ARTS . Dance

Walk It Out

REVIEW: Koresh Dance Co.'s ev-o-lu-tion


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Published: May 5, 2009

Dance and music are universal languages because they translate worldwide: Both have the capacity for mass communication that transcends cultural boundaries. Two pieces in Koresh Dance Co.'s spring program explore this phenomenon in different ways.

With Ronen Koresh's ev-o-lu-tion, the company's director examines the roots of emotional expression channeled through movement. The dance begins with a man in loincloth, twisting himself across the floor while trying to stand up. Like a baby learning to walk, he rises higher and higher with each attempt, before tumbling down. Backstage, a row of dancers in black suits exit one by one, telescoping ev-o-lu-tion's essential concept of considering who we are underneath our superficial trappings. And while not taking the idea of evolution too literally, the dance does convey the development of communication through gesticulation from ancient to contemporary times. A series of 14 sections follows, beginning with dancers loping about with simian-like gaits and walking on all fours with backs to the ground. Their motions, evoking lust, love, joy and bewilderment, are wide and open-ended. As the work progresses, movements become more graceful and defined, incorporating elements of jazz, folk and social dance; however, symptoms of discontent creep in and costumes cover up more of the dancers' bodies, suggesting that the less we show, the more we repress. This conceit works for a fair portion of the piece, yet is muddled in certain parts.

Highly emotional, ev-o-lu-tion comes straight from the gut. That's in stark contrast to the careful, mathematical Pieces of Nine, choreographed by Netherlands-based Paul Selwyn Norton. Each bend of the foot, crook of the hand and turn of the torso is clearly structured; Norton is exploring the idea of "music for dance," where movement is intricately influenced by the accompanying sound score. This piece is performed to compositions by John Cage, Jose Luis Greco and Elmer Schönberger, most of them abstract, so tie-ins are conceptual. Sometimes the movement follows the notations of the music, but more frequently it plays counterpoint. Featuring incredibly precise articulation, the work is a fascinating study of high concentration.

Koresh Dance Co. | May 2, Suzanne Roberts Theatre