Choreographers Doug Hamby and Carol Hess don't know exactly how to explain their nonverbal works. They're not even sure if their pieces really have specific messages.
But they do know that they want audiences of Baltimore Dance Project in Concert to leave the auditorium with a greater appreciation for the body and its movement potential.
"The human body can birth so many ideas visually," said Hamby, co-creative director of Baltimore Dance Project and associate professor of dance at University of Maryland, Baltimore County. "I think the audience will have a better appreciation and understanding of the body in motion."
This week, UMBC presents three identical performances by Baltimore Dance Project, its in-residence professional dance company. The program includes seven live dances and one recorded dance.
In the video "Epilogue," female dancers dressed in fatigues run through tunnels, roll around on dusty concrete floors and jump in and out of holes while inside a decrepit, abandoned downtown factory. Hamby and Hess want the audience to question whether the women are freely exploring or involuntarily confined.
Hess' "Persona," a solo piece included in last weekend's 2008 Maryland Choreographers Showcase, opens with dancer Jenifer Robbins dressed as a businessman with a briefcase. Later, she sheds the masculine facade to reveal her femininity. During the performance, she looks into the briefcase, which has built-in wireless technology that transmits live images to a large projection screen on stage. The dance explores gender cliches and how women and society view females.
"There's room for a lot of different interpretations, and that's what I like about it," said Hess, co-creative director of the dance company and chair of UMBC's dance department.
For "Fog," by Hamby, the audience can only see an altered, secondhand version of the dance on a movie screen on stage. A camera crew films the dance behind a curtain on stage, and someone simultaneously edits the images in various ways - such as adding X-ray view, doubled images and bright colors - and projects them onto the screen. The presentation explores how human experience can be manipulated by media.
In "Echoes," another work by Hamby, female and male dancers wander on a barren stage and give the impression of being lost on an isolated planet. The piece has several moves involving body swings, asymmetrical shapes and men lifting women upside down. Part of the score includes computer-generated voice recordings of the performers.
The concert also includes "Habitrail," in which dancer Lindsay Phebus is a woman trapped in an inescapable cycle; "Letting Go," a solo piece about persevering after a loss; Hess' premiere quartet piece "Somewhere in the Middle"; and acclaimed dancer Sandra Lacy's performance in "Dissolve" by New York choreographer Jeanine Durning.
By including several computer-generated scores and incorporating electronic devices, the show demonstrates the troupe's commitment to integrating technology into dance. "Technology is part of our life all the time. And it's another component of art and performance," said Hamby. "It only seems natural that dance exploration involves interaction between the body and technology."
jennifer.choi@baltsun.com
The shows start at 8 p.m. today, tomorrow and Saturday at the UMBC Theatre, 1000 Hilltop Circle, Catonsville. Admission is $7-$15. Call 410-752-8950 or go to missiontix.com.