Americana
Meta 4

“Meta 4,” set to an intense and eloquent four-movement quartet composed in collaboration with the Lewitzky company in 1994 by Robert X. Rodriguez, this dance moves from isolated individuals striking out in searching but frustrated gestures to ultimately an integrated group bound in playful kids’ games. The work reflects Lewitzky’s awareness of and optimism about our social predicaments. According to Lewitzky, Meta 4 is a piece about the “working possibilities of the individual, couple and group”. A play on words, Meta 4 consists of four dancers performing four movements to music provided by a string quartet.

The music for Meta 4 will be played live at both the London performances at the Bloomsbury Theatre and the Swan at High Wycombe. We are very honoured to have a string quartet from the world famous Yehudi Menuhin School onstage with the company, in the true spirit of how the work was originally conceived by both the choreogrpaher and the composer.

“It’s very satisfying to communicate through this art form. I’m always amazed by what it has to offer.” Bella Lewitzky 1994.

Review –
LA Times, Victoria Looseleaf

“Set to an elegiac string quartet written by Robert X Rodriguez, this four movement composition showcased four veteran Lewitzky dancers. In a series of fugal moves, the group alternated among solos, trios and duos, where backward falls were executed with ease and grace. The final movement shaped a more hopeful mood, with a circle signifying metaphoric fellowship.”

Review –
The Arizona Republic, Kenneth LaFave

“In Meta 4, a potent abstract, the subject was space. Set on four dancers performing four movements to music for string quartet, it explored four spatial directions: vertical, horizontal, diagonal and telescopic. Each element contributed to the theme. From the original score by Robert X Rodriguez to the thin slashes of light by designer Brad Fields to the articulate choreography, Meta 4 displayed an underrated value, taste, as in the ability to discern the true from the false.”

Review – Meta 4 music
Robert Carl, Fanfare

” …the stunner is the 1994 string quartet Meta 4 (the composer obviously loves puns!). This piece fascinates me on several levels. First, its melodic material is florid, ornamented, and always singing. Second, the opening movement, which takes this melody from a cyclic unison section into increasingly rich counterpoint, is great structural drama. Third, the succeeding three movements are each a variation on that theme, giving the entire piece great cohesion. And finally, the music uses more repetition to enhance textures than might be the case for an earlier post-Impressionist composer; in other words, there is a fluid blend of post-minimalist with neo-Romantic technique…worth the price of admission, no matter what your taste.”

Thanks to the Lewitzky Foundation for allowing the company to remount this work, and in particular to Nora Reynolds and John Pennington for their time and energy in helping the company to restage META 4 with the attention to detail that Lewitzky’s work demands.