If you take nothing else from The Cutting Room, the latest production from Portland dance company BodyVox, at least appreciate that the dancers look like they’re enjoying themselves. I wish that were the norm, especially in more ebullient dance performances. But—despite the grins many performers wear—it’s often apparent just how seriously they take their work. Considering the concentration it takes to remember every last detail of choreography, and the control dancers must have to interact with each other on stage, a furrowed brow or a less-than-convincing smile is understandable.
What distinguishes this new BodyVox work is how loose it feels and how that freedom leaves room for the performers to slip on expressions of pure joy, especially artistic director Jamey Hampton. Hampton dances the lead in the production—which celebrates the history and tropes of cinema—as a man pursuing a can of film, connecting the otherwise disparate premises of Bollywood productions, romantic comedies, and science-fiction scenes.