I’ve always held a particular fascination for art forms that are slightly out of the norm, slightly more difficult to understand and slightly more difficult to enjoy. “Run, Don’t Run” is a performance that managed to tie all of those preferences together and intrigued me so much that I was unable to look away. Today’s world is often filled with performances that rely on props and costumes and endless effects, which have to be perfectly executed without any failures. This performance can be seen as the exact opposite; no excessive make up, no gaudy costumes, no over the top props. In fact, the only props were the wires across the stage, the light show and the interesting and carefully chosen mix of music that led the performance along. Those props were enough to enhance the performance and yet not take away from the pure talent and grace of the dancers, telling a story through their bodies, which I believe could be interpreted differently by everyone sitting in the room.

I may sound like I’m raving about this performance – because I am. The thing that appealed to me the most is the fact I didn’t understand it one bit. This modern interpretative/aerobic style of dance isn’t as easy to read as ballet or hip-hop. Instead, this thoroughly choreographed dance confuses the audience, makes them wonder what the point is and that is where the beauty lies. For once, you are able to watch a performance without knowing the back-story, if there even is one. You can interpret it on your own, make up a story or assume certain things, or you can sit back and watch raw talent before your eyes.

The music, never lyrical yet ranging quite a lot throughout the entire hour, lit the dancers’ spirits, it seemed, and they moved according to every beat. Although at some points the performance seemed random and maybe slightly awkward, it always coincided appropriately with the music, which is another reason why although it may not have been a story, it could be interpreted as one. The lights, constantly changing dramatically, especially with the music, did nothing but add wonder to the show, and a certain aura and mood arose with something as simple as a different color.

The wires across the entire stage were the most original element, something I’ve never seen. Due to the strangeness of this prop, one may feel strongly towards it – either love it or hate it. Personally, I attribute half the genius of this performance to the wires and to the fact that they were sparingly used yet still made an impact on the dance. Whenever the dancers were moving the wires, the audience knew another, different part of the performance was about to begin. It added some rhyme and reason to the dance, as outlandish as it may sound since it is, after all, a strange and new idea. Although there were a few hiccups with getting the wires clipped or unclipped, there was always something else going on, on stage, and unless you focused your attention on the problem, it wasn’t a significant deal.

My last, but certainly not least, favorite part of this performance was the dancers. Never breaking character they worked their magic on the stage, hypnotizing everyone with their insanely perfect adaptation of the choreography which seemed to get more and more complex. They didn’t interact very much to begin with, yet as the performance went on and on they had a lot more synced moves or group moves, which mesmerized you left and right, since usually they were happening simultaneously across the stage.

I didn’t know where to look half the time because I wanted to look everywhere and catch every moment. Although confusing and slightly outlandish, this is a performance worth seeing to open your mind a bit about how different and beautiful art can really be.