Summers for Chicago Dance Crash are typically reserved for a large-scale narrative show. But on the heels of a film review and with an eye toward touring, their latest, Evil & Good (through July 16 at the Vittum Theatre), is deliberately compact, with only sound, lights and simple costumes accompanying the choreography of Artistic Director Jessica Deahr, Rehearsal Director Kaitlyn Webster, and guest choreographer Christopher Courtney. Courtney runs a similarly sized Hip Hop company, Culture Shock Chicago.
For the most part, this was a more reserved version of Crash than we are used to seeing. Johnny Nevin’s sophisticated sound score plus uncharacteristically understated dances read big and bold thanks to Erik Barry’s heavy-handed, full color lighting. Worry not, there were plenty of acrobatic tricks, and enough welcome moments of cacophony, particularly in the numbers that lean more on hip hop. Crash is an interdisciplinary company, shifting comfortably between jazz, hip hop and contemporary (and occasionally other things too). Unlike last season’s contemporary heavy New Alaska, however, a noticeable rise in energy occurred as the group settles into unison hip hop phrases and solos, particularly in a sassy ode to “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” followed by improvised “phone a friend” quintet set to Anagramm’s electronica.
At the forefront most of the time is dancer David Ingram, the central character in a very (very) loose narrative about a guy who has to make choices. Placing hip hop in the fore compliments Ingram best, though some of his finest moments were also his subtlest. Especially satisfying is The Two Inside…, a trio for Ingram, Webster, and Brian Humphreys. Chopin’s haunting “Prelude in E Minor” plays as Ingram endures a classic good vs. evil battle, with the devil on one shoulder and an angel on the other. At the other end of Crash’s dance spectrum is the purely contemporary Sold, which, if not for its weighty text about the conflicting role altruism plays in evolution and the food chain, might read like a pretty lyrical dance. The text became so over-bearing in moments that I opted for the latter approach and ignored it through the piece's second half.
Less than a day after a series of horrifying events in the news, a day in which many questioned good and evil, morality, and humanity, the theme of the night was hauntingly apropos. Dances run one after the other, blending together with no apparent beginnings or endings. Within the wide-ranging interpretations brought to the table, most times is wasn’t entirely clear who or what was the good, and who or what was the evil. Most of the pieces on the program flirt with big, elusive themes without really going deep or stating an opinion one way or the other. Honestly, thank goodness for that. Perhaps we are meant to think that evil and good are not so polar after all, and thank goodness for that, too, or maybe we’re meant to just sit back and enjoy some great dancing.
Chicago Dance Crash presents Evil & Good through July 16 at the Vittum Theatre (1012 N. Noble St.), Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 p.m. and Sundays at 3:00 p.m. Tickets are $25; chicagodancecrash.com