On a cold, snowy February 20 at Steppenwolf Theatre Company’s 1700 Theater, Project Bound Dance presented “Smoking Meat,” which was not only the name of the show but the piece as well. Created by artistic directors Ashley Deran and Emily Loar, the work was savory in that it encompassed every aspect that makes modern dance the beauty that it is.
Dancers Kathryn Hetrick, Ali Lorenz, Sarah Morimoto, and Emily Loar enter downstage, and glowing red lights reveal not only the dancers but three boxes of varying heights. They walk backwards but eventually face the audience. What follows are controlled movements that generate beautiful partnering, and level changes occur by incorporating the boxes as props and platforms.
The sound of rain guides a soloist as the other dancers watch her contort and jerk her body. One at a time, the others join her as their breath becomes audible. Electric guitars blare through the speakers as they switch between pair and group interactions while embodying the aesthetic of warriors. A literal roar ends the moment, inviting humor and laughter.
Contact improvisation is used during a duet that evolves into a trio, then ensemble. Repetition results in refreshing and wonderful recapitulations of movement phrases. Aside from the dancers’ breathing, we hear words being spoken for the first time by Loar: “Ode to the body.” “Oh, to be a body.”
The boxes become an essential part of the choreography, as when the dancers stand on these makeshift platforms and reach desperately for a spotlight overhead. Success is eventually found to the musical sound of a completed level in “Super Mario,” and they are rewarded with a key, resulting in a humorous moment. Victory is short lived, and a sinister laugh accompanied by an eerie green light soon follows.
Loar explores the space with her golden key, weaving through stage, backstage, and throughout the audience. The other three maneuver the three boxes around the stage, ending in the center. They gaze into the distance and stand atop them, their bodies pouring, balancing, and inverting over the shape of the boxes.
Loar returns during a blackout and proceeds to execute her second dialog about the potential of what “we could be” by not going through the journey alone, then extending a helping hand to assist her fellow performers up from the ground. The dialogs provide a sense of what it means to be human and grant the audience a moment to think about, not just watch, these bodies in motion.
Other highlights include two separate duets that unfold on opposite ends of the stage, but the distance gradually shrinks as the movement sequence draws them together. In the climax, dancers forcefully and powerfully charge in the same direction, physically holding one another back from “going over the edge.”
“Smoking Meat” is a visual wonderland, including stunning costumes by Jeff Hancock that accentuate Deran and Loar’s thought-provoking concepts. Project Bound Dance delights through captivating lifts, an intelligent use of space, witty use of props and dialog, and a healthy dose of humor.
Project Bound presents “Smoking Meat” Feb. 20-22 at Steppenwolf Theatre Company’s 1700 Theater, 1700 N. Halsted. For more information, check out the event page by clicking HERE.
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