1972

Pre-Fourth of July, I bumped into a very relaxed Dave Bailey on the streets of New York. Dave had just flown up from Hilton Head for a day of business in N.Y.C., but looked more like he had stepped off the 18 th green and was heading for the clubhouse (I believe he has gotten this just right). I spent part of that weekend with Mike Sack's family and learned that I may be near the end of the time I can have a baseball catch with his son, Jacob, and play soccer with his older daughter, Myra. I may still have a few years with the youngest, Leah. Sandi tried to warn me in advance, but I still learn the hard way.

In class news, Dick Krant has agreed to be our class-project manager between now and our 25th Reunion. This newly created position will coordinate our class with Hanover activities, possibly jump-start our not-yetdefined class project, and basically assist Dick as needed. Dick is with Midas International in Chicago. The mini-reunion is being planned by Barry Weeks and Dufif Cummings, news to follow at 11.

On July 11 Pilobolus premiered a new work, "Masters of Ceremony," in New York. From The New York Times review: "Robby Barnett, Alison Chase, and Jonathan Wolken, all members of the original gang of six that made Pilobolus so popular in the 19705, are credited with the choreography. But only two dancers are on stage at the Joyce Theater, and they are Mr. Wolken and Mr. Barnett. They rarely appear with Pilobolus nowadays as their more energetic dancing days are clearly over. But then again, Pilobolus's definition of dancing has been very much its own. 'Masters of Ceremony,' with a single pictorial image stretched into a variety of kinetic twists, is true to Pilobolus form.

"Choreography in this company is never a matter of steps or even of the seamless phrase common to mainstream modern dance. In retrospect, it is easier to see how the troupe was ahead of others in developing today's trendy unisex partnering with its weightless-looking lifts and high-flying physicality. What was once seen as gymnastics applied to motion studies is actually a sophisticated use of weight leverage and a keen understanding of how the body carves shapes in space." I guess Anna Kisselgoff liked the work and Pilobolus's ground-breaking role in dance.

The review continues, "...Mr. Wolken, asleep in the chair with rope in hand as the curtain rises, is the master, and Mr. Barnett, a cowering figure with head shaved and with the rope attached to his ankle is the slave." Let us pause to ponder this description of Mr. Barnett. This must be a different Robby Barnett from the one we knew in South Fayer and elsewhere at Dartmouth.

See you at the mini-reunion.

10 Waterside Plaza, Apt. 6D, New York, NY 10010