DANCE REVIEW : ‘Pyramid’: Pilobolus’ Essay on Colonialism

Two men explore a dark landscape--Kent Lindemer wearing an antique suit and tie, and John-Mario Sevilla, nearly naked. As they move cautiously onward, each of these curious companions fleetingly becomes part of the terrain: a treacherous hill the other must climb, for instance. Even a sedan chair to relax upon.

This is “Pyramid of the Moon,” the new Pilobolus creation that crowned an exciting if otherwise familiar five-part program at the Norris Theatre in Rolling Hills Estates on Wednesday. Choreographed by Alison Chase and Michael Tracy (in collaboration with Adam Battelstein and Sevilla, the original dancers), the duet evokes the whole arc of colonialism--from subjugation to rebellion and beyond--through gymnastic body sculpture.

When Sevilla uses Lindemer’s tie as a noose to force him to share some of his fancy clothes, the politics of the piece grow baldly explicit. But the better, early sections have a layered richness of imagery that expresses the theme without force-feeding it to the audience.

Danced by Rebecca Anderson and Tamieca McCloud, the 1992 collaborative women’s “Duet” also proves cherishable for early statements of togetherness--in this case, liquid, slow-motion lifts without any trace of effort. A fast, edgy interlude provides contrast but also adds confusion, and the happy ending comes from nowhere.

Where normally Pilobolus uses music that washes over a theme- or task-driven action-sequence, the full-company “Sweet Purgatory” from 1991 experiments with conventional music-visualization: trying to fit ingenious groupings and, especially, lifts to the shifting moods of Shostakovich’s Chamber Symphony, Op. 110a. Unfortunately, the flow of movement ideas keeps stopping and waiting for Dimitri S. to catch up.

Much more satisfying: “The Particle Zoo” from 1990, in which scores by nine composers accompany a playful showpiece about male relationships that turns gloriously solemn at one point when Mark Santillano’s friends hold him high enough to let him walk among the stars. “Walklyndon,” a knockabout relic from Pilobolus’ very first season, 24 years ago, completes the program.

* Pilobolus repeats this program tonight at 8 in the California Center for the Arts, 340 N. Escondido Blvd., Escondido. Tickets: $20-$40; (619) 738-4100. The company appears Monday at 8 p.m. in the Smothers Theatre, Pepperdine University, Malibu. Tickets: $27 (sold out); (310) 456-4522. On Wednesday at 8 p.m., the company plays the Alex Theatre, 216 N. Brand Blvd., Glendale. Tickets: $27.50-$32.50; (800) 414-ALEX.