Drawing from the realms of science, religion and psychology, “Bohemians,” the first original interpretive dance production from the Synetic Theatre Company at the Classicka Theatre in Shirlington, creates a wondrous visual narrative that seeks to express the very essence of the human condition.
“It takes us from the formation of life as molecules to what lies in the future,” said director Patta Tsikurishvili. “Today, communication is based in imagery, in symbols. Visual language has power. It has a real effect on people's minds.”
As the lights come up, a troupe of black clad dancers writhes on the stage in an ecstasy of hand gestures, twitching fingers and spastic limbs. Titled “Molecule Love,” this first movement of the Tsikurishvili's piece speaks to the origins of life. Molecules give way to complex life forms, but the storyline also evolves, fusing science with religion. The next chapter takes the audience into the Garden of Eden and later to the Tower of Babel.
Just as human beings have evolved over time, according to the director so has “Bohemians.”
“We are always experimenting,” he said. “The show has taken on many forms. We cut things, add new ones. It is always changing.”
Choreographing the performance is also an ongoing task.
“The very, very last day before we opened, I changed the whole ending,” Tsikurishvili said with a laugh.
THE GEORGIAN-BORN director added that the show is often changed as the performers explore new aspects of the dance. The drive to explore, he said, is part of what inspired him to create the show.
“For a long time, I wanted to create something new that was based on what I've seen of modern society and culture,” he said.
Trained in filmmaking, Tsikurishvili said his approach to the performance is in many ways related to cinema.
“It is like a film or a painting,” he said. “It has depth, movement, texture.”
In “A Business Proposal,” a segment of the show set in the modern technological age, the show employs Tsikurishvili's observations on the nature of such phenomena as cellular phones, traffic, office cubicles and corporations.
To express the interplay of the many social, mythic and archetypal elements employed in the show, Tsikurishvili said he and his troupe essentially had to create their own language based in image and movement.
“Today, communication is image-based,” he said. “For our performers, it's in the gestures, the pauses, how you sit, where your hands go. It is these actions that open up the performer. It opens them physically and opens their minds. Through these actions we have a composition.”
As human history progresses, as societies form and collapse, the story chronicles the human struggle for power as dancers chase one another across the stage in a ceaseless effort to capture a golden crown. Current events are the inspiration for the show.
“It draws from current events, but it's really about loss of innocence and what has led us to this point in our human history,” said Greg Marzullo, who plays Cain, Satan and the orchestrator of humanity's grim future, one that seems to speak to genetic manipulation and the bastardization of the natural world through technology.
THE SET DESIGN is simple, a black background, a black stage. The music is a mix of classical, techno, religious chants and sound effects. Inspired by cubist art, Tsikurishvili said, it is a minimalist approach. But, it is one that keeps the audience's focus on the performers, drawing them into the moment.
“This is one of the most amazing things I've seen in ages,” said Lawley Paisley-Jones, who caught Friday's performance. “It was wonderful to [see] this kind of movement-based narrative. The subtleties of the performer's faces, the lighting, the design, it was exquisite.”
The show's choreography, according to Isabel Reif, “was its strongest asset.
“It was one of the most creative and original things that I've seen in a long time,” she said. “The amount of emotion they could express just from body language and gestures was amazing.”