Scott/Powell Performance | A spirited quest for space

In the program notes for Scott/Powell Performance's new work, "Geography," choreographer Mary Sheldon Scott cites some of the concerns that inspired the rigorous paces she puts her seven dancers through.

What does it mean, she wonders, to live in a crowded and damaged world "in which the body has less and less space in which to maneuver"?

Her disciplined troupe — three men, four women — gives a strong notion of the frustrations involved. But they also reveal an instinctive resourcefulness in the body's urge toward freedom. Their moves carve space. So what, if that space is comprised of other encircling/entangling bodies also grabbing for their chance for a way out?

Slightly more than an hour long, "Geography" is delivered in three color-coded phases, going from green to brown to black. It oscillates between striking solo passagework and teeming ensemble skirmishes as it weighs the geography of the body against the geography of environment. Patterns emerge, fuguelike, from the chaos and then recede, as Scott's fast-changing, fragmented lexicon of moves embraces everything from finger flutters to sensual swivels to silent screams.

But the key move here is a mid-air scissors kick that signals the only liberation worth having. When these dancers go for it, their intensity borders on violence. All seven have stellar moments, but Sean Ryan is a particular standout.

Mark Zappone's costumes are a highlight, too, progressing from pastoral green to funereal, harness-equipped Lycra. Even when he gets the chance to bring a gown into the action, the garment has a menace to it, its train serving almost as a partner to the soloist — a partner that deliberately hampers as much as enhances the "duet" in progress.

Jarrad Powell's live electro-acoustic score completes the picture, carving sound the way the dancers carve the air around them. His synthesizer, percussion and treated piano are pivotal in shaping the momentum of "Geography." And his "leakage" of the score into the dancers' hands — through their rolling of metallic tubes on the floor, or simple acts of finger-snapping or hand-rubbing — is marvelously inventive.

As the company's name indicates, he takes the composer's usual supporting role and elevates it to one of equal partnership with choreographer Scott.

Michael Upchurch: mupchurch@seattletimes.com