STRIKING, HAUNTING, BEAUTIFUL—this is local
dance company Hot Little Hands’ latest show, ill-starred. The
hour-long show currently running at the Interstate Firehouse Cultural
Center (under the direction of Suniti Dernovsek and David Stein)
explores themes of authority, trust, and violence—and explores
them well enough that the show will prove entertaining even to one
unfamiliar with the world of contemporary dance.
Six women, all more than capable dancers, move through the sparse
set, creating and destroying relationships with one another. The
exclusion of individuals is a recurring motif, accomplished through the
use of simple props like teacups and crowns, but the outcast inevitably
finds her way back into the pack, only to help reject someone else;
perhaps it is this portrayal of universal cruelty that makes the show
so unnerving.
But even without trying to extract complicated themes,
ill-starred is compelling simply for its stunning visuals. The
dancers, costumed in flowing, pink-flesh-toned, vintage-y dresses, look
downright spectral. The images and scenes they create evoke something
dreamlike and timeless, and coupled with the bare-bones background
music (often just empty beats and lingering tones, produced live by
Ryan Bjorn Cross), it’s like you’re viewing a series of old
photographs, ones that are inexplicably yet decidedly creepy.
So did I understand it? Not entirely. But it left me thoughtful,
stimulated, and disturbed. And I like that.