Iyow - in your own words

I’ve long been a fan of Robert Moses’ Kin – a San Francisco-based modern dance troupe – for their committment to art that’s unafraid to address the philosophical problems of our times, without ever sacrificing the beauty and joy of dance and music.

So when I went to see them on Friday night in SF’s Jewish Community Center, I was happy to see my high expectations were delivered on – and more.

This is the rare modern dance company that can entertain and evangelize its cause even to non-dance fans. If you have the opportunity to see them, I highly recommend it. They are performing through Sat. and Sun, Feb. 17 – 18 8pm in SF; and at Arizona State University, Mar. 2 – 3; and have just returned from an engagement at Dance Amsterdam in New York last month.

I missed seeing some of their virtuosic founding members on Friday, but the company’s repertoire was refreshed by a worthy premiere of a new work, “Penance,” accompanied by a live cello-guitar-bass trio plus recorded piano. Though capably performed and having interesting groupings and sequences, the piece was on the long side. Choreographic diversity was provided by the beautifully-staged world premier of Amy Seiwert’s “Slowly Watching Memory”; as well as a spirited and entertaining dialogue performed completely while sitting by guest dramatic artist Aleta Hayes and Moses. The strongest pieces of the evening remained the company’s invigorated renditions of the opener and its finale: “Lucifer’s Prance (2000)” set to Philip Glass’s “Akhnaten” – a great example of their acrobatic and lyrical ensemble work, punctuated by gestures of funk. And finale “Speaking Ill of the Dead (2006)” pulled off the rare and difficult feat of interspersed spoken word with dance and a political statement that never overshadows the beauty of the movement.

If you can’t see them live, this is second best to the real thing.