Bruce Weber's obituary in yesterday's New York Times was eloquent in its descriptions of Sally's life and her beautiful minimalist dances. Sally's work to me seemed to span what little difference there was between ordinary movement and dance. I remember when I saw her and her company perform at the Joyce: when I walked out onto the street afterwards I saw choreography everywhere. She made one aware that even standing still could be part of intense movement.
Sally was also an excellent and enthusiastic tennis player and I played doubles with her many times in Central Park. Not only did she move beautifully on the tennis court, she also had unusual skill in working out the movements of doubles with her partners, sort of choreography on the fly! I had to concentrate during a point not to be distracted by the fascinating quality of how effectively and efficiently she moved.
I hadn't seen much of Sally in recent years, as my young children were taking up much of my time, but whenever I see dance these days my perception of the choreography is influenced by Sally Gross's minimalism.
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