During its 20^th Anniversary Benefit Celebration, ZviDance plays with the constructs of finding love in Personals, a work which explores the roles people play when seeking a lover.  The roles are juicy as each dancer played a collaborative role in creating the “profile” and movement. Performed at Judson Memorial Church, dancers flaunted and revealed much like one might when choosing the right adjectives for a personal ad.  Dancers showed their talents with bravado and charm; whether it was a gravity defying leap or feet shaped like cashews.

 Segmented into various stages, each piece defined a unique relationship. Dramatic movement and alluring transitions aside, what made this work so accessible was the search to see if any of these relationships matched your own experience. We’ve all projected with stories, but it’s a different ballgame with contemporary dance; it’s more visceral, with a bite that wouldn’t be served in, say, Sleeping Beauty. 

 In one section a female and male simulate a very violent and passionate romp. She jumps and wraps her body into his; kicking her legs wildly and tossing her auburn hair as he holds her tightly from the waist. This is both painful and attractive to watch. The movement it expressive and perfectly articulated, but the subject is not one that should be enjoyed. Heartbreak is awful, even if it is dressed up in skillful dance.

 Another instance where our inner voyeur seems to kick in was when another pair of dancers abstractly demonstrated orgasms. Convulsing rhythmically and with the speed of an electric pencil sharpener these two dancers started across from one another and ended loin to loin. The movement, disturbing, genuine, and yes, beautiful, spoke to the carnal aspects of love; which is perhaps why I found it so enjoyable. After all, what is love without passion?

 The dynamics throughout Personals were refreshing and intriguing—a 40-minute performance that felt like 15. Solos, duets and ensemble work blended effortlessly and with extreme honesty and humor. A pageant of dancers stood before the audience playfully spelling out their assets, or boredom, intrigue and desperation in a parody of speed dating and community.

 By the end of the evening, if I had to pick my date, I’d go with dancer Aaron Carr, his sinuous lines and sturdy leaps are a nice pairing to his Vanity Fair good looks. And even though he’s consistently performed well since his days as a Juilliard student, in this piece all the dancers stood to show that people are funny about love. Or better, we’re funny about how we project ourselves when looking for love. It’s a real-life performance until the very end, and ZviDance’s version just happens to be better choreographed than the rest of ours.