RE|dance Comes of Age at Hamlin Park Field House

 

Aging is complicated. No one likes getting older, though most of us can deal with the compromises: we’re not teenagers anymore, but we can enjoy a drink (legally, that is); we’re not in college anymore, but we have salaried jobs; we’re not single anymore, but we have each other. So the thinking goes.

 

That’s a very narrow spectrum of time, place and person, of course, but you get the idea. Lucy Riner’s “What Brings Me to This Place?” isn’t much concerned with the broader compromises of aging so much as what happens when that lingering, liberating sense of the youth creeps back into our brains, reminding of us of a time when the world was our oyster. Let’s call it a glass-half-full mentality.

 

Riner, co-founder of RE|dance group, performing admirably with her ensemble as usual, is motivated from a 2014 trip to Vegas, where the club scene she once frequented has since changed dramatically. That change inspired a coming-of-age research project that’s been a year in the making. In “What Brings Me,” Riner explores what it means to be dancing in her 40s and, more importantly, what draws her to the very finite profession of dance in the first place.

 

Judging from the result, it wasn’t determined by an illusory sense of fame, fortune, etc.; hers was simply for the joy of expression. Years removed from the day she took the leap from amateur to professional, it’s as though she’s contemplating what that decision means in the context of adulthood—artistically, professionally, personally. She describes herself in the program as a dancer, teacher, mother, choreographer, mentor, wife, daughter, executive director, all of it part of a richer story.

 

So much of what Riner creates burns with the fire of what many artists grapple with in the context of their professional careers, as in we work hard, we work long, yet we hardly get anything of equal value in return. A lot of times those feelings can come across as self-deprecating, maybe even a little self-loathing. Riner’s focus, however, is not about regret; rather, it's about finding the connective strands. Singled out among a crowd of youthful, seemingly eager clubgoers, Riner literally rolls out the red carpet, dancing to the sounds of DJs, EDM, and techno beats. She and her cohorts scribble on the floor, tear sheets of paper, toss them in the air like bunches of glitter.

 

This was all well and good until an unexpected glitch cut the music prematurely, forcing Riner to take matters into her own hands. She made hilarious quips, called out counts, and generally kept the action going until the music was restored. It was charming, fun, delightful. More than that, it was impressive. And in a strange way, it brought out the best of an all-around engaging performance.

 

Two additional pieces round out the program, performed by the Michigan-based company Take Root (Jessica Kondrath/The Movement is slated for next weekend’s bill). “Ink,” choreographed by founders Ali Woerner and Thayer Jonutz, is based on a short story of the same name by Kathleen Pfieffer, a haunting take on a young girl who grapples with the death of her younger brother. “Unorganized Elbows,” also choreographed by Woerner and Thayer, is inspired by the company’s visit to the Berlin Wall in the summer of 2015. Unfortunately, both pieces—dramatically different but equally vapid—could have used a bit more juice. 

 

RE|dance group performs tonight at 7:30pm; Thursday March, 31 and Friday, April 1 at 7:30pm at the Hamlin Park Field House.