By Jay Menard,

Conversations Never Had, performed by Breath in Mvmt and choreographed by Melisa Boose, is a testament to the power of dance and the power of visual storytelling through movement. And it accomplishes this through a performance that’s at once soul wrenching and emotionally uplifting.

Permit me to repeat myself a bit, but Breath in Mvmt’s style is the embodiment of “Jolie Laide” — a French concept describing something that is beautiful in its ugliness. I described their 2015 show in similar terms and it is more true than ever before. That’s not to say that the performance is ugly in any way, but it’s raw, it’s visceral, and Boose’s choreography extends beyond the mere crafting of steps, but into pouring the dancer’s soul onto the stage.

The “ugliness” is a style that embraces the conventions of contemporary dance, then twists and turns them into a result that transcends the style. Continue reading →