by Tim Van Schmidt

Last night's show at the Lincoln Center, "Essential Graham: Classics from the Martha Graham Dance Company," could have been renamed "A Night at the Museum." The presentation was part performance and part lecture, digging into the history and innovations of Graham's universally lauded work. While the lecture part went a long way to explaining Graham's genius, it also got in the way of the entertainment value of the pieces, changing an artful experience into a more analytical one.

Perhaps that phrase "entertainment value" will make the powers that be at the Graham company cringe. This is art, after all, which should go above and beyond the face value of "entertainment." However, art, like entertainment, depends on a certain suspension of reality to be successful. In this case, there is plenty of suspension in Graham's work. However, the biographical information and critical explanations offered throughout the evening continually distracted from the fragile ambiance of art created by the pieces. The back and forth between experiencing art and talking about it turned the Lincoln Center into a classroom more than a performance hall.

That's why "Essential Graham" was like a visit to a museum- one where patrons do not stroll around looking at the art, experiencing it for themselves, but are shepherded throughout by a tour guide. The guide talks, the patrons listen and the personal experience of art is left for another time.

Let's not say, though, that the lecture part was frivolous. Far from it. I learned a great deal about Graham as a result and did find the information useful when getting to the dance pieces themselves. Most interesting were the actual films of Graham performing- her intensity as an artist came through very clearly. It was especially cool to be able to watch a contemporary version of Graham's breakthrough piece, "Lamentation," performed live, then a film of Graham performing the same piece. This was an unexpected pleasure, to see, even if just for a few seconds, the original artist at work. If I didn't come out of the Lincoln Center thinking to myself, "what a great show," at least I came away much more informed about Graham.

Above and beyond the actual structure of "Essential Graham," there is another way that experiencing Graham's work is like visiting an art museum. That is, the pieces themselves are like classic paintings that have come to life. These aren't specific paintings, but works of art that have a timeless core. They vibrate with meaning that goes deep into the subconscious, touching ancient knowledge and yearnings. This is the "entertainment" that I came to the Lincoln Center for last night- the feeling that something elemental had been experienced- and the Graham company did deliver, in between the verbiage. "Steps in the Street," in particular, was very powerful, the purposeful movement and intersecting lines of dancers underscoring the devastation of war.

So, for me, "Essential Graham" was a mixed bag. While I enjoyed being informed, the information distracted from the art. However, there was a deepness to the art that goes a long way toward going beyond the mundane talk. I'm glad I got to experience even a little bit of that, but, of course, more would have been welcome.

This will probably be my last Lincoln Center review. The Graham show was the last set of tickets in the drawer and there are no more dates circled on the calendar. Directly following the close of this season- in just a few days- the Lincoln Center will be closing for major renovations and will not be presenting a new season until next year. Times have been changing, too, and it seems that formal reviews are not all that important to anybody any more- in a world where people are reviewing everything from the latest commercials on TV to what they had for breakfast- so I think my time is done.

But I can't be done without once more stating how important the Lincoln Center has been to my cultural life since moving to Fort Collins in 1980. In those 30 years I have seen such a wide variety of entertainment and art that it would take another full article to give even the best of it its due. Suffice it to say that the Lincoln Center has been a vital and even necessary facility for our region and its renovation is not only long overdue, but also hints that this cultural center will continue to be vital for decades to come. Thanks to all the people at the Lincoln Center, both past and present, who have kept our city cheering, crying and laughing for years. Because of them, and the place that they work, our lives are much, much richer.