Echoes @ C Aquila

Three individuals are trying to find their way using GPS devices and yet this is a dance/physical theatre performance. What is going on here? Dance and technology? How can that be?

Within minutes, the show answers this very question: "I stopped dancing and I lost my way". Several real social issues are raised throughout the performance, such as human dependence on technology, relationships, alcoholism, and general lack of direction in life. Very few of these issues are explored, but in this tale, they add to the negative, bleak lifestyle of one who has lost her way. The story unfolds through a combination of physical performance and verbal narration, including a tango and some less-than-accurate abstract dance. Yet, peculiarly, the floorwork, inaccuracy and heaviness of the physical movement do not impede the progress of the story, but rather reminds us that the performers themselves are human and susceptible to errors and wrong turns.

Admittedly, if you are looking for elegant pirouettes and grand jetes, this is not a show for you. Echoes does not offer much in terms of dance technique. The company itself, Acting Thru Dance, is aptly named, since the performers are clearly actors who can dance rather than dancers who can act. However, what it lacks in the technical aspect, it makes up for in concept and performance. Pensive and human, Echoes examines the importance of dance in our lives.