ABSTRACT
Pilobolus, sometimes called Pilobolus Dance Theater, and once upon a time known as Vermont Natural Theater, has been as pervasive an influence on American dance theatre in the latter part of our century as was Denishawn during the earlier part. In impact, this small ensemble-more or less consistently limited to a core company of four men and two women-recalls the popularity held by the St Denis and Shawn enterprise during the 1920s. In kind, the mixed bills put on by Pilobolus are similar to the ‘high-art’ vaudeville fare of the Denishawn troupe. In tone, Pilobolus are more artfully outrageous, somewhere between naughty and nice, where the Denishawners were lofty and decoratively exotic. Both aesthetics, however, can be said to centre on the sensual projection resulting from the direct display of the dancer’s body.
