September 17–24, 1998

critical mass|fringe reviews

St*r W*rs and Other Stories

St*r W*rs and Other Stories

Headlong Dance Theater at Unbound Dance House, 232 N. Second St., Sept. 18, 10 p.m.

Headlong Dance Theater's show at the Fringe made a double-edged reference to entering the dark side.

In their first piece, Teen Tragedy Trilogy, their approach was hard-edged and brutal. The three company dancers—David Brick, Andrew Simonet and Amy Smith—portrayed individuals longing for escape from themselves and their circumstances. Battling both each other and their own personal demons, they crafted a bleak, disturbing vision of deceit that concluded with a no-way-out-of-this-mess message.

The title of the second piece on the program, St*r W*rs, suggests a connection with the epic film battle against the dark forces of Darth Vader. But there's no direct reference to Darth Vader, and even though other characters are invoked, including Luke Skywalker, Storm Troopers and "The Force," the piece is only loosely based on Star Wars. What it's really about is '70s pop culture, its goofy clothes and geeky dances.

Joined by four other dancers, Headlong ran, or rather romped, through a series of silly bits about video games, lip gloss and the disco craze. The action, costuming and beanbag chair props were clever. And the work was surely a hoot. Yet I failed to discern a point here, save for giving the performers an opportunity to poke fun at youthful escapades.

-Deni Kasrel