RawDance Concept Series 20

I attended Rawdance Sf‘s Concept series 20 last night. When this program works the best the dancers present the kernels of their new work, the essential idea of a dance in development. While some of last night’s pieces were more refined than others, this core idea held true. In each of the six pieces I could see the basic idea, if it was an engagement with music, a dynamic between dancers, a didactic idea translated into dance, or work driven by a movement idea that took the dancer’s body and would not let go. So much of the dance I see is overproduced or held prisoner to an aesthetic. It’s rewarding and refreshing to be given a window into the creative process like this, and Ryan Smith and Wendy Rein deserve a lot of credit for creating and persevering with the Concept series.