What makes a human being a human being? At what point can a human being become something else? How do our perceptions differ from reality?
These questions were posed as human boundaries were explored and pushed to the limit at the Gallagher-Bluedorn Performing Arts Center Sunday, during a performance by the acclaimed dance company Pilobolus.
The world-renowned company, which was formed at Dartmouth College in 1971, is known for their original choreography and unique weight-sharing techniques that border on body sculpture, creating beautiful moving creations that are both human and nonhuman, in that they are nonhuman works of art using the human body as clay.
The performers exhibited extreme strength and control as they testified to the wonders of the body by somersaulting, flipping and contorting across the stage to atmospheric music from such artists as Sigur Ros and Radiohead.
Through the human wheels, hand-less headstands and frenetic writhing, the group weaved tales of passion, anger, reconciliation and humor that had the audience cheering and bursting with laughter.
“It was very lyrical,” said Kenneth Baughman, associate professor of English language and literature. “It really tells a story that moves from maybe some hostility to some reconciliation, and there’s a real sense of peace at the end of it.”
“I think it’s a great show,” he added. “They’re very talented performers; there’s a lot of agility, strength and coordination, and they’re doing a wonderful job. Very entertaining.”
One piece began with a groom chasing his bride across the stage, resulting in a fight where they became tangled. The two become one after they reconciled, creating an amorphous blob in which it was impossible to tell where the groom ended and the bride began. The new creation hobbled offstage on its pair of masculine and feminine legs, the one flesh standing as a living biblical allusion, a strong example of the company’s physical poetry.
Another piece featured a single dancer somersaulting across the stage, twisting his legs into the air, flooded by red light as a frenetic drumbeat filled the space, creating an image of a human flame.
But the group was wise enough not to take themselves too seriously. Physical gags abounded as men tangled their own body parts together during a wrestling match, or dancers comically ran into and over each other.
For Olivia Adams-Zmolek, 6, and Abigail Balong, 7, the comedy was the highlight of the performance.
“I love it!” Balong exclaimed animatedly. “It’s so funny.”
Sophomore health promotions major Paige Holtan also loved the comedic elements of the performance.
“It’s definitely something new that you don’t see every day,” she said.
