Dancing to Messiah - list of dance companies that have interpreted the Oratorio - Brief Article

Dance Magazine, Dec, 2000 by Sara Colburn

Throughout its 250-plus-year history, Handel's Messiah has moved artists to adapt its music to reflect their own beliefs and vision. From Mozart (who arranged the work according to late eighteenth-century Viennese taste) to Victorian choral societies (who put on performances with up to 3,000 orchestra and chorus members--meant to bring morality to the common man), Messiah performances mirror contemporary society through the universal, enduring quality of the original material. In modern times, there has been a gradual movement away from the "cast of thousands" approach. Since the late 1970s, period instrument orchestras and smaller choruses using baroque vocal style have attempted to perform Messiah as Handel himself would have performed it. One period instrument ensemble, Boston's Handel & Haydn Society, has engaged Daniel Pelzig of Boston Ballet to provide "subtle movement design" for this month's performances of Messiah.

In recent years, several choreographers have drawn inspiration from Messiah, creating varied dances which range from abstract meditations on the oratorio's overarching themes (joy, redemption, triumph of faith) to literal interpretations of the biblical texts. Below is a list of dance companies that have created Messiahs of their own.

Hamburg Ballet Messiah Music by Handel and Arvo Part John Neumeier, choreographer and costume designer Hamburg, November 1999 http://www.hamburgballett.de/e/rep/messias.htm

Rosa Mei Dance Company MESSIAH: THE DANCE Rosa Mei, choreographer New York City, December 1999 http://www.messiahthedance.com/

CORE Performance Company The Messiah Project Sue Schroeder, choreographer Atlanta/Houston. November 2000 http://www.severaldancerscore.org/messiah.htm

BalletMet Columbus X-File Messiah Birgit Scherzer, choreographer Columbus, OH, March 2001 http://www.balletmet.org/messiah.html

Messiah Fully staged oratorio Eric Fraad, director Ruth Davidson, choreographer New York City, December 1999; Utrecht, The Netherlands, August 2000 http://www.oudemuziek.nl/english/festival2000/ festival2_26_8.htm

Messiah Handel & Haydn Society Boston, December 2000 "Subtle movement design" by Daniel Pelzig http://www.handelandhaydn.org/

For a list of Web resources on Handel, including many Web sites devoted to Messiah, visit http://www.intr.net/bleissa/handel/gfh_web.html

Dance Magazine editorial assistant Sara Colburn is co-founder and co-director of Florilegia, a baroque chamber music ensemble in the San Francisco Bay Area.