Understated Dancing Hints at the Heart's Wide-Ranging Adventures

Elke Rindfleisch's hour-long quintet Enamoured, slow, subdued, and handsome, traces the vagaries of relationships, amorous and otherwise, among its players. Nevertheless, it's essentially abstract. Its twosomes, threesomes, solos, and double duets emphasize long, sleek extensions of limbs and unwavering attention to the weight of the body as it shifts position and realigns itself with a partner. It's all done with visible gravity of intent and an almost palpable texture. What's lacking is drama—in the "stories" faintly suggested by the proceedings, and in the movement, which would benefit from clearer structure and greater variety of tone. As it stands, Enamoured looks too much like an illustration of Rindfleisch's self-proclaimed pleasure in "the endless possibilities of putting things together in space." A mesmerizing music-of-the-spheres score by Chris Woltmann—composed for the occasion and performed live—accompanied the piece. Ashaka Givens designed the delectable costumes.