theater, Kent De Spain, Leslie Dworkin, Roko Kawai, Lionel Popkin, Patricia Graham, Leah Stein (teamed with jazz pianist Dave Burrell), Fusion II under the direction of Gwendolyn Bye, and PA Ballet wunderkind Matt Neenan (performing one of his own pieces with Anne White and Christine Cox). And Gillette's own TRAPEZIUS people will dance their goofy, gymnastic Backyard Circus—a piece whose irrepressible spirit is not only shared by Gillette herself, but, it seems, by her many, many friends.

-David Warner

Flying Together: A Louise Gillette Benefit Concert: Painted Bride Art Center, Mon., May 3, 8 p.m. Pre-show reception, Fork, 306 Market St., 6:30-7:30 p.m. Post-show dance party, Painted Bride, 10 p.m. Tickets $100 for entire evening; $50 for performance and party, $15 with student ID; $15 for party only. For tickets or to volunteer, call 215-769-1233. Donations can be forwarded directly to Painted Bride Louise Gillette Fund, c/o PO Box 17084, Philadelphia, PA 19105.