Party Goes On--Minus Guest of Honor

It was going to be the party of post-performance parties--a late-night rendezvous with the doyenne of modern dance at Orange County’s most elegant private club.

But Martha Graham--the 96-year-old artistic director of the Martha Graham Dance Company (which had its local premiere at the Performing Arts Center on Friday night)--came down with a pesky case of the sniffles after a six-week tour of Asia. So, she forwent the chance to kick up her heels at the Center Club to kick back in the Big Apple.

What’s a disappointed host to do? If you’re the budget-conscious Center board, you cancel the posh Center Club bash and toss a more casual version at Scott’s Seafood Grill & Bar. You woo guests--mostly dancers--with the ragtime-piano tunes of Scott Joplin (in honor of Graham’s new work, “Maple Leaf Rag,” which had its West Coast premiere Friday) and ply them with some of the most delicious fish and pasta this side of the Atlantic.

And, you roll out the red carpet for notables such as Linda Hodes--a friend and an associate artistic director of Graham’s--and principal dancer Terese Capucilli, whose career is so big-time, her resume, in part, reads: “partnered with Rudolf Nureyev . . . partnered with Mikhail Baryshnikov . . . Martha Graham created the role of Crescent Moon in ‘Temptations of the Moon’ for her . . . recipient of the 1985-86 Dance Fellowship from the Princess Grace Foundation-U.S.A.”

Capucilli had nothing but raves for Segerstrom Hall, calling it “a wonderful stage, very open, warm. I thought the audience was very nice. I wish we could be here more often.”

So, it seemed, did the opening-night crowd. They applauded with gusto and giggled in all the right places. “I was afraid the audience would be so reverent tonight,” said Center President Thomas Kendrick. “After all, when you come to see Martha Graham, you don’t expect to see this wry wit. You expect Classic Graham. But the audience was with it from the beginning; they caught the wit of ‘Maple Leaf Rag.’ ”

Capucilli called Graham’s repertory “unparalleled, given the diversity of the roles, the characters you’re allowed to learn. ‘Maple Leaf Rag’ is fun, a work where Martha spoofs herself in a lot of ways. Louis Horst was her pianist, and whenever she had trouble choreographing a piece or got stuck on stage, she’d say: ‘Louie! Play me the Maple Leaf Rag!’ ”

Dancer Daniela Stasi loved moving on stage to “Temptations of the Moon,” in a Grecian costume designed by the late fashion-great, Halston. “I loved dancing it here and loved dancing it on the Acropolis in Athens last summer,” she said.

Hodes, a former ballerina, said the indefatigable Graham is researching choreography for yet another new ballet. “Miss Graham has a commission from the Spanish government to do a ballet there in 1992 for the 500th anniversary of Christopher Columbus,” Hodes said. “She hasn’t begun to choreograph it yet. But she’s busy listening to Spanish music.” Hodes said the work would premiere in New York first.

What’s the secret to Graham’s longevity? “Oh, she doesn’t smoke; she eats normally, but she’s really never been concerned with health issues,” Hodes said. “Her good health comes from her desire to be active. She’s about today . Every day is a new experience for her. She is interested .”

And what about her fabled hobnobbing with mega-stars? “Oh, Miss Graham hobnobs with the company,” Hodes said. “Her main love is to be working.”

But, there are celebrity moments, Hodes conceded. “Madonna has made a couple of visits to Miss Graham’s house, and she came to our New York gala. Every time we do a New York season, we open with a gala.

“And Liza Minnelli is a friend. And so are Gregory Peck and Tony Randall and Woody Allen. Woody has taken classes.”

Does he crack Miss Graham up? Keep everybody on their toes with droll remarks? “Actually, he’s very quiet,” Hodes said.

Go figure.