Emotional vulnerability in three contexts fleshed out Dance Alloy Theater's "Fragile" theme for its Spring production offered Friday through Monday at the New Hazlett Theater on the North Side.
"Fragile" featured one modern classic and two world premieres.
Dancers Maribeth Maxa and Scott Lowe were eloquent proponents for choreographer Susan Marshall's "Arms," which was created in 1984. The five-minute duet explored dynamics in a relationship: from pride and pain to need and reconciliation.
The fluidity of Marshall's piece is extends beyond her use of the arms and upper body -- which is the inverse of Irish step dancing where the action is all below the waist. Roles reverse impressively in the choreographer's piece, as the two characters need support at different times. And gestures receive different responses at different times in this compact masterpiece.
The emotional intensity of Donald Byrd's "Interrupted Narrative/No Consolation" was shattering at Sunday afternoon's performance. It is the first of a series stimulated by media accounts "of young killed in traffic accidents, (or) dead from drug overdoses and acts of violence," as he describes it in the program booklet.
"No Consolation" was inspired by the 1996 bicycle accident death of Brendan Foley, a member of Central Catholic High School's crew team, whose story was presented in WQED Multimedia's Emmy Award-winning "Row on for Brendan."
The world premiere began with mumbled speech by dancers standing in a row near the audience -- with a few words and an occasional sentence clear -- caught in numbness and internal confusion. The choreographer's emotional range is immense. His movements express the way underlying affection between parents is sorely tested by the loss of a child. Stephanie Dumaine traversed the widest emotional range, even hitting her partner Michael Walsh, and providing glimmers of hope at the end.
Dancer Adrienne Misko was unpartnered in "No Consolation," most often deeply touching in hermetic stillness.
"Flight" by Dance Alloy Theater's artistic and executive director Beth Corning is an imaginative exploration of individuality set against group dynamics, and was inspired by a Norwegian prose poem.
Corning's piece opens with inspiration as the line of dancers strains in different directions and swirls across its own path. Pairings and solos all yield to group imperatives, with strong contrasts between close interactions and large solo circular excursions. The white costumes for men and women, which emphasize their group identity, include long trails which are often tied up to the waist for group movements.
"Flight" was a stimulating premiere to experience, strong in both its intellectual and emotional aspects. Although the behavior of birds was a point of departure, Corning's language resonates deeply with the aspirations and compromises of the human experience.
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