When directors Michele Torino and Kevin Paul decided to call their improvisational dance-theater performance "Strange Attractors," they could not have picked a more accordant name.
Friday night's performance was not only strange, in a good way, it was also complex, combining modern dance, music and poetry with a hint of acting.
To start the show, a narrator addressed the audience with the proclamation "we are but a humble band of merry entertainers here to tell a story or maybe entertain you - a story about, well, we'll leave that up to you."
While a trio of musicians played a wide variety of instruments ranging from the cello to a wooden transverse flute, the dancers gave their interpretations of the music through spontaneous movement.
Poetic text was also incorporated into the piece. Lines like "the wind ripples the grass/clouds form before my eyes/snow leaves pass overhead/my feet, they know where to take me" were spoken by one dancer and then looped through the music via computer synthesizer.
There was also a sense of disorientation and chaos in the performance, creating a perfect opportunity for themes of love to come into play. Throughout the performance, the players delivered "Love Lines" or short interludes describing the pains and pleasures of this bittersweet emotion. Imagine eight people speaking their random thoughts about love at each other and you'll get a good sense of one of these comical parodies.
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Though the show appeared to have been choreographed and came together smoothly and professionally, this innovative performance was delivered entirely off the cuff.
Paul, the director of "Strange Attractors," refers to the performance as a "structured improv" and said that to make a performance like this work, "you have to spend a lot of rehearsal time, find an ensemble that is well-connected and that has built a good rapport."
Paul also said the rehearsal process was "lengthy but that [the performers] had a lot of fun with it."
In addition to directing, Paul and Torino were performers in the piece. While Paul wrote all of the text and participated in the musical composition, Torino displayed her talents as a modern dancer.
Paul said participating in both capacities gave the directors a bit of a challenge.
"It put us so inside the work that by the time we were ready to perform it, we had no idea what it would look like to an audience member," he said. "It was hard not to be able to step back and take a critical look at our work."
Fortunately, the challenge proved to be rewarding.
"Everyone who was in it wants to do something like it again," Paul said.
So if you missed this performance, don't worry. Chances are, there will be something like it in the near future.
