Pilobolus … amazing!

Wow!! The Pilobolus performance tonight at the State Theater was truly amazing; definitely one of the most creative and engaging dance performances I have ever seen.

The dancers — four men and two women — seemed to defy the laws of physics with their intense yet incredibly light movements. Their dancing was acrobatic and athletic, but very graceful at the same time. As they lifted and climbed over each other, it seemed that the dancers were weightless and almost floating. But at the same time, it was easy to see and appreciate the enormous strength that all of the dancers possessed!

I also enjoyed this performance because many of the dances were very engaging and had narratives that were easy to follow. The topics ranged from religion and mysticism, to love, to even simple vaudeville-style physical humor. It was really quite a mix, and Pilobolus managed to make all of them beautiful and fascinating.

Rob and I both felt that the dancers were able to transcend “human-ness” and represent many other things with their bodies. Rob suggested robots or puppets, but for me they had moved in the opposite direction — toward something much more organic. At times they resembled animals or alien creatures, at other times plants or even fungi. Their acrobatic melding of two, sometimes even three or four, dancers allowed them to create something larger than one person, some sort of joining into a cohesive organism. For me, perhaps the best word to encapsulate Pilobolus’s performance would be “organic.” Whether fusing together or alone, the dancers were able to be human and yet so much more.

Also, congratulations to Light in Winter because this was their first ever SOLD OUT event! It was great to see the beautiful, historic State Theater completely full of people.

Below is an image taken by Rob Ochshorn of the Pilobolus performance. Click on the thumbnail to see a larger image:

Categorized: General