Throughout his career Mikhail Baryshnikov has received rave notices. Well, here comes another. But this time, it's for doing what many dancers do as their dancing days wane: They gravitate towards mime roles. The shrewd folks at the New York Theater Workshop reckoned it would be a good idea to team Baryshnikov with director Joanne Akalaitis in
Beckett Shorts, a mesmerizing group of four Samuel Beckett one-acts that barely require him to speak.


Baryshnikov, now a month shy of 60, has made a lifetime study of letting his body talk. He's still in great trim, and as expected, he moves beautifully. His walk alone is poetic -- of which great advantage is taken in Act Without Words I, the[...]