NYTimes is not sure what to think of Pilobolus

I have gathered two reviews from NYTimes covering the Pilobolus Dance Theatre performances in the Joyce Theater in 2011 and 2012.  Both reviews contain positive remarks as well as negative.  It seems, however, that there are more negative remarks.  Please note that Pilobolus performs that the Joyce Theater for four-weeks annually.

The 2011 review discusses the opening performance of Pilobolus's four-week run at the Joyce Theater.  While the critic Claudia La Rocco was impressed by the collaborative aspects of the company,  she was impressed by little else.  With comments such as "there is something strangely deadening about the current Pilobolus experience," it was clear that Rocco was not pleased.  Rocco continued,

"It's great that Pilobolus is interested in various styles of working.  But the troupe's artistic staff has such a particular aesthetic and the performers such a limited range of expression and physicality (think athletes, not dancers, though Jun Kuribayashi is a lyrical exception) that these experiments don't go very far.  Worse, where they do go is awkward."

This is a photo from a 2011 performance of "Korokoro" at the Joyce Theater.

Rocco continued with a less-than-glowing review of "Korokoro," yet seemed to enjoy "All Is Not Lost," a dance in collaboration with music group OK Go.  The dancers performed on top of a table-like structure made of plexiglass, and the action was simultaneously being video-recorded and projected on a screen.  Finally, Rocco approved of the last piece in the performance; an original work from 1975 by founding member Martha Clarke.  However, this was a back-handed complement stating,

"...but not all of the oldies are goodies: Moses Pendleton's "Day Two" (1980) is dance as soft-porn.  Equal parts embarrassing and icky, it features thong costumes, ritualistic cavorting and even a pair of poles.  There's not much to say, beyond 'ew.'"

This is a prime example of the idea many have that Pilobolus is riddled with sexuality and pornographic material.  Without seeing the performance in question, it can be said to be a misinterpretation.  It is clear, however, that Rocco is uncomfortable with some aspects of Pilobolus and seems to not like anything non-commercial.

Here is the music video for OK Go's "All Is Not Lost" featuring Pilobolus:

This is how they recreated "All Is Not Lost" onstage for their performances.

The 2012 review, again, discusses this year's four-week run at the Joyce Theater for Pilobolus.  This time, Brian Seibert was the critic for the opening.  Seibert also comments on the collaborative nature of Pilobolus stating, "many of these [collaborators] have strong artistic voices, but the fungus inevitably takes over, digesting new ideas into Pilobolese."

This is a photo from a 2012 performance of "Automaton" at the Joyce Theater. 

For the first number entitiled "Automaton," Seibert, like Rocco, seemed to be focused on the implication of sexual material for this robot-inspired dance.  Seibert says,

"'Automaton,' made with the eclectic Flemish-Moroccan choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, asks dancers accustomed to nature imagery to turn mechanical.  Wearing white gloves, as mimes do, they move like robots--conventionally, though a Pilobolus-style stacking of bodies allows for Transformers-like assemblies...Perhaps there's a message about modernity in 'Automaton,' or about Pilobolus and the collaborative process, but it doesn't quite come across here."

Here is a behind the scenes video of "Automaton":

Moving on, the next piece was another collaboration with OK Go, creating an adaptation of the Trish Sie music video for the song "Skyscrapers."  Seibert labels this as "ingenious and fun" but that Pilobolus dancers were "beginners at tango, deficient in finesse."

Here is the behind the scenes video of "Skyscrapers":

Finally, Pilobolus closes again with repertory and this time, the critic approves.  Seibert ends the review with a comment on the set changes:

"Following another recent pattern, the set changes are long and sluggish, but at least now there are films to watch in the meantime, as beautiful as Dylan Winter's footage of starlings and as juvenile and enjoyable as Dumt & Farligt's slow-motion demolition of domestic items.  Beautiful, juvenile: that's Pilobolus for you."

It seems obvious that the NYTimes likes parts of Pilobolus and dislikes the rest, yet the opinion seems consistent: what is liked, is thought to be ingenious.