TONIGHT: Koresh Dance Company Performs “Ev-o-lu-tion”

Koresh Dance Company performs in “Ev-o-lu-tion.” | Photo via Facebook, courtesy of Bicking Photography.

The Koresh Dance Company has been touring the world, showing off their amazing performances in Colorado, Texas, and Oklahoma in the past few weeks alone. Next week they head to Belarus and then to Art Basel Miami, the prestigious international celebration of the arts. But before they go globe-trotting, see them tonight at the Suzanne Roberts Theatre.

The dancers will perform their hit “Ev-o-lu-tion,” the work of artistic director and founder Ronen Koresh. The program uses movement to explore how humans would have – or could have – communicated at the dawn of time. Koresh asks, has our way of communicating really evolved or do we just use a different language? The piece uses guttural sounds and the body to investigate the raw side of humanity and whether we truly differ from our ancient ancestors.

When the show premiered five years ago it garnered critical acclaim, and for good reason. Visually, the performance is stunning. “Ev-o-lu-tion” has all the finesse and grace of a ballet with the athleticism of an Olympic sport. If you’ve ever felt the burn of a squat, just watching these dancers move across the stage in their low, animalistic stance will make you sweat.

The Koresh Dance Company rehearses “Ev-o-lu-tion.” | Photo via Instagram.

Though much of the company has performed “Ev-o-lu-tion” before, players have changed roles and added members to the team. When we chatted with the performers at an open rehearsal last month, they noted that of their Koresh performances, “Ev-o-lu-tion” is one of the hardest. From its constant low position to its big physical vocabulary, the performance uses different muscle groups than other shows. The dancers also noted how challenging it can be to switch from the Neanderthal-eqsue moves of the show’s beginning to the sophisticated, technical moves that the program evolves into.

Saturday’s performance is already sold out, so be sure to grab tickets and catch tonight’s performance before the company moves on to its worldwide tour. And get there on time – the Koresh Youth Ensemble, with dancers only 13 to 17 years old, opens the program and they are incredibly impressive.