Company:  Instinct Dancecorps

Choreographer:  RaShawn Hart

Performers:  Gabbie Gulden, Elva Howard, Kiersten Lujan, Baylie MacRae, Madeline McDonald, Alexis “Lexie” Montoya, Lydia Partridge, Juls Tarango (Understudies: Jay Garcia, Trinity Pringle, Tasi Harrington)

RaShawn Hart, an accomplished dancer who, in my opinion, doesn’t see enough stage time, has now also become an emerging talent with his choreography. The Shape of Us is the second of his choreographed works that I have seen – the original being Veil, which was also performed on the SCC stage earlier this year. Veil was clever, theatrical and ultimately very entertaining. It made maximum use of the simplest possible gesture (a single digit – an index finger alternately raised or pressed into the upturned palm) and somehow turned that into an engaging theme which, starting with a single, quizzical character, he managed to develop through the ensemble until it became a full production. He seemed to have a good grasp of structure and took the audience along with him to one of the simplest, most satisfying endings (again, the mysterious single index finger which he brought full circle).

In The Shape of Us, Hart, directing the members of the Instinct Dancecorps, clearly demonstrated that Veil was not a one-off. Shape went deeper and substituted real drama for the more theatrical Veil. I’m not sure that’s a meaningful distinction unless you’re sitting in the audience experiencing it. We are initially introduced to two central performers who are locked in a twisted embrace that added a palpable sense of tension and struggle to their union. As they are torn apart by the ensemble, we were aware of a low, scooping gesture to the forehead which, though enigmatic, seemed somehow vital, an important indication of the dancers personal state, and with repetition became an essential part of a dramatic theme.

Here again, Hart presents himself as a storyteller, and seems to be working with some implicit structure. We see him establish an interesting gesture or figure, repeat it sporadically and then return to it with a surprising twist at the end. The performance of The Shape of Us seems solid, rooted, purposeful. And as the audience begins to recognize the themes and feel the tension in the piece, we become invested and move with it to yet another very satisfying ending as the central protagonists, struggling against the ensemble attempting to hold them apart, manage once again a twisted, struggling embrace.

It must be noted here that the Instinct dancers are clearly outperforming their designation as students and supplied Hart with the core competence he needed to execute this piece. His ability to connect with and retain his audience, plus his ability to make the simple seem original, are testaments to his talent and make RaShawn Hart one of the emerging choreographers to watch.

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