Around the Horn

Old sportswriters like to say syrupy stuff like “the dance of baseball.” Now you can also say it and not feel like you’re 86 years old or Billy Crystal. Pastime, a dance created by 2006 Izzie Award winner and ODC Artist-in-Residence Chris Black, takes the old ball game as not only its muse but its entire reason for being. It seems Black is something of a fan -- when she was young, she planned to grow up and pitch for the Yankees. Pastime features nine dancers completing such winning movements as leaping catches, pitchers’ duels, bench-clearing fights, and lots of sliding. It also takes place in a park, meaning the little ones are welcome, and the score will be broadcast on radio, so bring one. And lest you confuse Black with a staid dancer, recall that her last big show was Cunning and Guile, in which she danced in front of the panels at the Cartoon Art Museum. Pastime continues weekends through Sept. 30 at other locations in S.F.
Sept. 16-Oct. 1, 2007