By Charles Giuliano

For MOMIX’S performance at Jacob’s Pillow, Moses Pendelton assembled a “greatest hits” selection of sixteen vignettes from the troupe’s oeuvre.

Jared Bogart leads in MOMIX’s “Solar Flares.” Photo: Jamie Kraus.

Moses Pendleton and his company MOMIX returned to Jacob’s Pillow for the first time in 20 years, on the 50th anniversary of Pendleton’s own Pillow debut as a dancer. In 1971, when he was an undergraduate at Dartmouth College, Pendleton co-founded Pilobolus Dance Company, which became renowned for spotlighting contortionist-centric configurations. After several years, Pendelton spun off MOMIX to create similar, but different work. There is a throughline — the group’s artistic inspiration comes more from gymnastics than from modern dance.

For his troupe’s Jacob’s Pillow appearance, Pendelton assembled a “greatest hits” selection of sixteen vignettes from his oeuvre. Seven of the elements come from the dance program Botanica, whose moves are derived from nature.  Enhanced by fanciful costumes, elaborate props, video projections, and exotic lighting, the imagery, ranging from portraits of aquatic life to (literally) the birds and bees, was readily accessible. This delightful show was calculated to be a crowd pleaser: it was hard to get a ticket during a sold-out engagement.

MOMIX’s “Man Fan,” featuring Anthony Bocconi. Photo: Jamie Kraus,

Given its excess of flash and glitz, the work of this company resonates with Cirque de Soleil and Vegas. Pendelton has worked extensively in film, TV, and opera.  (He choreographed the closing ceremony of the 1980 Lake Placid Winter Olympics; he was also asked to whip up the opening ceremony for the 2014 Winter Olympics at Sochi.) He formed, with Alison Chase, the troupe MOMIX in 1980.

The first piece, “Solar Flares” from Botanica, established the company’s artistic approach. Before the curtain parted our ears were inundated with an orchestrated world music piece with an afro beat. The company emerged holding long, flexible, bright, orange tubes in its hands. What followed was all about upper body movement: the props were manipulated to the pulsing drums of Brent Lewis’s “Mr. Mahalo Head.” The dancers formed a line to shake the tubing, and then continued the quivering in profile. It reminded me of images of deep sea worms gyrating over hot springs.

The reference to nature in the opening number was absorbing but oblique. The segments that followed were more literal in their resonances. Five women in inventive costumes (which left nothing to the imagination) performed as colorful animated flowers in “Marigolds.” These were cute and captivating blossoms. Their heads were revealed when the flower costumes dropped down to become tutus, followed by yet another transformation into flamenco dresses.

Predictably, “Marigiolds” attract “A Nest of Hornets.” Five suitably attired males came to buzz about. The transition from flowers to bugs seemed logical enough, though here it came off as truly menacing.

Pendelton has kept up with the latest technical developments. “Paper Trails (35^th Anniversary Creation)” was dominated by an inventive visual — a video projection of streaming lines of data. This imagery was projected onto long swaths of paper that the dancers gradually rolled into compact tubes. Two women came close enough to embrace, and that unleashed the paper into a gigantic jumble. The number was suitably enthralling.

Several of the other pieces were relatively straightforward, but effective.

Anthony Bocconi creates “Man Fan” to the music of Azam Al’s “Aj Ondas.” Attached to his back is a device that becomes a large sail. Because of his grand sweeping moves, we focus on the attached form — not on the individual who manipulates it. The piece explores how even a simple device can create myriad illusions.

Through the use of black light, the arms of four male dancers became “Snow Geese.” Geese fly through the Berkshires, so their flight pattern was readily identified. It was a perfect image. The birds eventually joined to become one long, undulating line before once again turning into individual birds.

MOMIX’s “Narcissus,” featuring Seah Hagan. Photo: Jamie Kraus.

“Echoes of Narcissus” from Botanica could not be more dramatically direct. Via a gender switch, Seah Hagan is cast as the self-absorbed, beautiful youth who is transformed by the gods into a flower. She lies face down in water (a mirrored surface), which doubles her image into an erotic, ever-morphing mandala. This brief but spellbinding sequence ended by making the audience gasp — Hagan appeared to sink into the pond.

The closest to pure dance on the program was a solo for male dancer “Table Talk” from Classics. The magnificently chiseled and fit Jared Bogart demonstrated every possible movement that can be done on a solid table. This is the week of Paris Olympics, and many of the moves here resembled those of vaulting.

The finale, set to Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 in F Major BWV 1047 (Allegro), could not have been more joyously hilarious. Initially, we are presented with several generic mannequin/ dummies. They seemed to dance, which, of course, was impossible. Soon it was revealed that the dancers were manipulating the puppets. One of the male dancers was attached to a female puppet — which he whirled about with reckless abandon. After the audience members erupted into gales of laughter, the dummies were tossed about and retrieved. During enthusiastic curtain calls, the frolicking continued, making this an especially splendid afternoon at the Pillow.

Charles Giuliano is the author of Annisquam: Pip and Me Coming of Age.