RE|dance group in “A Delicate Hand”/Photo: Matthew Gregory Hollis
The first delicacy one notices in RE|dance Group’s new work at the Hamlin Park Fieldhouse through March 15, is the quality of the light. Illuminated rectangles of varying dimensions are scattered across the black floor, casting a soft glow on the faces of audience members who, seated in two groups that bracket the stage, face each other across the lengthwise expanse. Depth-of-field is a dynamic element in “A Delicate Hand”—choreographers often set simultaneous elements at play, allowing the audience to choose where they look at any given moment, albeit at the risk of missing something else. In this roughly forty-five-minute piece, artistic director Michael Estanich invites viewers to focus on action anywhere from four feet to twelve yards away, including fellow audience members. There is an acknowledgement in this arrangement—of the mutual act of witnessing a dance and of the vulnerability and generosity in that tender agreement.
In the program notes, Estanich says he was inspired in part by Michelangelo’s “Creation of Man” on the Sistine Chapel ceiling—the famous image of God and Adam with index fingers extended toward each other, inches apart. That energized little gap, that almost-ness, appears prominently in the opening section of “A Delicate Hand.” Pillows of air cushion the space between a hand and a head, an arm and a back; the seven company members seem to partner with each other’s auras. The group swirls together as though by gravitational pull, folding into a sculptural tableau lit like a Dutch still life before softly peeling away again.
Original music is provided live by Mark D. Burns on guitar and Nick Kabat on keyboards. Burns’ score changes shape alongside the shifting moods of the piece, morphing from abstract soundscape to poppy or jazzy or rocking song structures as the movement becomes more rigorous. Rare unison moments punctuate just how much is going on in different corners of the stage most of the time—duets, trios, solo dancers reconfiguring, repeating some sequences, letting others go.
There are many delightful moments to discover in “A Delicate Hand” (and who knows how many I missed), but without spoiling too much I can say to keep an eye peeled for sets of partners mirroring each other from opposite sides of the stage; the return of an early sequence repeated near the end and flipped lengthwise; and how a notable interlude between Estanich, executive director Lucy Vurusic Riner and longtime company member Corinne Imberski later becomes material for a fascinating, sped-up trio.
It takes experience for a hand to gain delicacy, and the fifteen years that Estanich and Riner have been collaborating—long-distance between Wisconsin and Chicago—shows in an ease and trust in their ensemble that can only be cultivated over time. Riner and Estanich also make it a regular practice to gently lift up their former students. Each weekend of “A Delicate Hand” opens with a short piece by kt williams, now an established artist in North Carolina.
“A Delicate Hand” by RE|dance Group at Hamlin Park Fieldhouse, 3035 North Hoyne, March 14 & 15 at 7:30pm. $15-$30. Tickets at eventbrite.com.
